Mrs. Repp's Science Class
A newsletter site to keep parents and learners informed
3rd Interim Assessments
Parents,
We're getting around to 3rd 9 Weeks assessment and Math and Reading with be *STAAR* style, in that they will have 4 hours to complete their assessment. Science and Social Studies will during the class period on Wednesday and Thursday. When it comes to studying for science, learners have everything they need with them. If technology and internet is available, everything electronic from all year long is in google classroom in the "ABOUT" section on a google document titled Online Resources. If technology is not available, learners have notes and unit organizers in their journals to study with. This week, don't let them say "I don't have homework." Yes you do! Go study for your benchmark tests! :)
Thanks for all of your support this year. Its one of my best ones yet. If you are the store and thinking of your most favorite science facilitator, we are dire need of glue sticks and tissues. :)
-Emily Repp
Expectations review and a few changes in 2nd semester
January 5th, 2017
As learners are getting back into the swing of "school" again, it is important to remind them of the expectations for school and the classroom. Just a few to review regarding tardies:
1. Tardies add up! The first two are warnings, but on the 3rd tardy, learners start accumulating lunch detentions, and then after school detentions and then ISS.
2. Encourage your learner to take care of personal "bathroom" business during passing periods and use their time efficiently during this time. It is hard to teach them when they aren't in the classroom! Sometimes, you got to go, and it might mean a tardy, but thats why a few "warnings" are built in.
When the new semester starts, I like to take it as an opportunity to tweak some of the methods and strategies that I use on a daily basis in my classroom. Let me tell you about some of them.
Science Classroom Changes:
1. Learners will take home their 1st semester science journals TODAY if they haven't already when it was time to study for exams.
2. In August, they left with me 2 composition notebooks, so we will be using the additional notebook for the 2nd semester. The change here is that learners will NOT leave science journals in the classroom as they did in the fall. With 146 6th graders in my classroom, there are just too many notebooks floating around here! I'm hoping this will help with clutter in my classroom. Science journals are expected to go home in their backpack every day.
3. As a means of rewarding those that are bringing necessary materials and staying on task within their groups, I am going to start using Class Dojo. You may remember Class Dojo from when your learner was in elementary school. Each learner will not have an individual account like they did in elementary school, but their table in each class period will have an account. The table in each class with the most points, will get Tiger Bucks. I'm still working on the details with this and ironing out the kinks, so I am open for suggestions from learners. :)
4. You will be seeing more projects the science class! My goal is still to keep make sure they are done mostly here at school, but we will be completing more projects here at school. A lot of our content is moving from hands-on concepts to more informational, abstract concepts. The more that learners are in charge of their learning this type of material, the deeper their level of understanding will be.
Below, you will find the video that I made that I showed my learners today. I am looking forward to an exciting semester and I hope you are too. :)
-Mrs. Repp
Happy New Year! (6th Grade Update)
Wow, 2017 is here! I have been working hard to plan some exciting stuff for this coming up semester, and I need just a little more help from my learners' awesome families to pull it off. :) We have a "Top Secret" Project coming up that I have been collecting "tubular" things for like paper towel rolls, pipe insulation, pool noodles, etc. I have so much, thank you! I could always use more. The more "tubular" things that I have, the bigger our...projects can be!
I need a little more specific things also - packaging tape like this - http://www.officedepot.com/a/browse/packing-tape/N=5+4009/ and gallon zip lock bags like this http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/767541/Highmark-Freezer-And-Storage-Bags-With/.
I am so excited for this project but it will be a group project. For it to be completely successful, learners must cooperate with each other and be flexible and compromising. I will be sending home a group work "contract" that I will ask for you to sign when we get closer to the project.
I hope you had a wonderful holiday and you will be hearing from me again soon! Happy New Year!
-Mrs. Repp
Update!
Can you believe it is already November!?!?! I am so excited for the things that we have coming up in science. I can't give too many details because I want it to be a surprise, but we will need some random recyclable items like:
- paper towel tubes
- insulation tubing
- pool noodles
- anything round and tube like that can be cut easily
We also need some consumable items like:
- ping pong balls
- marbles
- scotch tape, like the thick packaging kind.
- low temp hot glue gun sticks
- expo/dry erase markers - with 160ish kids in my room, we go through these A LOT. I love to use the white boards to check for understanding. And they are a little fun to doodle on.
- tissues, still allergy season. Lots of sniffles.
As your kiddo plans for this project, you might hear that they need more of "this!" We don't know what it is yet, because their brilliant little minds haven't thought of it yet! :)
Thanks for all of your support! :)
-Emily Repp
1st 9 Weeks Test - Tomorrow!!!
October 12th, 2016
-Mrs. Repp
Tests and Test Corrections
So, its that time of year where a few tests have rolled around, and learners may not have done as well as they wanted to. Some failed, but just a little. Some made a 'B' when they really wanted an 'A'. Some failed hard and need intervention to master those concepts. After learners have taken tests and I have graded them and passed them back, learners have a few requirements and options when if comes to pulling up their grade.
If a student made below a 70:
- The student must do test corrections.
- Corrections must be on a separate sheet of paper (notebook paper).
- Each question that is missed must be written on the notebook paper.
- The correct answer for each missed question must be with on the notebook paper.
- Along with each missed question, the student must write a statement about what they got it wrong. A logical statement such as "I missed number 3 because I confused the concepts between mass and weight but now I understand that mass is the amount of matter in an object." A statement that is a bad example would be "I missed number 3 because I didn't know it." (Yes, I really get these.)
- For every correctly correct answer, students will get back half of the points that they missed.
- They must get the test signed by a family partner and returned by the test corrections return date. The reason for this is that in my mind, a test that is only 14 or so questions long, if a student made a grade in the 70s, they are in danger of failing because if they had missed one or two more questions, they would have failed.
- For every correctly correct answer, students will get back half of the points that they missed.
- It is their choice to do corrections an receive back half the points that they missed.
Thanks for all of your help in making our kiddos as successful as possible!
-Mrs. Repp
Wish List
If you were at the store this weekend, and you wanted to help out your child's most favorite science teacher, I really bad need glue sticks, scissors, and expo markers. Just ask the kiddos about those expo markers today! Oh boy! ;)
EDIT: I almost forgot about tissues! Everyone has a runny nose right now. :)
Thanks,
Mrs. Repp
Amazing Open House!
What an amazing open house! It was so nice to see so many students and their families. Below you will find a link to the Open House Powerpoint that I had circulating during Open House. You can browse it if you like to get a little bit of insight about what is happening with policies and procedures.
Always feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns!
-Emily Repp
First 3 Weeks - Flyin' By!
September 9th, 2016
I'm real excited to have created and shared with my students my first "Mrs. Repp Original - sort-of" Flipped Lesson on Finding Mass and Volume. If you would like, you can view it also. http://tinyurl.com/FL1massandvolume
Flipped lessons are great because students can get the information they need at their own pace. They can pause, rewind, re-listen as much as they need. Also, parents have a resource to go to for when kids need help, and it is exactly the way the teacher intends the content to be taught. I know that the things I am teaching are definitely being taught differently than when I was a kid, so I am sure it is for you too. With the Flipped Lesson resource, parents and facilitators (teachers) can be on the same page with verbage and strategy. Parents can be empowered to help their child when their child needs it. Everyone wins!!!
Open House is on Monday, September 12th at 6pm. We will see you then! :)
-Emily Repp
First Week Was Great!
Aug. 30th, 2016
The first week was amazing! Learners learned a lot about our ACHIEVE classroom expectations and about R.O.A.R. On Friday we had our first pep-rally where Mr. G. reminded us of ROAR and ALL students earned free dress on September 6th for Picture Day because they showed their school spirit.Parents, If you haven't already, please fill out the About Your Student Survey and sign-up for your learner's grade level on my Remind Text Group. Thank you so much for sending your kiddo's to McCormick. It is going to be a great school year!
-Emily Repp
About The Classroom Facilitator
This is my 10th year teaching public school. I started off teaching 8th grade science at Chapa Middle School and then taught 6th grade science at Simon Middle School. Looking to branch out a bit and try something new, I started teaching 4th grade Saturn V STEM Program at Ralph Pfluger Elementary School. After hearing about the amazing things coming along at McCormick Middle School and looking to simplify my morning routine with two kids and get to work just a tad later, I decided to return to my roots and go back to teaching middle school science! Any of my former students can tell you, science if my favorite. I love teaching science and seeing the "Ah ha!" light bulb that goes off when my students get "it." I love using technology to increase engagement and to show students new and fun ways to learn or showcase their learning. Looking forward to a fantastic year as a McCormick Tiger! ROAR!
App, app and AWAY!
We use technology like crazy in the classroom! If you are brave enough and your student is responsible enough to bring technology to school, here are some apps that we will use often in my science classroom. All of these apps are free.
Apps for student devices:
- google docs
- google sheets
- google presentations
- google drive
- google classroom
- quizlet
- nearpod
- spelling city
- google earth
- animoto
- voki
- popplet
- Remind (for parents only in 6th grade: they have an agreement that I agree not to text to kids under 13. :) )
- Trello
These are just to name a few! As I think of or find more, I will update this list! :)
Flipped Lessons - flipping it around to improve learning!
Aug. 22nd, 2016,
You may have noticed that at McCormick Middle School we're trying some new things. Something that I have used that is different in my classroom is the concept of the "flipped" classroom. It first came around with the name "Flipped Classroom" in about 2005 or 06 by a couple of teachers in Wisconsin. Really though, many teachers have been doing something similar for years. The idea behind a flipped classroom is students learn with a form of blended learning where new content is learned by watching a video, taking on-line notes, seeing a teacher video lecture, usually at home and then student comes back and does the application of the content in the classroom. This is great for many different reasons.
1. Students can learn at their own pace. Because a video or powerpoint can be played and "clicked through" and their own pace, they can go as quickly or as slowly as they would like. Some students get very stressed during whole group note taking because they feel they can't or are having a hard time keeping up with the teacher or their peers. Sometimes this student speaks up and the teacher slows down, or a neighbor leans over to help them. Sometimes this student is too embarrassed to speak up and consequently, fall behind. Isn't that sad? As a teacher, you can encourage them to speak up, try to create as emotionally-safe environment as possible, but still some students just have a hard time speaking up in front of everyone and expressing what they need. On the flip side (hahaha), there are many students that are very quick and don't need to hear it again and again. They hear it once, and are ready to move on. Often times when they hear that student that needs more time speak up, in their head they're thinking, "Oh here we go." And then they tune-out, and become bored, sometimes when they tune-out, they stay tuned out and miss something else important. Putting them behind. Sometimes when they get bored, this is when unacceptable behavior picks up. Then, they have to be reprimanded by the teacher, which delays learning, which leads to others tuning out and getting bored and frustrated with that individual. See how it can be a big ugly cycle?
2. Because everyone can learn at their own pace, everyone comes into class on the same page or at the same level.
3. Parents ALSO have a resource to help their student with classroom content and it is from the same perspective that the student is receiving! As parents (and teachers) we are ALL in it to help the student as much as possible. As a parent and teacher, I totally get that. Flipped lessons provide parents the content that can be used as a tool to help their student understand.
4. In Mrs. Repp's class, students will ALWAYS have more than one day to complete a flipped lesson assignment. (Really, its like almost a week, usually.) I understand that technology issues come up and weather can play a factor in the internet being functional.
What do you think? Have any questions? Feel free to send me an email at emily.repp@hayscisd.net.
Important Upcoming Dates!
Sept. 5th - Labor Day - Teacher and Student Holiday!
Oct. 10th - Columbus Day - Student Holiday
Oct. 14th - End of Grading Period
Nov. 21st - 25th - Thanksgiving Break
In case I missed anything or I get behind on update this list, here is a link to the district website. :)
http://www.hayscisd.net/files/filesystem/000000%201617%20Calendar%20FINAL.pdf
The code to join Mrs. Repp's 7th Grade Science Class is ehrsi0q
Mrs. Repp's Science Class
Email: emily.repp@hayscisd.net
Website: http://www.hayscisd.net/McCormick.cfm
Location: 5700 Dacy Ln, Buda, TX, United States
Phone: 512-268-2141
Twitter: @txemhorn134