6th Grade Monthly Newsletter
February 2020
Table of Contents
Subject Specific Information and Links to Teacher Websites
Counselor Updates
Administrator Updates
Upcoming Events
Parent Conference Night 2/20/20
Links to the Sign Up Genius are available now on our school website. Please sign up to meet with your child's teachers. We expect spots to fill up early, so don't wait to sign up.
Translators will be available for parents who require Spanish translation.
2nd Quarter Academic Celebration 2/21/20
We are so proud of the students who met the expectations to attend this celebration. We hope that students who are not eligible to attend for 2nd quarter will work to improve their academics and behavior to be able to attend the 3rd quarter celebration.
3rd Quarter Academic Celebration Eligibility Requirements
- All A's
- GPA of 2.5 or higher
- Improving Overall Letter Grade Average
- The Climbers Club
- Proud Cats
- Rising Cub Leaders
Who's Ineligible:
- Received Bus Referral or Bus Suspension
- Assigned to ALC/ISS for 1/2 or full day
- Assigned to On-Team Detention
- Received GPA below 2.5
- Received OSS
Career Day 2/28/20
March Madness 2/28/20
Our 22nd Annual March Madness is Friday, February 28th from 6:00pm-8:30pm in the gym. Admission $1.
This is a fantastic night of family fun that features our 22nd annual teachers vs. students basketball game, the WMMMS band, dance company, and cheerleaders!
Last year, our students won the game for the first time ever!
We’ll have free throw contests, pizza and Chick-fil-A meals for sale, and a candy board raffle.
Kona Ice, concessions, and spirit wear will be available for purchase.
Come hungry and bring your whole family! Admission is $1.
Pre-order your meals and admission online: https://westmillbrookmiddleschool.memberhub.store/
Volunteer to help at the event & donate drinks: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4ea8a9238-february1
Subject Specific Information and Links to Teacher Websites
Math
Where is Math 6: Halfway through the year and halfway through Math 6 units! Students will be receiving Unit 5 workbooks early next week when they will begin their work with Arithmetic in Base 10 (decimals.)
Where is Math 6+: We just finished a Unit on Base 10 Decimal Operations. We are now beginning our Equations and Expressions Unit.
Homework Information: In order to understand the new material covered in class, most students need to practice by completing homework. Homework is assigned every day except Friday. The homework can be found in the "Practice Problems" after the lesson worked on that day. If your student is struggling with homework, have them read the "Summary" for the lesson.
How can your student improve their grade: Your student has opportunities to take a requiz or a retest. Please make sure your student does this in a timely manner.
ELA
Students have just started Unit 3 in Module 2. In this unit, we are focusing on how we can relate to modern voices in the concrete poems we are reading. This unit has both speaking and listening components. We compare and contrast poems we read ourselves versus hearing the poem read aloud through an audio. Our focus is also shifting to determining the mood and tone of poetry, along with the theme of each poem. The end of this unit, students will create their own concrete poem. The next book we will focus on is World Without Fish.
Homework: Students are still completing ReadWorks every week. They are assigned one ReadWorks on Monday that is due Friday at midnight. Late ReadWorks are not accepted.
Science
If you have not yet joined Remind please do so your teacher can communicate important information with you. Text @Cozscience to 81010. Additionally it may help your child to have them tell you what they are learning each week focusing using vocabulary words.
Our current study focus is on energy, sound, and light. Your child was asked to plan a meal using all types of energy transfer - it would be great if you support their learning and let them make their meal at home.
The sound segment we just started culminates with designing and making an actual instrument that can make three sounds (frequencies). This has been an exciting and memorable project in years past. It is due 2/21.
And maybe most exciting part of the year is in the light and sight portion of this unit and will include an actual cow eyeball dissection. Please let us know of any anxieties or issues your child may have.
Thank you for your support in allowing your child to learn that science explains all the magic in life.
Our next unit is the Land Beneath Our Feet (soil, rocks, and earth's catastrophes).
Social Studies
PE/Health
World Languages (Spanish/French/Chinese)
Dear Parents,
Our focus in Quarter 3 for Beginning Spanish is communication skills that continue to describe personal identity with likes/dislikes, personality, and physical descriptions. We’re looking forward to ending unit 1 with a summative performance presentation so that we can start unit 2: What is family? Please click to view our course curriculum outline.
Tips to succeed:
Organize backpack, binder, & fill your pencil bag with new pencils & scissors!
Visit teacher website for multiple resources and calendar
Practice out of school- talk with friends, change your phone to Spanish, or watch your favorite childhood movie in Spanish and with subtitles!
Check PowerSchool often.
If you need help accessing PowerSchool as a parent, please contact Olga Diaz in the front office at 919.870.4050 Ext 24292 or odiaz@wcpss.net
Communicate with teachers for any questions or concerns. We offer remediation and late work is accepted! We want you to succeed!
Arts
Introduction to theatre classes focused on creating original characters. On their journey from baby actors to true thespians, the 6th graders are asking and answering specific questions about their characters in order to craft a unique presentation that dives into the details of their work. This project will culminate with a rehearsed scene where students get the opportunity to play their characters.
In the music department this upcoming quarter we are working on the small details in music that will improve the musicianship of all our Wildcat Musicians! Our next concert is February 27 at 7pm.
Dance students did a great job at our performance on January 15th! We are continuing on into 2nd semester by focusing on our dance technique and then creating our own original student choreography.
Design
Project Revive/Exploring Technology: We are finishing up our Greentown Project and Project Revive this week. Our presentations start next week and should take the full week to present. Once our classes are done with Project Revive, we move into our Meet Technology Unit, as we take a deeper dive concentrating on technology to the rescue, system design, and transforming resources into technology.
Counselor Updates
Please remember, these are requests for classes. We will do our best to give students their first choice of electives, but sometimes that is not possible, so it is very important for students to also select alternate electives that they will enjoy taking.
Administrator Updates
Parents,
We are excited to start the second half of our school year. Students have demonstrated growth and development. We are proud of their accomplishments and lessons learned. As a few reminders, students are encouraged to do his/her very best to maintain good school attendance and arrived daily ready and prepared for learning. This expectation can also be found in our 3rd quarter eligibility requirements. Students are also encouraged to review and manage their academic performance through PowerSchools. Using their daily planner to record assignments, set goals, and outline tasks will ensure a successful ending to a great school year. This month, we will conduct benchmark assessments in Mathematics and English Language Arts. Benchmark data will provide teachers with performance data that will identify if students are mastering core content. Please encourage your child to do his/her very best. Teachers will also use this information to plan lessons and to create focus groups that support learning. Lastly, we want you to be aware of our monthly Cats 'ShoutOuts' recognitions and bi-monthly celebration of student birthdays.