Team Dublin Weekly Update
Week of Oct. 30, 2023
October 31st Expectations
Students are permitted to wear costumes on October 31st.
Costumes may not interfere with learning. This means no masks or costumes that restrict movement or vision, prevent sitting at desks, or prevent participation in physical education class. Additionally, costumes must not obstruct movement in the hallways.
- Costumes may not promote violence or have accessories or props that could be used as a weapon.
Masks are not permitted.
Make-up or face-paints are permitted.
You must be able to sit, walk, breathe, see and hear (no masks that cover the face).
Costumes cannot promote use of drugs, alcohol or weapons of any kind.
All school rules will be enforced (i.e., no bikes, skateboards, roller blades, etc.).
Students should not wear costumes that make fun of others.
We are asking students to only bring 5 or fewer pieces of candy to school on Tuesday, November 1. Large bags of candy will be confiscated and returned to students after school.
Mr. Kirschenbaum, ELA
This week, we will continue our journey with Cassie Logan in “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.” Students will take a closer look at how the Logan family exemplifies courage. We will also learn about the Scottsboro Boys and Emmett Till to help us understand the reality that Cassie faced during this period.
Mr. O'Malley, Math 6 and 7
Continue to encourage or work with your students at home on their number sense and number fluency. Working on our math facts (addition, subtraction, division, 1 through 12 multiplication) and operations with decimals and fractions, especially simplifying fractions. To help with fluency I am adding an additional weekly homework assignment. So each week students should complete 1 paper homework on current content, one paper homework on number sense/fluency, 1 iready lesson.
Ms. Wesselhoft, Geography
We spent the past week defining and understanding the African Diaspora. Next week we will investigate some voices/perspectives of the diaspora. Students will have an in-class formative assessment creating an infographic of one of those perspectives. Then, they will begin their summative assessment investigating someone within the diaspora.
Further, students have begun their weekly CEA (Current Events Analysis) assignments. They are assigned at the beginning of the week and due at the end. They are to be sure they are adhering to the topic or article given. If they are to pick their own articles, they should be from within the last month, preferably the last week. They are given a worksheet with all the instructions for analyzing the articles.
Ms. Osman, Science
Please tell your student "Well done completing two summative assessments this week!" Any students who were not here or were unable to finish their Roots Summative on Monday or their Gravity Summative on Wednesday should come to me to find a time to complete these tasks - I will stay after school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for anyone who wants to make up any missing work or complete eitherr of the Summatives.
For this upcoming week in Science, students will continue to examine how technology was used to change our understanding of Earth's position in space. Students will see how even in the face of new evidence, it can be hard for people to accept scientific claims. By Wednesday, students will make additional connections between technological advancements and how science was and is used to solve problems. On Thursday, we will begin learning about scale distance and size. No school on Friday means your student has extra time to visit the NASA website or look at the stars!
Even though no one has said so, I'm sure everyone is missing our weekly Root Word updates, but never fear, they will be back once the second quarter begins!
Please make sure your student has pencils. Please consider whether or not mechanical pencils are a distractor for your student. Leads can be tricky to reload, and a student can miss a lot of note-taking in that time.
Ms. Patsalos, Intermediate ESOL
This week, students will add iReady to their in-class work. This will give them extra time to complete their math homework. In addition, they will continue using the System 44 phonics program, as well as having small group instruction.
Ms. Garcia, Beginner Geography and ELA
In ELA for EL Beginners last week, students had a very productive week of learning. They wrote and revised their written paragraphs in English, took their School Verbs Quiz, engaged in Independent Reading, and completed several activities with transitional words and phrases. This week, students will write an explanatory paragraph that uses 2-3 relevant and supportive transitional words or phrases. They will also engage in two independent readings and begin a new set of verbs for their vocabulary study. This vocabulary quiz will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 14th.
In World Geography for EL Beginners, students were hard at work last week on their research for their Ocean Animals project. Please note that their online research packets were due on Nov. 2. Any student who did not finish was assigned to do this as homework over the 3-day weekend and their families were contacted. This week, students will create their informational posters and prepare for their oral presentations. Students will present their work in class on Nov. 9 & 10.
For students in EL Beginning Literacy, we have added a math component to the course so students can have extra time to reinforce their skills via the online i-Ready Math program. We have also added an independent reading station so now we are up to 4 learning stations that rotate throughout the week. I am very pleased at the progress that most students are making in learning the phonemes in English and they are getting very good at decoding spoken and written words. One big need for improvement, however, is the amount of time they are dedicating to completing their online lessons in System 44. I will be reaching out to individual families soon so students can begin working on this at home as homework. For those without access to computers in the home, the DC Public Libraries offer free use of their computers in the afternoons, evenings, and weekends.
Contact Information
Ms. Wesselhoft, team lead - naeemah.wesselhoft@k12.dc.gov
Mr. Kirschenbaum - adam.kirschenbaum@k12.dc.gov
Mr. O'Malley - michael.o'malley@k12.dc.gov
Ms. Osman - catherine.osman@k12.dc.gov
Ms. Patsalos - constance.patsalos@k12.dc.gov
Ms. Garcia - maria.garcia@k12.dc.gov
Mr. Memminger, 6th grade counselor - jacob.memminger@k12.dc.gov
Ms. Barr, 6th grade social worker - ellen.barr@k12.dc.gov
Attendance and Aspen
Attendance: For any attendance related concerns, including absence notes, please be sure to contact Ms. Stephens our attendance counselor at dealattendance@k12.dc.gov.
ASPEN Help: For any ASPEN related issues, including help resetting a password or accessing your account, please email Ms. Lerum at dealaspenhelp@k12.dc.gov