Team Medellin Weekly Newsletter
October 13, 2023
Save the Date: Family Conferences are October 19th!
Deal will host IN PERSON family conferences on Thursday, October 19th from 12-7pm. Families will be able to make appointments online to meet with teachers (5 minute appointments) as well as counselors and social workers (15 minute appointments). The appointment system will open at 8am on Tuesday, October 10th and be available through the end of the day Tuesday, October 17th. Beginning the 10th, please visit https://ptcfast.com/schools/Alice_Deal_Middle_Schoolto create appointments. The appointment system is available in English and Spanish and families may request conference interpretation for any language by stating the language need in the special request field.
General Announcements
Absences
Please email DealAttendance@k12.dc.gov if your student will not be in school for any reason.
All Deal students and families should have access to Aspen, DCPS' online system to view student attendance and grades. If you or your student need support with your Aspen account, please contact DealAspenHelp@k12.dc.gov.
Assignment categories in Aspen:
- Engagement (E) 10%
- Practice & Application (PA) 50%
- Assessment (A) 40%
General Aspen things:
- WS = Waiting for Submission (Calculated at 50%)
- I = Incomplete (Converts to F (63%) after 10 school days if coursework is not completed)
- Late work is accepted and graded at any time until the end of the current term. However, the maximum grade that a student can earn on an assignment that is submitted late is a “B” (maximum grade of 86%)
This year Deal's Counseling Department will connect directly with our families through a monthly newsletter. Please click the link below.
ELA (Ms. Thomas)
The past week of Oct. 10th - Oct. 13th students completed a formative to assess their ability to use sensory and figurative language effectively to narrate a descriptive scene. Students also discussed how sensory and figurative language impact the tone of a story. On Friday, students began their summative writing assignment in-class that assesses their ability to incorporate POV, dialogue, sensory and figurative language effectively in a personal narrative.
The upcoming week of Oct. 16th - Oct. 18th is a very short week with PT conferences on Thursday, and teacher professional development on Friday. In this short week, students will complete their summative writing assignment that is a personal memoir assessing their use of the narrative elements we have covered so far in ELA. We will also build some background knowledge to prepare for reading our anchor novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
We are tentatively starting our first anchor novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor on Monday, Oct. 23rd. If parents would like to purchase or borrow a novel from the public library for their child, please obtain it by that date. It is not necessary for any parents to purchase a copy of the novel. We will have a class set that students can use during our ELA class, and there will be a PDF provided on our Canvas homepage if students need to read anything at home that they do not complete in class.
Math (Ms. Beckley)
Math 6
Monday 10/16: Review day for End of Unit assessment
Tuesday 10/17: End of Unit Assessment
Wednesday 10/18: End of Unit Assessment
Thursday 10/19: NO SCHOOL
Friday 10/20: NO SCHOOL
Math 7
Monday 10/16: End of Unit Assessment
Tuesday 10/17: Unit 2 - Lesson 1 - Proportional
Wednesday 10/18: Unit 2 - Lesson 2 - Introducing Proportional Relationships with Tables
Thursday 10/19: NO SCHOOL
Friday 10/20: NO SCHOOL
All students should have passed 4 iReady lessons by Sunday, 10/15
World Geography (Mr. Siddiqui)
Last week in class, students completed the mailing of the CAL letters. Afterwards, students began work on Unit 2: Sub-Saharan Africa. Students started the unit by examining various political and physical maps of the region, as well as learned new vocabulary about physical features in the region.
Next week in class, students will finish examining the Thematic Maps of the region. On Tuesday, students will review for a quiz on Wednesday, 10/18. The quiz will cover the political, physical, and thematic maps, as well as the new vocabulary.
Family Teacher Conferences are being held on Thursday, 10/19. If you have not yet signed up, please use the link at the top to schedule your conference
Science (Ms. Lindsley)
Welcome back for another week of Science! This will be a short week with Parent Teacher Conferences. This week in science we will be wrapping up with Gravity by completing a jump lab to see how far we might be able to jump on other planetary bodies in our solar system in order the see the effects of gravity. We will wrap up the week by preparing for our big roots summative we will be taking the following week. It's VERY important for students to review their roots over the weekend to prepare for the Summative.
Co-teacher (Ms. Stewart)
Hi Medellin Families,
Here at Deal, we are encouraging students to take ownership of their lives and acknowledge their power to choose what they think, say and do. It is important for our team to take accountability for their actions and consequences of their choices. Please encourage your student to volunteer for class jobs, treat others the way the way they want to be treated, and follow the "Neal" rule:
BE WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE…
WHEN YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE…
DOING WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO!
About Us
Ms. Thomas - English Language Arts
Mr. Siddiqui - World Geography
Ms. Stewart - English & Math 6
Website: alicedealmiddleschool.org
Location: Alice Deal Middle School, Fort Drive Northwest, Washington, DC, USA
Phone: (202) 939-2010