Canoe Trip Directions and Map

Here is a link to the directions and map to the canoe rental from our school from Mapquest.  In the event any of you need to drive yourselves, please let me know via e-mail in advance at: scottj@wwcsd.net

Link to Map

Heavner Canoe Rental Link

Extra Credit Opportunities for 4th Quarter

Here is the extra credit chances for this quarter.  All work is due by Friday, May 31st, and must be labelled 'Extra Credit'.  This is open to anyone in the classroom.

Reading
Read over the weekend and log in your mintues and the date on a piece of paper.  Sign the sheet.  (1 point per minute)

Writing
Download any worksheet from the web that is grammar related.  1 point per problem.  Write a 3 page narrative story.  20 points per story.  Write a 2 page paper on "What I Hope to do in the Future"; 20 points per paper.

Math
Download any proportions, percents, or fractions worksheet from online.  1 point per problem

Do any even problems from assignments that were odd problems only.  1 point per problem.

Do the chapter and mid chapter reviews from chapters 2, 5, 6, 7, or 8.  1 point per problem

Science

Do any lab of your choice that we have not done and complete a lab report with an observation, hypothesis, data, and conclusion.  Please put the experiment name at the top of the report.  25 points per lab.

Download any science worksheet on ecosystems, energy and force, geology, or plate tectonics.  1 point per problem

Social Studies
Do any section review questions from chapter 7, 8, 9, or 10.  1 point per problem or subquestion.
Download any worksheet on Latin America, 1 point per problem.

Important Info and Dates!

We have rescheduled the canoe trip to go on Tuesday, May 28th.  If anyone who offered to chaperone before cannot make this date, please let me know as soon as you can.  A reminder note has been sent home today to help you remember.  There is no spelling list this week but there is a reading log.  Progress reports went out on Monday of this week, a new one will be issued on Monday, May 20th.  Grades will be finalized at the end of this month to be done in time for honor assemblies in June.  Please note that this leaves us about three weeks to help your child get scores up.  Please locate missing work and turn it in for partial credit, and please have your child make corrections on graded work, sign the paper, and turn it in for a higher score.  This offer is good for all graded assignments, test, and projects.

The Week of 5-13-13

I am terribly sorry to have cancelled the canoe trip, but being on the river during a thunderstorm is dangerous, and since they were calling for scattered storms and a 90% chance of rain for Friday, I felt it was best to call it off the day before so people had a chance to make arrangements if they took a day off work to chaperone.  We have rescheduled our trip for May 28th with two other classes.  On Monday, May 13th, the students will be going to Stevenson Middle School for a tour.  We sent home bright green permission slips for this trip that must be signed if your child is to go with the other 6th graders to Stevenson.  Please get these into me first thing Monday morning if you have not turned them into me yet.  Library books that are late need to be turned in by May 29th if your child is going to participate in Field Day.  Late notices have been sent home on Friday, May 10th.  Progress reports will come out again on Monday, May 13th.  We are at the half way mark for this quarter, so please be sure to keep up on your child's scores weekly.  Late work this quarter will receive half credit and no missing/ late work will be recopied unless your child is absent.

Reading News
This week we took the district reading assessment which needed to be done by Friday, May 10th.  Next week we will look at poetry and poetry techniques.

Math News
This week we calculated percents of a whole number.  Next week we will take the district math test, calculate discounted prices, and sales tax.  Students have also started their Home Improvement Project where they will have to develop a budget and plans for remodelling a basement.

Writing News
This week we completed the district writing exam and took a break from writing our persuasive essays.  Next week we will start back into the persuasive essays complete our first draft.  We postponed this week's spelling/ vocabulary test to Monday, May 13th due to the testing the previous week.

Science News
This week we took our unit exam on energy, force, and motion.  Many students scored low on this test, so please be sure to have your child make corrections on the items he/ she got wrong to get a higher score and raise his/ her overall grade.  The next unit is ecosystems and ecological relationships.

S. Studies News
Due to the testing this week, we have postoponed our Chapter 8 test to Monday, May 13th.  The next chapter will cover South America and more specifically Brazil.

No Canoe Trip This Friday, May 10th!

Due to the inevitability of rain and possible thunderstorms tomorrow, we have to cancel the canoe trip that was scheduled and reschedule it for a date to be determined later this week or early next week.  Please note this, especially if you are a chaperone for this event.

The Week of 5-6-13

We have a busy week this week!  On Thursday, May 9th, from 5-6:00 p.m., there will be a parent visitation night at Stevenson Middle School.  Also at Stevenson at the same time as the parent tour and meeting is taking place, there will be a dance for the 6th graders who will attending Stevenson next year.  Please bring your child and yourselves to this fun and worthwhile night.  Our canoe trip will be happening on Friday, May 10th.  We will leave school at 9:00 a.m. sharp and will return by 1:30 p.m.  If the day is going to be called because of weather, I will personally call any chaperones the night before the event.  On Friday, May 3rd and Monday, May 6th, I will be out for surgery and recovery.  It is nothing major, and hopefully the last one I need to have, so please do not panic, but prayers are accepted!  Please remind your child of the behavior expectations before school each of these days.  A spelling list and new reading log will go home on Friday, May 3rd.  Also, there will be no progress reports next week, the next report will come out on Monday, May 13th.  On May13th, the students will be touring Stevenson Middle School during the school day.  Look for permission slips to be sent home for you to sign and return by Friday, May 10th.

Math News
This week we converted fractions into percents, and percents into fractions.  We also worked on solving proportions and calculating area.  The students have designed their floor plans for the home improvement project they are working on, and will buy flooring for a bathroom and their recreation rooms next week. 

Reading News
We worked on test skills this week.  Next week, we will work on comparing and contrasting stories, and taking notes from a text book.

Writing News
This week we completed our outlines for our persuasive papers.  Next week we will do some peer reviewing of these outlines, and write our rough drafts.

Science News
Congrats to our teams that won the three competitions for the balloon car race.  Angry Man won the race for fastest car, Spongestache won the race for distance, and All Mixed Up won for most creative looking car design.  We will be taking a test on May 3rd and beginning our ecosystem unit next week.

S. Studies News
We completed our look at Guatemala this week which is the last section of chapter 8.  Next week on Tuesday, we will take our test and begin our next unit on South America.

The Week of 4-29-13

Next week by Monday, we will be collecting $5.00 per person for the bus fee for the field trip on May 10th.  We had low enough numbers to reduce the total number of buses down to just 1 to help keep costs down.  Chaperones will also need to pay for the bus fee but not for the canoe.  We could still use a couple more chaperones if you are interested, please let me know by next Thursday, May 2nd.  With warmer weather comes issues with dress code, so I want to make sure we are all on the same page and no dress code issues arise in my class.  Shorts can be worn but must be longer than the child's fingertips when his/ her arms are at the side.  Shoes need to be worn at all times outside with a closed toe.  Open toe sandals, flip flops, etc. are not permitted outside for safety reasons, and if they are worn inside, the child also needs to be wearing socks for health reasons.  Spaghetti straps, halter tops, and mesh shirts are not to be worn.  Hope this helps and alleviates any student having to call home for a change of clothing.  I will be out Friday, May 3rd and at least Monday, May 6th for another round of surgeries.  Please remind your children to be respectful to the sub on each of these days.  There will be no spelling or vocabulary tests next week due to my absence.  There will be a reading log due Friday, May 3rd.  Progress reports will come out on Monday, April 29th, but will not be issued out on Monday, May 6th. 

Reading News
We reviewed strategies for taking reading comprehension tests.  Students had to identify if a question is implicit or explicit, locate key words and phrases in the questions, then scan for them in the text.  We will continue other reading test strategies next week, and work on taking notes from informational text.

Writing News
This week, we created an outline for our persuasive papers.  These papers will be 5 paragraphs long and the student positions will be supported by three main reasons.  Next week, we will write our first rough drafts of this paper and critique them.

Math News
This week we worked on rate and comparing them.  Next week we will find percentage of a whole number, discount prices, and calculate sales tax.  We will also be starting our Math Project where students need to finish off a basement on a $10,000.00 budget.  Go to http://wwcsd.net/groups/homeimprovement/  to preview it.  the user name is: scottj  password: jason2011.

Science News
Next week on Monday, we will have our big race for the balloon car project.  We will also be covering heat transfer and wrapping up our unit on energy, force, and motion.  The test will be on Thursday, May 2nd.

Social Studies News
We looked at Cuba this week, and saw how Cuba is today culturally.  Next week, we will briefly cover Guatemala and wrap up chapter 8.  Look for that test on Wednesday, May 1st. 

Have a great weekend and enjoy the weather!