FYI: Winter Break Homework

Room 21 families: Winter Break is almost here! As it is a busy time for most of us, I do not plan to burden our students with a giant mound of homework. They will, however, have a few assignments to keep their brains active while they are not in class. So you know what to look for, the break homework will consist of:

• A four-page math sheet reviewing recent fraction/decimal topics;
• Daily reading assignment of forty minutes;
• One three-paragraph writing assignment in which students will detail their best/worst moment of the school year so far;
• An extra-credit for which students can read and summarize a science story in the news over the next few weeks.

Hope you all enjoy extra time with your students and have a safe and happy holiday season!

Test Alert

Well that was quick. We are already at the end of Unit 7 in our EnVision books. There will be a unit test on Monday. We'll be taking time on Friday to review the concepts from the unit:

• Adding/subtracting fractions with like denominators;
• Least Common Multiple;
• Adding/subtracting fractions with unlike denominators;
• Estimating fraction sums/differences;
• Adding/subtracting mixed numbers.

This will lead into the unit we'll launch after winter break: multiplying fractions and mixed numbers. 

Cookie Dough Notice

Room 21 Families:

We have been informed that the cookie dough will be delivered next Thursday, 12/15. If your student has sold a lot of cookie dough, please make arrangements to help them get it home. We've been informed, further, that big boxes are not permitted on the bus, so if your student has a large amount of dough coming home, they will not be able to bring it on the bus. Happy doughing!

Test Alert

Hey Room 21 families--

We have a unit test tomorrow on fraction concepts. The unit we're wrapping up had to do with:

• Fractions as division problems
• Changing fractions to decimals and decimals to fractions
• Changing mixed numbers into improper fractions and improper fractions into mixed numbers
• Changing decimals into fractions in simplest form
• Using number lines to help solve story problems.

We are doing a review today, revisiting all the concepts and doing a selection of sample problems in class. Students will bring home a sheet of problems to help review tonight. I have every confidence they'll be ready to attack the test in the morning.

Have a great day!

Science and Dalasta's Students

This week, the sixth grade began our third rotation in the afternoon class cycle. My class will be taking Interactive Read-Aloud with Ms. Stenfjord for the next few weeks. Mr. Dalasta's class will be in my science class for that same period of time. Welcome, Mr. Dalasta's students! It was nice to get to know you a bit better today. Below, I'm posting the same information I posted for my class when we began this unit.

For the next week, Mr. Dalasta's students will be bringing home a small additional piece of homework: they will be tracking the phases of the moon. Each night for the next week, they'll need to step outside and spot the moon. They will use their Moon Journal to shade in the moon to match how it looks in the sky.

I really want students to go out and use their eyes to find this information each night. Given that this is the Pacific Northwest and we get clouds from time to time, it might not always be possible for students to witness the moon first-hand. On evenings when they can't see it, here's a website they can use to see exactly what phase the moon is in on any given day. Again, this is a back-up and shouldn't be used unless they can't see the moon.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hey Room 21 Families,

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are all preparing to enjoy the upcoming holiday and the four-day weekend that comes with it.

One thing I know I am thankful for this year is the involvement of all of you in your students' academic lives. From the families who've signed up to chaperone to help with copies to parents who were so on the ball that the Halloween party went off without a hitch when I wasn't even here, I am truly grateful for all your volunteer efforts. I'm thankful, as well, for the emphasis on academics that I know you all place in your families. Room 21 kids come in ready to work and wanting to achieve and I know they get that from good families. So thank you.

I also wanted to take the opportunity to give a couple of reminders:

• Orders for the cookie dough sale are due on November 28th. Remember,  a portion of the money your student raises goes to offset the cost of the year-end trip to Camp Orkila, so the more they sell, the less they have to pay.
• Students are working on short stories. They will be choosing one of the two short stories they've written to turn in for their assessment. Some of them may need to spend some time on Google Docs over the weekend revising and copy-editing the first of the two stories. If they're going with the second short story, they might already have it completed. If you have a moment, ask them about it.
• Our class was the top Reading intermediate class in this year's Read-a-thon, which means our students get to select a free book from the PTA's book collection. Congrats to our fantastic readers!

Wishing you all a happy holiday weekend, 

Joe Wack

Broadening Reading Horizons

Room 21 students are about to broaden their reading horizons. As of today, our independent reading homework has changed slightly. Students will still be reading independently for 30 minutes per night, but they will also be required to read at least two books per month outside of the fiction genre.

That means they must choose two books per month from:

• non-fiction 
• poetry
• drama
• folktales

For these books, they will be completing a quick book report. The two reports must be handed in by the end of each month, but students can give them to me any time they finish one.

If you think of it, take a moment once or twice a week to check in with what your student is reading; asking them to tell you about the book is a good way to get them thinking about what they're reading.

Thanks!

Test Alert!

Hey Room 21 Families!

Our current math unit was not a long one, so we are already at our next unit test. Room 21 students will be testing tomorrow for this unit on Solving Equations.

Students should be aware of how to:

• use inverse operations to isolate the variable
• solve one-step addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems
• use drawings to write an equation from a story problem.

The test I'm giving is not an on-line test, so I'll be grading them by hand. Because of this, students will not know their scores until Thursday. 

If possible, help your student out by making sure they get a little extra sleep tonight.

Thanks!

Science and Stenfjord's Students

This week, the sixth grade began our second rotation in the afternoon class cycle. My class will be taking Social Studies from Mr. Dalasta for the next few week's. Ms. Stenfjord's class will be in my science class for that same period of time. Welcome, Ms. Stenfjord's students! It was nice to get to know you a bit better today. Below, I'm posting the same information I posted for my class when we began this unit.

For the next week, Ms. Stenfjord's students will be bringing home a small additional piece of homework: they will be tracking the phases of the moon. Each night for the next week, they'll need to step outside and spot the moon. They will use their Moon Journal to shade in the moon to match how it looks in the sky.

I really want students to go out and use their eyes to find this information each night. Given that this is the Pacific Northwest and we get clouds from time to time, it might not always be possible for students to witness the moon first-hand. On evenings when they can't see it, here's a website they can use to see exactly what phase the moon is in on any given day. Again, this is a back-up and shouldn't be used unless they can't see the moon.

Thanks for supporting your student's learning and Happy Moon-Watching!

Test Update

Because of time constraints and extra end-of-the-week activities, the science test that students were going to do in class has been changed to a take-home exam. Students will be allowed to use their notebooks to complete the test.

If you would, remind your student that the test needs to be turned in on Monday and that they need to do the work on their own.

Have a great weekend!

Apologies and Thank-Yous

I wanted to apologize for the lack of a blog post last week. With preparation for Parent-Teacher Conferences, I was a little too buried in work to take time to write. Having had an underwhelmingly stormy weekend to rest up, I'm back to full blogging strength this week.

I also wanted to say thank you to all the families who were able to make it to the conferences. It was a pleasure to be able to sit down and discuss our fantastic students with you. I hope I was able to answer your questions and I hope you left knowing a bit more about how things are going in Room 21.

If you weren't able to make it in last week, please let me know when you might have time to come in sometime in the next week or so. I feel it's very important to be aware of both how your student is doing and where we as a class are heading.

A few reminders:

• Eagle's Nest starts this week. If you'd like your student to have some extra teacher-led help with homework, sign them up for Eagle's Nest. It's Tuesday-Thursday in the library from 3:35 to 4:15. Your student can come all three days or fewer, depending on their need and your schedule. It is never too late to sign up and your student can join at any time. Have them ask me for a permission slip.
• We have a field trip to the Pacific Science Center next week on Tuesday the 25th. Your student should have brought home a permission slip. If they did, please make sure it's been signed and returned. If they haven't brought one, have them ask me for a replacement. Field trip money for the year ($14 for all three trips) needs to be turned in before the trip. If that's a problem, please let me know and we can figure something out.
• Picture re-take day is the same day as the field trip. If your student was absent on Picture Day, please make sure they're here next Tuesday.

Test Alerts!

Good morning, Room 21 families!

We have two tests coming up this week. On Friday, we will have tests on our current math and science units.

For math, we'll be testing students' skills at operations with decimals. For science, we'll be testing what students have learned about the seasons and what causes them.

If you have a moment, check in with your student and ask them if they're ready.

Why My Beard Is Pink

At the beginning of the year, I put a system of class points into place. The class got points for excellent behavior in the hall, for smooth transitions in class, for fantastic participation. The deal was, when the class reached 25 points, they got to choose from a menu of prizes.

As they approached 25, the class voted and decided that, when they won, they would be daring me to do something and I couldn't refuse.

Once they got to 25, they decided that the thing they would make me do was to dye my hair and beard pink.

They reached 25 points last week. Today, I dyed my hair and beard pink.

And there ya go.

Current Events Launch

This week, we are launching a new ongoing activity in Room 21. We will be starting a regular Current Events period. Students will choose a news story, pulled from a newspaper, a TV news broadcast, a radio report or an online news source. They will fill out a sheet giving details about the story, then do a presentation in front of the class. The presentation will be a part of their Listening/Speaking ELA score.

Each student will present about three times over the course of the year. We'll have three students scheduled to present every week, except in weeks with holidays or other disruptions. Your student, for the most part, will have plenty of notice when their turn is coming up. 

The presentations can be as simple as the student discussing the story in front of the class and leading a discussion of the story. If students want to add anything, such as a multimedia presentation, they are welcome to do so, but, to be clear, that is by no means required and they will not be graded lower if they don't.

The topics are anything of the student's choosing, as long as it's appropriate to discuss in school. A few restrictions to this: 

• No celebrity news.
• A student may only do a sports story one of their three times.
• Students should try to steer away from stories that involve great amounts of violence.

The reason we are launching this project is that I feel sixth grade is a time when students need to start taking more of an interest in the world around them. Knowing, understanding and being able to discuss what's going on in our city, country and world is important if we want to live in and improve that world. 

You can help by discussing current events with your student. When it's your student's turn to present, talk over their story with them. Let's help our students be a part of the world.

Test Alert!

Room 21 students will be having our second math test tomorrow. The second unit has covered mathematical properties, order of operations and algebraic equations. This test will be a free-response test, so students will not be loading their tests onto EnVision's website, I will be grading them by hand.

Hope you're staying dry.

Sign Up for PTCs!

Parents, please don't forget to sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Conferences are October 12-14, 12:20-4:00 each day. Slots for Wednesday are almost gone, but there are plenty of openings on Thursday and Friday. A Google doc was shared with all parents this week, which allows you to see what's available and sign up. If you have any trouble using the doc, contact me at joe.wack@k12.shorelineschools.org and I'll work with you to secure a time.

Have a fantastic day!

Science!

We are ramping up our afternoon programs this week. Room 21 students will be cycling through three different classes, starting with Science. We'll be spending four weeks looking at the phases of the moon. We'll talk about the moon's position, relative to the earth and the sun. We'll discuss the nature of shadows. We'll talk about lunar and solar eclipses.

For the next week, Room 21 students will be bringing home a small additional piece of homework: they will be tracking the phases of the moon. Each night for the next week, they'll need to step outside and spot the moon. They will use their Moon Journal to shade in the moon to match how it looks in the sky.

I really want students to go out and use their eyes to find this information each night. Given that this is the Pacific Northwest and we get clouds from time to time, it might not always be possible for students to witness the moon first-hand. On evenings when they can't see it, here's a website they can use to see exactly what phase the moon is in on any given day. Again, this is a back-up and shouldn't be used unless they can't see the moon.

Thanks for supporting your student's learning and Happy Moon-Watching!

Reminder

Students will not be in school on Monday.

Curriculum Night

I want to thank all the families who came to last night's curriculum night. It was great to put faces to names and to get to see some of the families I'd already met again.

For anyone who was unable to make it last night, I wanted to post some of the information you missed. For anyone who was here but didn't want to have to feverishly take notes, I'm providing some of the links and dates and such.

MATH:

• Our math program is the EnVision math program from Pearson.
• It's based on the Common Core 6th Grade math standards.
• We will be covering a wide variety of topics through the year, with special focus on fractions, decimals, ratio and measurement.

ELA: 

• For ELA, we use Springboard, a program designed for middle school through high school; it is a change from the program the school uses for K-5.
• The theme for ELA this year is Change.

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:

• Science units in sixth grade cover Moon Phases, Seasons, The Solar System and Hazards on the Homefront.
• Social Studies in sixth grade focuses on Ancient Civilizations, Geography and Current Events.
• Sixth graders will be having Science with me, Social Studies with Mr. Dalasta and Interactive Read-Aloud with Ms. Stenfjord.
• The students will cycle through all three classes in 14 session units, beginning next week.

HEALTH: 

• In the spring, sixth graders will be taught a health curriculum which will include information on sexual exploitation, the reproductive system and HIV/Aids.
• The curriculum comes from the district and can be viewed at this site.
• Additionally, there will be a meeting for parents who wish to learn more about the health curriculum and ask questions. The meeting will be on October 6th at 6:30 in the Shoreline Room at the Shoreline Learning Center, 18560 1st Ave NE. 

HOMEWORK:

• Homework will be as light as I can make it; I believe kids should have plenty of unstructured time after school to explore their own world. They will not be completely free of homework, because we want to make sure they're prepared for middle school, when homework will increase greatly.
• Students in my class have a math sheet for homework every night which reinforces the lesson we did in class.
• They also need to do 30 minutes of reading at home and record the reading in their reading log.
• Your student might not have math work to bring home, as they sometimes have extra time during the math block and I allow them to complete the homework in that time. 
• If you want to check in that your student is doing their math homework, or just check in on what math topics they're covering, ask them to bring their binders home. 
• Students do a self-check of their homework every morning and their self-check is recorded by our homework monitor.
• As the year progresses, students will have more in-depth reading assignments; they will have occasional projects they need to do at home and they will have a recurring current events assignment. More information will be posted here as these assignments are rolled out.

FIELD TRIPS: 

• We currently have three field trips planned for the year:
• October 25th to the Pacific Science Center
• November 15th to see a play at Shorecrest High School
• January 26th to the Museum of History and Industry

CAMP ORKILA:

• We had a parent meeting about Camp Orkila last night.
• The dates for the trip are May 22nd - 25th.
• I will post a more detailed piece about the camp later.

CONTACT:

• Email is the best way to get in touch with me.
• My email address is joe.wack@k12.shorelineschools.org
• I can also be reached at the school at 206-393-4338

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

• Parent-teacher conferences are October 12, 13 & 14, from 12:20-4:00.
• I will be posting a sign-up sheet on Google Docs and encourage parents to sign up for a slot as soon as they can.

VOLUNTEERS

• I will be reaching out to parents who have expressed an interest in volunteering at the school.
• As of now, the volunteer opportunities we have are:
• Popcorn sales: We need parents to sell popcorn on Fridays on the playground; the shift would be from about 11:30 to 1:30.
• Field Trip chaperones: We need field trip chaperones.
• Copying: I would love any help I can get making copies on Fridays for the following week.

Once again, thank you to all the folks who made it to the event last night. I look forward to having more in-depth conversations at PTCs next month and working with you and your students all year.

Have a great weekend!

Homework 9/22

Hey Families--

Just a quick note to apologize: Room 21 students will not have math homework tonight; I did not get the copies made in time. They will still need to read for half an hour. Today's math homework will come home with them along with tomorrow's homework for them to complete over the weekend.

Once again, I am sorry for my lack of copyreadiness. Hope to see you all at tonight's Curriculum Night!

A Small Change

A quick note to families of Room 21 students:
After discussing school policy with Mr. Lohman, I have changed my contact email address; if you wish to contact me with any questions/concerns/suggestions/what-have-you, please email me at joe.wack@k12.shorelineschools.org. This is an official address, which is the preferred arrangement of the district. Thanks much! I look forward to hearing from you!

Test Alert!

Students will have their first unit test in Math tomorrow. The test will cover all the topics of our first unit, on Numeration. Students will have to demonstrate knowledge of place value, ordering, exponents, comparing numbers, comparing decimals, multiplying by units of ten and writing numbers in various forms.

Welcome to Room 21

Dear families--

Welcome to our class blog for the 2016-17 school year. I will be updating this site at least once a week in an effort to keep families in the loop with what's going on in our classroom.

Things you can expect to see on this page:

• Alerts of upcoming tests/quizzes/project due dates.
• Links to give your student a little extra help on particular topics
• Celebrations of students who have performed exceedingly well
• Pictures of class projects
• Explanations of upcoming units

As I've already told the class, the best way for parents to get in touch with me is via email. My email address is mr.wack.sixth@gmail.com. I check my email throughout the day and can usually get back to you within a few hours.

Please contact me with any questions about the class or with any information you want me to have. I am super excited about this school year and looking forward to getting to know you and your students.

Testing...Testing...1, 2, 3

For five points of extra credit, give Mr. Wack a piece of paper saying that you saw this picture of Rodin's sculpture, The Thinker.