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!