Happy Thanksgiving

Hello Otter Families,

It was an extremely short week. Today was our first quarter academic awards ceremony. We had a great turnout, and it was wonderful to see so many proud Otter parents in attendance. Thank you for sharing this special event with your children. Our Otters have worked hard this year and the hard work is paying off. This was evident when seventy-five percent of our team was honored for achieving a grade point average of 3.0 or above. Twenty-five percent of our team even earned all A's during the first quarter! Congratulations to all award winners. Special recognition went to our two Outstanding Otters, Rachel Kennedy and Eovaldo Hernandez, for their super effort and tenacity. We are proud of all their hard work.

After the Otter Assembly the kids participated in their first Otter Auction. It was wild and crazy, but I think a good time was had by all. Keep up the good work and keep earning those Otter Bucks. We will have an auction after every quarter.

We ended the day with the Food Drive Assembly. The food drive, which benefits Second Harvest Food Bank, is an annual tradition here at Dartmouth. In the past, Dartmouth staff and students have donated as much as 48,000 pounds of food. The food drive begins on Monday, November 29 and will continue for two weeks. Each day students will report to their homeroom where their donations will be tallied. The Otter goal is to have 100% participation. There is also a 100 can club for anyone who donates 100 pounds of food. Good things to donate are dry goods such as flour, sugar, rice, beans, cereal, or pasta; high protein foods such as tuna, soup, or peanut butter; and canned fruits and vegetables. Please make sure the foods are non-perishable and that the cans or packages are not expired or opened. We don't expect you to go out and buy a lot of food or for you to empty your own pantry. Get your family, friends, and neighbors involved. A great strategy is to write a note, attach it to a bag, and deliver the bag to your neighbors. Tell them when you will be back to pick up their donation. Many people do not have young children in school and do not have an opportunity to participate in a food drive. They are happy to be able to help others in the community.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Mrs. Shimamoto

AWARDS ASSEMBLY TIME CHANGE

Due to a schoolwide assembly tomorrow, Tuesday, November 22, the time for our awards assembly will be changed from 1:15 to 12:45 p.m.

Sorry for the late notice. We hope you will be able to attend.

Hurray It's Almost Thanksgiving!

This coming week will be a short one. Wednesday, we start our Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend filled with family, friends, and food. November is passing quickly and we are already three weeks into the second quarter. Many students are doing an outstanding job and are working hard in all areas. Those who have missed assignments will continue to have an opportunity to earn 90% credit by getting an ASC slip signed by a parent and turning the work in the following day. Students who habitually do not turn in work and who also do not bring in the signed ASC note will be assigned to Saturday school. This is not meant to be a punishment, but is a second chance to make up the work. Failure in sixth grade is not an option.

This Tuesday is our first Otter Awards Assembly. All students who earned a grade point average of 3.0 or above will be recognized. Family and friends are welcome to attend, so please join us if you can. The assembly will be held in the library from 1:15 to about 2:00.

The students will have their first Otter auction during sixth period, immediately following the awards ceremony. We still could use any donated items of "fabulous prizes". If you have anything that you think an 11/12 year old might like, we would love to auction it off. The auctions will be held quarterly so you can send in donations anytime. Thank you to the parents who have already contributed to our upcoming auction.

As far as academics go, we have been very busy in both math and social studies. In math we are working on fraction operations. So far we have studied addition and subtraction of simple fractions and mixed numbers. We are also working on a project involving the application of fraction equivalency concepts. This type of hands-on cooperative problem solving gives students an opportunity to demonstrate understanding by using concepts that they have already learned. The project will be counted in the same category as quizzes and tests as it is an alternative means of assessment.

In social studies we are finishing up our study of Ancient Israel. The students have enjoyed studying this civilization. Many have a great background knowledge of the history of these tenacious people. If anyone has firsthand knowledge of Jewish traditions and/or holidays, such as Hannukah and Passover, the class would love to have you come and share. Please let me know if you are interested. Our next unit will be Ancient Egypt. This is our big unit this year and will culminate with our annual trip to the Rosicrucian Museum and Egypt Night in January. Students will learn how to do a research project in English class with Mrs. Lescroart. They will conduct research and write a report on a topic related to Egypt. The report will be done entirely at school. Students will also be required to make a project related to their topic. The project will be completed at home.

December will fly by with only three weeks before our winter holiday. It is our tradition to have an exciting and fun Otter activity on the last day of school before the vacation. We will need lots of parent help at various times throughout the day, so if you are available, please mark your calendar. We will send home more information about this activity soon.

Thank you to all of you who have supported our class in various ways. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Mrs. Shimamoto

Otter Awards

Announcing the

First Quarter

Otter Awards Assembly

Who: All students who earned a Grade Point Average of 3.0 or higher will be recognized

When: Tuesday, November 24

from 1:10 to approximately 2:00 p.m.

Where: Dartmouth Middle School Library

Family and friends are welcome, please join us if you can

It's November!

Hello Otter Families,

The first quarter is over and done, and we have entered the second quarter without missing a beat. Report cards should have been mailed out. If you have not received yours in the mail already, you should receive it soon. Congratulations to the many Otters who worked hard all quarter. Your efforts have been paid off with outstanding grades. All students who earned a grade point average of 3.0 or higher will be honored in our first awards assembly to be held on Tuesday, November 23. I am not yet sure about the time, but I will post the time and send a note home with your child as soon as I know. Family members and friends are welcome to attend the assembly, so please join us if you can.

Don't forget this Thursday, November 11, is the Veterans Day Holiday (no school for students and teachers...hurray). Friday will be an inservice day for teachers, but the students will have the day off. Enjoy your four day weekend.

In social studies, we wrapped up our study of early humans and Mesopotamia last week. One of the "big ideas" that we will explore this year is the importance of water to the development of civilizations. Ask your child to explain to you why water was so important. We also talked about the change the early humans went through as they developed from hunter-gatherers, to farmers and villagers, to civilizations. Our next unit of study is Ancient Israel. Many students already know this part of history and they are enthusiastically sharing their knowledge with the rest of the class. Speaking of experts, if you have personal knowledge or experience with any of the civilizations that we will be studying this year and would like to share with the class, please give me a call. It is always exciting to hear about first-hand experiences and the kids love it when adults whom they know come in to class.

Last week, we spent a few days in the computer lab working on a data analysis mini-project. The kids learned how to use Excel to create graphs. We also finished our study of chapter three, fraction concepts. The kids began the chapter test on Friday, but it was longer than I had anticipated and many did not finish in the allotted time. I will give them additional class time to finish on Monday. Chapter tests differ from quizzes as they are summative. In other words, they assess the student's learning at the completion of the unit. There are no revisions allowed and students cannot use their math journals. Our next unit will be operations with fractions and decimals.

In math intervention, we are continuing to build basic skills. In addition, the students are supported in the regular class curriculum with pre-teaching of the day's lesson and homework assistance. Grades for this class are based on effort, attitude, and participation.

As a team, one of our main goals as we progress through this sixth grade year is to be a community of learners. As such, we are working on staying focused as this allows us to efficiently use our class time. Off-task behavior prevents the whole class from learning, so we are working on improving in that area. Interruptions that impede the learning of others will not be tolerated and students who engage in this type of behavior will be asked to write a note home for a parent signature.

This past weekend, I spent a good deal of time reorganizing my classroom. The kids will be surprised to see the changes when they come to school tomorrow. I hope that the new layout will help me utilize the classroom space more efficiently. There will be new seats on Monday!

Thanks to those of you who have sent in donations to the classroom. The students in room 301 and I greatly appreciate your support.

I hope you have a wonderful extended weekend next week.

Mrs. Shimamoto