Hello Otter Families,
After the stormy weather last week, it looks like we will actually have some nice weather on Tuesday for our much anticipated field trip to the symphony and the Tech Museum. We will leave school at about 10:30 and return about 2:30. Please make sure that your child dresses neatly and brings a sack lunch. We still need a couple more chaperones, so if you would like to join us, please sign up on our wikispace by Monday afternoon.
The third quarter ends on Friday, April 1. All work and/or tests missed due to absence must be made up by Wednesday! Report cards should be mailed by April 8. Wednesday evening, April 6, is Dartmouth's annual Open House. This is a time for you to visit our classrooms to see what your child has been doing and to meet other Otter families. It is also a great time to see what good things await your child in seventh grade.
Academically speaking, we are working hard to cover all standards for the sixth grade. In math, we started a new unit on geometry. Students took a quiz on geometry terminology and concepts on Thursday and most did very well. We are currently taking a bit of a detour from this unit to prepare for the third quarter district-wide benchmark exam. The test will be administered on Wednesday and will measure student mastery of standards covered in the third quarter.
In social studies, we finished our study of Ancient China last week. Next, we will work on a short project in class. Study of our last two civilizations, Greece and Rome, will begin when we return to school after our upcoming spring break.
Spring break is just around the corner. There will be no school from April 11-15. I am sure the kids are all looking forward to a brief respite from school (as is their teacher).
The Dartmouth school play begins Thursday, March 31, and will continue through Sunday, April 3. Good luck to all the Otter actors...break a leg!
I look forward to seeing you at Open House on April 6.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Mrs. Shimamoto
Hello Otter Families,
In just two short weeks, we will be 3/4 of the way done with this sixth grade year. Last week was a challenging one with the daylight savings time change and spirit week on top of that! In spite of all the distractions, we tried our best to keep our noses to the grindstone and actually accomplished quite a bit.
By now you should have seen and signed a permission slip for our upcoming field trip on Tuesday, March 29. The Otters and the Bees will be treated to a student-friendly concert by the Silicon Valley Symphony at the beautiful California Theatre in downtown San Jose. From there, we will spend the rest of the day exploring at the Tech Museum. This trip is made possible by Arts Express of San Jose. We were lucky to be chosen to participate. We will need several chaperones to accompany us on the trip. If you are interested, please sign up on our wikispaces page.
In math class, we finished our unit on probability this week and took a chapter test on Friday. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to complete the test, but we will spend part of class on Monday doing that. Our next unit of study will be geometry.
In social studies, we will wind down our study of Ancient China this week. Next, we will work on an in-class project which will combine research, presentation, and group work skills. Our last two civilizations will be Greece and Rome.
The Dartmouth school play, The Music Man, will be performed in a couple of weeks. Several Otter team members will be in the play. I know that they have put in a lot of hard work, and I can hardly wait to see them on stage!
Thanks for all of your support.
Mrs. Shimamoto
Hello Otter Families,
So sorry for the lapse in blog posts. I'll try to be more diligent with regular posts for the duration of the school year.
Since last time, we have had our Otter Awards assembly and quarterly auction. Congratulations to the many students who achieved academic honors. Two-thirds of the class was recognized for the second quarter, and remarkably, twenty students earned a 4.0 grade point average. This is a testament to the hard work that is happening on the Otter team. Thanks to you parents for all the support that you give your child. It really does take a village to raise a child!
I hope you all had a relaxing President's Week off from school. I got to go and see my youngest child participate in her last college swim meet. It seems like her first swim meet at five years old was just yesterday. Time flies by and before you know it, your children will be all grown up! Enjoy sharing these precious years them. I also was fortunate to be able to attend the California League of Middle Schools annual conference, where I learned a great deal about current happenings in middle school education. It was a good educational experience for me.
We are already halfway into the third quarter of school. Time is passing quickly and we still have much to do. This week I shared with the class a great secret to school success; participation. The most successful students are the ones who are enthusiastic and active participants in class. I told the kids that if they would do this, they would see many results. The day would go faster, school would be more interesting, school would become easier, and they would do better. If your child is struggling, please encourage him or her to try becoming an active participant.
Academically speaking, in math we recently finished our unit on percents and have moved on to probability. Probability is closely tied to our study of fractions, decimals, and percents. In social studies we just finished our study of ancient India and are just beginning our unit on ancient China.
In case you haven't heard, Dartmouth is being considered for California Distinguished School award. We are one of only 100 secondary schools out of 2600 in California. There are only three schools in Santa Clara county up for this award. This is really quite an honor. Our last stage of the process is an official visit and observation, which will occur this coming Thursday. The visitors will observe teaching practices in the classroom, as well as overall school environment. They will also get input from students, staff, and the local community. If your child has any Dartmouth wear please have him or her show school spirit by wearing it on Thursday.
This Friday, March 11 is a teacher in-service day. There will be no school for students.
I think that brings us up to date.
Until next week.
Mrs. Shimamoto
