Dear Otter Families.
Amazingly, we only have 5 more days until the end of the first quarter. All work that is missing due to absence must be made up before Friday! Grades must be turned in by next weekend and report cards should be mailed out the following weekend. Most of the team have worked hard this quarter and have done well adjusting to middle school. Grades will begin anew on November 1, so everyone starts with a clean slate.
In middle school, we do not have parent-teacher conferences. If you have concerns regarding your child's progress, please email me with any questions or to schedule an after-school conference. I am available most days after school to help students, unless I have a meeting. I am very sorry that the past couple of weeks have been so packed with meetings. I really prefer to be able to spend the time with students. This week looks like a better week, with Tuesday as my only meeting day. Your child is welcome to drop in for help any time.
In math, we have been very busy since I last posted on the blog. The kids have taken their first quarter district-wide benchmark exams as well as the end of unit test for Chapter 2. Grades for both are posted on Powerschool. This past week we started our new unit, fraction concepts. We have been working on prime factorization, greatest common factor, and least common multiple. Next we will look at equivalent fractions, mixed numbers, improper fractions, and decimals. Many students have already filled up a spiral notebook with notes and homework. Please make sure they bring a new one to keep their notes neat and organized.
In Social Studies, we finished our unit on Geography. The kids did a beautiful job on their world maps and I am now in the process of grading those projects. Grades should be reflected on the first quarter report cards. This week we will begin an ongoing project related to geography. Ask your child to tell you all about the postcard project. He/she will need your help sending out letters to family and friends. We are also studying the beginning of civilization from prehistoric times through Mesopotamia. Next week we will be treated to our first Art Vistas presentation on Cave Art.
Friday, students may wear their Halloween costumes to school. They can wear the costumes all day as long as it doesn't interfere with their learning. Costumes must be appropriate for school, following school dress code regulations. They should not be violent or risque. There is a costume contest during the morning snack break, but we will not have a classroom party.
With the end of the first quarter, comes our first Otter Awards assembly. The assembly will be held during the school day. I will let you know the date and time as soon as we schedule this important event. All students who achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or higher will be recognized at the assembly. Parents, family, and friends are welcome to attend, so please join us if you can. We will also hold our quarterly Otter Auction, where students can bid their hard-earned Otter Bucks for "fabulous prizes". Speaking of prizes, we are in need of donations. If you have any interesting and inexpensive items that you would like to donate, the kids would love it. Items that have been popular in the past include, craft kits, books, toys, puzzles, sports equipment, games, school supplies, stuffed animals, and gift cards.
Thank you for your continuing support. Your generous donations to our classroom are greatly appreciated!
Until next week,
Mrs. Shimamoto
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
10-10-10
Hello Otter Families,
It has been another exciting week for the Otters. We are already winding down our first quarter of school with just three weeks left. Please review your child's grade on Powerschool and encourage him/her to continue to work hard.
We had an unusual day on Wednesday with our emergency evacuation. I was amazed at how well the kids did, especially since we were out on the field for two hours before we got the all clear signal. I was so proud of them!
In math, we are preparing for our first district-wide benchmark exam. On Thursday and Friday we worked on practice problems in class in order to get ready. Tomorrow, Monday, the kids will take the test. The benchmark is a measurement of student mastery of the sixth grade standards. Scores will count on the first quarter grades. After the test on Monday, we will finish up chapter 2, integers, and then the end of the unit test will be on Friday.
In social studies, the kids have taken home their world maps and should be working on them every day. Their homework for the week is to complete small sections of the assignment and then get a parent signature verifying the completion. So far, your child should have finished the islands and mountains. Next are the rivers. In addition, he/she should begin coloring the oceans and seas blue. This is a very time-consuming part of the project as the area to cover is very large. Students can use colored pencils, water colors, or oil pastels. Water colors and pastels seem to be the easiest and neatest. If your child chooses to use colored pencil, please make sure they color neatly with even pressure in one direction. Oil pastels should be set with a coat of hairspray when finished. Otherwise, the color will smudge and make a mess. In class, students took a test on geography and maps with the electronic responders. Results of the test are now posted on Powerschool.
Thanks to all the Otter families for your continuing support.
Until next week.
Mrs. Shimamoto
It has been another exciting week for the Otters. We are already winding down our first quarter of school with just three weeks left. Please review your child's grade on Powerschool and encourage him/her to continue to work hard.
We had an unusual day on Wednesday with our emergency evacuation. I was amazed at how well the kids did, especially since we were out on the field for two hours before we got the all clear signal. I was so proud of them!
In math, we are preparing for our first district-wide benchmark exam. On Thursday and Friday we worked on practice problems in class in order to get ready. Tomorrow, Monday, the kids will take the test. The benchmark is a measurement of student mastery of the sixth grade standards. Scores will count on the first quarter grades. After the test on Monday, we will finish up chapter 2, integers, and then the end of the unit test will be on Friday.
In social studies, the kids have taken home their world maps and should be working on them every day. Their homework for the week is to complete small sections of the assignment and then get a parent signature verifying the completion. So far, your child should have finished the islands and mountains. Next are the rivers. In addition, he/she should begin coloring the oceans and seas blue. This is a very time-consuming part of the project as the area to cover is very large. Students can use colored pencils, water colors, or oil pastels. Water colors and pastels seem to be the easiest and neatest. If your child chooses to use colored pencil, please make sure they color neatly with even pressure in one direction. Oil pastels should be set with a coat of hairspray when finished. Otherwise, the color will smudge and make a mess. In class, students took a test on geography and maps with the electronic responders. Results of the test are now posted on Powerschool.
Thanks to all the Otter families for your continuing support.
Until next week.
Mrs. Shimamoto
Sunday, October 3, 2010
A BUSY Week for the Otters
Hello Otter Families,
Whew...it was a very busy week for the Otters. Thanks to all of our great sixth grade parents, we had our first social on Friday. We had a record attendance, perfect weather, and it seemed that a great time was had by all who attended (adults included). Thank you to all of you who so generously donated supplies and your time to make this event possible!
It is hard to believe that it is already October. The end of October marks the end of the first quarter and our first report card of the year. Congratulations to the students who are working hard and doing well. For those who have had a rough start, it is not too late to bring up those grades. Please be sure to turn all work in on time, give your best effort, and to make up any work that is missed. If you were absent, make up work should be done as soon as possible.
In Social Studies we have spent the past week working on our globes in class everyday. Thank you to many of our Otter parents for volunteering to help with this big project. You helped to avert many disasters...I couldn't have done it alone. We are now free-hand drawing our islands. I will send this project home early this week for completion. Please make sure your child works on it little by little every night. There will be little additional homework in social studies during this time. I will send home a grading sheet so students will know exactly what they need to do to earn a good grade. Neatness and effort will make a big difference!
In math we are working on the four operations with integers. Last week was addition and subtraction. This week will be multiplication and division. Friday's quiz had mixed results. It seemed that the kids either really got it or they didn't. They will have an opportunity to do quiz revisions. If they need assistance, please make sure they see me for help. I am available most days after school in my classroom.
Thanks again and again for all the support you give your child and our Otter team.
Until next week.
Mrs. Shimamoto
Whew...it was a very busy week for the Otters. Thanks to all of our great sixth grade parents, we had our first social on Friday. We had a record attendance, perfect weather, and it seemed that a great time was had by all who attended (adults included). Thank you to all of you who so generously donated supplies and your time to make this event possible!
It is hard to believe that it is already October. The end of October marks the end of the first quarter and our first report card of the year. Congratulations to the students who are working hard and doing well. For those who have had a rough start, it is not too late to bring up those grades. Please be sure to turn all work in on time, give your best effort, and to make up any work that is missed. If you were absent, make up work should be done as soon as possible.
In Social Studies we have spent the past week working on our globes in class everyday. Thank you to many of our Otter parents for volunteering to help with this big project. You helped to avert many disasters...I couldn't have done it alone. We are now free-hand drawing our islands. I will send this project home early this week for completion. Please make sure your child works on it little by little every night. There will be little additional homework in social studies during this time. I will send home a grading sheet so students will know exactly what they need to do to earn a good grade. Neatness and effort will make a big difference!
In math we are working on the four operations with integers. Last week was addition and subtraction. This week will be multiplication and division. Friday's quiz had mixed results. It seemed that the kids either really got it or they didn't. They will have an opportunity to do quiz revisions. If they need assistance, please make sure they see me for help. I am available most days after school in my classroom.
Thanks again and again for all the support you give your child and our Otter team.
Until next week.
Mrs. Shimamoto
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Halfway Through the First Quarter!
Hello Otter Families,
Can you believe that last Friday marked the half-way point for the first quarter of school? That means that at this time, there is a fairly good representation of grades in the grade book and power school. So, now would be a good time to check and review your child's grades with him or her. If your child has any missing work due to absence, please make sure that he or she completes it in a timely manner. I have collected the Social Studies notebooks, but I still need to finish grading the geography and map terms. Those grades should be entered into the system sometime this week. I also have not entered the Chapter 1 math test scores as some children need a little more class time to finish. Those scores should be up online by Tuesday.
In math, we just finished our first Chapter on Algebraic Reasoning. We will start our next unit, Integers, tomorrow, Monday, September 27. In social studies we are working on our World Maps. This is a major project and we will spend class time all this week on it. The children will then bring the maps home for completion. The due date will be sometime in early October. I will post the due date online as soon as I can. Thank you to the many parent helpers who have come in to help us. We could not do it without you!
This Friday is our first 6th grade social after school. We are all looking forward to an exciting and fun time. Thank you to the many Otter parents who have donated items and/or have volunteered to help. The social will take place in the quad right after school, and will go until 4:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at lunch. Tickets will sell for $5.00 and will cover the price of admission as well as all the games. You might want to send a few extra dollars with your child on Friday for miscellaneous snacks and goodies and/or photos with friends. There will be games, prizes, music, and dancing. Students get to choose which activities to do and there is always something for everyone! Please encourage your child to participate...the more the merrier.
It looks like we are in for another hot week at school. It might be a good idea to send your child in with a water bottle (in an effort to "go green" a refillable bottle is best). I allow kids to drink water in my class anytime. All other food and drink is prohibited as it creates a mess in the classroom.
Special thanks goes to my anonymous friend, who so kindly sent me a beautiful birthday surprise last week. Your otter cake was amazing and the third period kids enjoyed it immensely. Thanks also to the families who have donated items to room 301. If you would like to support our team, check out my wish list on the right side of the blog.
I hope there are at least a few Otter families who are finding this blog useful. I am not sure anyone is reading it. In order to give me an idea of who my readers are, PLEASE leave a comment, give me some feedback, and leave your name. Your response is greatly appreciated.
I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend.
Mrs. Shimamoto
Can you believe that last Friday marked the half-way point for the first quarter of school? That means that at this time, there is a fairly good representation of grades in the grade book and power school. So, now would be a good time to check and review your child's grades with him or her. If your child has any missing work due to absence, please make sure that he or she completes it in a timely manner. I have collected the Social Studies notebooks, but I still need to finish grading the geography and map terms. Those grades should be entered into the system sometime this week. I also have not entered the Chapter 1 math test scores as some children need a little more class time to finish. Those scores should be up online by Tuesday.
In math, we just finished our first Chapter on Algebraic Reasoning. We will start our next unit, Integers, tomorrow, Monday, September 27. In social studies we are working on our World Maps. This is a major project and we will spend class time all this week on it. The children will then bring the maps home for completion. The due date will be sometime in early October. I will post the due date online as soon as I can. Thank you to the many parent helpers who have come in to help us. We could not do it without you!
This Friday is our first 6th grade social after school. We are all looking forward to an exciting and fun time. Thank you to the many Otter parents who have donated items and/or have volunteered to help. The social will take place in the quad right after school, and will go until 4:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at lunch. Tickets will sell for $5.00 and will cover the price of admission as well as all the games. You might want to send a few extra dollars with your child on Friday for miscellaneous snacks and goodies and/or photos with friends. There will be games, prizes, music, and dancing. Students get to choose which activities to do and there is always something for everyone! Please encourage your child to participate...the more the merrier.
It looks like we are in for another hot week at school. It might be a good idea to send your child in with a water bottle (in an effort to "go green" a refillable bottle is best). I allow kids to drink water in my class anytime. All other food and drink is prohibited as it creates a mess in the classroom.
Special thanks goes to my anonymous friend, who so kindly sent me a beautiful birthday surprise last week. Your otter cake was amazing and the third period kids enjoyed it immensely. Thanks also to the families who have donated items to room 301. If you would like to support our team, check out my wish list on the right side of the blog.
I hope there are at least a few Otter families who are finding this blog useful. I am not sure anyone is reading it. In order to give me an idea of who my readers are, PLEASE leave a comment, give me some feedback, and leave your name. Your response is greatly appreciated.
I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend.
Mrs. Shimamoto
Monday, September 20, 2010
HELP WANTED - GLOBE PROJECT
The Globe Project Starts on Thursday, September 23. If you would like to help, please sign up on our class wikispace.
In addition to classroom help, I will need several volunteers to cut out templates for the continents. This is a job that can be done from home.
Thank you in advance for your help.
In addition to classroom help, I will need several volunteers to cut out templates for the continents. This is a job that can be done from home.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thank You For Attending Back to School Night
Hello Otter Families,
It was so nice to see so many parents at last night's Back to School Night. I wish I had had more time to meet you individually. Your interest in your child's education is a very important key to his/her success.
As I mentioned last night, there are many opportunities for parents to get involved in the sixth grade. Next week, we are starting our Globe Project in social studies. I could use several adult hands to help the children. No special skills other than a little patience are required. If you would like to sign up go to our (click the link on the colored word) wikispaces page and enter your name wherever you can help.
On Friday, October 1st, we will hold our first sixth grade social. We will need donations and many adult volunteers to make this exciting event happen. Please sign up on our wiki if you can help or donate something.
Academically speaking, we are moving along in math. We are already finishing our first unit covering Algebraic Reasoning. The kids seem to be understanding the concepts and most have been very conscientious about doing their homework. Tomorrow is our weekly quiz on solving algebraic equations. Next week we will practice solving word problems, review for the chapter test, and finally take the end of the unit test.
In Social Studies, we are continuing to work on Geography. Today the children took a test on geography terms using the electronic responders. I think they had fun using them. Ask your child to tell you about it. We are now learning about map concepts in preparation for our globe project.
The students in period two math intervention have been working hard to strengthen their basic math concepts and have also been working hard to reinforce the concepts that we are learning in regular math class. I love seeing them as the experts in class. I hope that experiencing success will help build their confidence in math.
It is important that students arrive in class everyday ready to work. Please make sure that your child brings the required supplies daily. Many children are coming to class without a pencil, red pens, or colored pencils. The list of required supplies is located on the right hand margin of the blog.
Thanks to those of you who have supported my classroom with your generous donations. I really appreciate it! If you would like to donate something , our classroom needs are ongoing. Please check out my wish list on the right side margin of the blog. You can also find a list of important links and upcoming events.
If you have read this blog, please leave a comment in the Leave a Comment Box. You can sign on anonymously but please sign your name so I know who my readers are.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Have a nice weekend.
Mrs. Shimamoto
It was so nice to see so many parents at last night's Back to School Night. I wish I had had more time to meet you individually. Your interest in your child's education is a very important key to his/her success.
As I mentioned last night, there are many opportunities for parents to get involved in the sixth grade. Next week, we are starting our Globe Project in social studies. I could use several adult hands to help the children. No special skills other than a little patience are required. If you would like to sign up go to our (click the link on the colored word) wikispaces page and enter your name wherever you can help.
On Friday, October 1st, we will hold our first sixth grade social. We will need donations and many adult volunteers to make this exciting event happen. Please sign up on our wiki if you can help or donate something.
Academically speaking, we are moving along in math. We are already finishing our first unit covering Algebraic Reasoning. The kids seem to be understanding the concepts and most have been very conscientious about doing their homework. Tomorrow is our weekly quiz on solving algebraic equations. Next week we will practice solving word problems, review for the chapter test, and finally take the end of the unit test.
In Social Studies, we are continuing to work on Geography. Today the children took a test on geography terms using the electronic responders. I think they had fun using them. Ask your child to tell you about it. We are now learning about map concepts in preparation for our globe project.
The students in period two math intervention have been working hard to strengthen their basic math concepts and have also been working hard to reinforce the concepts that we are learning in regular math class. I love seeing them as the experts in class. I hope that experiencing success will help build their confidence in math.
It is important that students arrive in class everyday ready to work. Please make sure that your child brings the required supplies daily. Many children are coming to class without a pencil, red pens, or colored pencils. The list of required supplies is located on the right hand margin of the blog.
Thanks to those of you who have supported my classroom with your generous donations. I really appreciate it! If you would like to donate something , our classroom needs are ongoing. Please check out my wish list on the right side margin of the blog. You can also find a list of important links and upcoming events.
If you have read this blog, please leave a comment in the Leave a Comment Box. You can sign on anonymously but please sign your name so I know who my readers are.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Have a nice weekend.
Mrs. Shimamoto
Monday, September 6, 2010
Happy Labor Day Weekend
Dear Otter Families,
I hope you have had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday weekend. The Otters are becoming a cohesive community, and it is hard to believe that many of them were strangers just two short weeks ago.
Academics began in earnest last week. In math we are studying number sense and algebra concepts. The students took their first quiz on Thursday. The quiz covered numerical patterns, exponents and order of operations. Scores will be posted on Powerschool this week. It is my policy to allow students to learn from their mistakes. With that in mind, students will be given an opportunity to correct their errors for 50% credit back. This will be true for all quizzes but not on end of unit tests. I will explain the procedure for Quiz Revisions when I return the quizzes tomorrow.
In Social Studies we are studying geography. Our first individual project will be a Geography Glossary. This will be the major homework assignment for the rest of this week. For our next activity students will create a world map which we will convert to a three-dimensional globe. I will need several adult hands for this project. No special skills are necessary. All you need to be able to do is to help the kids draw straight lines with a yardstick. We will tackle the globe project during the week of September 20-24. If you can help, please see our class wikispaces page to sign up. The link to the wikispaces page will be posted later this week.
Don't forget, Back to School Night will be held on Wednesday, September 15. I look forward to meeting you then.
Mrs. Shimamoto
I hope you have had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday weekend. The Otters are becoming a cohesive community, and it is hard to believe that many of them were strangers just two short weeks ago.
Academics began in earnest last week. In math we are studying number sense and algebra concepts. The students took their first quiz on Thursday. The quiz covered numerical patterns, exponents and order of operations. Scores will be posted on Powerschool this week. It is my policy to allow students to learn from their mistakes. With that in mind, students will be given an opportunity to correct their errors for 50% credit back. This will be true for all quizzes but not on end of unit tests. I will explain the procedure for Quiz Revisions when I return the quizzes tomorrow.
In Social Studies we are studying geography. Our first individual project will be a Geography Glossary. This will be the major homework assignment for the rest of this week. For our next activity students will create a world map which we will convert to a three-dimensional globe. I will need several adult hands for this project. No special skills are necessary. All you need to be able to do is to help the kids draw straight lines with a yardstick. We will tackle the globe project during the week of September 20-24. If you can help, please see our class wikispaces page to sign up. The link to the wikispaces page will be posted later this week.
Don't forget, Back to School Night will be held on Wednesday, September 15. I look forward to meeting you then.
Mrs. Shimamoto
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