Scholastic Book Orders

Our online code for ordering is NFVJ8. Thanks!

Weekly Update Nov. 17-21

Announcements:

-Gibraltar Elementary is working with the Door of Life Food Pantry in Sister Bay and the Door County Community Resource Program Feed My People to help stock the Food Pantry shelves with items for local families. Starting November 3rd to November 21st, we will have a food we will have a food/personal care item drive to help local families in our area. Each grade level will be responsible for collecting a certain item. Please, if you are able, send that item to school to have your child put in the appropriate container in their classroom. There will also be a container in the lobby of the school to collect additional donations.  6th graders are responsible for bringing in peanut butter. Thank you for your support!

-My apologies for not sending the Scholastic Order forms home last week. They will be given to your student on Monday and orders will be due next Monday, Nov. 24th.

-With the new quarter underway and after receiving some feedback from conferences, I have decided to implement a few changes this quarter. First, your student is required to read at least 20 minutes three nights a week. To confirm that they have read, I ask that you sign their planner in the ELA section. Second, On days when tests are returned, your student will be required to get a parent/guardian signature on the test and return it the following day. Thank you for your continued support!


What are we learning???

Math:
Last week, we learned about variables in expressions. This is a difficult concept for many that requires practice for understanding. I have added helpful links to games and lessons on the Student Links page to assist your student with reviewing and practicing the skills we are learning in class. As planned, we will finish Unit 3 this week focusing on formulas, tables, and graphs. The test for Unit 3 will be Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 24th-25th. They will be given a study guide this Thursday before the test to prepare for the test and answers to the study guide will be handed out Friday, Nov. 21st.

Science:
At the end of last week, we hand a slight change of plans with Philae landing on a comet. We read the
Science World article to gain background information about the journey and mission. The students thoroughly enjoyed researching this topic as a class and seeing history being made! On Friday, we created a twitter board in our classroom in response to the successful landing on the comet. Here are some of their tweets:

• "I think that this expedition is going to open so many new doors to the universe's life." #rubberducky
• "I hope Philae will be able to maneuver enough to get the sunlight it needs."  #Philaecomet
• "It was so cool that it didn't break when it hit the comet going at that speed."  #cometsarecool
• "It's really cool that we are going to make history with Rosetta."  #Ilikecomets

This week, we will do one final wrap up conversation about Philae and Rosetta on Monday and then continue our Chemistry unit focusing on the periodic table and the elements.

ELA:
Spelling - We are continuing our normal Words Their Way schedule. Students will meet with their groups on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. We will not be having spelling the week of Thanksgiving due to the short week.

Writing - The students have been introduced to the Literary Essay unit and have already completed two challenging writing tasks this week. First, they had to write a flash essay (an essay written in one sitting) about a topic that really mattered to them. This will serve as a pre-assessment to see their growth as writers at the end of this unit. On Wednesday, we began writing an essay as a class about the classic tale, The Three Little Pigs. Our claim was that the third little pig was admirable because he was a hard worker, brave, and outsmarted his enemy. The students did an excellent job applying the structure of an essay and were able to complete two drafts all in three days!
       This week, we will be looking closely at a mentor text titled "Raymond's Run". We will begin the process of creating a claim for a literary essay and finding textual evidence to support our claims.

Reading - Through our writing unit, students will be challenged to use textual evidence to support an opinion about their book. They will also be doing this with a short story that will later be used when they write their very own literary essay. We will continue to practice this tricky skill as a class, in groups, and independently.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Nov. 10-14

Announcements:

-Thank you all for taking the time to attend Parent/Teacher Conferences! Our class had 100% parent attendance! I hope you found it helpful and encouraging as we continue the year working together for the benefit of your student! Please continue to let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

-Gibraltar Elementary is working with the Door of Life Food Pantry in Sister Bay and the Door County Community Resource Program Feed My People to help stock the Food Pantry shelves with items for local families. Starting November 3rd to November 21st, we will have a food we will have a food/personal care item drive to help local families in our area. Each grade level will be responsible for collecting a certain item. Please, if you are able, send that item to school to have your child put in the appropriate container in their classroom. There will also be a container in the lobby of the school to collect additional donations.  6th graders are responsible for bringing in peanut butter. Thank you for your support!

-Scholastic Order forms will be coming home this week. I will be submitting all orders November 20th.


What are we learning???

Math:
We have finished up Unit 2 and will be taking the pre-test for Unit 3 on Monday. Between Tuesday and Friday, we will be completing lessons 3.1-3.4. The week will focus on using one/two variables to represent expressions. We are hoping to test for Unit 3 before we break for Thanksgiving.The anticipated test date for Unit 3 will be Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 24th-25th. They will be given a study guide the Thursday before the test to prepare for the test and answers to the study guide will be handed out Friday, Nov. 21st.

Science:
The students greatly enjoyed a mini-project last week where we focused on the evolution of inventions. They answered various questions about popular inventions like cell phones, computers, and cars. In addition, they created a timeline that included significant stages in the inventions evolution. Presentations on this project will be on Monday. For the rest of the week, we will be diving into our new unit on Chemistry!

ELA:
Spelling - We will be back to our normal Words Their Way schedule. Students will meet with their groups on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. The homework expectations return to the usual three required activities. We will not be having spelling the week of Thanksgiving due to the short week.

Writing - On Monday, we will begin our second writing unit. We will be writing Literary Essays. This will be quite the challenging, but rewarding process for your student! We will keep you posted on our progress!

Reading - Through our writing unit, students will be challenged to use textual evidence to support an opinion about their book. We will be practicing this tricky skill as a class, in groups, and independently.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Nov. 3-7

Announcements:

-There is no school Thursday or Friday of this week.

-Parent/Teacher Conferences are right around the corner! Please let me know if you forgot or need to reschedule your scheduled time. I look forward to seeing you all again THIS Thursday, November 6th!

-Gibraltar Elementary is working with the Door of Life Food Pantry in Sister Bay and the Door County Community Resource Program Feed My People to help stock the Food Pantry shelves with items for local families. Starting November 3rd to November 21st, we will have a food we will have a food/personal care item drive to help local families in our area. Each grade level will be responsible for collecting a certain item. Please, if you are able, send that item to school to have your child put in the appropriate container in their classroom. There will also be a container in the lobby of the school to collect additional donations.  6th graders are responsible for bringing in peanut butter. Thank you for your support!


What are we learning???

Math:
Last Friday, your student received the Unit 2 study guide. We will review the study guide on Monday. They will be able to compare their work to the answer sheet Monday night as a way of studying for the test. Unit 2 test will be on Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday, Nov. 10th, we will dive into Unit 3 (Variables, Formulas, and Graphs).

Science:
We will be completing a mini-project this short week on how inventions evolve. Students will be researching an invention that has changed over time. This will all be completed in class and will be displayed for Parent/Teacher Conferences.

ELA:
Spelling - Due to the short week, there will be NO spelling this week. It will begin again as usual on Monday, Nov. 10th.

Writing - We learned some great things from visiting author, Katie McKy. This week, we will be flash draft writing in various ways and then choosing one to polish up and publish. Through these flash drafts, they will be focusing on improving 1-2 self-created goals. As Katie believes, you become a better writer by writing, writing, and writing some more!

Reading - Students are thoroughly enjoying our read aloud! We are continuing to sharpen our skills on asking critical questions about plot, character development, and narration through Wonder and their individual DEAR books.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Oct. 27-31

Announcements:

-The delivery for the Washington D.C. fundraiser is tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 28th.  The students will need to pick up their orders tomorrow after school. As a reminder, they are responsible for getting the products to their customers.  If they can not deliver right away, they need to keep their products where they will not spoil or become damaged.

-Our field trip is this week, Wednesday! Your child will need to dress in warm clothing with a jacket and closed-toed shoes. He/she will also need to bring a sack lunch if he/she is not receiving a packed lunch from the cafeteria.

-Gibraltar Elementary is working with the Door of Life Food Pantry in Sister Bay and the Door County Community Resource Program Feed My People to help stock the Food Pantry shelves with items for local families. Starting November 3rd to November 21st, we will have a food we will have a food/personal care item drive to help local families in our area. Each grade level will be responsible for collecting a certain item. Please, if you are able, send that item to school to have your child put in the appropriate container in their classroom. There will also be a container in the lobby of the school to collect additional donations.  6th graders are responsible for bringing in peanut butter. Thank you for your support!

-Parent/Teacher Conferences are right around the corner! If you forgot your scheduled time or are unable to make your appointed time, please email me. I look forward to seeing you all again November 6th!

-On October 30th, Katie McKy visits Gibraltar to perform and teach.  Katie is the author of the picture book, PUMPKIN TOWN, which is the story of some wayward seeds and some boys who don’t quite tell the truth, with runaway consequences.  It has sold more than 900,000 copies around the world and is a great way to talk to your kids about honesty.  She is also the author of WOLF CAMP, which is her book about unconditional love, a love that’s tested when a girl comes home from a summer camp run by wolves.  Katie also wrote IT ALL BEGAN WITH A BEAN, which is a silly story about the Big Bang of Flatulence and was given an excellent rating by School Library Journal. A form will be sent home this week if your child would like a signed and personalized copy of Pumpkin Town, Wolf Camp, or It All Began With a Bean.  Katie will mail the books upon her return to Maine.

-Please see the following YMCA Fall Program list. This will be sent home with your child on Monday.

-Here is more information regarding Fitness Fridays sponsored by FOG!You will also receive a copy of this on Monday.

What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be finishing up Unit 2! Students will be working on dividing large whole numbers and decimals. We will also be converting numbers from standard notation to scientific notation. I will be putting websites up on the Student Link page for additional practice with these skills. The test for Unit 2 will be Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 4th-5th. They will be given a study guide this Friday to prepare for the test and answers to the study guide will be handed out Monday, Nov. 3rd.

Science:
The students definitely stepped up to the challenge of our Scientific Method Summative Project! Presentations began last Friday and will continue on Monday. Tuesday, we will look at the results of both classes and each child will receive a list of our findings that compare the quality of various brands. I will encourage them to share this list with you so you, as a consumer, will benefit from their hard work! The students shared with me that they really enjoyed the independence of being able to choose what products they would test and how they would test it.

ELA:
Spelling - Since we will not have our usual spelling time on Friday due to the early release, we will test on Thursday, Oct. 30. For this week, students only need to complete the sentence activity and ONE additional activity of their choice. Usually they are required to complete the sentence activity and TWO additional activities. These activities will be due the day of the test, Thursday, Oct. 30th. Thank you for your support!

Writing - On Friday, the students had an opportunity to share their personal narrative stories with the
class. Monday, the students that have not had an opportunity to share will do so in small groups. We will then begin work on a Patriot's Pen assignment. Patriot's Pen is an essay writing contest sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). This year, the theme is "Why I appreciate America's veterans". Through this assignment, students will be researching the theme, communicating their gained knowledge through their writing, and developing their essay in an easy-to-understand format. Your child will be coming home with a brochure explaining the assignment in more detail. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Reading - The students have been challenged to discern why an author may choose to have multiple narrators in a story and how the different narrators develop the story. We have also looked closely at how characters respond or change as a plot unfolds. Students then use these skills during their DEAR time in class.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Oct. 20-24

Announcements:

-We are getting ready for our first field trip of the year on October 29th! The entire 6th grade will be headed to Schopf Dairy Farm to enjoy a corn maze and learn about corn production. A big thanks to FOG for organizing and sponsoring this field trip! We will be on our trip from 8:00-1:00pm on October 29th.


What are we learning???

Math:
This week, we will be covering operations with decimals: adding, multiplying by powers of 10, and multiplying basic decimals.

Science:
This week, students have been working very hard on their science projects! It has been very neat to see all the different directions students have taken their project! Presentations will begin on Friday of this week.

ELA:
Spelling - Please continue to help remind your child to complete the 3 activities required each week. They all have their own WTW notebook where the activities must be completed. Thank you for your support!

Writing - The students have finished their second draft (typed) of their stories. They are self-assessing their writing and will be doing last minute edits on it this week. We are aiming for THIS Friday to have our stories complete!

Reading - The students have done an excellent job identifying why authors may change narrators throughout the story through our read aloud of Wonder. This week, we are looking closely at story structure, specifically how a story unfolds in a series of episodes.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us

Weekly Update Oct. 13-17

Announcements:

-October Scholastic orders will be going home Tuesday (Oct. 14th). I highly recommend that you order through the Scholastic website. The orders are processed and shipped much more quickly as well! Student orders are due October 20th.

-We are getting ready for our first field trip of the year on October 29th! The entire 6th grade will be headed to Schopf Dairy Farm to enjoy a corn maze and learn about corn production. A big thanks to FOG for organizing and sponsoring this field trip! The permission form and an invitation will be coming home Tuesday (Oct. 14th) with your student. Permission forms are due back to class by October 20th. If you are interested in being a chaperone for this trip, please complete the bottom portion of the form being sent home.

-On Tuesday, your child will also be sent home with an informational sheet about healthy lunches and a newspaper article about fire safety! Lots of take home sheets this week! :)


What are we learning???

Math:
This week, Mrs. McCarty will introduce our class to an excellent math site called Kakooma! We will also be diving in to Unit 2 which will cover operations with whole numbers and decimals. This week, we will be looking closely at reading/writing large and small numbers.

Science:
On Tuesday, students will be introduced to our Scientific Method Summative project. Directions will be handed out. Please go over this with your child. They will have work time this week for the planning phase.

Social Studies:
We have moved on to Ancient Mesopotamia (The Land Between Two Rivers). Students will learn about the development of social classes, technology, and will be entertained by the stories of Gilgamesh.

ELA:
Spelling - The students have completed their first week of Words Their Way. It was definitely a learning curve, but they did very well with it! Please help remind your child to complete the 3 activities required each week. They all have their own WTW notebook where the activities must be completed. Thank you for your support!

Writing - We are in one of the final phases of our personal narrative stories! The students had to do some serious thinking this week to figure out what their stories were REALLY about. This coming week, we will be practicing additional editing techniques and finishing a second draft of our stories!


Reading - We spent the majority of last week really focusing on author's purpose and point of view.
This week, they will review point of view with a mini project. The project will be introduced on Tuesday. Through my conferring with students this week, students will continue to set reading goals for this semester.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ball

mball@gibraltar.k12.wi.us