Announcements
5/18/20
It is so hard to believe that our year together is almost over. Thinking about it makes me sad, as we didn't get to spend our last quarter together in person, but I am so thankful for Zoom that we can still "see" each other. I wanted to share with you a few things with you all as we get close to the end of the year. We will have a Student Pick-up/Drop Off Day. Team Fire's day will be June 8th from 8:00-9:30. I'm attaching information about the pick-up/drop-off, as well as a map that you will follow when you come to school on the 8th.
In addition to school close out information, I am also attaching information on our REQUIRED Summer Reading. Please read over the information carefully and let me know if you have any questions.
Hello!
I hope this finds you all well. Attached you will find a copy of CHMS Online Learning guide for Quarter 4. Please read over this carefully, as it has important meeting dates and times. The second posted learning plan (Team Fire's Plan) is organized in a color coded table that makes it easier to read. "Office Hours" for S/SS were changed, they are now 10-12 instead of 11-1. I also posted a link to my Zoom meetings schedule. This is also posted in our Canvas course under "Pages", so the students can access it.
Please reach out to me or any of the teachers on our team if you have any questions. Thank you!
Team Fire's Distant Learning Plan (color coded table)
Mrs. Ewers' Zoom Meetings Schedule
3/30/20
We are still awaiting word from CMS as to when we will begin new material. The two possible dates are April 1st or April 6th. We will keep you posted as soon as we have more information. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding as we continue through this virtual learning experience together! You are very much appreciated!
If you haven't done so already, please review the information in the link below, our E-Learning Plan, which is designed to provide parents and students with the necessary tools needed to access all online learning platforms to continue students' education and keep up with assignments.
Team Fire's Remote Learning Plan
3/20/20
Need to talk to Ms. Perkins or Mr. Wegner? Download the remind app!
Mr. Wegner Academic:
text @3kkf77 to 81010
Ms. Perkins 6th grade:
text @336dkb to 81010
3/19/20
Hi there!
Thank you all so much for your patience and understanding as we navigate through these unchartered waters together. Today is the first day of our "Online Learning". I have posted a letter to the students in our Google Classroom about what our virtual learning will look like over the next two weeks. I also posted the activities below on a daily schedule, which will help to keep their minds active during this time. I encouraged students to also use this time to complete any missing/incomplete work. They should check PS to see what is missing or marked incomplete. I also encouraged them to get into the routine of checking our Google Classroom daily, morning would be optimal, for messages/updates from me. Please encourage students to follow a daily routine, as by doing so, they will be more productive. Below are the activities that they can work on during their daily "ELA time".
Activities posted to keep brains sharp:
- SSR+ : Read your independent reading book at least 30 minutes a day and complete the log.
- Edgenuity My Path: This is linked with your MAP data and has literature, nonfiction, vocabulary, and language activities for you to complete to help you improve your skills.
- ELA vocabulary review- You may use this to review with flashcards or play games. https://quizlet.com/_3f9ysc?x=1jqt&i=4p189
- Complete and turn in any missing work.
Each day, I will have "Office Hours" from 8:45-4:45. Please encourage your students to reach out to me during that time if they have any questions or concerns. I will respond to their questions as quickly as possible.
Below is a link to our team's plan for "Remote "Learning". On this page, you will find information about each teacher's daily instructional plan, links to our websites, and information on how to access the platforms that we will be using for instruction. We hope you find this to be helpful.
Team Fire's Remote Learning Plan
Working together, we will get through this! I hope you all stay safe and well. Hoping we will be back to our normal routine soon!
Take care,
Tammy Ewers
3/14/20
Governor Cooper has mandated that all K-12 schools in North Carolina be closed for two weeks. School Closing
2/25/20
Our field trip to the Riverbanks Zoo is coming up! Permission slips went home with students today. Please read the important information below carefully and let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!
Today February 25, your student will be brought home a permission slip for the 6th grade field trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. The field trip is on Thursday, March 26. You will find more details on the permission slip. But there are a few pieces of information on the permission slip I want to highlight:
Students must turn in the permission slip and pay the $40 fee in order to go on the trip. They also cannot have ISS or OSS between now and the trip.
All fees will be paid online - NO CASH/CHECK PAYMENTS. To pay online, you will visit the CHMS website and select Online School Payments (OSP) from the left-hand menu. You will select the 6th grade zoo trip student ticket and follow the on-screen prompts. It is really important you select Ewers as the homeroom teacher when asked (or your child's homeroom teacher, for those students in my second and third blocks).
All money and permission slips are due by March 17, no exceptions. The online portal will lock at 11:59 on March 17 and cannot be reopened.
Please consider chaperoning. We would love to have you on the trip! (But make sure the day/time fits with your schedule FIRST, as there are no refunds.) If you are interested, please fill out the volunteer form at https://www.cmsvolunteers.com/. Then pay for a chaperone ticket (using the online portal) and select the appropriate option on the physical permission slip. Chaperones who do not do one or more of these steps will not be allowed on the bus.
If able, please consider making a donation (using the online payment portal). We use these donations to help pay for students who are unable to afford the cost of the field trip and we want all students to be able to experience the trip.
2/17/20
We started reading our next novel, Two Roads. Due to the length of the novel and our time frame, students will have assigned reading, which includes writing 4-6 purposeful annotations, most nights. I posted this week's reading in our Google Classroom. Please remind your children to check this. In addition to reading the novel, students have a Gist Statement/DEJ chart and TDQs that they will complete/answer the following morning based on the previous night's reading. If those charts/questions are not completed in class, they will need to complete them at home.
2/11/20
I'm glad we're back into our normal routine after last week's crazy weather!
NC Check-In's will be Wednesday and Thursday (2/12-2/13). Please remind your children to take their time and to take the test seriously, as it gives me good data that I will use for instructional purposes. As soon as results are in, I will send them home. This will be the last practice test before the final EOG at the end of the year.
We will begin our next novel, Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac, next week. I have a class set, but if your child likes to have his/her own copy to annotate in rather than on sticky notes, they can be purchased on Amazon (link below).
This week, we are having a canned food drive in conjunction with Ardrey Kell's canned food to help restock the shelves of Second Harvest Food Bank. If you can help out, please send in some canned good between now and Friday, 2/14. Thank you so much! I know there will be many appreciative people!
January 20, 2020
It's hard to believe the end of the first semester is Thursday, which means the kids will be halfway through sixth grade!
This will be a short, quick week. Tomorrow is the last day to turn in any missing work or to make test corrections for any formals lower than a 79. Wednesday, 1/22, we have Scott Reintgen coming to Community House! He has published several novels and will be signing his most recently published book, Ashlords. If your child would like to purchase a copy of this novel, please send in $15 cash tomorrow.
MAP testing will be Wednesday and Thursday. Please encourage your child to do his/her best on this test. I will remind them of their fall scores tomorrow, so they can set a personal achievement goal for the upcoming test.
Thursday afternoon, we will have our second quarter incentive for all students with four or less signatures on their Fire Sheets. We will watch movies and have snacks. The kids that can participate can wear their pjs to school on Thursday. :)
Friday is a Teacher Workday, so there is no school for students.
January, 2020
Happy New Year! It sounds like everyone had a wonderful Winter Break. We had a great week back. The kids did a great job of jumping right back into our routine.
We have a published author coming to Community House on January 22nd, Scott Reintgen. He will be talking about his most recently published book Ashlords. He will be signing copies of his novel for anyone who would like to purchase a book. Order forms went home on Monday, but I do have extras. Orders need to be placed by 1/17. Thank you!
Please check our calendar, as there are many other important events happening between now and the end of the quarter, 1/23.
12/9/19
I know it's been a while since I have updated our class website. Between our Google Classroom, Bloomz and this Website, this one seems to be the last to be updated. Sorry!
It's hard to believe that Winter Break is less than 2 weeks away! We will be busy between now and then, starting with a FORMAL Assessment on Unit 1 this week and a Paideia Seminar next. Next Friday is "Ugly Holiday Sweater" Day! Encourage your child to wear his/her ugliest holiday sweater/t-shirt/sweatshirt. If they don't have one, I've seen many kids make their own :)
10/7/19
- Wednesday is a Teacher Workday, so there is no school for students. Please have your child check his/her Powerschool account Wednesday afternoon and make note of any missing assignments. The last day of the quarter is 10/25, and all missing work is due no later than 10/21.
- Our next novel. which we will begin in November, will be The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. We will have a class set of the novel, but if your child likes to have his/her own copy to annotate in, please feel free to purchase a copy. We won't have a schoolwide sale this time, but the book can be purchased on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.
9/30/19
- We will finish MAP testing tomorrow, 10/1. Hopefully, everyone gets a good night's sleep and eats a healthy breakfast/lunch. I will send results home as soon as possible.
- Progress reports will be coming home on Friday, 10/4. To save paper, we will only be sending reports home to students who have a D/F average in a core class.
- We are in need of bags of Halloween candy, for our end of quarter incentive on 10/25 (It's hard to believe we're already mid-way through the first quarter!) If you can help out by sending in individually wrapped candy, I know the kids (and teachers) would be very much appreciative! Thank you!
9/23/19
Please check your child's PS account. If your child is missing any work, I will accept it through Thursday, 9/26 for full credit. After that date, a late grade will be given. I think it's only fair to offer the students grace for missing work this time, since I was out for a week :) From here moving forward, I will adhere to our school-wide late work policy.
I have a meeting on Wednesday, so I won't be available for tutoring. Instead, I will be available Tuesday and Thursday this week at 8:00. Please encourage your child to come in for help if he/she is missing work or he/she received a score of lower than 79 on the Summer Reading Assessment.
Wednesday/Thursday this week, we will have small group Novel Discussions and a FORMAL writing assessment based on information shared during the discussions. Your child will bring home a Novel Discussion Organizer tomorrow night that will be completed in preparation for Wednesday's discussion.
9/16/19
Curriculum Night is Tuesday from 6:00-7:45. The evening begins in your child's homeroom teacher's classroom. After, you will rotate through your child's schedule, meeting each of his/her teachers and learning about the curriculum, class expectations, and grading. Hope to see you all there!
Community House is having a Gift Card Drive to help Hyde County Schools on Ocracoke Island, which was flooded during Hurricane Dorian. We are supporting teachers and students on Ocracoke by sending them gift cards to replace items needed for their homes and classrooms. Ocracoke has a special place in the hearts of many teaching around North Carolina, as it is the home of NCCAT (NC Center for Advanced Teaching).
If you would like and are able to contribute, please send Amazon, Walmart or Target gift cards in to your child's homeroom teacher. Any amount would be much very much appreciated! Thank you so much!
9/3/19
The 6th Grade Dance is this Friday, September 6th from 4:30-6:00! Hope your child is going to join us~it's always a lot of fun! Students coming will stay after school and walk to the dance with their homeroom teachers. Ice cream treats will be sold and are $3.00, so students should bring money if they'd like to buy ice cream :) Team Fire students will be picked up in the bus lot at 6:00.
It was great meeting many of you on Friday at Open House! I'm looking forward to a wonderful year together. I am a firm believer that we are partners in your child's education journey, wanting what is best for the children. Never hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. If you haven't done so yet, please join our Bloomz group, as I will use this platform as a way to get quick information out to you. The website and class codes can be found on the "Contact Information" page.
The first novel we will read is "The Lightning Thief" and can be purchased on pay4schoolstuff (link below) or at the lobby sale which will be this Wednesday-Friday, 8/28-30. The cost of the book is $8.00.
