Welcome to 6th Grade! This is such a special year for students, as they transition from being elementary students to middle schoolers. It is our goal to support our students as they navigate having increased independence and responsibility. On our team, we aim for every student to feel valued, respected, and empowered to learn. We look forward to a great year of building community, working hard, and celebrating victories!

We will update this site weekly with important dates and information. Please navigate to each subject area by using the tabs in the upper right hand corner. Please scroll below to read general news.

Class Dojo and Infinite Campus are our other major avenues of communication. It is essential that families connect to these services, if possible. We message through Class Dojo and use Infinite Campus to inform families and students about grades. Scroll below for how to sign up.

11/9/26-11/13/26

Report cards came home last Wed. and if your child is receiving an award on 11/9, there was an invitation stapled to their report card. We have another 4 day week, with school being out for Veteran's Day on Wednesday. Here are the important dates coming up:

Monday, November 9th - North Wing Awards 7:45 a.m. for students who have an invitation stapled to their report cards. Parents are welcome to attend this event in the cafeteria.
Wednesday, November 11th - Holiday - Veteran's Day - No School
Tuesday, November 17th - Make-up picture day (in the morning)
Thursday, November 19th - Holiday Meal in Cafeteria
Monday, November 23rd - PBIS Reward - S'mores & Hot Chocolate
Wednesday, November 25th - Friday, November 27th - Thanksgiving Break

Language Arts:

Homework: Stems 5 List - due Friday 11/13/26.

Students choose 2 words to define for each stem. They must put the stem meaning (the words in parentheses) in their definitions. For example, Semi=Half; Semicircle = half a circle.

In Class:

We will continue reading Out of the Dust. This week we focus on stylistic devices (imagery, repetition, figurative language) and how the author uses them to show us Billie Jo's perspective. Students can expect to have their first quiz on this text this Thursday, when we have reached page 59.

As we read this first part of the book, we are also focused on finding and elaborating upon direct quotes that are revealing about characters, setting, and plot points. We will ultimately use our work as a resource when we write our first four paragraph essay on this text after Thanksgiving break.

Math:

Week 12 Homework - due on Friday, 11/13

Our Intro. to Ratios unit is winding up this week as we explore using tape diagrams to solve ratio problems, sharing ratios in part:part:whole relationships and graphing ratios on the Coordinate Plane.

Math Project - each student will choose a Unit Rate Project to Compare Rates in the Real World. Projects are due on Tuesday, November 24, just before Thanksgiving Break. Students can choose between Pricing Blunders, Better Buys or Interesting Unit Rate Statistics.

The Unit 2 test will be next week. Please keep working on multiplication and division fact fluency with your student. Navigating ratio relationships is multiplicative and recognizing those relationships, without having to rely on a calculator, frees up their working memory to make sense of and solve the ratio problem. *Students are provided a calculator to scaffold their numeracy skills during independent work and assessments as I want to ensure all students can access the ratio math work.

Science:

We will be covering sound waves this week. Our lab is super fun and you may hear some strange sounds on Thursday. We will create sounds using cups and strings, and use tuning forks to watch sound waves move through matter. We hope to test on Friday so we can start Seismic Waves next week.

11/2/26 - 11/6/26

Last week was certainly a lot of excitement! We ended the 1st quarter, went on our first field trip, had student-led conferences, and had a carnival!

Thank you for continuing to support organization by checking the red SOAR folder nightly. Please keep any graded papers at home. The only things staying in the red folder should be math homework, ELA homework, and any missing work that needs to be completed (this will not apply to many as we are only a few days into the quarter.)

Please also help us by making sure students are only bringing water into the classroom in closed water bottles. We have carpet in our rooms, and this certainly helps control mess. Soda, energy drinks, and coffee should not be brought to school. Also, please help us by keeping the Halloween candy stash at home. It's fine for students to enjoy a few pieces during their lunch, but keep the major haul at home. Thank you!

We have officially started a new quarter! Please check Infinite Campus regularly with your student to make sure all assignments are complete and grades are up to date.

Here are some important dates on the horizon:

Tuesday, November 3rd - Optional Teacher Work Day (No School for Students)
Wednesday, November 4th - Report Cards go home
Friday, November 6th - PTO Meeting - 8:00 am in NWR Media Center
Monday, November 9th - North Wing Awards 7:45 a.m. for students who have an invitation stapled to their report cards.
Wednesday, November 11th - Holiday - Veteran's Day - No School
Saturday, November 14th - NWR Craft Fair
Tuesday, November 17th - Make-up picture day (in the morning)
Thursday, November 19th - Holiday Meal in Cafeteria
Monday, November 23rd - PBIS Reward - S'mores & Hot Chocolate
Wednesday, November 25th - Friday, November 27th - Thanksgiving Break

Language Arts:

Homework: Weekly Work 6 Students must mark and write annotations on their text as well as answer in complete sentences for full credit. Due Friday 11/6.

In Class:

In reading, we are beginning our next novel, Out of the Dust. Since the entire book is written in verse, it will give us great practice interpreting figurative language and examining its effects. We will also focus on how authors use details to develop characters and settings.

We have also started a new core growth goal focused on RI.6.2: Central Idea. Students will take a pre-test on Monday. This is not a grade! It will help me identify student needs and plan instruction for this unit. Students will also finish tracking their progress on our previous growth goal and document their starting point for this new goal. I love giving students opportunities to take ownership of their learning and see their growth over time.

Math:

Homework: Week 11 Homework provides a review of previously learned standards in addition to practicing what we are currently studying in class.

Intro. to Ratios IXL skills were due on Friday. This grade is one of the first for the 2nd quarter. More Ratio IXL skills will be added this week. Students can work on these skills during their homeroom time (7:30-8), during class and WIN time. Students who are not completing these skills during the school day may have to take their computer home to complete these assignments. Each skill assignment is worth 5 points, but these skills do make up the majority of the 30% classwork category for a student's grade. I have deleted all of the old IXL skills from students recommendations to only reflect this current quarter's work. You can see your student's unfinished work by clicking on the Student Dashboard when logged into IXL.

Our focus this week will be using Ratio Tables to find Unit Ratios. Unit ratios are comparisons where one of the units is 1. For example: Sparkling Fruit Punch is made with 3 liters of fruit juice and 2 liters of soda water. How many liters of fruit juice are needed for 1 liter of soda water? How many liters of soda water for 1 liter of fruit juice?

Our weekly assessment will be on Thursday, November 5. Mrs. Smith will be the guest math teacher as I will be the guest science teacher in the lab leading our team of students in the Cow Eye Dissection. I am looking forward to getting back into the science lab!

Science:

We will be finishing our light waves unit this week with the cow eye dissection with Mrs. Fleck! I get to teach math on Friday and am looking forward to working with your kiddos and numbers. Students who have opted out of the dissection will complete the Eye Webquest with me in the math classroom. Please remind your scientist to wear close toed shoes and bring a hair tie or clip. They do not want to get their hair in the eye!

Keep in Touch

ClassDojo is a messaging app for us to send reminders and other communications. You may also use it to communicate directly with one or all teachers on the team - just select all of our names.

This is our primary mode of communication! Please sign up as soon as possible.

Infinite Campus

NWR will host sessions in the mornings to help students set up parent portal accounts. Stay tuned to our updates and to Ms. Nichols' weekly messages for when these will occur.

Setting Up Your Infinite Campus Parent Portal

Visit this link for NCSIS registration.
Select Buncombe County Schools from the drop down menu.
Enter your student's ID number (they may know it as their "lunch number"), their first name, last name, and date of birth.
Follow the instructions to verify your identity.
You should instantly receive an activation key and link to complete your parent portal setup.

Once your parent portal is established, use this link to sign in anytime with your user name and password. You may also want to download the Campus Parent mobile app for iPhone and Android devices.

Click here to visit our district NCSIS page for quick-start guides and helpful videos to learn how to use all of the features of your Infinite Campus parent portal.

Mrs. Fleck

Welcome to 6th Grade! I'm Brandi Fleckenstein but my students call me Mrs. Fleck. This is my 14th year at North Windy Ridge.. I absolutely love math and strive to share my enthusiasm with my students.

I graduated Grand Valley State University in Michigan with a BA in Group Science with a Biology Emphasis and a minor in Education. I also have a Masters' in Middle Grades Math Education and have earned my National Board Certification in Middle Grades Math.

I live in Burnsville with my husband Chip.

Mrs. Hesson

I am Katie Hesson, and the 2026-27 school year will be my 10th year teaching "on the ridge!" NWR is a very special and caring community, and there is no other place I'd rather be. I will be teaching English Language Arts.

I grew up in Greenville, SC, and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BA in Theatre. I went on to pursue a Master of Arts in Teaching from Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia.

My goal as a teacher is to facilitate reading, thinking, discussing, writing, and moving every single day. I work to cultivate a classroom environment that is engaging, respectful and safe, where students feel empowered to exercise their unique individual strengths.

I live in Candler with my husband, our two sons, and our Lab named Goose.

Mrs. Smith

Hello! My name is Trudy Smith and I will be your science and social studies teacher. I love bringing the world alive for students. This is my 7th year at NWR, and I think is the best school I have taught at, both students and adults are very welcoming.

I received my BA and Masters of Arts in Education from Piedmont University in Georgia.

I live in Asheville with my hubby, son and 2 adorable schnoodles.

LUNCH

Our team eats lunch each day at 12:30. This is a late lunch, so please be sure your child eats a good breakfast at home or takes advantage of our completely free school breakfast here at school.

Students should bring water bottles, containing water ONLY. Please do not allow students to bring coffee, sodas, and energy drinks.

Transportation Changes

If you need to check your child out early, please check them out BEFORE 2:15. We will not be checking students out the last 30 minutes of the day as this interrupts instruction.
If you need to make a dismissal change for your student, please contact the front office before 1:15 pm. each day. All dismissal changes must be in writing.
We now have a new email address for all attendance and transportation-related inquiries. You can reach us at: nwr.attendance@bcsemail.org This email address is monitored throughout the day!
If you have an emergency transportation change at the last minute, please email & call the school to confirm the update

Absence Notes

You can now send notes about absences and tardies to nwr.attendance@bcsemail.org

Policy Update: Cell Phones

The state legislature has recently passed a new state law prohibiting the use of cell phones during the instructional school day (8:00 am - 2:55 pm).

What does this mean? Your child may bring a cell phone to school but it is to be powered off and not seen or used during the instructional day. This also applies to other electronic devices. Please see the language below in the BCS School Board Policy.

Policy 4318: Therefore, students are permitted to possess such devices on school property so long as the devices are not turned on, used, displayed, visible, or otherwise creating a distraction during the instructional day. Wireless communication devices include, but are not limited to, cellular phones, smartwatches, earbuds, headphones, gaming devices, paging devices, two-way radios, tablet computers, laptop computers, electronic devices with internet capability, and other similar personal electronic devices.

1st Violation: The device will be taken and returned to the student at the end of the day.

2nd Violation: Parent/Guardian will be required to pick it up after school.

3rd Violation: Student will be required to leave the phone in the office each day.

*Refusal to turn over the cell phone to a staff member could result in additional consequences.

In Conclusion: Students will not be allowed to send or receive text messages from parents throughout the day. This means that families will need to discuss plans for after school and ensure that your child knows what that plan is. Parents will need to call the office for any after school changes.

Wireless AirPods or Earbuds

Students cannot have wireless earbuds/airpods/headphones on campus.
Students should have WIRED headphones/earbuds to use for classroom instruction and classroom videos.

NWR EMAIL

Brandi Fleckenstein (brandi.fleckenstein@bcsemail.org)

Katie Hesson (katherine.hesson@bcsemail.org)

Trudy Smith (trudy.smith@bcsemail.org)

NWR PHONE

(828) 658-1892

EDULOGBusAppforPARENTS

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The Buncombe County Schools Transportation Department is excited to bring our families the Edulog Parent Portal App. This smartphone app allows parents to receive specific information about their child’s school bus ride. Parents will be able to:

Access designated bus stop times and locations for their child.
Monitor real-time information about the location of their child’s school bus.
Receive notifications when the bus is getting close to the assigned bus stop.

To Download the app search for Edulog Parent Portal in the app store for Apple or Google or Scan the QR code below.

Links to Parent Portal Information

Edulog Parent Portal Video

Edulog Parent Portal Step by Step Directions

Edulog Parent Portal Step by Step Directions (Spanish)

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