Welcome to room 43.

Please do not hesitate to contact me: villafana_dave@cusdk8.org

Dear Parents and Students,

We have just over one week before our winter recess. I hope that each child is excited to have two weeks off and remains healthy. It is important that if your are sick that you please stay home and not share your illness. During this time we will be finishing up with work that we have started in each core class. Please come to class prepared to work on the activities planned for each day.

In language arts we will be reading “The Hobbit” the next few days. We are working on “Root” words and this week our roots are Bon and Bene. I have assigned the memorization of “The Gettysburg Address” which is due on February 12th. The kids may recite this speech at anytime. It will give my students practice in memorization skills and public speaking.

In social studies we are in the middle of unit 3 the civilization of India. We will be finishing the unit next week. As always we are using CNN 10 to review our current events.

Mr. Villafana

Throughout the year I provide essentials like tissue, hand sanitizers, utensils ie. forks and spoons, baggies and paper towels. If you could possibly help out with any donations toward these items I would truly appreciate it.

1. Check your grades/assignments in Synergy at least every other day. If you see an issue, let your teacher know the next school day. As soon as the office has your access information, your teachers will let you know.

2. Check your teachers' websites every day.

3. Have an organizational system (planner, binder, online calendars, etc.) that consistently allows you to remember events and assignments and allows you to easily access what you need.

4. Continue to work to be independent (research, do, solve, read, observe, etc.)

5. Be a self-advocate. If you have a question, see an issue, don't understand, have an opinion or suggestion, etc., please have your voice heard.

6. Do not come to school any earlier than 15 minutes before your period begins unless you have an arrangement with a teacher.

7. Room 43 is open during zero period for students who would like to come in to ask questions, finish work, etc.

8. Parking lots are only for teachers. Non-teachers should not park in or drive into the parking lots to drop off students.

9. When 6th graders arrive on campus before school, they need to wait between the white lines next to the gym. The first bell they hear (the 7-minute PE bell simply indicates that PE students need to go to the locker room to get dressed. The second bell is the passing bell allowing students to go to their next class.). Students should not play with sports equipment while waiting.

10. Only wear PE uniforms during PE.

11. Find balance. Throughout the year, strive to have balance with friends, school work, relaxation/fun time, family, sports, clubs, etc.). If you are noticing the stress build up, please feel free to chat with parents or teachers before it gets to be an issue.

12. There are a lot of students at Miller. There will be times when people say/do things that bother you, act/think differently than you, have different skills than you, etc. In life, this cannot be avoided. Please work to understand these differences and work with these people in a respectful/polite manner. If you are finding this difficult, please chat with your parents or a teacher.