Embedded Files
5/9/25
5/9/25
Thank you for all the gifts, sweets, kind notes, flowers, and love you sent in for Teacher Appreciation Week! I feel so grateful for the privilege of teaching your incredible kiddos, and I am so lucky to have such kind and supportive families as well. Thanks for making a teacher feel super special!!
I can't believe we only have two more weeks of school! As we wrap up the school year, I've reminded the students that the end of the year (and elementary school) can come with lots and lots of feelings--excitement, nervousness, exhaustion, uncertainty, sadness, joy... As we navigate these end of year feelings we need to remember to give ourselves and our classmates grace and kindness.
This week we had our last session with our Buddy classroom and our students painted Kindness Rocks to leave at the entrance of NRE. Ask your student to show you theirs!
On to the details of the next two weeks!
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Charlie Play
Next week is Tech Week, which means we'll be practicing with all props and sounds and microphones. The students can't wait to show you the play!
Students must have full costumes at school no later than Monday, May 12. The students know what they need for their costumes, but if there's any confusion feel free to email me. :)
May 14 & 15 - Dress Rehearsal in the morning during the school day for NRE
May 15 - The Big Performance! Doors open at 5 pm. Show at 5:30 pm! Students will stay after school this day to help set up and get ready. We will have pizza/drinks around 4:30 pm. Don't forget to Venmo Jaime Brown (jaime-brown-16) or send cash to her daughter, Ella. Pizza and drinks is $7/kid. Thank you!
Please check out the flyer for the play below, made by students!
Graduation
The 6th grade graduation ceremony will be on Friday, May 23 at 9 am. All family members are welcome to attend!
Each 6th grader has picked a graduation quote that they will recite on graduation day.
Unfortunately, my daughter's 5th grade continuation will be that morning as well, so I will be showing up to NRE's 6th grade graduation a tad late. Ms. Howell will stand in for me until I'm able to arrive. Thanks for your understanding!
There will be a small reception with refreshments after the graduation ceremony.
We will have a gathering for the 6th Grade Discovery families in my room following the reception.
The graduation festivities should end by 11 am at the latest. Most families choose to take their 6th graders home for the day or to attend the NRE picnic. Please make sure you check out with me if you are taking your child for the day so we can keep track of the students!
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
This week the students have been working on planning their Dream Vacation with a budget of $3000. It has been a great real-life experience of how much work goes into planning a vacation! If they haven't already, they should be thanking whoever does the vacation planning in your families. :)
ELA
We finished watching The Giver movie and had a great discussion about author's vs. filmmaker's choices.
The students' Utopia Projects are due Monday, May 12, and they will be presenting them to their peers on Monday and Tuesday, 5/13.
Important Dates:
School-wide May Dates:
14 - SAC Meeting
15 - Discovery Play
16 - 3rd Grade Business Day
20 - Field Day
23 - Last Day of School
6th Grade Graduation
Kindergarten Graduation
NRE Family Picnic
Bring cash to purchase a candy-gram for your performer!!
Bring cash to purchase a candy-gram for your performer!!
4/24/25
4/24/25
What a week! We had our Bake Sale on Wednesday and Thursday morning and it was wildly successful! I want to send a huge thank you to the families who donated baked goods for the sale. Please look for a thank you note in your Thursday folders! Also, check out the blurb written by some of the students for the weekly blast below. Besides the Bake Sale, we completed our Iowa Algebra Readiness Test this week. The students did wonderfully and are relieved to have it behind them. We have been spending our afternoons prepping for the play, and it has been so much fun!
Bake Sale Wrap up blurb:
Hello Northridge community! We are happy to inform you that the 6th grade discovery’s bake sale was a massive success ! First, we would like to thank all of the families that donated products and visited the bake sale! We thank you for being so supportive to our efforts. We ended up raising over $1520 to donate to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (AFSP)! The most popular product sold was cake-pops, which we sold out of! Thank you all for joining us and helping reach our goal by outstanding amounts! We could have never imagined that we would not only reach our goal of $1000, but surpass it by over $500! Thank you so much for helping us support this wonderful cause!
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Please see the separate email about the permission slip to watch the movie version of The Giver; slips are due by May 1.
Check out the Charlie Play Volunteer Sign Up and please volunteer if you can! We need a couple more parents to help supervise students as they make large scenery items :)
Students should have their costumes/props at school no later than May 12! Please check with your student to make sure they have everything they need for their character(s)!
Upcoming Classroom Events:
April 29 -- Students should be off book with their Charlie scripts
May 15, 5:30 pm -- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Performance! Doors open at 5:00 pm. More info to come!
May 23, 9 - 10:30 am -- 6th Grade Graduation! More info to come!
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
The students took their Algebra Readiness test this week and are relieved to have it finally done! Results will go home before the end of the school year.
ELA
We finished reading The Giver and will be having a short quiz on it next week. Next week the students will also pick out a new dystopian novel to read independently so we can reference it as we learn more about what the elements of a dystopian novel.
The students continue to work diligently on their Utopia Community Project in which they're creating their own Utopian Community/Civilization in order to convince others to join. They'll present their final community to their classmates in a couple weeks!
Important Dates:
School-wide April Dates:
24 - Wellness Night
25 - No school / Teacher Comp Day
28 - No School/Professional Development
30 - SAC Meeting
School-wide May Dates:
2- Popcorn Friday
7 - 4th Grade Play
Garin/Crawley - 5:00PM to 6:00PM
Golenski/Slabotsky - 6:30PM to 7:30PM
9 - Breakfast with Buddies (please RSVP)
14 - SAC Meeting
15 - Discovery Play
16 - 3rd Grade Business Day
23 - Last Day of School
6th Grade Graduation
Kindergarten Graduation
NRE Family Picnic
4/18/25
4/18/25
We made it through CMAS testing! The students did a wonderful job, and even though it was tiring and made our schedule all wacky, they should be very proud of their efforts!
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Upcoming Classroom Events:
April 23 and April 24, 7:30 - 8:30 am -- Bake Sale: Please help us out by making (with your student!) something to donate to the Bake Sale! We still have some slots we need filled! Sign up to donate or bake supplies for our Bake Sale!
April 24 -- Iowa Math Assessment in the morning (only for those students going into Algebra next year)
April 29 -- Students should be off book with their Charlie scripts
May 15, 5:30 pm -- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Performance! Doors open at 5:00 pm. More info to come!
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
We're wrapping up our math lessons by reviewing all the new material we've learned this year in our 7th Accelerated math curriculum.
ELA
The students are super into The Giver! We've been having great discussions and completing activities related to the many topics that pop up in this award-winning novel: community, sameness, individuality, utopia vs. dystopia, memories, perception, rules, etc. The students have also been working diligently on their Utopia Community Project in which they're creating their own Utopian Community/Civilization in order to convince others to join.
Social Studies
We've been wrapping up our Ancient American Civilization unit with comparison/contrast activities revolving around the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas.
Important Dates:
School0-wide April Dates:
16 - PTO General Assembly (all are welcome)
23 & 24 - Bake Sale
24 - Wellness Night
25 - No school / Teacher Comp Day
28 - No School/Professional Development
30 - SAC Meeting
4/4/25
4/4/25
I can't believe it's already April! The end of the school year is flying by. There are so many exciting things going on in our classroom...
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Donation Request: 1 bag of jolly ranchers for CMAS testing. :)
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday - Thursday, April 8 - 9 and Tuesday - Thursday, April 15 - 17 -- CMAS testing in the am only. Please make sure your child is at school on these dates! We will be having regular lessons in the afternoons each day and on Mondays and Fridays.
April 23 and April 24, 7:30 - 8:30 am -- Bake Sale: Please help us out by making (with your student!) something to donate to the Bake Sale! Sign up to donate or bake supplies for our Bake Sale!
April 24 -- Iowa Math Assessment (only for those students going into Algebra next year)
April 29 -- Students should be off book with their Charlie scripts
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
We've been cranking through our lessons in preparation for our Algebra Readiness assessment. We've also been simultaneously reviewing for our CMAS test. Whew! It's a lot of testing. The students have been working so hard; please be sure to celebrate their diligence and dedication at home!
ELA
We have been studying all aspects of a Utopia--the history behind the concept, poetry and art related to it, environmental and futuristic concerns, and how utopias often devolve into dystopias. We've also started our first novel of the unit: The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Social Studies
We are on to our last Ancient American Civilization: the Incas! We'll be studying aspects of Incan society and comparing it to the Maya and the Aztecs.
Important Dates:
April Dates:
8 - 9 - CMAS Testing
15 - 17 - CMAS Testing
16 - PTO General Assembly (all are welcome)
23 & 24 - Bake Sale
24 - Wellness Night
25 - No school / Teacher Comp Day
28 - No School/Professional Development
30 - SAC Meeting
3/14/25
3/14/25
Happy Spring Break!!
Ask your student about: pi day; which role they got in our play, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; and what they're excited to do over spring break.
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Thank you to everyone who attended their child's Student Led Conferences. They have all made incredible growth this year, and they were so excited to share with you what they've been working on. As always, reach out to me if you have any questions/concerns about your student!
Sixth Grade Discovery Play - We learned our roles for the play today! Mark your calendars for our spring performance: Thursday, May 15 at 5:30 pm. Students' homework over spring break is to highlight their lines and start practicing!!
NRE Family Fundraiser Night at Candeeland and PTO Silent Auction:
This will be an awesome community night at Candeeland, come out for a night of playing, food and FUN! 100% of profits from this evening will generously be donated back to NRE PTO.
PTO will also be hosting the annual Silent Auction. Many awesome items up for bid!
April 4 from 5:00-8:30pm
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
Thank you so much to everyone who donated supplies for Pi Day, and a big thank you to Jaime Brown for coming to help serve pie! The students have been working so hard on their math lessons lately, and it was great to celebrate with a fun math day today!
ELA
We voted on and decided our next ELA unit will be a study of Utopias and Dystopias. More info to come!
Social Studies
The students worked in groups to research a specific topic on the Aztec Civilization and presented their findings to their classmates. We'll wrap up the Aztec study after spring break and then move on to our last Mesoamerican Civilization: the Incas!
SEL
The students continue to make great progress on their service project. Be on the lookout for a sign up coming soon asking for bake sale donations/volunteers!
Important Dates:
March Dates:
17 - 21 - Spring Break
April Dates:
4 - Popcorn Friday
11 - PTO Auction @ Candeeland
16 - PTO General Assembly (all are welcome)
24 - Wellness Night
25 - No school / Teacher Comp Day
28 - No School/Professional Development
30 - SAC Meeting
3/7/25
3/7/25
Ask your student about: how the area of a circle relates to the area of a rectangle, doing chalk circle art with their buddies, and how many digits of pi they've memorized.
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Spring Conferences are next week! These conferences will be student-led; your student is preparing what they'd like to share with you about their learning so far this year. Please plan on attending with your student. Sign up slots are here.
Sixth Grade Discovery Play - We have chosen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as our play this year. Mark your calendars for our spring performance: Thursday, May 15 at 5:30 pm. Students' homework this weekend is to read the play in its entirety so they can choose which role(s) they'd like to have next week.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
As we prep for our Algebra readiness tests in late April, we are hitting the new lessons quickly. This means the students will start having regular math homework for the next few weeks. Homework should not take more than 30 minutes and it will be a review/practice of what we've been learning. If your student is struggling with the work or is taking significantly longer than 30 minutes to complete it, please have them talk to me so we can work together.
We'll be celebrating Pi Day on Friday, March 14. The students are excited about memorizing 42 digits of pi to win a prize. There are still a couple slots left for donating pie. Thanks to everyone who has already signed up! Pi Day Donations/Volunteers link
ELA
The students have been working on their Final Unit Project for our Hero Unit. We're also wrapping up our literary terms study and will be having a quiz on them next week.
Social Studies
We've moved on to our next civilization of study: the Aztecs!
SEL
The students continue to make great progress on their service project. Be on the lookout for a sign up coming soon asking for bake sale donations/volunteers!
Important Dates:
March Dates:
10 & 12 - Student Led Conferences
17 - 21 - Spring Break
April Dates:
4 - Popcorn Friday
11 - PTO Auction @ Candeeland
16 - PTO General Assembly (all are welcome)
24 - Wellness Night
25 - No school / Teacher Comp Day
28 - No School/Professional Development
30 - SAC Meeting
2/28/25
2/28/25
Ask your student about: building the tallest spaghetti/marshmallow tower with their 2nd grade buddy, how they feel about their One Pager assignment, who Elizabeth Blackwell was, if they can give you an example of irony, and the most interesting thing they've learned about Maya history/culture.
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Spring Conferences are fast approaching! These conferences will be student-led; your student is preparing what they'd like to share with you about their learning so far this year. Please plan on attending with your student. Sign up slots are here.
Sixth Grade Graduation Pictures - Tuesday, March 4. Students will have a cap and gown for their individual graduation pictures. We will also be taking a whole grade level photo.
The PTO Family Dance is Friday, March 7! Bring your family out for a night of dancing, desserts, popcorn and community FUN! Tickets are $5 per family and are available on MySchoolBucks - click here to purchase now. We look forward to a fun night with you!
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
We'll be spending our next few weeks kicking it into high gear as we prep for our Algebra readiness test and CMAS. We will still have fun though--we'll be celebrating Pi Day on March 14, so be on the lookout for a separate email with a link for pie donations! :)
ELA
Everyone has finished their Hero Novels and turned in some amazing One Pagers as a wrap up project. We are finishing up our Hero unit with a few more stories and non-fiction articles. We even acted out one of the plays we read about the first femal medical doctor in the US. We continue to add to our dictionary of literary terms, and we've also been working on our CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) writing skills.
Social Studies
We've been studying all aspects of Maya civilization, from social structure to religion to their achievements and their argricultural techniques.
SEL
The students have been hard at work with their service project. The communications committee is making posters, the educational committee is writing scripts/prepping a short video to share with classes, and the bake sale committee is hammering out the details of the bake sale.
Important Dates:
March Dates:
4 - 6th grade graduation photos
7 - Family Dance and Popcorn Friday
10 & 12 - Student Led Conferences
17 - 21 - Spring Break
2/13/25
2/13/25
Ask your student about: the games we played in the afternoon for our Valentine's celeration, the committee they're on for the service project, the "Jabberwocky," Zentangles, the 10 sentence writing challenge, and whether they survived the Stone Age in our simulation. :)
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
DBC Positions-- DBC needs volunteers for the board! They are currently seeking a President, Secretary, and Community Liaison. The DBC is instrumental in helping us raise funds for the Discovery Program's specialized curricula and learning and for supporting our parents and students in the program. Please reach out to Lindsey Regoli if interested: lindseyregoli@gmail.com.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
Each group is continuing on at their own pace. Check in with your student to see what the most recent lessons have been in their group.
ELA
The students are about three quarters of the way through their Hero Novels, and the feedback is that they are loving them! They are meeting each week in book groups to discuss their novels and the journeys their heroes are taking in each book. We are continuing to read various stories and articles to supplement our learning about what constitutes a true hero.
Social Studies
We've launched into our new unit of the study of Ancient American Civilizations-- the Maya, Aztec, and Inca.
SEL
After getting our service project approved, this week we began splitting up into committees and making to do lists! Be on the lookout for tasks coming home that your student might need to complete in order to contribute to their committee.
Important Dates:
February Dates:
14 - No school (Professional Development for teachers)
17 - No school (President's Day)
19 + 20 - Talent Show
1/31/25
1/31/25
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Wish Week February 3 -7!
Wish Week February 3 -7!
Exciting News! Wish Week t-shirt orders have been extended! You now have until Sunday, February 26 to participate and make a difference. Purchase your shirt on MySchoolBucks.com Let’s keep the momentum going and continue supporting this wonderful cause!
NRE Penny Wars are back, and we’re excited to bring this fun fundraiser to Wish Week in support of Make-A-Wish! Every day during Wish Week, buckets will be set up to collect change, with each grade level having their own bucket. Pennies added to a bucket earn positive points, while silver coins and bills subtract points. The grade level with the most points at the end of the week will win a prize—so let the competition begin!
To support MVHS Wish Week and add some fun to our days, we’re hosting dress-up days from February 3rd to 7th! Participation is just $1 per day, and all proceeds will go directly to Make-A-Wish. Check out the themes above and join in the excitement!
DBC Positions-- DBC needs volunteers for the board! They are currently seeking a President, Secretary, and Community Liaison. The DBC is instrumental in helping us raise funds for the Discovery Program's specialized curricula and learning and for supporting our parents and students in the program. Please reach out to Lindsey Regoli if interested: lindseyregoli@gmail.com.
STEM Fair-- Will take place on Thurs, Feb. 6, 5 - 7 pm. Info about the STEM Fair has gone out in emails. We will be doing a class project for the fair, but if this is your child's passion area, please encourage them to participate by doing their own project at home!
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
Each group is continuing on at their own pace. Check in with your student to see what the most recent lessons have been in their group.
ELA
This week we've been working on classifying heroes. The students have also launched into their chosen Hero Novel and are enjoying the adventures! Check out our board of the students' personal heroes to the left.
Science
We spent this week putting our STEM Fair class project together on how successful humans are at distinguishing between AI and real images. We had LOTS of connections between our school work and real life learning during this project, including interviewing volunteers; tallying up our data and turning it into percentages; communicating effectively with our groups; relying on others to do their part; and putting together a group slideshow. It was so fun to guide them through the whole process and watch as they learned and worked together. Be sure to check out our project at the STEM Fair!
SEL
The results are in: the students voted to focus on Suicide Prevention and Awareness by putting together an educational campaign for Northridge and raising money with a bake sale to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We'll be splitting into committees to divvy up the work in the coming weeks.
Important Dates:
February Dates:
3-7 - Wish Week
6 - STEM Fair 5-7pm
7 - Popcorn Friday
13 - Friendship Parties
14 - No school (Professional Development for teachers)
17 - No school (President's Day)
19 + 20 - Talent Show
1/24/25
1/24/25
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Lots of announcements this week!
Homework--with our new Hero unit, we'll be having weekly homework of reading and written responses to the novel due every Friday. Some students will also be bringing home homework in other subjects that they did not finish during class time. Their homework should be written in their planners; please check in with your student to ask if they have completed their homework! We are trying to practice these habits in preparation for middle school next year.
Late arrivals--we have to close our outside classroom door when the bell rings at 8:35 am. I always hold the door for the kids who are running in at that time, but if the door is closed and it is after 8:35 am, please remind your student to go in the front doors and check in at the office.
DBC Positions-- DBC needs volunteers for the board! They are currently seeking a President, Secretary, and Community Liaison. The DBC is instrumental in helping us raise funds for the Discovery Program's specialized curricula and learning and for supporting our parents and students in the program. Please reach out to Lindsey Regoli if interested: lindseyregoli@gmail.com.
STEM Fair-- Info about the STEM Fair has gone out in emails. We will be doing a class project for the fair, but if this is your child's passion area, please encourage them to participate by doing their own project at home!
MRMS Presentation-- Counselors from Mountain Ridge Middle School came to talk to the 6th graders about preparing for middle school. Look for an informational email from MRMS and a paper coming home today so you can help your student register for their elective classes in Infinite Campus. The counselors recommend registering for electives even if you are planning on going to another school, just in case the other school placement falls through. Once you are accepted at a school other than MRMS, that school will contact you to go through elective process. Register on IC and turn in your signed forms (to me) by January 29.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
Many groups are taking chapter tests this week and next. In the coming months, in addition to our regular accelerated 7th grade curriculum, we'll be prepping for CMAS and the Iowa test (for middle school math placement). CMAS will take place in March and the Iowa is typically given in April.
ELA
Our new unit is To Be a Hero. We'll be learning all about the Hero's Journey; classifying, defining, and analyzing heroes through short fiction, non-fiction, and poetry; reading a novel that follows the Hero's Journey; and eventually writing our own version of a Hero's Journey. This week everyone brought in photos of their personal heroes, and it is so cool to see the variety... from Ghandi to Bill Gates to family members to historical and sports figures!
Social Studies
We're deep into our study of the Stone Age and what differentiates the Paleolithic from the Neolithic Eras.
SEL
Every year, the 6th grade Discovery class puts together a service project that addresses an issue in our community that is important to the students. This week the students all created an "elevator pitch" that presents a problem and their proposed solution. Their pitches were incredible and their passion was evident. Ms Nicole and I were blown away by what they came up with. Everyone voted on the best elevator pitch/project, and we'll find out the results next week!
Important Dates:
January
29 - SAC Meeting - Guest Speaker Director Susan Meek
February Dates (1st - 15th):
3-7 - Wish Week
6 - STEM Fair 5-7pm
7 - Popcorn Friday
13 - Friendship Parties
14 - No school (Professional Development for teachers)
17 - No school (President's Day)
1/10/25
1/10/25
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Welcome back and Happy New Year! This time of year is always exciting... the students have come back rested and reinvigorated, and are ready to put their best foot forward at school.
Ask your student about: what word they chose for their One Word, how many times they were able to go outside for recess this week :), interesting facts about Ms Oliver's past, and what "Fish Cheeks" refers to.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
We've gotten back in the swing of things with our math lessons by doing a bit of review, some fun problem solving activities, and starting up regular group lessons.
ELA
We spent some time reflecting on what one word we wanted to select in order to guide ourselves intentionally through the year. Some of the words chosen were evolve, passion, grow, create, determination, and balance. The students made bookmarks, a piece of artwork for a bulletin board, and are even getting to hammer their word into a metal washer so they can have it on a bracelet or a keychain.
We also started a mini-unit on theme and how to identify and write excellent themes for short stories, novels, and even movies!
Social Studies
We kicked off our new social studies unit by talking about what history is and why we need to study it. We then discussed ways we piece together the past and sources we use to help historians do that. The students did a fun activity of investigating/exploring primary sources from Ms Oliver's life in order to uncover facts about her past. We then did the same with the students' personal primary sources.
Important Dates:
January
10 - Popcorn Friday
17 - No School (Martin Luther King Jr Day)
20 - No School (Martin Luther King Jr Day)
23 - PTO Family Game & Bingo Night
29 - SAC Meeting
12/13/24
12/13/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Secret Holiday Buddy Gift Exchange next week!
Next week is our Secret Holiday Buddy Gift Exchange! Students may spend NO MORE THAN $10 (we upped it from previously mentioned $5) on their Secret Holiday Buddy. Homemade crafts and gifts are highly encouraged! Each day of the last week before winter break, students should be ready to give something to their Secret Holiday Buddy based on their likes/interests.
The gift guide is as follows:
Monday: something funny
Tuesday: something homemade
Wednesday: something edible (food or drink)
Thursday: choice gift and reveal your identity!
All gift-creating/gathering should be done at home. We're looking forward to a festive and fun last week of school!
6th Grade Winter Social
Next Thursday we will have our winter social. We are asking students from each homeroom to bring in the following to help us celebrate.
Oliver: healthy treats
Fank: plates, napkins, and drinks (single serving)
Lewis: sweet treats
Thompson: salty treats
iReady results will go home next week on Thursday 12/19 and EPRs will be released by Friday, 12/120.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
We've continued with our 12 Days of Pascal's Triangle (think the 12 days of Christmas...) and regular math groups.
ELA
Check out our author celebration photos to the right. The students read each others' memoirs, gave out positive comments to their peers, and enjoyed cookies and juice as they read.
We also took a pretest for our NRE spelling bee. Results were shared with the students and the top 2-3 students per classroom will participate in the school spelling bee in January. More info to come!
Science
We learned all about chemical reactions and how to differentiate between a chemical and physical change. We also got to experiment with building common molecules using a cool molecule building kit. Next week we will have our Chemistry test to wrap up all of our learning this semester on atoms, elements, and the periodic table.
Important Dates:
December 20th: Teacher Work Day, Winter Break starts for students
December 23rd - January 3rd: Winter Break
January 6th: Teacher Work Day, last day of Winter Break for students
12/6/24
12/6/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Ask your student about: Holiday Shop, water colors with buddies, and the Wish Week assembly.
Next week we will be drawing names for a classroom Secret Holiday Buddy gift exchange. The gift exchange will be mostly handmade items with the final gift being something under $5; it will take place on the last week before winter break. Be on the lookout for a paper to come home next week with more info!
Donations
We really need more tissues! Please send in a box or two if you have any spares!
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
We took math iReady tests this week. Results will go home with EPRs at the end of the semester. We've also been learning about Pascal's Triangles and all the cool math tricks/patterns within it with a math warm up called The 12 Days of Pascal's Triangle (think the 12 days of Christmas...)
ELA
This week we studied our third list of Latin/Greek stems and participated in lots of fun learning activities that involved working with words with those stems.
The students have been diligently working on our Memoirs final project: creating their own memoir! Some students are creating picture books; others are doing short stories. Some are doing poems. These are due next week on Friday, 12/13. They'll have a little more class time to work on them, but they might need to do some work at home this weekend and next week. We will have an author's celebration with cookies and drinks on Friday of next week.
Science
The students finished and presented their posters on groups of elements. The posters are so artistic and are hanging in the hall, so check them out if you're in the school! We also did a super fun lab on chemical reactions that involved a surprising exothermic reaction!
Important Dates:
December Dates:
11 - SAC Meeting
13 - Breakfast with Buddies
19 - DAC Meeting (Wilcox Board Room)
11/15/24
11/15/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Wow, it's been a while since the website has been updated!
Between Outdoor Ed and multiple snow days, these past few weeks have been nutty to say the least. This week we have finally gotten back into a regular routine, and the students are working hard and continue to impress me with their enthusiasm and effort.
Gratitude
Thank you to all who sent in supplies for dioramas and for the Halloween Social--you helped make that Friday a day to remember for the kids!
Outdoor Ed
I can't even begin to express how proud I am of all of these kids. At Outdoor Ed they were kind and respectful, open to trying new activities, and brave about being in a totally new environment. We all had a blast, and so many great memories came of it. The teachers took a million photos which you can access here: Outdoor Ed Photos 2024.
Donations
Cold and flu season is upon us, and our classroom is quickly running out of tissues. If you have a spare box around, we could use a few to replenish our supply. Thank you!
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
Math groups are moving along, continuing with algebraic equations and inequalities.
ELA
We finished reading the fiction written by the author whose memoir we read. It was really cool to make connections between the author's life and what they chose to include in their fiction.
In writing, we've been working on punctuating titles with underlining and quotations.
We've been studying the photobiography as a format for portraying someone's life. The students have each picked a famous person's photobiography and are turning it into an oral presentation they will give in front of the class. We've talked about what makes a great presentation and how the "greats" use their voices, body language, tech, and storytelling abilities to make a great presentation. We've also set a goal of one thing we want to focus on to make our presentation great.
Students will be presenting their Photobiography Project next week on Monday and Tuesday. This will be the first of many presentations to come this year!
Science
We're deep into our study of the Periodic Table and elements and atoms. We've done lots of fun exploration of the periodic table (its history, its structure/trends, and individual elements), and we've been learning about the structure of an atom. We even got to make a 3-D atom!
Mental Health
Currently we are focusing on learning about and being able to name our own strengths. We'll then talk about using these strengths to self-advocate and to help us compensate in areas in which we might not be as strong yet. We'll also talk about using our strengths effectively in groups and learning to recognize strengths in others.
Important Dates:
November Dates:
20 - PTO General Assembly (all are welcome)
25 - 29 Thanksgiving Break
December Dates:
4 - PTO Executive Board Meeting
6 - Holiday Shop
11 - SAC Meeting
13 - Breakfast with Buddies
19 - DAC Meeting (Wilcox Board Room)
10/11/24
10/11/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
We’ve officially made it to Fall Break! Thank you to everyone that came in this week for conferences. It was wonderful to connect with each of you, and I'm so grateful for your support of your children's education.
Just an FYI: I will be at the Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented (CAGT) conference on Monday, Oct. 21 and Tuesday, Oct. 22. I will be back in class on Wednesday.
Halloween Celebrations
On Friday, Oct. 25 we will be celebrating Halloween as a school. There will be a Parade of Costumes in the morning and then the sixth grade will have a social in the cafeteria. The social will have music, dancing, and festive food! Our classroom is tasked with bringing in drinks and paper products for the social. Thank you!!
If your last name is A - M: bring in at least a dozen drinks
Last name N - Z: bring in a pack of plates and napkins.
In the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 25, students will be making their dioramas for the fall festival. Remind them their group needs to bring in a hot glue gun, a box, and any specific decorations/supplies for their diorama.
Fall Festival
Fall Festival is October 25th from 5:00-7:00 and is a free event for families. Each grade level has games and activities for students. Sixth grade dioramas will be on display for students and families to enjoy and find the hidden duck in each one.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
All groups are continuing on with their pre-algebra skills: expanding, factoring, and translating algebraic expressions.
ELA
The students finished their first piece of formal writing: their Memoir Final Essay. We will be reading their memoir author's fiction next week.
Science
We reviewed our learning on mass, volume, and density and took our first science quiz. Next up: the Periodic Table!
Mental Health
We've been preparing for Outdoor Ed by talking about what we're looking forward to, what we're nervous about, and what we want to know more about. We'll be talking a lot more about Outdoor Ed the week after fall break!
Important Dates:
October 14-18: Fall Break, No School
October 25: Halloween Parade, Halloween Social, and Diorama Making during school day; Fall Festival after school
October 28-30: Outdoor Ed Trip
10/4/24
10/4/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
I look forward to seeing you all at conferences next week!
Ask your student about: animal research with their 2nd grade buddies, what they thought of the memoir they just finished reading, and who they typically hang out with at recess and health break.
Outdoor Ed Info!
Please make sure you have completed your student's Registration for Outdoor Ed.
Outdoor Ed needs to be paid for on MySchoolBucks. You are able to set it up in payments.
Conferences
I look forward to connecting with everyone at conferences next week! Here is the conference sign up in case you need it.
Fall Festival Dioramas
The sixth grade students will be making dioramas to display at the fall festival. They have already chosen who they'll work with and what the theme of their diorama will be. They will also hide a secret duck in each diorama for viewers to find (we'll provide the duck!). Each group must provide a box, a hot glue gun, and the items they want to include in their diorama. We are also asking that families help us provide a few art supplies for the sixth graders to all share. Please use this Fall Festival Diorama donations link to help us out with that! Students will make the dioramas here at school on Friday, October 25.
Fall Festival
Fall Festival is October 25th from 5:00-7:00 and is a free event for families. Each grade level has games and activities for students. Sixth grade dioramas will be on display for students and families to enjoy and find the hidden duck in each one.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
All students have completed their first chapter test! Way to go!
ELA
We finished our memoirs this week, and students turned in their Memoir Response Journals for a grade. We will launch into writing a more formal essay on our memoirs next week. We've also been working once a week on learning Greek and Latin stems, and playing lots of games to help us learn them (see photos to the left!).
Science
We've wrapped up our learning on mass, volume, and density. Next week they will have a quiz on what we've learned so far.
Mental Health
All sixth grade students took an Emergentics questionnaire to learn about the ways they prefer (and tend to) think and behave. They then had a lesson and a discussion on what the results mean and how we can use them to better understand ourselves and each other. We'll go over the results with families at conferences.
Important Dates:
October 7-11: Conference Week
October 14-18: Fall Break, No School
October 25: Diorama Making during school day; Fall Festival after school- more information to come soon!
October 28-30: Outdoor Ed Trip
9/26/24
9/26/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Happy Friday! iReady results went home in Thursday folders last week. I will be sharing ALPs with families shortly before conferences.
Ask your student about: regular vs. double-stuf oreos, overexcitabilities, and what their plan is so far for making their Fall Festival Diorama.
Outdoor Ed Info!
Please make sure you have completed your student's Registration for Outdoor Ed.
Outdoor Ed NRE T-shirts can be ordered on MySchoolBucks.
Outdoor Ed needs to be paid for on MySchoolBucks. You are able to set it up in payments.
DCSD GT Survey
The Discovery Department has asked that we have our parents fill out a brief, 10 minute survey to understand the district-wide community’s perceptions of its Gifted and Talented programming. Link to DCSD GT Survey.
Sept 27th 5pm – 7:00pm - Multicultural Night
Come celebrate the diverse cultures represented at NRE! Enjoy cultural booths and performances from our very own NRE community. Some booths will be sharing small samples of food, but to feed your family dinner, we encourage you to take advantage of food that will be available to purchase. The Pizza Bandit will be onsite as well as Tiger Den selling their delicious fried rice. For treats for the evening, Kona Ice will be there and Tiger Den will be selling Boba! These businesses are generous to Northridge, so let’s express our gratitude to them by selling out their food for the night!
We are also still in need of some volunteers - opportunities start at 9:00am on the 27th and go as late as 8:00pm. You are welcome to bring little ones along while helping if you’d like. And if you can help for a small bit of time and not a whole time slot that is listed, please just show up and we will take whatever help you are able to give. Please sign up here if you are interested in volunteering!
Please email Amber Kniser at PTOpresidentNRE@gmail.com with any questions.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
In math, we are starting to delve into our pre-algebra units!
ELA
We are continuing to read and analyze memoirs of award-winning authors. We studied storytelling (with podcast excerpts) and music/songs as a form of memoir writing. We're learning the intricacies of quotation punctuation so we can include grammatically correct quotes and dialogue in our writing. In Writer's Workshop we've been focusing on writing with our five senses and giving/receiving positive, specific, kind peer feedback.
Science
We launched our new unit of physical science: measurement using mass, volume, and density. The kids have been having a blast with all of our hands on labs and explorations. See the photos to the left!
Mental Health
We finished up our study of the gifted intensities/overexcitabilities by taking a self-evaluation and identifying our strongest intensities. This led to great conversations about some of the things students thought were unique to them but are actually pretty common traits of gifted people. They also put on hilarious skits illustrating each of the overexcitabilites. Read more about overexcitabilities here.
Important Dates:
September 27th: Multicultural Night
October 4th: Popcorn Friday
October 7-11: Conference Week
October 14-18: Fall Break, No School
October 25: Diorama Making during school day; Fall Festival after school- more information to come soon!
October 28-30: Outdoor Ed Trip
Silliness and comraderie at Health Break
9/13/24
9/13/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Happy Friday! Thank you to all of you who submitted the ALP Family Input Google Form. I know it was similar to the paper you filled out at the beginning of the year and I appreciate you taking the time to do it!
Ask your student about: how they're feeling about the Outdoor Ed trip at the end of October, how the Fun Run Prize Day went, who they sit with at lunch, and teaching their 2nd grade buddy how to use Google Slides.
Outdoor Ed Info! The students are so excited, and so am I! We will do a lot of discussion in class about the trip and expectations, especially as we get closer to our departure date. Please reach out to me with any information specific to your child and their needs.
NRE Outdoor Ed Parent Zoom Session This is the recorded meeting from 9/12.
Outdoor Ed Slideshow This has detailed information on registration, payment, contact, etc.
Registration for Outdoor Ed is now open.
Outdoor Ed needs to be paid for on MySchoolBucks. You are able to set it up in payments.
Stone Canyon Detailed Parent Info Video Remember, you can skip through to the parts you need detailed information on.
Smart watches and cell phones. Please remind your students to keep their smart watches on school mode from 8:25 - 3:30. If it's not on school mode, it counts as a cell phone and they will need to have it in their backpack. Cell phones must stay in students backpacks during school hours. Thanks for your support!
DCSD GT Survey. The Discovery Department has asked that we have our parents fill out a brief, 10 minute survey to understand the district-wide community’s perceptions of its Gifted and Talented programming. Link to DCSD GT Survey.
Sept 27th 5pm – 7:00pm - Multicultural Night
Multicultural Night is back again! It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the diverse cultures represented in our school. We still have room for a few more booths - are you interested in hosting a booth to showcase your culture? Here are a few ideas of what it can look like to host a booth:
Showcase Culture & Tradition: Display traditional clothing, art, or historical artifacts
Interactive Activities: Host a craft project, game, or storytelling sessions
Performances: Family / children perform music, dance, or poetry
Global Cuisine: Provide small samples of cultural foods - candy, food item or drink
Reach out to Amber Kniser by September 18th at PTOpresidentNRE@gmail.com to reserve your booth or ask questions!
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
In math, we are continuing to work through operations with positive and negative integers, including fractions and decimals.
ELA
As we continue our Memoirs unit, we are starting to analyze our texts by putting together a Memoir Response Journal. We are also studying author technique by reading award winning picture books and emulating those techniques in our own writing.
Social Studies
We finished our Zombie unit and will be moving on to a Science unit next week.
Mental Health
This week the students learned about the intensities/overexcitabilities that gifted students tend to exhibit. We will continue this learning next week.
Important Dates:
No School - Friday, September 20th
Multicultural Fair - Friday, September 27th
Our finished Imaginary Island Geography Projects!
Teaching buddies pre-algebra balance puzzles!
9/6/24
9/6/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Happy Friday! Ask your student about: how their research is going for their Genius Hour project, which memoir they're going to be reading, what "asynchrony" means, and the apples from Ms Oliver's tree!
Next Thursday, September 12th, we will be having an Outdoor Ed parent meeting on zoom. This will also be when registration opens and paperwork will be sent home in Thursday Folders. We will be going over how to register and the paperwork at this meeting. Zoom limits attendees to 100, please limit logins to the meeting to one per household to help us ensure everyone is able to attend. The zoom link is listed below. Stone Canyon provides a parent information video. Many questions parents have will be answered in this video. Please take the time to watch this before the parent meeting next Thursday.
The Fun Run raised nearly $52,000!! THANK YOU! On Tuesday, September 10th we will celebrate as a school with a Prize Day. Here are a few reminders to send your students to school prepared:
Wear appropriate clothes to run around and jump in inflatables
Bring water bottles to school
Apply sunscreen before school
Parents- Come join us and help on Tuesday. There are a few spots left!
I have noticed a LOT of candy coming in to the classroom lately. I told the students that they may not bring candy from home. Healthy snacks that help them stay full are okay, but please help remind them that candy from home may not come to school.
Finally, students will be having reading homework as they work their way through their memoirs. I am assigning the part they need to read a week beforehand so they have the weekend, after school, and silent reading time to work on it. They may choose the time that works best for them to complete their reading.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
In math, each group is working at their own pace and level. A lot of our first chapter is review of some of the skills they will need as we advance into learning some pre-algebra concepts.
ELA
We kicked off our new unit: Autobiographies and Memoirs. We'll be studying different types of memoirs, including picture books, longer memoirs, songs, and photobiographies. This week we focused on picture book memoirs and writing about an important/unique person in our lives. Students also picked out the memoir of an award winning author that they are going to be reading over the next 5 weeks.
Social Studies
This week we continued our Zombie Apocalypse geography work by mapping out the largest cities of each region in the US. Next week we will analyze fake zombie attack data and use our findings to predict where the next zombie attacks will happen so we can warn the residents!
Mental Health
This week we talked about what it means to be "asynchronous" in our development and we made graphs showing our various skills in academics, emotional regulation, and silly things (like tying shoes and gaming and eating new foods) over time.
Important Dates:
Fun Run Prize Day- Tuesday, September 10th
Outdoor Ed Parent Info Session - Thursday, September 12th
No School - Friday, September 20th
Zoom Link for Outdoor Ed Parent Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87139445594?pwd=xN3YjBBVSzWfqcbpjf6tr6doPMVrTp.1
8/30/24
8/30/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
What a great week we've had! Ask your student about: Droodles, their Genius Hour Project, Spying in the gym and cafeteria, the Be Kind assembly, what they bought with their pride tickets, and the Fun Run!
We are no longer requiring planners to be signed by parents. The requirement going forward is that the students record their assignments/work in their planner daily. Feel free to check your student's planner and ask them what they've been working on in a specific subject.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
We launched math groups this week. The students named their math groups, agreed to the math expectations and norms, and we started our new curriculum by learning about rational and irrational numbers.
ELA
We read a new story in our Jr. Great Book: "The Veldt," by Ray Bradbury. This story really captivated their attention, and it lead to great discussions, analyzing, and vocab study.
Social Studies
The students worked on and finished their Imaginary Island map project that incorporated all the map elements and physical geography we've learned so far. Look for the maps to be posted in the hallway!
Mental Health
We're continuing our discussions on what it means to be "gifted" or "neurodivergent," and how it affects us in school, in life, and in our homes.
Important Dates:
No School September 2nd
Cold Stone September 4th from 4:00-7:00 (I'll be there scooping ice cream from 4 - 5 pm!!)
Check out our classroom preamble and rules! We have incredible artists in this class!
8/23/24
8/23/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
We've had an excellent, full week! Ask your student about: NYTimes Connections, Rebus Puzzles, the Paper Wasp Nest from Ms. Oliver's backyard, what they've been writing in their Writer's Notebook, the Pterodactyl Game, Silent Speedfrog, and Buddy Time with Ms. McKinzie's classroom.
Just a reminder that we are asking parents to initial student planners each night. Students get PRIDE tickets if their planner has been filled out and signed. We will only continue with parent signatures for another couple of weeks. Thanks for helping them build this habit!
Next Tuesday is the Fun Run! Please be sure to register your child on the website under their homeroom teacher. Please see the emails from the PTO for more detailed information on how to sign up. This is the PTO’s biggest fundraiser and we appreciate your support!
The 6th grade teachers have been rewarding students with PRIDE behavior throughout the first few weeks of school. We have put together our own PRIDE cart with rewards that are geared towards older kids. We have things like water bottle stickers, fidgets, bouncy balls, and croc jibbitz. The most popular is always snacks and candy. These obviously go fast and are a lot to keep restocked. We would appreciate anything you are willing to donate. Here is a link to an amazon wish list of the things we are asking for. If you are willing to donate you do not need to purchase from the list. Costco, Sams, Walmart all have similar items that would be fine.
Academics: What We've Been Working On:
Math
We took the iReady this week, and have spent some time reviewing and solidifying some of the 6th grade concepts from last year. We'll begin learning new material in small groups next week!
ELA
We took the iReady at the end of this week. At the beginning of the week, we read a story about a boy who challenges himself to swim through a long, underwater tunnel. "Through the Tunnel" lead to some great learning and in-depth conversations about character motivation, tricky vocab words, and how long we can all hold our breath!!
Social Studies
We launched our Zombie-Based Geography this week! Students are learning about geographers' jobs and the questions they try to answer (and whether they'd be useful as a teammate in a zombie apocalypse based on their geography skills). We also learned about different types of maps and the uses for different map elements.
Mental Health
We've begun our discussions on what it means to be "gifted" or "neurodivergent," and how it affects us in school, in life, and in our homes.
Important Dates:
Fun Run- Tuesday, August 27th
No School September 2nd
Cold Stone September 4th from 4:00-7:00 (I'll be there scooping ice cream from 4 - 5 pm!!)
8/16/24
8/16/24
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
We have had a busy first full week of school! We’ve survived a power outage, no AC and a lightning dismissal! The kids have done a great job being flexible and going with the flow!
Just a reminder that we are asking parents to initial student planners each night. We are trying to build the habit of writing down the assignments we are working on in class. Students get PRIDE tickets if their planner has been filled out and signed.
Thursday Folders went home yesterday. They look different from previous years. They are a plastic blue folder with a label on the front. Please be on the lookout for those. These will have any graded work and any flyers from the school. Folders should be emptied and returned to school.
The Fun Run is back this year! Be on the lookout for emails from PTO and be sure to register your students with the link provided. The PTO supports the school in so many different ways. Money donated goes directly back into the school. We appreciate your support!
Next week students will take the beginning of the year iReady diagnostic tests for reading and math. They will take math on Tuesday and reading on Thursday. These assessments give me a baseline score to see what skills they have mastered and which skills they may need to be taught.
What We've Been Working On:
Math
We've been reviewing concepts from the 6th grade math curriculum to see which skills we might need more practice in this year.
ELA
We began our Junior Great Books curriculum, which involves reading, interpreting, and discussing short fictional stories. We've been practicing forming different types of questions, thinking critically about the text, and using academic language during discussions.
In Writer's Workshop, we learned about the importance of thinking and living like a writer and using a writer's notebook. We personalized our writer's notebooks and will be using them regularly throughout the year.
Social Studies
We're focusing on geography this quarter. We did a quick intro to geography involving the continents and oceans, longitude and latitude, and using maps. We also introduced our next big unit that we'll kick off next week: Zombie-Based Geography!
Mental Health
Every morning we start our day with a morning meeting in which we build community. This could be by playing a game, having a talking circle, getting a lesson from our new Sources of Strength curriculum, or discussing a classroom issue.
Every Wednesday afternoon Ms. Nicole, our Social Worker, comes to our room and we teach the students about issues related to mental health and emotional well-being through a gifted lens. This week we made Selfie Sculptures based on our learning preferences, things we need support with, struggles, intensities, and stress reactions.
Important Dates:
Kona Ice - Friday, August 16th from 3:30 - 5:30
Back to School Carnival- Friday, August 16th from 5-7 PM
Picture Day- Tuesday, August 20th
Fun Run- Tuesday, August 27th
8/9/24
8/9/24
It has been a blast starting to get to know your students! They are all such creative, kind, fun (and funny!) people! This first week was spent doing team building activities, getting to know one another, and setting the expectations for the year. I'm so excited for our amazing year ahead!
Announcements/Reminders/Requests:
Please make sure you have turned in all beginning of year forms. I'm still missing a few forms from people--ask your student if they have blank copies in their backpacks!
Thursday Folders will come home next week.
Important Dates:
- Back to School Carnival 8/16/24
- Picture Day 8/20/24
- Fun Run 8/27/24
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