Trimester 2, Issue #9
February 12, 2026

ELA

By Declan R.

This week in ELA we are creating our book! We are using bookcreator.com to create an online book that we can download. We are formatting it, designing it, and making it our own. We are getting sooooooo close to finishing it after about over a month of working so hard on it and putting so much time and effort to make this really good so we can be really proud of it. I know a lot of people had fun writing and especially publishing.  

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Asian Art Museum

By Shaambhavi K.

This week was extra special because Ms. Arroco’s class went to the Asian art museum. Promptly at 8:30, we boarded the bus and left for the Asian art museum in San Francisco. We arrived an hour later and began our tour. We were split into 3 groups and got to explore that museum. We got to see a lot of art from ancient China and this was really exciting because this was the kickoff for our new social studies unit. The art was intricate and very unique. We really enjoyed and are looking forward to our upcoming social studies unit. 

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Carnival

By Kang J.

A fun time for Almond is coming up! On April 24, the Almond will be holding its first ever carnival! From games, food, and fun, this will have it all. Games include, soccer kick, can knockdown, and more. Snacks also (may) include shaved ice, popcorn, cotton candy, and more. Other fun activities include, obstacle course, tattoos (not real ones!), and face painting. So, buy some tickets and head to Almond after school on April 24, to have the blast of a lifetime!

Trimester 2, Issue #8
February 5, 2026

Black History Month

By Leia R.

This week is the start of February and we have started learning about African-American history for Black History Month. In the morning, Ms. Arroco’s homeroom watches videos from Dr. Clint Smith, a PhD graduate that explains the lives of the enslaved African-Americans. Each session, we log the date and what we learned on a sheet of paper. Ms. Arocco explains and points out important parts and details we should remember and possibly write down. Throughout this month, we’ll learn how African-American lives were throughout history.

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ELA

By Declan R.

We are getting closer to publishing our informational books. This week we are doing peer reviews to edit our books. On Monday we reviewed our introductions, on Tuesday we reviewed chapter 1, and on Wednesday we reviewed chapter 2. We would fill out a packet about the feedback we would give our partner. After that, we would verbally tell them what they needed to work on if they did need to work on something. By the end of this week we would most likely finish our peer reviews.

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Social Studies

By Shaambhavi K.

This week was the kickoff for our new unit- Ancient India. We have been thoroughly reading all about Hinduism, Buddhism, and the caste system. To deepen our understanding, we had a special visitor. On Tuesday, Ms. Sonal (Ojasvi’s mom) presented to both of the 6th grade classes about ancient India and Hinduism. We are currently working on a partner poster in which we read a page about Ancient India and write about what we learned. We will continue this for the next few days and will be starting our end of unit project very soon.

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Music

By Sid S.

In Music (for Orchestra) it is a huge week. We are doing the final parts of the two songs we are learning. We are learning  Presto and Sinonettia for Strings. WE will perform with the orchestras from Santa Rita, Gardener Bullis, Oak, and the Egan Orchestra. Then the high school orchestra will perform. The high school’s conductor will conduct Sinfonettia for Strings.  In the band they are learning a song called Irish Folk Dance. 

Trimester 2, Issue #7
January 27, 2025

Social Studies

By Declan R.

In social studies we are just finishing up the Ancient Israel unit. We just finished our end of unit project, which was either a mini book for little kids, a mini book at a sixth grade level, a poster, a map, and a timeline. The map was the most popular one that we did. Ms. Arroco’s class got to present their projects to their little buddies. Which was perfect for the people who did the mini book for the little kids. We did our timeline for the end of the unit about Ancient Israel. Our new unit for Ancient History is Ancient India.  

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ELA

By Shaambhavi K.

In ELA we are super close to publishing our informational essays. With only the conclusion to go, we are speeding through this unit. Unlike many of the other essays we have written in previous years, this one requires us to write 17 or more paragraphs which is sort of a huge jump compared to how much we had to write last year (5 paragraphs). We are continuing to cite sources and use grade level vocabulary. We will finish the book by next week and will be ready to publish by the 10th of February.

6th grade poll

By Kang J.

This week has been very calm so instead I decided to hold a poll!

The question is: would you give up ice cream or chicken nuggets (forever)?

I would give up ice cream: 14 

I would give up chicken nuggets: 21 (I chose this!)

and of course:

I would give up neither : 4

Honestly, I think this is pretty close (I also let people say neither as a joke).

But all in all people would definitely like ice cream better (for those who chose both, I can personally agree)!

*****

Computer science

By Sid S.

  In Computer Science we have just started work on a very fun project. We are making our own memes! We have to use sprites and captions to make a funny meme. The memes people have come up with are incredible.One person is doing a meme called “Hipothanos” , a hippo with the head of Thanos from the Marvel Universe. These memes are coded in code.org which is the website we always use for Computer Science. I wonder what everyone will come up with!

Trimester 2, Issue #6
January 15, 2026

A Surprise party

By Leia R.

Ms. Arocco’s half birthday was on Wednesday! The Sixth Grade prepared half birthday cards to give to Ms. Arocco as a special birthday gift. Her class’s party planning committee, Carter, Leia, Declan, Sid, Yoon, and Edison arranged a short surprise party for her. Brownies were made and brought for the class and a bag of gifts were given. While Ms. Arocco went out of her classroom to bring the line back to class after lunch, some of the sixth sense crew who are writing this newsletter helped quickly decorate the classroom and take out all the presents in the 2 to 3 min preparation time. We hung up a half birthday sign, set out the brownies, and put the Room 24 half birthday card (a literal half of a birthday card) with the gifts on her desk. We passed out party hats to the tables and ate brownies to celebrate Ms. Arocco! 

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Update from Student council

By Declan R.

We have been hard at work in the student council this week. We came back from winter break only one week ago and we are ready to get back into it! Before winter break as a lot of you know we did a Hot Cocoa Cafe and we raised a total of $856! That was only in four days! We are now focused on all of our spirit days like this friday it is crocs with socks (sandals work too). We are making posters by hand now and we are getting to work even harder now. We have so much going on in the student council but it is all really fun.

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The Book Nook

By Shaambhavi K.

This week, both 6th grade classes started book clubs for the second time this school year. This feels like a great way to kick off the read-a-thon. We got to go book tasting on Monday to decide on our favorite books. This time, book clubs seem very different because we only meet once a week as opposed to last time when we met thrice a week. In Ms. In Arroco's class we even got to choose our book club members. Our book options include ghost boys, ghost, inside out and back again, stargirl and many cool other interesting choices. Everyone has been enjoying the books and have described them as gripping, captivating, and exciting. Many of us have finished our first book and are getting started with the second one. We’re super excited for the next 5 weeks of book clubs

Read-a-thon

By Kang J.

This week our Almond has held a read-a-thon!

This is definitely not our first read-a-thon (I once won a baskin-robbins gift card from an Almond read-a-thon!), but it definitely has been a very long time! So far about half the school has joined and We have over a thousand minutes to read! You also can donate money to support students and help the PTA (Some will also go to an account where they can buy things!). Winners will get medals and if the entire school gets 19,000 minutes, the school gets extra recess (the class with the most time also gets extra recess!). Happy reading!

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ELA

By Sid S.

In Ela we are writing our thesis!!! Ms Herrick's class is on their books thesis while Ms.Arroco’s class is on our thesis for our subtopics. We have been working hard everyday on a Google doc to help us write our book in parts. Then we will publish them on a cool website called Bookcreater where we can decorate our pages with Illustrations and page decor. We are so excited!

Trimester 2, Issue #5
January 8, 2026

School Again

By Leia R.

Unfortunately for some, winter break is over so no more time to relax and go on vacation. The winds and rain from over winter break have damaged the tents at sixth street! Now caution tape hangs from the collapsed and dangerous tents. To some’s bright side, school has started again! New projects have started up and school is back to normal. Not for long though, ANOTHER break, MLK weekend, is coming soon!

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Research Project

By Declan R.

This week in ela we started a research unit. The whole unit will take 6 weeks. We got to choose what we research. Some of the things that people are researching are: Taylor Swift, History of Nintendo, Athena, Pollution, how climate change affects the US, cats, and the Civil and the Civil War Navy. Our teachers are making sure we are working hard and are really making this one of the best research projects we have done. It’s a good end to the winter break.   

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Computer science

By Kang J.

Taught by Ms. Aranda (better known as Ms. A),  she has a special gift for everyone!

This unit everyone made a robot face all ourselves in code.org, a coding platform  

for kids. In  code.org, we use something called Game Lab (for people who are curious, it’s just modified java script) that lets us put in shapes to make our robots. But I said that there’s a special gift, so what is it? 

  Drumroll please…

And it’s a keychain!

Everyone who has made a robot face is getting it on a keychain!

So next week on Monday, we will all get a tiny piece of art made using code.

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Social Studies

By Sid S.

In Social Studies we are working on  a new unit! Ancient Israel is the place in the bible where the Hebrews went to escape the Egyptians enslaving them. We are learning about some famous figures like Abraham,Joseph, and King Solomon. We have been learning about things like The First Temple and Canaan.  To start the unit we watched the Prince of Egypt. It was awesome! I hope this unit is just as awesome as that.

Trimester 2, Issue #4
December 18, 2025

Holiday Break is Up and Coming

Holiday Energy is Cheerfully Humming!

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Order Up For the Hot Cocoa Cafe! (cont.)

By Declan R.

Throughout this week the student council has been hosting a Hot Cocoa cafe! We only sell 50 cups a day and it is sold in the morning from 8:00 to 8:20. On Monday we raised $136 but that was only the first day! It’s so nice to have some hot cocoa early in the morning to start the day. It's been so much fun experiencing the first ever Almond Hot Cocoa Cafe. All the funds from the Hot Cocoa will go to the first ever Almond Carnival!

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The Upcoming Holiday Party!

By Leia R.

The party planning volunteers in both classes are preparing for the upcoming holiday party! Last Friday, we brainstormed activities for the 6th grade to enjoy. Some activities include decorating santa hats, cookie decorating, the great snowball fight (dodgeball), and a book exchange. (Make sure to bring a book!) We’ll also have a hot cocoa stand for the party to come and go between stations. Looking forward to the Holiday party to close up at the end of the week and the start of the holiday break!

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A Word From Almond Singers!

By Shaambhavi K.

Last week, the school had our winter concert presented by the Almond singers. We performed twice- an evening show for the parents and one for the school. Everyone really enjoyed singing and being part of the Almond singers community. This year was extra special because of the theme- "fly like an Almond Eagle". Our choir director, Miss Ginny, chose some really cool songs that were about flying. In fact, the 1st- 6th graders performed "three little birds by Bob Marley" together which was super fun. We also got to do some really fun Christmas carolling in downtown Los Altos by the state street market. Almond Singers was a really fun experience and we can’t wait for the next season!

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SOCIAL STUDIES

Social Studies Presentation

By Kang J.

After a week of hard work, we have completed our social studies project! The presentation happened last Friday and lots of us are proud of our projects. Each of us had a choice of 3 types of projects. A classic tri-fold, a creative writing (diary), a stem project, or a printed presentation. Lots of us had creative ideas like making the diaries crumpled and burned the sides (extra credit!) or toothpick and marshmallow pyramids. Overall, everyone had fun and enjoyed each other's projects! 

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The Prince of Egypt

By Sid S.

Recently we have been watching a movie! The movie we are watching is called “The Prince of Egypt” by Dreamwork Animations. It is about the story of Moses and Passover, a holiday that some people celebrate. In the beginning it is shown that baby Moses is carried down a river to Egypt. Though we have to take notes, it will be a blast. The movie is animated, comical, historic, and a great watch for everyone. 

Trimester 2, Issue #3
December 11, 2025

Almost Ready For the Holidays!

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A Teaser Into Student Council

By Shaambhavi K.

Almond Eagles, here is something to look forward to in these cold foggy mornings-  “delicious hot cocoa”. The student council is opening Almond’s first ever hot cocoa cafe! Monday, December 15th, will be the grand opening. Hot cocoa will be sold in 8 oz or 12 oz cups along with awesome toppings such as whipped cream, sprinkles, and marshmallows. We are also selling candy canes in the spirit of the holiday season. The cafe starts at 8:00 o’clock so get there early!

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Upcoming Winter Concert!

By Sid S.

The holidays are coming up and the sixth graders are ready to go home. On the last day before Holiday Break, the winter concert for music class will be happening. That’s right, on the nineteenth of December, the winter concert will happen with sixth graders playing some festive songs  to shower  the holiday spirit. With some people excited and others nervous, it will be an excellent performance!

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Dissecting A Frog... Coming Soon!

By Kang J.

In science we are having a very interesting project, the frog dissection! It is happening on the 17th (Wednesday), and lots of us have many feelings about it. One student says, “ I really am excited  because the cow eye dissection was really fun.” Though, other people have different opinions. “ I feel a little grossed out but I'm still gonna try,” another student says. But for most of us, we all are ready to have a once-in-a-lifetime dissection.

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Ancient Egypt Project

By Declan R.

We have a really special project in social studies because we are in the unit of Ancient Egypt! We had the choice of doing a presentation, a model, or a creative writing piece. The topics were hieroglyphics, mummification, pharaohs, society and social structure, the Nile river, the three kingdoms, the two lands (upper Egypt and lower Egypt), and pyramids. The due date is December 15 which is next Monday! Parents are invited to come to look at the projects we all did. We are all very excited to share our hard work with our parents. 

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@ The Amazing 6th Street!

By Leia R.

Even after 6th Street is established, it isn’t complete. Updates and upgrades are still being added. Recently, a new tent is standing above some of the lunch tables! Thanks to generous donors, the ping pong table has become a popular place for recess and lunch. Games are being played and 6th Street is definitely a special place that is available to our school, and we are lucky to have it. We have new concrete being added to 6th street! We are so grateful for all these wonderful additions!

Trimester 2, Issue #2
December 4, 2025

Welcome back to this post-Thanksgiving issue! 

We hope you all had a great and restful Thanksgiving break!

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Ping Pong & Games @ 6th Street

By Shaambhavi K.

ANDDDDD DRUM ROLL PLEASE … the ping pong table is finally here (see picture below). Right now it is the most popular hangout area for many of the 6th graders. A HUGE thanks to all of the parents and kids who helped assemble the ping pong table. We have been playing a lot of games and the one thing that we have learnt and displayed a lot is sportsmanship. Several board games have also been added to the game chest. We are so thankful to the parents for their generous donations! While we have fun playing these games, we are also learning to take ownership and be accountable. We have a system similar to the one in the ball room checkout- where we have a dedicated binder to keep track of the checkouts. 6th street has shaped out to be incredible and we cannot wait to enjoy it this year. 

Potluck & Movie for Rm. 24

By Declan R.

During science camp, we were able to earn class bobas that correspond to our positive behavior from each day... which gave us rewards. Room 24 received 5 bobas (one boba for each day) so we got to choose an incentive, and we chose a potluck movie party! Most people brought food such as cupcakes, brownies, cookies, chips, pretzels, candy, and a couple Japanese snacks too. We got to choose a movie to watch while we would eat. The movie our class picked was The Avengers: Infinity War. We had so much fun watching the movie and eating snacks! We all want to say thank you to the families who donated all of the amazing and delicious food!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Student Council Updates

By Kang J.

The student council has been cooking up some things for the 2025 Christmas season! (As a class rep in student council, it feels like I'm a reporter with a government press pass!)

Here’s a list of activities coming up:

• Summer in Winter (Dec, 5): wear flip-flops, shorts, any summer apparel!

• Hot Cocoa Cafe (Dec 15-18):

  • • All proceeds from this week-long fundraising event will go to the very first Almond Carnival that will happen towards the end of the school year -- so keep your eyes peeled for that!

      • • • • Pricing:

              • • $3 for an 8 oz cup

                • $5 dollars for 12 oz

• Silly Holiday Sweater Day (Dec 19): wear a silly holiday sweater!

Soooo... Let's Talk Academics, Shall We?

By Sid S.

After break everyone is still easing to the school schedule. Math 6 just finished their Ratios final assessment the week before break, and is currently working on the first part of the Rates chapter. Math 6/7 is working on algebraic expressions, and we're working on a project about making a graph for a vehicle of your choice going at a distance of your choice at a time of your choice. In Social Studies, us 6th graders played a matching game to remind us of our Power Words for our unit in Ancient Egypt before we wrote their definitions and drew a depiction of each one. Today, we also started our Ancient Egypt final project! In Science we learned about the digestive system. In ELA we are starting our nonfiction writing unit -- Ms. Herrick's class is working on brainstorming and Ms. Arroco's class presented our slideshows about a tangible thing that we're passionate about.

A Sneak Peek Into Our Sixth Sense Meetings

By Leia R.

The Sixth Sense has a lot to plan for. Our weekly meetings on Wednesday take a lot of brainstorming, writing, and editing. Sixth sense is made up of sixth graders who want to share what their experiences in sixth grade are like and inform the latest news on what's happening. We meet at recess and lunch and sometimes after school. We decide what subjects will appear in the newspaper and decide who will write it. We then get to writing! Once we have finished writing our first drafts we edit each others’ paragraphs and give suggestions. We finalize and send our final drafts in on Thursday morning. 

Trimester 2, Issue #1
November 20, 2025

This week, we have a special edition of the Sixth Sense: The Camp Koinonia Edition. Outdoor Science School was an enjoyable experience we had in 6th grade this year. Each and every one of us made unforgettable memories with cabin leaders, new friends, and exciting activities. We woke up every morning to a new thrilling adventure that awaited us. Here what we got up to on the day-to-day while we were away!

Day 1

By Declan R.

We just arrived at camp after about an hour drive from Los Altos to the Santa Cruz mountains. We followed one of the camp leaders, she walked us to the big amphitheater outside. The camp leaders sang a song that introduced each and every one of them and we found out our cabin and trail groups. One trail group consists of one girl cabin and one boy cabin. We met our naturalist, who would lead us on all of our hikes. Our naturalists gave us a tour of the campus. Then we ate our packed lunch. After that, we moved into our cabins and had about an hour to get ready for our first hike of the week. After that we went back to freshen up for dinner. For dinner, we had pasta with red sauce and breadsticks. After dinner, we had a reflection with our teacher and decided if we deserved our reward for the day. Then we had our first campfire. The camp leaders sang a bunch of songs, told stories, and did a couple of skits too. We went back to our cabins and got ready for bed, lights were out at 9:20 P.M. It was a great first day of camp that was the end of day 1.  

Day 2 and 3

By Kang J. & Sid S.

On the second and third day people split up. They either went to the ropes course and TCC (Trust, Communication, and Cooperation) or a six hour hike. 

I – Sid – will talk about the ropes course and TCC. On the ropes course there were three sections. A rope bridge, a big log, and a tightrope. It was very fun and you could choose your challenge. Swinging on the rope was fun but you could only do it on the big log. In the TCC we also had a great time. We had two fun stations where we played fun games. In one we played a memory game where we tried to cross an island but some squares were lava. We also played a game where one person is blindfolded and a person tries to instruct them to find a shoe but the caller can’t see the shoe. So everyone else will use non-verbal communication to guide them. In the second station we rescued a dinosaur egg (golf ball) from toxic waste using strings. The final game was escaping the “lava” where we needed to hop on tires (lava turtles) to get to the other side together as a group. Then like the first day we went back to our cabins to relax a bit. On the third day we did something special but I’ll let Kang explain that. Then we went to campfire where everyone loudly sang.

Hi there, it’s me – Kang – and now I will explain the six hour hike. The hike was very exhausting, but fun! Each and every one of us got a chance to do a solo hike. We had lots of fun not only exploring but just hiking itself.  From creeks to the trails lots of nature was around. We also got to see the newts (lizard like reptiles), banana slugs, and other interesting things. We also did the hard core challenge (eat a whole apple) and banana slug kiss challenge (exactly as it sounds like). On the third night, we watched the constellations and ate S'mores over the campfire. Overall, it was very exhausting, but it was worth it

Day 4

By Shaambhavi K.

Thursday was definitely one of the most memorable days at outdoor school, especially because it rained all day and yet we carried on with our plans. At about 10:00 AM, we started our two hour hike when it was barely drizzling. However, shortly after, it started pouring. Many of the students really enjoyed the hike despite the rain but some of them found it  frustrating. By the time we were in the dining hall eating lunch, everyone was completely drenched. We had burgers and tater tots for lunch and almost everyone seemed to enjoy it. After our cabin time, we had something very exciting to look forward to. There were so many very exciting options; among them were mud pies, town hall meeting, watercolor, wood cookie decorating, mushroom hunting, skits, and nature journaling. The skits were especially a popular choice. At around 4:30, everyone gathered in the big theater-like auditorium and we had a game of trivia. Lastly, Thursday was a big day because all of our cabins got to perform our song, rap, poem, or cheer. All of the shows were really good and you could tell that everyone had put a lot of effort into it. We ended the day with a campfire. We were really bummed that we had to leave the day after. Even though there was a lot of rain and everyone was cold and wet, it was a very adventurous day!

Day 5

By Leia R.

We all arose early on the final day, packing up and filling luggage after the long and eventful week at camp. After getting checked out by cabin staff, we hauled our luggage down to the designated grounds for our school. Then all of us went off with our cabin leaders to another wonderful breakfast. There, in the dining hall, students devoured the meal. This particular day we had cereal and mini bagels served with a pitcher of orange juice. After we moved up the napkin tree with the height of our clean napkins, after the garbologists revealed the weight of our food waste, and after the spies gave out the super table spy awards, it was time to head out for our final hike. Trail groups trekked on one last hike on this trip with our trail instructor. We all ended up at the outdoor amphitheater for our farewell. Tears running down most of our faces we hugged our cabin leaders and trail instructors goodbye possibly for forever. Then, we boarded the bus for our departure. Sadly looking back, but happily moving forward.