Feast of the Epiphany

 

I hope that all of our students and families had a blessed, wonderful Christmas, and best wishes for a Happy New Year!  Thank you notes on the students' desks, and we should all be rested and refreshed for our return to school tomorrow. 

 

It will be a challenge to get back into our covid routine, beginning with checking in with the Magnus app each morning (teachers and admin are required to do it, too!) but my hope is that the students are mentally preparing already to wear their masks and gaiters appropriately through the school day without complaint, maintain their social distancing requirements, use the desk wipes and hand sanitizer without a ton of reminders, and most importantly, frequent handwashing at lunch and bathroom visits. Also - WATER BOTTLES.  Many students are having to go to Nurse Burnside to get paper cups because they don't have their water bottle.  The paper cups end up on our classroom floor instead of the trash can, and it's not very sanitary. As a reminder, the mitigation procedures require a closed water bottle, with no drinking from the water fountain. We've had lots of time at home in our own comfortable little biomes, and now, to maintain our in-person learning, we need to be extra vigilant about  health!

 

In 6th grade Reading, we will finish The Westing Game activities on Monday and Tuesday, work on Vocabulary in Action on Wednesday and Friday (Vocab in Action test on Friday, Unit 6 words) and Storyworks Thursday. 

 

In 6th grade LA, we will begin Descriptive Writing for the next two weeks, using our Voyages unit books as well as working on a Real Estate/Dream House writing assignment.  This descriptive writing assignment is a bit different from the one that I have done in the past, and I look forward to trying this new "Design a Dream House" resource. 

 

In 7th grade we'll work within our class novels Resistance (7-6) and Touching Spirit Bear (7-3) on Monday and Tuesday, a Quickwrite and author sharing on Wednesday, ReadTheory Thursday, and on Fridays, begin a short weekly question/answer written assessment on what we're doing/reading in class. I really miss spending more time with the 7th grade, only seeing them once per day.  Time is passing too quickly!

 

Have a great week!

 

Mrs. Morgan

 

 

Dear 6-9 Families,

Dear STM 6th and 7th Grade Families,

 

Thank you for subscribing to the classroom updates!  During the busy times everyone has at home on their weekends, I truly appreciate you taking the time to read the updates.  

 

Covid Info: The students have been champs in Covid world, really. Wiping down their desks each day, keeping their belongings separate and tidy, using sanitizer, staying distanced, socializing half-in/half-out at lunch/recess, wearing the gaiter, being in the room at their desks: the students have been great.  However, there is some fatigue setting in and enforcing the "rules" is an issue in the classroom. In Middle School, we have instituted a "Covid Warning" clipboard, where we will have students sign in, similar to the uniform/tardy sign-in clipboard, if we've had to provide too many warnings.  It really takes away teaching time to lecture and nag about safety.  If we have a student sign in 3 times, that's a warning, and if the three sign-ins are exceeded to three more, then we'll have a detention assigned.  

 

Christmas Play!: The students sang and recorded Christmas songs and the 8th grade performed the Nativity play - the entire performance should be released at some point this week between Monday and Tuesday!  This sounds like it was quite a feat and we are grateful in advance to Ms. K for taking on the Music/Computer role as well as keep our STM Nativity Play tradition alive and well!

 

Classwork this week for 7th grade: Both classes will be receiving STM copies of the book we are reading in each class: 7-3 will receive copies of Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson and 7-6 will receive copies of Resistance by Jennifer Neilsen.  I was able to source class copies for a great price!  Students will receive the copies between Monday and Tuesday.  (Barnes and Noble isn't as fast as Amazon, alas.) In January, at the conclusion of our novel study and after a quarantine period of 1 week, I'll flipflop the books and 7-3/7-6 will start a new novel study with the class copies.  Last week we finished our study of Eleven by Sandra Cisneros. This week we'll read the the short stories The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant and Gift of the Magi by O. Henry and work on novel study discussion of plot, character, and events.

 

Classwork for 6th grade: In LA, the 6th graders will finish the Adjectives unit in Voyages this week!  We will review Interrogative, Demonstrative, and Indefinite Adjectives on Monday, complete the Adjective Review, and take the Adjective test on Wed/Thurs. The completed and corrected Adjective Review is the study guide. The Adjective Challenge is also an opportunity for extra credit!  In Reading, we are nearing the second half of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.  The students have a pdf copy in Google Classroom to read 1-2 chapters each night, and should be finished with 20 independently-read chapters.

 

Have a wonderful 3rd week of Advent!

 

Mrs. Morgan

 

 

 

 

Dear 6th and 7th Grade Families,

 

I hope that everyone has enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving break!  It was glorious to have the extra gift of the Tuesday holiday added to our break.  We enjoyed a new outdoor activity, suggested by Sra. Bonilla, to walk on the Wilson Bridge over to National Harbor and back.  What a great close-by activity to enjoy, if you have not done so yet!

 

I know you get multiple reminders from various emails, but to echo that information here as well:

 

Photo retakes: When we return this week, there are individual photo retakes on Tuesday.  If you are having your student retake his/her photo, please have your student wear the top part of the regular winter uniform to school along with the PE sweatpants and sneakers.  *Remember to send back in the photo package that was sent home previously.*  

 

December birthdays: Birthday dress-down (out of uniform) for December birthdays is Wednesday!  

 

First Trimester: Report cards will go home on Friday, Dec. 4th.  Please return the signed copy of the report card by Dec. 11th.

 

In Reading/LA classes: In 7th grade, we will be starting our Elements of a Short Story unit, which will take us up through the Christmas break.  We will apply the literary vocabulary terms and expand on their use via reading 5-7 examples of well-known examples of the short story genre.  Our class read-alouds are Resistance by Jennifer Neilsen (7-3) and Touching Spirit Bear  by Ben Mickelsen. (7-6). M/T will be short story work, W is mentor text writing day, and Th/F are class novel days.  Your students may choose to download or purchase copies of the book but otherwise these are read-alouds in the classroom and there is no need to purchase any books.

 

In 6th grade Reading, we're beginning a whole-class study of the novel The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin on Mondays.  Unless you have a copy of this title (published in 1978) at your house, it isn't necessary to purchase a copy.  We will be annotating as we go and I will provide your students with copies of the book, both online and in paper form.  On Tuesdays we will have directed lessons in reading non-fiction, using The Comprehension Toolkit for Middle School (https://www.heinemann.com/products/e06184.aspx). We will continue with Vocabulary in Action on W/F and Storyworks core skill reading on Thursdays.  In LA we have completed the "how to" article and diagram and will begin Verbs.  This is a challenging unit and I expect that this year we should be able to conclude this unit before the holiday!

 

The next three weeks will be challenging, fast, and busy! 

 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Morgan

 

 

 

 

 

Dear 6th and 7th Grade Families,

 

We have one day of school tomorrow, then a lovely Thanksgiving break to look forward to enjoying before returning to school for what will most likely be a fast three weeks!

 

First things first: 

Conferences!  Thank you for Zooming with me and engaging in great discussions about your students during our Parent/Teacher Fall Conference Days!  I love a lot of things about Fall Conferences, but my favorite part is that meeting with the families always fills in the larger picture of the students I've come to know through teaching.  Thank you for all that you do.

 

Next:

We had a few items in progress during the quarantine learning and other assignments that were due prior to the end of the trimester.  If you're looking for some dinner table conversation today, you could ask about some of these assignments:

 

7th grade:  This week the students completed five paragraphs about the novel Zero Tolerance by Claudia Mills.  They were asked to write a "SWBSF" summary; an application of a real-life example; an examination of decisions made by one or more of the characters; how the main character changed from the beginning of the book to the end; and finally, stating an opinion of zero tolerance policies, and reasoning to support the opinion.  The students also wrote short Epilogues to share in class.  7th graders also completed a Literary Terms vocabulary quiz last Tuesday and completed three mentor writing assignments connected to Memoir: a graphic based on traveling home, a structured paragraph about home, and a writing piece connected to writing about events.  We will begin our Short Stories study after Thanksgiving break.

If you are curious about the resources used in 7th grade Reading, please take a look at the 7th Grade Reading tab on my page.  Homestead Studies work on Song of the Trees is due no later than Monday, November 23rd. 

 

6th grade:  In Reading, the students have completed their novel studies with Mrs. Morgan (We're Not From Here by Geoff Rodkey) and Song for a Whale by Lynn Kelly) with Mrs. O'Rourke.  Students have received their scored List 4 Vocabulary and have started List 5 in Vocabulary, and of course reading and completing core reading skill work with the engaging content of Storyworks feature articles by Lauren Tarshis.  In Language Arts, the students have received their scored Pronouns tests and completed their How-To article writing and drew or computer-created instructional visuals: diagrams and flowcharts. The students enthusiastically worked on their flowcharts and diagrams, including some humor along the way.

 

6th grade Religion: We learned about the Old Testament figures Isaac and Jacob the past two weeks, and have completed prompts in our Religion journey notebooks on how we bring Jesus to others.  I was heartened by the students who genuinely bring the words and actions of Jesus to others.  To be able to bring your faith forward for the benefit of comforting others is a wonderful thing to see.

 

Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!

 

Mrs. Morgan

 

 

November 1, 2020

 

Happy All Saints Day! Some food for thought: "On the first day of November each year, we celebrate All Saints' Day.  This day is designed to remind us that most saints were not canonized; nobody will ever know they were saints.  It is also designed to remind us that we are all called to be saints, in our own way, and in our own place and time." Rediscover the Saints, by Matthew Kelly

 

Trunk or Treat and Halloween - Going back to Friday night, however...so much fun!  It was great to see so many students and families at Trunk or Treat!  What a great event for families.  Thank you for being there!  Students were provided with simple treat bags, courtesy of the 6th grade room parents.  Thank you, Ms. Merani, for your work!

 

Fireside Chat - Thank you for the support, communicated to Mrs. Davis via the Five Things Fireside Chat.  It is a huge thing, knowing that the PTO, through the parents, and the parents themselves, are fully involved in keeping the STM Community a safe place to teach, learn, and grow.

 

Winter Uniform - begins tomorrow, November 2nd.  I've copied the grid below, but in taking a look, here's what I am expecting to see tomorrow: navy blue sweaters (which are optional, but students aren't allowed sweatshirts and hoodies in the classrooms, so getting a sweater is always a good idea) over polo shirts for girls and boys, girls wearing navy tights if wearing a plaid skirt, white socks, and no more shorts. In the uniform grid, it shows that socks are supposed to be white with no logos. Mrs. Morgan hasn't been super strict with the socks, so if your student has been wearing blue or black socks, it's because she didn't read the fine print on the uniform guidelines. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gpVDdNjYfVbQDEgsWT3Uc_OccNDjjgu9/view

Quick reminder about jewelry: post (non-dangling) earrings are ok.  Nail polish is still a no-no. Regular watches are ok.  Bracelets and scrunchies worn around the wrist are not ok.  Necklaces are to be a religious in nature, such as a cross, crucifix, or a religious medal.

 

This week in class - We have about three weeks to the end of the first 12 weeks of school...which is awesome!  In LA this week we'll have a Pronouns test on Thursday, November 5, then start on our next Writing piece.  In Reading, we continue with M/T novel study on M/T, Vocabulary on W/F, and Th Storyworks-based Reading.  In 7th grade, we have the end of our novel coming up, ReadTheory to do, and text annotations.  In Religion, we have the Chapter 6 test, Abraham is Our Father in Faith, on Tuesday.  

 

Have a great week!

 

Mrs. Morgan

 

 

 

Good afternoon 6-9 Families!