Living History Trip

          On Wednesday, October 10^th the Belmond-Klemme sixth graders will be traveling to Des Moines to visit The Living History Farms.  This trip helps students see the changes in agricultural practices, Iowa life, and technology over the years.  We are very fortunate that the Belmond Community Service Women are covering the cost of the trip.

          We will leave promptly at 8:15 Wednesday morning.  Students may enter the building at 8:00 and take restroom breaks so we can depart in a timely fashion.  Sack lunches will be provided for all the sixth graders so no one needs to worry about packing a lunch or bringing food!  Students may bring their iPod, Nintendo DS, etc. for the bus ride, but we are asking that they leave their cell phones and cameras at home.  Please remember that they bring these electronics at their own risk. 

          We have a full day planned at Living History Farms and will not depart the Farms until 2:30.  This means we will not be back in Belmond until 4:30.  Students who normally ride the bus will need to make arrangements for someone to pick them up.  Bus transportation will not be available. 

          This is a wonderful trip and opportunity for the sixth graders.  Please encourage your child to be a good representative of the Belmond-Klemme Schools.  If you have questions about the trip, please feel free to contact me.

Johnson's Journal September 3,2012

     I trust you all had a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.  I hope this coming week is just as awesome as the past week-and-a-half was.  I am definitely enjoying getting to know all the new sixth graders, and I think they are settling into the routine of a new year nicely.  I am most pleased with how responsible they have been when it comes to handing work in on time!  The sixth graders are very proud of the fact that 100% of the assignments I have given so far have been turned in on time!  That is a great record which I hope to see continue!!!
     This week we will continue reviewing math concepts.  We have worked with place value and big numbers (up to the trillions) and exponents.  This week, we will focus on ordering and comparing numbers and rounding. We will continue to use the Rocket Math program again this year to help the students build speed and accuracy with their multiplication and division facts.  Having mastery of those facts is so important in sixth grade as much of our work involves several steps and "layers;"  when students struggle with the basic facts, they struggle with the complex skills we tackle in sixth grade.  More info on the Rocket Math will be coming in future blogs!
     In Social Studies, map skills will be the focus of our work.  We are using both the scheduled times for Social Studies and Science these first few weeks to get a good start on Social Studies and Daily Geography Practice (DGP).    The first DGP is due on Wednesday, and there will also be a quiz on Wednesday in which the students will be asked to identify the continents and oceans of the world, as well as spell those names accurately.  They received a study guide for the quiz last week.  Next week, we'll add Science to the mix.
     If you aren't seeing your learner's Take Home folder on a regular basis, please ask them to bring it home and share it with you.  I tell the kids that there are no rewards given for the fattest, fullest folder!  I hope you find it interesting to see what we are doing in sixth grade.
     Again, if you have questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.  Don't forget that our first early dismissal of the year is coming up on Wednesday.
                                                                               Ruth Johnson