Johnson"s Journal September 23, 2014

Thank you to all the parents who helped their sixth graders with their edible cell/cell poster project.  I was most impressed by the quality of these projects.  This truly is a creative group of sixth graders.  Again, thank you for your support with this project.

Johnson's Journal September 19, 2014

All sixth graders should have their science texts and packets with them this weekend, as well as their directions for the edible cell project.  Remember that creating a poster of either a plant or an animal cell is also an option for the project.  Which ever your child chooses, please remember that a key explaining what the cell part's function is must be included.  Projects are due Monday, September 22, 2014.

I am looking forward to meeting with all of you next week during conferences.  Sixth grade conferences are not scheduled.  All of the teachers who work with sixth graders--Mrs. Soma, Mr. Eide, Ms. Deutsch, Ms. Halfpop, and myself--will be available.  Please drop in and talk to the teachers who work with your sixth grader. This will be a great time to address concerns you or your child's teacher may have about academic progress or behavior.... we can talk about all the good things going on with your child.  By meeting now, your child has time to make changes if needed to bring up their grade by the end of the quarter.

Tuesday, September, 23--Dismiss at 1:30/Conferences 2-6 p.m.
Thursday, September 25--Regular dismissal time/Conferences 4-8 p.m.
Friday, September 29--No School

Johnson"s Journal September 15, 2014

Just a reminder that there will be an early out on Wednesday, September 17th for teacher in service meetings.

I was super impressed by the Create a State map projects your sixth graders made!  This project is the culmination of our map skills unit;  the students are called upon to use what they have learned to create a map of a state they would like to live in.  The projects were of extremely high quality and very original and unique.  A big shout out to the kids for their hard work!  Today, we begin our first unit in science which is a study of cells, genetic, and heredity.  On Thursday, look for information to come home about the edible cell project.  This project will be due Monday, September 22nd.

The sixth graders continue their in depth study of ratios in math.  Today (Monday) they were given an assignment which reviewed basic ratio concepts and using ratios and tape diagrams to solve problems.  This problem solving assignment is due Friday, September 19th.  Please look at the math work your student is doing to gain a better understanding of what we are doing.  If you have questions about our new math program, please bring them to conferences with you.  I will address them with you then but also invite you to attend the informational meeting about our math program which will be held on Thursday, September 9th at 6:30 in the BK Auditorium.  Your student should have brought home a yellow note with information about that meeting on Friday.

Speaking of Parent-Teacher Conferences, they will be held on Tuesday, September 23rd from 2-6 p.m. and on Thursday, September 25th from 4-8 p.m.  Ms. Halfpop and I will be available on both days for conferences, as well as Mr. Eide, Ms. Deutsch, and Mrs. Soma.  Since your sixth grader has several teachers, conferences are "drop-in."  Please stop and see the teachers your child is working with. Since you have several teachers to see and we have sixty sets of parents to meet with, we will give you a quick (5-10 minute) update on your child's progress.  If there are concerns that cannot be covered in that amount of time, we will need to schedule a separate time to meet.

Looking forward to visiting with you next week at conferences.

Ruth Johnson

Johnson's Journal September 7, 2014

I hope you all had an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!  I personally wouldn't mind if the weather was like this 365 days a year.

It will be another busy week in sixth grade.  Our work with ratios continues in math, and we will be wrapping up our review of map skills this week in social studies.  On Wednesday, I will introduce the Create a State Project which will be our final activity.  The students will be asked to create an imaginary state and include various  elements on the map.  The final project will be due Friday.  They will also have a Daily Geography Practice due on Friday.

Having the sixth graders produce quality work that they are proud of is one of my top priorities as a teacher.  Mistakes can be turned into learning opportunities; for that reason, I ask students to make corrections on most assignments.  If assignments fall below 70% (D or F) work, I will work with the students as they redo the assignment.  A score in that range usually indicates to me that the your student didn't understand the concept, and they need a bit of extra help.  There are occasions when scores in that range are the result of a lack of effort and having to re-do an assignments is often incentive to do it right the first time.

This past week, I have entered grades in the Campus gradebook for both math and social studies. Please check the gradebook often. If you do not have an account to access the gradebook or are having problems getting to the gradebook please be sure to contact me.

Looking forward to another great week with your awesome sixth graders!

Ruth Johnson