Teacher Talk

Do you feel that this year is flying by?  I do, and I think it's because we are all keeping ourselves pretty busy with the business of 6th grade.  The Christmas break is upon us, and while we are all looking forward to it, I know that when we return in January, we are going to be working harder than ever.  But for now, let's all enjoy this little break we have coming up.  Nothing is more precious than family time, and it is my wish that you and your families celebrate wonderful times as we commemorate Christ's birth and the beginning of the New Year.  As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding your child, feel free to contact me at mporod@stleonardschool.org or through my schoolnotes page.  You may also call the school and leave me a message.  I will try to get back to you promptly.  By working together we can best ensure the success of every child.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  And always remember - Jesus is the reason for the season!!!

 

 

Social Studies

By Bianca and Jessica

 

In social studies, we, the 6th grade class, are learning about the Egyptians.  We have learned about the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom.  On of the gods was Hopi, which was a river god, and another was Re.  Re was the sun god.  One pharaoh in the New Kingdom was named Tut.  This is what we have been learning in social studies.

 

Computers

By Karina

 

Over the past few weeks we have been working on a project in computers.  We had to bring in pictures for a picture story.  The pictures had to tell about a story that has happened in our lives, such as taking a vacation.  Putting together the stories has taken quite a while, but each student is almost done.  It has been very fun!

 

Science

By Brendon and Jamie

 

During the beginning of December, we started learning about drugs affecting your body.  One of the main drugs we learned about was tobacco.  One of the other drugs was alcohol.  The last drug we learned about was marijuana.  The current topic we are learning about is heat and temperature.  We just did an experiment to see how long we could keep an ice cube frozen using different materials.  This is what we have been doing in science.

 

Vocabulary

By Marisa and Martin

 

This month of December, 6th grade is currently working on Unit 7 in vocabulary.  In each unit, the vocabulary words are getting harder and harder.  To help us get ready for the test, the 6th graders work on workbook pages and do vocabulary cards.  We also have a word search page to help us get used to looking at the correct spellings of the words.  Instead of having just one test, we have two. One test is for spelling.  The other is for usage of the definitions.

 

Math

By Eric V. and Kevin

 

In Math, we learned estimating sums and differences, and well as estimating products and quotients.  We learned how to multiply decimals.  We also learned dividing by a whole number, dividing decimals, and evaluating expressions.  We also combined science into math with scientific notation.  Finally, we learned multiple-step problems.

                                             

 

Reading

By Ami and Reyna

 

Over the past few weeks in reading, we have learned about pyramids by reading the book, Pyramid.  To get more understanding about the sections, we wrote out "9 important facts."  We chose 9 facts from the section that we thought were important.  We shared and compared these in class.  Last week we took the test on Pyramid and finished the book.  Now we are learning about creative writing.  We are writing snow incidents that have happened to us in the past.  So far, we have done a pre-write, and a first draft.  We will revise and edit them to make them have more detail, and then we will decorate our final copies.  Mrs. Porod will then put them on display.

 

P.E.

By Susana

 

In gym we warm up by doing some jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, and a couple of laps.  We currently have been playing baseball, dodge ball, basketball, volleyball, and hockey. If we act badly in the beginning of class we run extra laps.  Mr. K is very nice and he lets us vote to decide what we would like to play.  We have had lots of fun.

 

Language Arts

By Jacqueline and Natalie

 

In Language, 6th grade has been learning about diagramming compound sentences.  We also learned how to identify simple and compound sentences.  We have also taken on review test on identifying simple and compound sentences.  We are having lots of fun in Mrs. Johnson's class and hopefully it will continue throughout the year.

 

Art

By Angela

 

This month of December, in art we have been working on making masks.  We are currently covering a balloon with papier mache.  Once we finish, we will paint the masks and decorate them.  Students will need to bring in materials and other things they need to complete the masks.  We have been using our art smocks in every art class.  Papier mache is messy!

 

Religion

By Erin

 

In religion, our class is learning to read our Maryknoll magazines. (magazines which tell about what missionaries are doing in developing countries.)  We learned about the O Antiphons for Advent.  Every Monday we have a wreath lighting ceremony in the school hall to mark the next week of Advent.  In our classroom, we have an Advent wreath on a bulletin board, and every week we light the paper candles with a paper flame.  Our class has also been thinking about how we will prepare ourselves during Advent. Now we are working on making Jesse trees, which is like a family tree for Jesus.  We will be well prepared for the arrival of the Christ child on Christmas Day.

 

Music

By Jenny

 

In this quarter we have learned the songs for the Christmas show.  Our teacher, Mrs. Long, starts us off every class with a warm up, just random words that help us get warmed up.  The sixth graders are singing Go Tell It On The Mountain, Sing Noel, Perfect for the Part, Come All Ye Faithful, and the Finale.  Mrs. Long showed us how our vocal cords work.  She also told us that having a voice like Squidward, who is on Spongebob, will help build up our singing vocals.  Right now we are studying about the Christmas show.  You should come.  It's going to be great!

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!