12-9-13          6^th Grade Update

-Great to see our first wintery weather!

-We are the first class to have all our ski forms in!!! Mucho Gracias!!!

-One more skating day this coming Friday 13.

                                    -Make sure your student has X-C Ski equipment ready to go!

                                                -Please send warm cloths for sledding.

            On Thursday, December 5, Nelson Mandela died. The following day the class and I spoke briefly about this. Few of the students had much of an idea of his life and ideas. This seems an important moment in time to stop and think about leadership and what Mandela contributed to understanding and fighting for freedom. Beth, my daughter, will be here over the next two weeks introducing Mandela and his place in South Africa and world history. Below are some links for the students to explore. The New York Times film has moments of violence that some may find hard to view.

http://www.mandelahistory.org/index.php

http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/Mandela-Timeline.html#/#time216_6691

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/nelson-mandela-obit-coverage.html?_r=1&

Beth and I sent home a Mandela quote for the students to share with their families and start to think about. They will discuss this with Beth on Thursday.

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." (From Long Walk to Freedom, 1995)

Discuss this as a family. In your own words, what does this quote mean? How does it relate to leadership and citizenship? Write down your thoughts for discussion in class

Welcome Back! I hope you all had a great holiday with family and friends.

UPDATES:

6th Homeroom: I have scheduled our trip to Montpelier for late January and will send out an e-mail with particulars by mid-December. We will visit the Vermont Historical Society Museum, the Vermont State House, and the Vermont Supreme Court. We will visit during the time that Susan Flint, a current 8th graders, is also there engaged as a page at the State House.

Reminders for Friday 6: Skating @ Vermont Academy rink

Nacho Day- lunch for $6

Forms for Ski Program due

6th Math: This week we will be working on finishing up work on decimals and getting ready for the chapter test through converting numbers into  scientific notation, extend knowledge of exponential notation and powers of ten and further practice of multiplying and dividing. Our next unit will be jumping into pre-algebra concepts of variables, patterns, formulas and graphs.

7th Math: Some of the students will be finishing up work with rates, ratios and proportions. Others will be working in pre-algebra translating words into algebraic expressions, evaluating expressions, and using formulas in a spreadsheet.

8th Math: The class will come together to work on learning how to use a graphing calculator to graph equations and to expand their understanding of statistics with a new measure of range: mean absolute deviation.