Secret Santa Dec. 17th - 21st

Secret Santa starts tomorrow. Please read for information on what we're doing.

Next week begins our 6^th grade “Secret Santa”. The purpose of this activity is to encourage caring and a generous heart during this time. This week should not be about buying gifts each day for the person assigned to you. It should be about showing that you care for your 6^th grade classmates.

Though we will have a final Secret Santa reveal on Friday the 21^st, and a small gift (either homemade or less than $5) will be exchanged, the rest of the week will be mostly acts of kindness.

Here are some examples of things you could do to make your recipient’s day:

-      Write a kind and encouraging note (Mrs. Julian has some holiday paper)

-      Make a nice acrostic poem out of their name

-      Draw a picture or make a card

-      Go out of your way to help him or her

-      Spend time at recess together

-      Make an origami figure (Mrs. Julian has some origami paper).

-      Give him/her a compliment

I’m sure there are lots of other ways to help brighten someone’s day and you can probably think of more that aren’t on this list.

If buying a gift for the final reveal (the 21^st) is not possible, please let Mrs. Julian know right away. I will help in any way I can. Also, if you are going to be out of town and cannot participate, please let me know that as well. I can help you set things up, so that you might still participate, even in your absence.

We’re so excited to see the joy that comes from giving to others shared with every 6^th grade student.

Merrily Yours,

Lisa Julian, Carrie Ugrin, and John Wolters

Veteran's Day Care Package Update

Our 6th grade classes collected a whopping 85 pounds worth of coffee and treats for our soldiers in Afghanistan. The soldiers received our boxes last week and are grateful for your generosity. Thank you for helping our 6th graders show they care.

- Lisa Julian, Carrie Ugrin, and John Wolters

November Book Reports

Enjoy the pictures of our neat November Book Reports. I'm excited to see what January will bring.

This is a scene from The Westing Game where spaghetti sauce exploded everywhere. This looks macabre, but it is not.

December Events

Can you believe it's already December?! 6th grade has a few events coming up this month. Please make sure to check the upcoming events calendar to keep posted on what's happening at school.

December 14th is the holiday shop run by the 5th grade. If you'd like your child to shop, please send him/her with $1 bills or change. 

The band and orchestra concert is on the 19th, and the holiday sing is on the 21st. 

I'll post more as the dates become available.

The second round of book reports went well. I will post pictures soon! The next book reports are not due until January. Students are required to read a biography. I will take students to the library and approve their books.

Choral Festival - November 16th

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The Schedule for the Choral Festival is 

9:00-9:15       students arrive and be seated

9:15-10:25     rehearsal

10:25-10:45   break--water and rest room

10:45-11:15    final rehearsal, including MHS Chamber Choir warm-up and rehearsal

                       “Give us hope”, plus add instrumentalists to other songs.
11:15              open doors for audience to enter

11:30              26th Annual U.S.D. 383 Elementary Choral Festival

12:00              performance complete

                       clean-up, pick-up, load-up

The 27th Annual Choral Festival is set for November 16th at Eisenhower Middle School.

Traditionally, the majority of  6th grade parents have chosen this as an opportunity to take their child out for lunch. We request that any parent wishing to take a student from the choral festival send in a note with their child by November 15th. This helps us to keep track of all the students and where they should be after the event is over.

Because the 16th is an early release day, we will have a sign out sheet available at the choral festival. You will need to sign your son/daughter out if you don't plan to return him/her to school by 1pm.

6th Grade Care Package Collection

In honor of Veteran's Day our class has voted to send care packages to soldiers deployed to Afghanistan. We have at least one parent in each of the 6th grade classes that is currently deployed. Our care package(s)will be sent to their unit(s).

Items these soldiers would like to have are :

• coffee
• creamer (powdered)
• sugar
• holiday treats

You are welcome to give anything you wish. Something that might be nice is a pre-paid phone card. Fort Riley will not forward calls to Manhattan where our families live. Therefore, soldiers have to pay to call their families. Isn't is always the little things that you & I take for granted that make a deployed soldiers day?! Please begin sending in items as soon as possible. I'll be mailing the box on November 17th.

October Book Report Pictures

Post Conference Follow Up

A HUGE thanks to all of the parents who attended Parent Teacher Conferences on Wednesday and Thursday. 10 minutes is not always enough time to discuss everything. If you think you need additional time to meet with any of your child's teachers, please email him/her directly.

Spelling

There is no spelling test the week of October 22nd. Students should begin studying for the week of October 29th.

The list is always available on www.spellingcity.com/squish

Reading Logs

Students are required to read for 100 minutes outside of school each week. They must complete a reading log and return it to me each Monday. Reading logs must contain the book the read, the number of minutes they read for, and a parents signature. If the student has misplaced a reading log, he/she can write it on a piece of paper.

Beginning Oct. 15th, I am keeping the reading logs that are handed in. This will help me conference with each student about their reading habits, RC quizzes, and book reports.

Parent - Teacher Conferences

Parent - Teacher Conferences begin on October 24th at 4:15.

Conference Procedures:
1. Stop by the office to pick up your child's report card
2. Visit the three 6th grade teachers in any order you'd like
3. You'll have 10 minutes with each teacher to discuss any concerns
4. Specials teachers are available if you'd like to visit with them.

Schedule of conferences:
Oct 24th 4:15pm - 7:30pm (teachers will break for dinner from 6:00 - 6:30)
Oct. 25th 8:00am - 7:30pm (teachers will break for lunch from 12:00 - 1:00, and dinner from 6:00 - 6:30)

We look forward to conferencing with you.