Mrs. Klotz’s Classes

Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up.  They are next week on November 24th and 25th.  Hopefully you already know that students only have school on Monday.  Monday will be a regular school day and content will be covered.  We do not have holiday parties here at the middle school and it will be important for your child to come on that day.  Conferences will be held the evening of the 24th from 5-8 p.m. and on the 25th from 12-2:20 p.m. and again from 5-8 p.m.  Conferences are not scheduled here at the middle school.  All the teachers will be located in the gymnasium and you will need to wait in line to see each teacher.  Students are always welcome to attend with you.  I look forward to seeing all of you there. 

I have heard from some of the parents regarding problems with the parent gateway for accessing grades online.  Every problem that I am made aware of I contact our technology director with those concerns.  If you are having a problem please let the school know as soon as possible.  We can’t fix problems if we don’t know they exist.  You can email our technology director at dpalme@portlandk12.org with any problems or Mr. Carlton at bcarlton@portlandk12.org with any questions. 

I am planning to send home copies of progress reports again this Friday.  This is not one of the required dates, but I would like to let parents see where their child is at before conferences.

First off - grades… The grading program is finally up and running and I have entered all grades that I have!  I apologize for this huge delay (although please know I would have really appreciated this program being running long ago as well).  You can expect to see progress reports coming home with your child on Friday.  In the meantime you should be able to now access your child’s grades online at any time.  You will need to contact Mr. Carlton directly with information about how and to obtain your password.

Second - MEAP… MEAP started yesterday and will continue this week and next.  MEAP will take place only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Tomorrow and next Tuesday the students will be taking the Language Arts portion.  It is long - both sessions are three hours long!  This was not our choice - the state has mandated testing windows after last year’s retake fiasco.  Please continue to encourage positive habits of getting a good night’s sleep and eating a healthy breakfast especially on the testing days.

And finally writing Conferences… By now your child should have asked you to conference their first piece of writing.  Drafts of their piece as well as a conference ticket signed by a parent were due on Monday.  Conferencing your child’s story can be tricky as some of you may have found out.  Writing is very personal for all of us and opening up to share your writing can make you feel quite vulnerable.  Often when students feel like their writing is being picked apart they shut down and become defensive.  To avoid this always try to start with positive feedback.  Grammar and spelling are important but shouldn’t be the only focus.  Comment on the quality of their writing as well.  Do they have good details?  Is there a clear problem and resolution?  Ask questions of their writing if you don’t understand.  Chances are if it is confusing to you it will be to me as well when I assess it.  But remember - ultimately they are the author (and adolescents) and they may choose to ignore your suggestions.  If that happens try not to get frustrated.  They are then choosing to accept the consequences when I assess it.

An update on Science as well:  We assembled decomposition columns last week in class and will be observing them for several weeks.  If your child asked you for kitchen scraps then you know how glamorous this project is.  We are watching organic materials decompose.  Hopefully the smell and fruit fly populations don’t overtake us.  As an extension of studying decomposition we are focusing on one decomposer - the earthworm.  We will be studying its internal and external anatomy as well as examining its response to different stimuli.  In the end we will be dissecting a preserved earthworm.   There is a quiz Friday on the anatomy.  You can expect our first major test probably by the end of next week.  Be looking for a study guide.

Very exciting news - 100% of my homeroom made the commitment to have their Best Year Ever.  Since we had 100% participation I know that all the parents already read the letter explaining how to have our Best Year Ever.  Please work with your child to remember our principles of having great attendance a positive attitude and putting forth the best effort.  We have been struggling with this lately.  This week has been hard.  I am not seeing very good effort and the attitude is really lacking - it is only day 16.  Each day we have talked about looking for something exciting in everything we do and putting forth effort that goes beyond “just enough”.

I know from filling the planners out with the students that homework has picked up.  They don’t have homework every night, but some nights they have a little bit in every subject.  There are many students who are not turning in homework.  Our online grade program is not up and running yet so be sure to check with your child each day and make sure they are following through on their responsibility to complete homework.

We have started writing our first story in Language Arts.  They completed their story plans today and should begin drafting their stories.   This first story can be about anything that they would like.  Fiction is my preference although I do have a couple of students who chose to write non-fiction stories about something that has happened to them.  We also started reading our fantasy novel.  It is The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud.  This book is extremely well written, entertaining to read and full of wit and a dry sense of humor.  I think the students will really enjoy it.  We only got a couple of chapters in, but most students were disappointed to have to put it down for the weekend.

We will be having our first test in science class on Friday.  The students will be bringing home a study guide tomorrow and can begin studying for that.  We have spent a lot of time talking about what an ecosystem is, how to determine whether an area is an ecosystem and the difference between that and a habitat.  That will be the focus of the test along with all the vocabulary.  Be sure to ask your child about the study guide.

We all made it through the first week.  By the end it was a little bit of a struggle for some people - I saw a lot of tired faces.  It is very important for the students to be getting to bed early to get enough sleep.  With this newer early get-up time it is also really important to eat a good filling breakfast.  I heard lots of “I’m starving” everyday in third hour. 

We will finally be working with all the supplies today.  Lots of students had them last week but I gave everyone until today to get them into school.  Also if you still have forms you have not returned to school please do so by Tuesday. 

Language Arts last week had the students writing their autobiographies.  We discussed what an autobiography was and did some brainstorming as a group to get them started.  They completed them on Thursday and we did some work with them in class.  These are the first writing samples I get from the students and they will help me to get a sense of what strengths and weaknesses the students have.  The students also started designing a crest that represents themselves that will be used on the homepage of their website.  Be sure to ask them to see that.This week we will be investigating the MEAP testing genre and hopefully giving them some skills to help them feel successful with this test when it gets to us in October. 

We spent last week discussing the scientific method in Science class.  Students were given the opportunity to conduct small data gathering experiments to help them carry out the steps of the scientific method.  We will continue that early this week and will be having a quiz on Wednesday in which the students will be putting into practice what they know about the scientific method.  Ask your student about their study habits for this first quiz.  Later this week we will also begin our ecosystems unit.

The students have all been very eager to learn, are doing GREAT with their lockers and it looks like we are primed for a great school year!

It was nice to see so many parents at last night’s open house. I hope that all of you found it helpful and were able to get all of your questions answered. I look forward to seeing all the students on Tuesday! If you are reading this you have found our class blog. Welcome! As you will notice there are old posts from previous years as well as the current posts. Feel free to browse around and get a feel for the site. Last year I was on maternity leave for quite a while so there aren’t as many posts for last year. You can subscribe to this blog and receive email updates when I add posts. You can also subscribe using the RSS feed if you have a blog catcher that you prefer. I hope that all of you - parents and students - will find this a useful place to come and get information. I encourage all of you to make comments as often as possible and we will try to get some online conversations going between families and myself. I have a goal of updating this at least once a week this year. I also plan to use this for both Language Arts and Science class since all the students that I have this year will have me for both subjects. Previously I have only used this for Language Arts. I found some supply deals for the items on your supply list if you are doing some shopping this weekend. These sales do end Saturday (8/30). Staples has folders for FREE!!!! Yes - FREE after instant rebate. You don’t even have to mail anything in! KMart has 2 GB flash drives for $9.99!!! That was the cheapest I found this week. So - to get the conversation started, What were your thoughts on last night’s open house? This was the first time we tried this format and would love some feedback. Was it helpful? Do you have suggestions?

First Bath

Christmas Baby

I keep promising that I will update the blog with some pictures of my baby. Time sure does slip away a lot faster now than it ever did before. There is not much you can squish into accomplishing between feedings and during nap time with a little one. I have been struggling to get stories graded and am now working on portfolios, so every second of time is filled. But, I wanted to share some pictures with everyone.

Liliane is doing great! I am truly enjoying my time bonding at home with her. I miss everyone at school, but I already know it is going to be extremely difficult to leave this precious baby when it is time to return to work.

Enjoy the pictures everyone!

    I’m sure that your child has told you, but today is my last day here at school.  According to the doctor I will be having a baby this weekend!  I am really hoping that the students can return on Monday with a full update on baby.

Mrs. Blackmer will be my substitute while I am on maternity leave.  She was in this week to observe class and meet with the students.  She is very excited and looking forward to being in the classroom with them.  While I am on leave if you have questions or concerns for her please feel free to call the school or you can send her an email using my email address as she will be checking that.  I will return on St. Patrick’s Day next year.

Some of the kids have requested that I post a baby picture here on our blog.  Keep checking back because I may just do that.  I hope everyone has a great holiday and I will see everyone in March!

Can you believe it - we are already done with the first marking period of sixth grade!  How exciting!  As we wrap up the marking period you will see report cards coming home in the next couple of weeks.  I would plan to expect them late next week or the following week.  I am still diligently working to finish grading all the students’ stories.  It is very exciting to read their first writing pieces, yet it is very time consuming.  I have some of the longest pieces this year over past years.  I love that students have so much to say, it just takes me that much longer to get through grading them though.  I apologize for the delay to people who are anxiously awaiting their return.  I also still have their projects to grade that they completed last week.  I won’t have grades updated to Edline today like I normally do because I will update on Monday with the final marking period grades.

Also with the end of the first marking period come parent teacher conferences.  These will take place on Monday, November 19 and Tuesday November 20.  Conferences on Monday run from 5-8 p.m. On Tuesday they run from 12-2:30 p.m. and then again from 5-8 p.m.  Conferences at the Middle School are different from elementary school.  We do not make appointments here.  All the teachers will be located in the gym.  When you arrive for conferences you can tour around the gym visiting all your child’s teachers in the order you prefer.  You can come on either day during any of the times. See you at conferences!

Some of you may have already had your child ask you to read their story, hopefully by the end of the weekend you have all been asked.  At this point all students should be done with the draft of their story for the marking period.  On Tuesday of this week (10/16) student must have their draft completed as well as their conference ticket filled out.  Their ticket has three requirements:

      1.  A student in the sixth grade (preferably in their class or one of the other classes I teach) has conferenced their story and signed their ticket.

       2.  A parent has conferenced their story and signed their ticket.

       3.  They have written a paragraph response on the paper explaining how the conferences have changed their writing.

On Tuesday we will be in the computer lab typing their stories.  Students will not be allowed on a computer without a completed ticket.  We will spend four days in the lab typing, so students do NOT need to type at home unless they fall behind in class.

Working with your child on their writing can be a frustrating experience.  Sharing your writing with anyone makes you extremely vulnerable.  You have poured your heart and soul into a piece knowing all the while that you are writing to be read.  But when it comes to that moment of actually having someone read your writing it makes you feel very vulnerable.  Please keep this in mind when working with your child.  Add on top of that the fact that they are adolescents and it can make the situation a little tricky.  Here are a few suggestions to help make the conference go a little more smoothly. 

     - Give compliments as often as you make suggestions.

     - Begin by looking at the structure of the story rather than grammar or spelling issues.  Look for a clear beginning, middle and end.  The story should also have a clear conflict or problem to be solved.  Make sure the ending does in fact solve the problem.  Encourage them to remove events that are unnecessary and to really add lots of details to the whole story.

     - Their story should not be all dialogue or characters talking.  I have used this analogy in class and their story should reflect it: Dialogue is like a seasoning, salt and pepper for example.  You would not sit down to a meal of salt and pepper, therefore, your entire story should not be dialogue.  Just like you would season a meal with salt and pepper the storytelling should be seasoned with dialogue.  It should not be overbearing.

     - Finally look at the spelling and grammar issues.  Don’t spell every word for them.  Make them use a dictionary.  Simply tell them which words are spelled wrong.

     - Patience and understanding.

I hope everyone is able to have a successful conference and bring a draft they are proud of to the computer lab on Tuesday.

Two very important things came home with students today.  The first was a letter welcoming you and encouraging you to use our class blog, so welcome!  I look forward to hearing from all the families at some point on on our blog.  The second item that came home today was our first WEB sheet.  WEB stands for Wonderfully Exciting Books.  It is an at home reading assignment.  You should become very familiar with this sheet.  The students will have this as homework every week this year.  The only exceptions will be when we are working on projects.   During those weeks I do not assign WEB so that the students can concentrate on their project.  Students at this age level need to be continual readers.  Unfortunately we don’t have extra time during the day for students to pleasure read.  Students need to be reading at home.  That is where this assignment comes in.

Research shows a direct connection between reading and writing.  Students who are avid, proficient readers are generally more successful with their writing.  Reading builds stories in their mind.  The more someone reads the greater their understanding of the structure of writing, the grammatical aspects of it as well as expanding their vocabulary.  It is best if students are reading books at their grade level.  However the occasional newspaper article or magazine will also expand their literacy.  Please encourage your child to spend most of their time reading novels appropriate for their grade level or above.  Many students at this age get stuck in a time warp, reading novels that are much below their grade level because it is the last type of book they remember enjoying.  There are hundreds of great books out there for young adolescents.  Feel free to ask myself, our school librarian Mrs. Platte or the children’s librarian at the public library for some suggestions.  We have many.

The WEB assignment has three main parts.  First, they must read at least 100 minutes per week.  They can choose to divide this time up any way that they like.  This allows flexibility if your family finds one evening  busier than another.  It should not however, be used by your child as an excuse to procrastinate.  They need to record on their sheet how many total minutes they read each day.  If they don’t read any minutes on a day they can leave that box blank.  Second, students must write at least two paragraphs of five sentences in each paragraph discussing what they think about what they read after they are done reading for the week.  The can not summarize what they read.  Students should write about how they were feeling when they read, what they think will happen next and why, what they like about the story, why they selected the story, what other books this reminds them of, etc.  The writing in these paragraphs should be 6th grade quality writing and not simple sentences that say things like: “I like it.  It is good.”  They need to check their grammar and spelling as well.  And the final part of the assignment is the parent signature.  At the end of the week parents need to sign the WEB sheet acknowledging that their child did read the required time.

New WEB sheets are passed out every Monday and the previous week’s sheet is collected on that day.  If students forget the sheet on Monday they need to remember our late work policy.  They can turn their sheet in on Tuesday for a late grade, but on Wednesday it will be a zero.  When I collect their sheets on Monday I will put a note in their planner if they don’t turn this assignment in.  If your child loses their WEB sheet during the week I have posted a copy of the sheet on Edline.  You can log on at anytime and print as many additional copies as you need.