Week 10/27-10/29

Dear Parents,

Welcome back school!  We hope you all have a relax and wonderful fall break. 

English class:

Hope all students have had a great break. As we resume English classes please remind students to ask about their grades. I have them completed and will be posting in skyward soon, but if they would like to change their grade through extra work they will need to reach out to me. So far the students have done really well and I am thankful for their hard work.

In math this week we are continuing our studies on ratios and proportions. We have been working on applying this to real world situations such as statistics and cooking.

For language arts the students a re continuing their study in Percy Jackson. We are also using common core English materials that go with the book to study vocabulary, literary devices and grammar. The students will also begin to work on a powerpoint based on the country they are studying this year.

Along with this I would like to take the time to let you know Mrs. Mcfarland and I's plan for this Thursday and Friday. First on Thursday we will be hosting a zoom from 4-4:30 for any parents that have questions about grading or class. Due to the fact our parent teacher conference time is so tight we would like to offer this as a time for you to ask any questions. There is no requirement to be there, but please come if you have questions. 

This Friday we will be having each class come for tests in Chinese and Science. I will be administering the science test and Mrs. Mcfarland will be administering Chinese. Each test will be 45 minutes and we would ask students to be at school by 11:00 this Friday. 

Again please reach out with any questions or concerns!

Chinese class:

Students' science grade has posted in the Canvas, please check it.  If your student received a zero for their grade that means student didn't do assignment.  If your student receives low grade, please see the comments.  Since we have flex Friday, students are able to use this time to ask questions and complete homework.  All the homework will be graded, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me.  There is no homework for this week, please use this time wisely to catch up missing assignments. 

AAPPL testing:

The AAPPL testing is getting closer.  6th graders will take the practice test on Nov. 17-18th during rotation time, then take real AAPPL test at computer lab on Monday, Nov. 23rd between 9:15-10:45 and 11:15-12:45 for the full test.  

For online students in class, they can join in person to take the AAPPL test OR they can take the test at home with parents acting as proctors. If they want to take the test at home, there are instructions for how to request the student be moved from "in person" to "at home" testing.  It takes a few days to change the test mode.  So, students will need to make that request a few days in advance of the test.  Please let me know if your student is not coming to test in person.  

Friday:

Chinese comprehension test and Science test

Chinese:

Students will continue lesson MMXI2 unit 1.2 充满期待 lessons and start MMXI2 unit 1.3 新朋友

Homework: Students will complete unit 1.3 新朋友 quizlet vocabulary.

Science:

Students will learn FOSS population and ecosystem lesson p.51-61 Energy and Life; Where does food come from

Vocabulary:

protists （原生生物）; producers （生产者）; molecules（分子）; carbohydrates （碳水化物）; chlorophyll (叶绿素）; autotrophs （自养生物）; food chain （食物链）; prey（猎物）; predator （捕食者）; consumer (消费者）； primary consumers （一级消费者）; secondary consumers （二级消费者）; tertiary consumers（三级消费者）; heterotrophs （外养生物） ; aerobic cellular (有氧细胞）; respiration （呼吸作用）; thermal energy （热能）; atoms （原子）; zooplankton （浮游动物）; photosynthesis （光合作用), biomass (生物量，convert (转化); transfer (转移); carbon dioxide (二氧化碳）； phytoplankton (浮游植物）

Social Studies:

Students will continue learn about human's origin and how society has developed.

Week 10.12-10/15

Dear Parents,

Can you believe that seven weeks has safely passed?  Yeah:) . Thanks for all those involved in helping your students be able to participate in this Friday's intervention! Your students have been doing an awesome job in all they have done this past week.

English class:

For math class our class will be having their Unit 1 math test this upcoming Monday. Please encourage them to study and prepare for this test.

In English class the students are continuing to read Percy Jackson as we learn vocabulary and comprehension skills. The students also have a country paper due this Monday. They have been working through this project at school and should be able to finish quickly. Feel welcome to read their papers and help them with this project.

Chinese class:

:) The blog problem solved, now you will be able to view the weekly newsletter from Mrs. Mcfarland's blog again. This week we have enjoyed learning your student's family story.  For next week students will have a daily quiz about four to five Chinese vocabulary words. Please see below screenshot.  Also all Chinese and Science homework will be available on Canvas Monday.  Social studies assignments will be available on Wednesday.

Chinese:

Students will start MMXI2 unit 1.2 充满期待 lesson. 

Homework: Students will complete unit 1.2 充满期待 lesson in a nearpod and the quizlet vocabulary. This will be posted with another assignment on Canvas Monday.

Science:

We will continue learning about the cycling of matter and the flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Homework will be posted on Canvas on Monday.

Vocabulary:

Food web (食物网), tufa towers (凝灰岩塔), abiotic factor (非生物因素），PH 值, geosphere (地圈  ), hydrosphere (水气圈 ), atmosphere (  大气圈 ), observational study (观察研究),  population study (种群研究)，controlled experiment ( 控制实验 ), model (模型），sustain (支持 ), biodiversity ( 生物多样性),

Social Studies:

Students will learn about humans origin and how the society developed.

Vocabulary:

Please see below screenshot.

This is a gentle reminder again, as time goes on this year please remind your students to turn in and put effort into their homework. So far I have been lenient on their work, but please remind them to fill in their planner and complete their work. I will start to be more strict and intentional in how I handle those who are missing their assignments. All students are working hard, please encourage them to continue to do so!

Social study vocabulary:

The daily Chinese vocabulary quiz list:

Week 10/5-10/8

Dear Parents,

Thanks for all those involved in helping your students be able to participate in this Friday's intervention! Your students have been doing an awesome job in all they have done this past week.

English class:

Currently in math we have continued to learn area and moved into surface area and volume. The students have been picking up content well and should be prepared for a unit 1 test before break.

In language arts the students have started to work through vocabulary and comprehension using Percy Jackson material. They have been doing a great job in learning new vocabulary especially.

Chinese class:

If you're checking my blog for a weekly newsletter, this week it won't be updated due to technical issues. Also, please have your students bring a family history story to school.  (It can be great grandparents, grandparents , parents' memory or a family tree story.  The story needs to have the details of when, where and an event. This will be done in Chinese.)

Chinese:

Students will start MMXI2 unit 1-1 lessons.  Homework: Students will complete unit 1-1lessons in Nearpod and Quizlet vocabulary. This will be posted with other assignment on Canvas Monday.

Science:

We are learning about the cycling of matter and the flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Homework will be posted on Canvas on Monday.

Vocabulary:

biomes (生物群落）, ecosystem services （生态系统服务）, provisioning, regulating （调解）, cultural （文化）, supporting （支持）, aquatic （水生）, terrestrial （陆生）， phytoplankton （浮游植物, photosynthesis （光合作用）, symbiotic （共生）, energy （能量）, migrating （迁移）, semiarid （半干旱）, biotic （生物）, abiotic 9非生物） biosphere（生物圈）, tropical zone （热带区）, biomass （生物质）, temperate zone （温带区）, polar zone（极地区）, 

Social Studies:

Students will learn how ancient civilizations developed and how they contributed to the current state of the world. Homework will be posted on Monday.

Vocabulary:

History （历史）, ancient （古代）, timeline（时间线），information (资料), first hand information（第一手资料）, second hand information（第二手资料）, historian (历史学家）

As time goes on this year please remind your students to turn in and put effort into their homework. So far I have been lenient on their work, but please remind them to fill in their planner and complete their work. I will start to be more strict and intentional in how I handle those who are missing their assignments. All students are working hard, please encourage them to continue to do so! 

Week 9/28-10/1

Dear Parents,

Thank you for bring your students to school for intervention and for a great week of classes as well. Your students continue to impress and grow in their learning! This week we have been able to work through many of our projects and complete their first test. We also successfully had students join us for Friday intervention.

English Class:

In math the students were able to study and review for their first test in area. They completed this test on Wednesday and will have the opportunity to retake the test this week. Many students have been doing well in this unit, but if any are in need of extra work or help please let me know!

In language arts we have started to read through Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief. They will have a unit of vocabulary and comprehension that goes alone with the book. Each student has also started their country research paper. This first research paper will be done in class, but it may be good to ask them details about their country.

Chinese Class:

Please check your student's class dojo for their completed or uncompleted assignments. If you have problem to see or login, please let me know.

Chinese:

We will start review MMX unit 7-10 lessons.  Homework: Students will complete unit 7-10 lessons in Nearpod and Chinese word writing package.

Science:

We are learning how fast the population will increase for milkweed bugs without any limiting factors. This coming week we are going to learn about the Milkweed bug and its community. The homework will be posted on the Canvas this Monday.

Vocabulary:

proboscis (触角），exoskeleton （外骨骼）, nymph （幼虫）, molting （蜕变）, instar （幼虫蜕变期）, incomplete metamorphosis （没有完成的成长周期）, clutches （一堆卵）, population（种群）, organisms （生物）, species （物种）, community （群落）, environment （环境）, abiotic （非生物）， ecosystem （生态系统）

Social Studies:

We learned mapping skills this week. Also students will continue to learn the below vocabulary. The homework will be on the Quizlet for what is geography (什么是地理学？）?

Vocabulary:

absolute location (绝对位置）, relative location （相对位置）, longitude （经度）, latitude （纬度）, natural feature （自然特征）， manmade feature （人造特征），equator（赤道 ），America (美洲)，Europe (欧洲)，Asia (亚洲) 

Thank you again for all you are doing as parents and please feel free to reach out about any concerns or questions.

Week 9/21-9/25

Dear parents:

Upcoming Tuesday, the 22^nd  Fourth, Fifth and Sixth grade students will have their pictures taken.

Inter-State Studio Services will be doing our school pictures this year – they offer competitive packages as well as various photo options. Ordering information is attached and done solely online. Information can be found on their website www.inter-state.com/order. Our school code is 53114H    Photo retakes are scheduled for November 2^nd. 

Monte Vista Picture Flyer 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,

Mr. Behmer & Mrs. McFarland

English Class:

Thank you again parents for a great week. Your students have done awesome and I really appreciate all you have done to help them in their school work.

In math we have started to learn about polygons and how to find area of complex figures. The students will have a test this week covering the first half of our math unit. Please ask them to study and be prepared for the test on Wednesday.

In language arts we will be starting Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief. Please try to make sure your student has a copy of the book. If you are having trouble getting them a copy please let me know and I will do my best to get them a copy. Along with this they will be finishing their first research paper and project for English class. 

For next Friday's interventions I will be sending out a schedule this Monday or Tuesday. We will begin to have some students come in, while others that want to can remain online. Please let me know any problems or troubles you may have about Friday and I will address them quickly.

Chinese Class:

Red class parents thank you for bringing your student to school for intervention. Another great week passed:) This week, I helped students with their Canvas account, however, there is some problems on Canvas. I already wrote to district specialist and hopefully the problems will be resolved soon. For MMX, I have found out that students only can read and do the practice questions, but they won't be able to submit. Once again, for those parents who aren't login in class dojo, please do it soon. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Chinese:

We will continue review MMX unit 4-6 lessons.  Homework: Students will complete unit 5-6 lesson in Nearpod and Chinese word writing package.

Science:

We had a really fun lesson on living organisms and ecosystems this week. Please have your student catch an earth worm in the bag (for later) to put in their ecosystem jar. This coming week we will start Milkweed bug lesson. Students are going to use the below vocabulary to make a five minute video describing what have they have read in Mr. Behmer's class for science and post five questions with thier answer in their video. Then they will email the paper to me.

Science vocabulary: Observations (观察），inference (推论），food （食物），habitat (栖息地），individual （个体），phenomena （现象），capacity (能力 or 容量)，ecosystem (生态系统）

Social study:

We continue last week's lesson and learn more about Social Studies:, geography （地理）, Mapping skills. Homework will be Quizlet on what is social study vocabulary, students need to complete three different activities.

Week 9/14-9/18

Dear Parents,

Hope this weekly update finds you well! We have had a great week and are continuing to get to know each other as a class well. We apologize for the late notice about intervention groups this week. We will work to let you know each Monday who will have work and material to go through on Fridays.

English Class:

In math class this week we have continued to study the area of different figures. Most of the students aced our quiz on area and have been doing great. We also have added fantasy football to our math class. This is a great opportunity to learn math through statistics and also grow in their understanding of teamwork.

In language arts I usually start the year with a research paper. This week they learned how to find sources for their paper and this weekend will take notes on their sources. I also will be sending home our reading plan for this year on Monday. It has taken some time to establish and get things rolling this year, but I know the students are doing great.

Please always reach out with any questions you may have and let me know any help your student may need.

Chinese Class:

Thank you for bringing your student to school for intervention. Last week, we had a lot of fun learning Chinese and Science.  For Canvas, I haven't posted any assignments in the past few weeks.  Next week, I will walk through with students step by step how to use Canvas and find assignments.  There are some students who told me that they have difficulty doing the Mandarin Matrix and submitting their work.  Don't worry about it!   I already wrote to an MMX technician; hopefully, I will receive a response sooner. Also, if you haven't login in class dojo, please do it sooner.

Chinese:

We will review MMX unit 4-6 lessons.  Homework: Students will login into MMX to read assigned lessons.

Science:

We will continue to learn about the effects of the water cycle on ecosystems and make DIY terrarium.  If you can please have your student bring 32 oz clean Mason Jar with lid or clean spaghetti sauce 32 oz jar and a small sandwich bag with some dirt, grass, or living bugs so we can make ecosystem terrarium. Please see the video, student don't need to find exactly same things, they can just find thing around your house or garden. We will need this on Tuesday.

Science vocabulary: Observations (观察），inference (推论），food （食物），habitat (栖息地），individual （个体），phenomena （现象），capacity (能力 or 容量)，ecosystem (生态系统）

Social Studies:

We will learn about about social studies （社会学）, government （政府）, economics（经济）, culture （文化）, ancient civilization （古代文化）, geography （地理）, history （历史）, religion （宗教）.

There is a weekly assignment for Chinese, Science and Social study.  I will talk to students on Monday.  

Week 9/8-9/11

 Dear Parents,

We thank you for your hard work in helping us get through our first full week of school. Your students did awesome and we enjoyed the opportunity to teach them! I will touch on a couple of things we are going through in class. Please always let us know when you have questions or thoughts.

English class:

In math this week students have studied finding the area of quadrilaterals and complex figures. It has been some challenging material, but they have done great. They will continue studying area this week focusing on parallelograms and other figures. Encourage them to work hard!

In language arts we have started a research project they will be doing. This project will introduce them to ideas and concepts they will be learning throughout the year. I also will be working and have nearly completed our reading program for the year. Please encourage the students to pick a book they would enjoy to read and have them bring it this Tuesday. We will also be starting a new ELA curriculum this year. I will be sending you more information about our new language arts curriculum early next week.

Thank you for your patience and help this year! 

Chinese class:

This week we have login into Mandarin Matrix. Students should already know the login information and password.  If they forgot, please let me know. I have used class dojo to communicate with you about how your student is doing daily. There are still few parents haven't signed in. If that is you please do it soon.

Red class parents, thank you for bringing your student in today for Chinese assessment.  I apologize for taking longer than I thought to assess your student. 

Chinese:

We will review Mandarin Matrix unit 2 lesson.  Homework: students will login into quizlet and complete three activities in MMX unit 2 lesson as well as Nearpod MMX unit 2 lesson assignments.

Science:

We will continue learning about the scientific method and cross cutting concept through water cycle activities for ecosystem unit. Homework: students will have quizlet science terminology practice assignments to complete.

The homework assignments will be posted on Monday.