Team Kathmandu: Week 10

⏰Friday, Oct. 31: Last Day of Term 1, last day to submit work

✌🏻Monday, Nov. 3: No School for students (records day)

📷Friday, Nov. 7: Picture Day Make-Ups

✌🏻Tuesday, Nov. 11: No School, Veterans Day

🍁Wednesday, Nov. 26-30: No School, Thanksgiving Break

This week in Geography we began our study of the African Diaspora, first by defining diaspora, and then by studying case studies. Students are taking notes in a graphic organizer to help them think about and understand how different people represent the diaspora.

Next week we have a short week. Students will have more case studies on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Unfortunately, due to the shutdown, our field trip to NMNH on Tuesday has been cancelled. Thank you for signing and returning permission slips in a timely fashion. At this time, there is no update about a rescheduled date.

A reminder that CEAs are assigned in class on Monday (but often posted on Sunday before) and due at the end of the week. I will take them the following Monday for 80% credit, but they are not accepted after that. A new CEA will have been assigned. Students must turn in all CEAs in class—I do no look for CEAs in my email. Students receive a template each week and it is also posted in Canvas. If students get home and are unable to print the template and don’t have one, they can always write it out on lined notebook paper. All CEAs connect to the region we are studying. I have been very impressed with students’ connections in class to our content and the CEA! Keep bringing the excellent work!

I also started CEA Club on Wednesdays during recess. I have shared with all students, that if interested, they may pick up a pass before going to lunch on Wed. and meet me in my room when they are dismissed for recess. We read the article together and do as much of the CEA together as possible. This week we were successful in completing the full assignment in 30 minutes. I highly recommend students who struggle with the assignment to join us! It is open to anyone on the team.

Congratulations to 7th period—the first Geography period to reach their incentive. Students are voting what they would like and we will enjoy it next week! Way to go!

Thank you for the awesome postcards—both virtual and via snail mail! We are continuing to read them and post them on our map! So fun and impressive! Thank you for sharing the project with your family and friends, and bringing the world to us! Be sure to check out our GeoNewsletter, written by our own GeoScribes! Follow along and see the class through your students’ eyes! https://secure.smore.com/n/nbc3t

On Orientation Day students shared a song they would like to add to our class playlist. This Spotify playlist can be found here:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7nWMWui4YoJ5WUxe9zqWIY?si=hV7LhQaNSu2SzPI6k58-QQ

A final request—if you, or anyone you know is traveling, and can send a postcard to our class, or post a picture with description from their travels, it would be greatly appreciated! Please see the adjoining flyer.

Pictures that are on our Kathmandu Can Do Attitude board can also be found here:

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B1gGmitydG4Qz1l I will continue to add pics to it throughout the year!

Amy Trenkle

amy.trenkle@k12.dc.gov

Classroom Wishlist

This week in Accelerated 6th Grade Math

This week, students solve problems involving equivalent ratio tables and finding unit rate using various diagrams to explain speed and find equivalent ratios. This week students will use ratios to convert measurements. Students should take advantage of iRecess (a quiet space to work and get help during recess MWF), our Virtual Classroom (www.framevr.io/brownmath after school help available upon request), and our Parking Lot (an in class means to submit requests, reminders, and questions) which are amongst various resources available to students outside of their normal class periods (and Advisory) to help towards success. Students should see me about any makeup opportunities. Resources available from Illustrative Mathematics to assist families with the curriculum we are following can be found at https://im.kendallhunt.com/MS/index.html.

This week in 7th Grade

This week students worked on assessments on calculating percent given various factors. Students this week will scale drawings and discuss related concepts. Please converse with students about the places where scale drawings may appear. Please encourage your child to take advantage of iRecess (a quiet space to work and get help during recess MWF), our Virtual Classroom (www.framevr.io/brownmath after school help available upon request), and our Parking Lot (an in class means to submit requests, reminders, and questions) and all resources available to students outside of their normal class periods to help towards success. Students should see me about any makeup opportunities. Resources available from Illustrative Mathematics to assist families with the curriculum we are following can be found at https://im.kendallhunt.com/MS/index.html.

Thank you for your support

-Mr. Brown marcus.brown@k12.dc.gov

Hello Scientists!

This week, students dove into a new unit on rock transformation and the rock cycle. They explored the processes that shape different types of rocks and how they transition between forms. This included a hands-on rock cycle crayon lab, where they creatively illustrated the stages of the rock cycle, and two different rock cycle simulations.

Next week, we will dive into weathering, erosion, and deposition processes with two labs – the Skittles Lab and the Slope and Deposition Lab. Please ensure that your student is wearing washable clothes next week!

Additionally, students will be introduced to their Term 2 root words and will take Roots Quiz 2.1 on Friday. The words are listed below:

Roots 2.1:

*cent = 100 (think century, centennial)

*kilo = 1,000 (think kilometer, kilogram)

hexa = 6 (think hexagon)

*octa = 8 (think octagon, octopus)

deca = 10 (think decade, decagon)

shanishka.johnson@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Johnson's list SY25-26

Book time to meet with me

This week we put a wrap on Unit 1! Students wrote essays about a text they read previously while applying the many skills they’ve learned in the past 10 weeks. Ask your child to show you their Class Notebook on the computer so they can show off the progress they’ve made as writers.

On Thursday, we took some time to look back over the work we’ve done and appreciate some of the work completed by our classmates with a Unit 1 Reflection. Today (Friday) students will come home with their Unit 1 work and reflection. 5th period students will take this work home on Tuesday due to a school event during 5th period today. Please look over the reflection and sign. Students need to return the signed reflection (but not the work) by next Friday.

Next week we will launch Unit 2. In Unit 2 we will spend more time reading non-fiction articles and exploring the question: What does it take to achieve success?

The text list for Unit 2 includes the following:

• “Dedicated to the Goal” by Marty Kaminsky

• “The Theory and Power Behind Goal Setting” by Otylia Benson

• “A Quick Note on Getting Better at Difficult Things” by Ta-Nehisi Coats

• “Cultivate Resistance: How to Get Back on the Horse” by Rebecca Zucker

• “The Subtle Secret to Sydney Crosby’s Greatness” by Adam Kilgore

• “How to Transform an Ordinary Everyday Hoop Court Into a Place of Higher Learning and You at the Podium” by Matt De La Peña

• Additional texts students will choose from

Katy Byrns

katy.byrns2@k12.dc.gov

Amazon Wishlist

Politics & Prose Wishlist

It’s hard to believe we’re already at the end of term one! This week we continued to work on equivalent ratios using double number lines and ratio tables. Next week we will learn about unit rates in order to compare ratios and solve real-world problems.

As a reminder, all students have one iReady lesson due every Monday. By 11/03 students should have passed 9 total iReady lessons. Please reach out to me if there is any issue with students completing the iReady lessons at home. Pear assignments are opened on Mondays and Wednesdays and due Wednesday and Friday.

Please note that I’ve also uploaded a document for all the notes for our first unit to the class Canvas page and I will continue to periodically upload future notes as we progress.

brandon.shufelt@k12.dc.gov

SAVE THE DATE!

International Night

January 25th

6pm – 8pm

Students and families from all grades are welcome and encouraged to join us for International Night!

This time-honored Alice Deal event brings together the Alice Deal community as we celebrate the many cultures and nations represented among our student body. The event includes "Taste of the Nation" tables where families share sample size offerings of foods from around the world. Please sign up as a host Deal International Night Volunteer Host Tables

Wear your dancing shoes - we will have a DJ! And of course, Deal merch will be on sale.

Join us for this festive night of celebration! Buy your tickets here https://DealInternation.givesmart.com

****International Night is our number one fundraiser for important scholarship dollars for the upcoming 8th grade foreign language trips!

Questions: shannonharrisbehm@hotmail.com

Are you ready to shine?
Show off your creativity, talent, and entrepreneurial spirit at the Deal Holiday Outdoor Market – Student Entrepreneur Fair on Saturday, December 6, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Alice Deal Middle School.

If you’re a student entrepreneur selling your creations — or if you’d like to share a performance (such as singing, playing an instrument, or another talent) — we’d love for you to participate! Please note that both the market and any performances will take place outdoors, and all Deal students are welcome to apply.

To apply, please click on the student application form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1uQiUxnjtI-w1jRVLefDxSypw1QmBejNDbGVRd8OIFQ8/preview

Questions? Please contact lead Virginia Arrisueno, at virginiaarrisueno@gmail.com

Politics and Prose will hold a Book Fair for the benefit of Alice Deal Middle School on Sunday, November 16, 2025. You can check out their website ahead to get an idea of what is available.

Perfect time to stock-up on your winter reading!

Please help us with our Battle of the Books Wishlist at Politics and Prose!

This wishlist is to support the Battle of the Books competition and reading initiative at Deal MS for school year 2025-26.

The goal is to purchase 20 copies of the books for the school and encourage families to purchase additional copies for individual use. Battle of the Books is a great way to encourage our students to read award-winning books and test their knowledge in a friendly competition with their peers! We hope to have both a schoolwide competition with teams from each grade competing to determine which students will advance to the district wide competition. You can learn more about the district competition here:

https://dcla.org/DCLA-Battle-of-the-Books

We hope to provide every student at Deal with access to these titles and participate in the Battle of the Books, a schoolwide trivia contest! Please help us support this initiative by purchasing books for the school at the Politics and Prose Alice Deal Book Fair on November 16th or online by using the wishlist link below:

Https://politics-prose.com/wishlist/7152175339255482

Thanks,

Stephen Reichlen

Library Media Specialist

Deal MS – DC Public Schools

stephen.reichlen@k12.dc.gov

Is your child looking to meet some new friends? Or maybe they just want to join an afterschool activity. You can find the current list of Deal Clubs in the document below.

Beginning this year, families are required to submit excuse notes for students in Aspen GO—the mobile-friendly version of Aspen Parent Portal. The previously existing online system we used has been disabled.

Instructions on how to submit an excuse note are available below.

Submitting an Excuse Note in Aspen GO (Parent Portal).pdf - 443.2 KB (pdf)

Envío de una nota justificativa en Aspen GO (Portal para padres).pdf - 543.4 KB (pdf)

Soumettre une note d'excuse dans Aspen GO (portail parents).pdf - 489.0 KB (pdf)

በ‘Aspen GO’ (የወላጅ ፖርታልParent Portal) ላይ፣ ፈቃድ-ማግኛ ማስታወሻ (Excuse Note)ን ማስገባት.pdf - 504.7 KB (pdf)

在 Aspen GO（家长门户）中提交请假条.pdf - 507.6 KB (pdf)

Nộp Giấy Xin Phép Nghỉ học Trên Aspen GO (Cổng Thông Tin Phụ Huynh).pdf - 315.5 KB (pdf)

Additional information on how to use the Parent Portal can be found at dcps.dc.gov/page/parent-portal.

Congratulations to our IB Learner Profile Students of the Month: Inquirers Amelia and Julian. The IB Learner Profile aims to develop students who are inquirers. Students who are inquirers nurture their curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. They know how to learn independently and with others. Inquirers learn with enthusiasm and sustain their love of learning throughout life.

Congratulations to our IB Learner Profile Students of the Month. This month Team Kathmandu teachers are highlighting the RISK TAKER learner profile: Matlida and Jairo. Risk takers approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; they work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. They are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.