Team Kathmandu: Week 24

Thur., Mar. 12: REGULAR SCHOOL DAY* (No Student Led Conferences)

Fri., Mar. 13: No School

Thurs., June 18: NEW LAST DAY OF SCHOOL*

*Changes due to missed snow/weather days

Our 6th grade Student Government has been up and running since December. Our 6th grade community is welcome to see what we are up to and have planned. Our next meeting is on Monday, February 23, from 11:10 to 11:35 with Ms. Neal. We will start meeting every Monday during recess to have a more regular schedule (and because our time goes so quickly!) Our newsletter can be found at:

https://app.smore.com/n/uxjamz

Student government representatives for Team Kathmandu are:

Ja’Kauri Reeder (Ms. Johnson’s homeroom)

Joaquim Antunes (Ms. Trenkle’s homeroom)

Henrietta Vaagen (Ms. Byrns’ homeroom)

Gwen McMahon (Mr. Fontalvo’s homeroom)

Sam Smoot (Mr. Brown’s homeroom)

Students jumped into Term 3 with a new unit on East Asia! Students have been mapping political and physical features as well as learning about the population density, climate, land resources, religions, and languages of the region. Students have their quiz on Monday, 2/23. The thematic maps and all study links are in Canvas to help students study and prepare for their quiz.

Next week students will begin to explore the cultural side of our unit: population growth and urbanization.

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.

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

Amy Trenkle

amy.trenkle@k12.dc.gov

Classroom Wishlist

This week in Accelerated 6th Grade Math

This week students continued to work on analyzing the order of rational numbers and graphing coordinates. This week students will continued to work on graphing coordinates and calculating distance witth and without a coordinate grid. Please encourage your child 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. and those Students more than 4 lessons behind on iReady assignments are REQUIRED to report to iRecess to complete multiple lessons weekly. Students and 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 solving two step equations with rational number coefficients. This week students will continue to work on solving two step equation word problems with fractional coeffcients.
Please encourage your child 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 and those students more than 4 lessons behind on iReady assignments are REQUIRED to report to iRecess (Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays) to complete multiple lessons weekly. Students and 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.

Summer Math Acceleration Camp (SMAC)

As you may know, Deal offers an in-person math acceleration program each year for students who are currently taking Math 6 or Math 7. Students who demonstrate mastery of standards on the Middle of Year (MOY) i-Ready and the End of Year i-Ready (EOY) i-Ready by earning the required score will be invited to participate in SMAC 2026.

We will also offer a summer online asynchronous opportunity for students who will not be available for SMAC. To be invited to participate in the online asynchronous acceleration program students must earn the required score on the MOY i-Ready assessment and share the reason why they are not available for SMAC.

• SMAC Boost | June 22 - 25; 9:00 - 12:00 noon (must attend all dates)

• SMAC Dates | June 29 - July 23; 9:00 - 12:00 noon (must attend all dates)

• Asynchronous Math Acceleration Program (Zearn) | June 22 - July 23

Please direct all questions to DealSummerMath@k12.dc.gov.
Attached is Deal’s Math Acceleration Policy

Thank you for your support

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

Hello scientists!

Students completed their Earth’s Place in Our Universe Summative test, cleaned out their science binders, and took a pre test for their next unit, Oceans, Atmosphere, and Climate. We came back down to Earth by exploring how the Moon’s gravity causes tides on Earth, which will connect with our exploration of ocean and air currents in our upcoming unit!

We will start off with a review and analysis of heat transfer. Students will apply that understanding to a Land vs. Water lab, and will explore the phenomena of El Nino.

Our root words for next week are:

• *aqua = water (Latin) (think: aquarium, aquatic)

• cumulo = heap (think: cumulative, accumulate)

• *cirrus = curl (think: cirrostratus, cirrocumulus)

• *photo = light (think: photosynthesis, photograph)

• nimbus = dark cloud (think: cumulonimbus, nimbostratus)

Keepers: dyn, mis, re/retro, bio, hydro, gram, astro, luna, grav, milli, centi, deci

shanishka.johnson@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Johnson's list SY25-26

Book time to meet with me

Hello Families,

This week students read Chapters 12-14 of The Giver and continued to annotate the text. On Friday, students wrote about whether or not they would want to be The Receiver. Jonas is given this role and while it comes with some freedoms not experienced by the rest of the community, it is also very isolating. We then had small group discussions to build on one another's ideas.

Ask your 6th Grader:

• What does it mean to "be The Receiver" in The Giver?
• Would you want that position? Why or why not?
• What might Jonas have to say about the saying "Ignorance is Bliss?"

Next week we will pause or reading as we write narratives based on events in The Giver thus far. We will also take a look at a couple of poems (excerpts from "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou and the poem "Burning a Book" by William Stafford) as we explore how to approach reading poetry and identify how themes are developed through repetition, figurative language, and imagery.

Mid-Year Reminder

Students should all have independent reading books which they are reading every day afterschool (or before for those early risers). I've included a few book recommendations below to remind and inspire everyone!

**Last Opportunity for Unit Skills Multiple Choice Test Corrections* (70% or lower score)**

Tuesday, Feb. 24 during lunch recess.

Katy Byrns

katy.byrns2@k12.dc.gov

This week, we practiced comparing positive and negative integers with inequality statements, and introduced the concept of rational numbers (which include some fractions). We also took a formative assessment on comparing rational numbers and using number lines to justify answers. Next week we will introduce the coordinate plane and start learning about translating points.

By Monday February 23rd students should be at 24 lessons passed. Please reach out to me if there is any issue with students completing the iReady lessons at home; students always have the opportunity to work on iReady during their recess. Pear assignments are opened on Mondays and Wednesdays and due Wednesday and Friday. Please check Pear to see students’ missing assignments.

brandon.shufelt@k12.dc.gov

https://app.smore.com/n/uxjamz

Hello 6th Grade Families! 😊

We’re planning a 6th Grade Career Day and would love parent volunteers to join us! If you’d like to share what you do for work and help students learn about different careers, this is a great chance to get involved. Presentations can be simple, fun, and student friendly. Let me know if you’re interested via email (Tysha.morris@k12.dc.gov) by March 2nd we’d love to have you!

Read the library newsletter for February! Check out great opportunities for reading challenges, using DCPL databases, Black History Month resources, and more at the link below:

https://app.smore.com/n/x3k0a

Thanks,

Stephen Reichlen

Library Media Specialist

Deal MS – DC Public Schools

stephen.reichlen@k12.dc.gov

Each year, the DC Library Association hosts a reading competition called Battle of the Books (BOB) for middle and elementary aged students. Each school is allowed to send 3 teams of 5 students to compete against other schools by answering trivia questions about a selected set of books. There are 10 books chosen each year by DC librarians. The titles represent local authors, diverse topics, and a range of formats from graphic novels and novels in verse to nonfiction narratives and traditional chapter books. Many of the titles have already won book awards such as the Newbery, Michael Printz, and Pura Belpre medals, and the National Book Award. All of the books are nominated for the local DC book award known as the “Three Stars” book award which students are able to vote on in May and June each year. This is an opportunity for students to read great books and compete on a team with peers. Learn more about the competition here and see the list of this year’s books:

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

This year, the goal is to have one team to represent each grade. Mr. Reichlen is distributing copies of the books to ELA teachers and has a few additional sets in the library. Any Deal student can borrow these books from one of their grade-level ELA teachers or get copies from Mr. Reichlen. They do not need to participate to read the books. Between now and mid-March, students will be reading the books and returning copies when they are finished. The school will have an in-house competition in April (date TBD) and the District competition on May 29th. Mr. Reichlen will send a sign-up sheet out in March for students who are interested in participating and they will compete for one of the 5 spots for each grade. In the meantime, students can read any of the books freely. This club will not meet regularly. We will have a couple of after school practices in May for the final team. Otherwise, BOB will not compete with any other clubs and sports. Please reach out to Mr. Reichlen with additional questions. Happy reading!

Project Invent is an afterschool club that will take students through the design thinking framework of invention. This program requires students to search for a community member in need, interview them about their issue, and design- from scratch- an invention to improve the quality of life for their community partner.

Students get access to career experts in tech, business, computer science, and other STEM fields to guide them through their project. They will also get hands on coding training and equipment for free! At the end of the process, students will present their findings at Demo Day X, located in DC this year. They will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas directly to the staff at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office downtown, win awards, funding, and possibly register for an official patent on their design.

This is an amazing opportunity for students who are interested in or want to learn coding and problem-solving skills. Spots are filling up fast and the cohort is limited to 25-30* students.

Please email me if you want more information. india.barnett@k12.dc.gov

I hope to see you all at the Interest Meeting Tuesday 2/24/26 3:30-4pm!

We meet once a month in my room, afterschool.

Learn more here: tinyurl.com/bcy5wea7

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, exemplifying THINKER: Natasha & Dane. Thinkers use critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on complex problems. They exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.

Chloe & Gregory

As reflective students, they thoughtfully consider the world and their own ideas and experience. They work to understand their strengths and weaknesses in order to support their learning and personal development.

Congratulations to our December IB Learner Profile Students of the Month for Principled: Andrew and True. The IB Learner Profile states that a person who is principled is someone who respects the dignity and feelings of others, is honest and accountable, and accepts both responsibility for their decisions and the consequences that accompany them.

Congratulations to our IB Learner Profile Students of the Month, exemplifying CARING: Diosmar and Max. Students who are caring show empathy, compassion, and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and the world around them. From helping a friend, to picking up garbage after lunch, if you care, it will show!

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.