Pacific Intermediate Newsletter

Welcome back to school! I hope that you had a restful and relaxing time over the winter break, and we look forward to buckling down and getting back to work for the remainder of the school year!

A couple of informational pieces for parents:

January is the time when we begin to really look at who will be required to attend summer school as well as who may be retained in their current grade. Students with 2 or more trimester F’s may be required to attend summer school. Students who have more than 4 trimester F’s may be retained in their current grade.

As a reminder, students who miss school are required to make up work for the days they miss. Students who do not make up this work will be given zeros for the assignments. Please encourage your students to talk with their teachers the day after they miss in order to pick up assignments. Additionally, students should be able to find the information or assignments they missed using Canvas.

Assignments are generally allowed to have one day to make up for each day missed. Late assignments will only be accepted until the end of the unit. Please work with your student’s teachers if you have any concerns over homework. Additionally, if your student is having difficulty completing or remembering their homework, please ask your student to see their daily planner. This should be filled out by your student in each of their classes everyday.

During the middle of January, teachers will be in contact with parents for conferences with students who are making D’s or F’s. These conferences are generally not in person and usually held over the phone.

We do not have school on January 16th (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) or January

27th (professional development). However, if we have a January snow day, January 27th is a possible make up day.

Thank you for your support from home as we work to continue to academically advance our kids!

Matt Agee

Pacific Intermediate Principal

Mrs. Alcorn~Math

Mr. Gilcrease~Language Arts & Reading

Mrs. Bielicke~Science & Social Studies

Mrs. Aubuchon~Math

Ms. Shearin~ Language Arts & Reading

Mr. Wengler~Science & Social Studies

Ms. DiBlasi~Math

Mrs. Menley~ Language Arts & Reading

Mrs. Jackson~Science & Social Studies

Science: Students will continue learning about Earth's systems after winter break. Students will use the scientific process to learn about how the 4 spheres on Earth can interact with each other. We will also learn about the impact of humans on our planet, and ways to protect the world we live on.

Social Studies: We will begin exploring the Civil War era, including the Underground Railroad. Students will learn how the Underground Railroad assisted enslaved people on the escape to freedom in the north. Students will also examine various major battles between the north and south during the Civil War. We will learn about the effects that war had on America.

Math~ Mrs. Weil

English~ Mrs. Stumborg

Science~ Mrs. Todahl

Social Studies~ Mr. Slaughter

Math~ Mrs. Voss

English~Mrs. Boling

Science~Mrs. Vondera

Social Studies~Mr. Effan

Reading~Mr. McMahon

Welcome to January!

We hope everyone enjoyed the much-needed time off to recharge. Make sure to check your emails and Tyler SIS to keep up to date with everything going on in the classrooms. Please make sure your child has pencils and pens to start the year off. If you need anything, please let us know.

Math:

6th-grade math will be starting Chapter 4: Percents. The advanced math students will finish Chapter 7: Area, Surface Area, and Volume.

Please make sure to check Canvas for weekly lesson plans, assignments, and lesson videos. Continue to check for homework on a nightly basis and it is a good time to restock your child's pencil supply.

English:

English classes will begin working on our Greek and Latin roots unit. Students will be learning about commonly used root words and their meanings. In addition, they will be putting the base words with prefixes and suffixes to create completely new words. This unit is usually one that students enjoy and it helps them stretch their vocabulary and word-building skills.

Social Studies:

Social Studies is currently exploring ancient Indian culture and history. We learned about the beginning of two major world religions and even got to practice meditation! We will also start our unit on ancient China.

Reading:

We recently wrapped up our novel unit on Freak the Mighty. We studied figurative language and many various elements of fiction. We took the middle-of-the-year assessments to wrap things up in December. This shows the student's progress in reading comprehension and fluency. The students also have the second-trimester book report in their Google Classroom. They will need to have this completed by the end of February.

Science:

In science, we will start off the year with our Matter Unit. We will be talking about solids, liquids, and gases. Please continue to look at our weekly emails, planners, and Google Classroom. Whether you are in class with us or at home, everything should be able to be completed online.

Before Winter Break, students were been busy learning about in-depth character education skills and applying these skills in daily life. Character education has included accepting others, respecting diversity, learning how to reduce bullying and report bullying, practicing social skills to make new friends, recognizing healthy and unhealthy relationships, resolving conflicts effectively, safety and coping skills, resisting peer pressure, and applying effective decision making. Students have made a lot of growth in developing their skills to interact with others, collaborate, and resolve issues. Additionally, Compass Health Network facilitated character education with 5th graders on cyberbullying and unfair criticism. 6th graders received character education from Compass Health Network on cyberbullying, unfair criticism, improved communication, understanding family dynamics, addictions and abuse prevention.

Moving forward guidance will focus on topics including goal setting and time management, developing and monitoring plans to meet goals, personal responsibility, doing your individual best, stress management and career exploration. The CHADS Coalition for Mental Health will facilitate a program with our 5th graders focusing in on recognizing their emotions and positive coping skills. For our 6th graders, they will present a program called “Signs of Suicide” which focuses on increasing awareness of depression, suicide and the signs someone might exhibit before they take action. By providing this information will allow students to help keep friends, family and themselves safe. Please note, the CHADS programs are recommended by our district, but parents can opt their child out.

I hope you enjoyed your holiday with friends and family. I wish you good health and much happiness in the New Year.

Sincerely,

Jeanne M. Diamond

School Counselor

Pacific Intermediate

195 N Indian Pride Dr.

Pacific, MO 63069

www.mvr3.k12.mo.us

Phone: 636-271-1425

Fax: 636-271-1465