Team Kathmandu: Week 19

Mon. Jan 19: No School, MLK Day

Tues. & Wed. Jan 20 & 21: Mid-Year Reading MAP test during Extended 1st Period

Fri., Jan 23: Last day of Term 2

Mon., Jan 25: No School, Records Day

This week in Geography, students studied political, physical, and thematic maps of our Unit 4 area of study: SSEA. Students took their SSEA Map Quiz on Thursday, and all scores have already been recorded in Aspen. Students received their quizzes back on Friday. CEA #12 was turned on Friday.

Next week we will begin the cultural side of our unit: Barriers to Education through case studies. Students will participate in a photo analysis, both individually and in small groups, and on Thursday will present their photo to the class. The summative for this unit is a mini-UN committee on access to education.

The last CEA for term two will be CEA #13 due next Friday, January 23.

In studying SSEA, Amelia R. suggested we host a series of teas during recess. Please see the student invite attached. All Kathmandu students are invited to participate. The announcement is also in Canvas>Geography>Announcements.

With this year’s new 10:1 student–teacher ratio for field trips and our large 6th grade class, we are building a parent chaperone list to ensure we can fully staff upcoming trips. Joining the list does not commit you to any specific trip—it simply lets us know you’re open to being contacted when chaperones are needed. All parent chaperones must be fully cleared as DCPS volunteers, so families who are interested should review the clearance process here: https://dcps.dc.gov/page/volunteer-our-schools. If you would like to be added to our possible chaperone list, please reach out. Even expressing interest is extremely helpful as we plan future experiences for our students. Thank you for your continued support!

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 worked on completing their iReady MOY Testing which will determine eligibility for our SMAC program (specifically the virtual component) with SMAC invitation letters being sent this week to eligible students. This week students will continue to work on writing, creating, and solving one and two step equations in preparation for RCT testing.

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 operations containing positive and negative integers. This week students will work complete their iReady MOY Testing which will determine eligibility for our SMAC program (specifically the virtual component). This week students will continue to work on operations containing positive and negative integers.

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.

We will hold a virtual meeting on December 9 at 6:30 pm to share information about SMAC and the virtual/asynchronous option for math acceleration this summer. Please join using this link - https://bit.ly/2026SMACINFO

• 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,

This past week we wrapped up our Space Systems and Cycles unit with our summative test and began Unit 4: Earth’s Place in Our Universe! Students completed a reading about the Big Bang and continued to practice their writing skills with a Claim, Evidence, Reasoning assignment about the Cassini Space Probe.

Next week (after the long weekend) we will do a space timeline activity and a lab about distance vs. dimness and how light travelling through space helps us learn about the universe.

No new roots until 3rd term!

Enjoy your long weekend!

Blooket Links:

Space Systems and Cycles Blooket - Account Needed

Space Systems and Cycles Blooket - NO ACCOUNT NEEDED

Just Moon Phases Review Blooket - Account Needed

Just Moon Phases Review Blooket - NO ACCOUNT NEEDED

Amplify - Earth, Moon, and Sun Blooket - Account Needed

Amplify - Earth, Moon, and Sun Blooket - NO ACCOUNT NEEDED

Roots Term 2 Summative Blooket - Account Needed

Roots Term 2 Summative Blooket - NO ACCOUNT NEEDED

Moon Phases Blooket no account needed

SPace Systems and Cycles Blooket

shanishka.johnson@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Johnson's list SY25-26

Book time to meet with me

Thank you again for the Giver copies. I ordered 6 and I think we are just 5 away from a 1:1 book to student ratio! Students have been deeply engaged with the text: comparing the community with our own, debating the pros and cons of life in the community, and identifying how author Lois Lowry develops the tone.

Next week students will work with partners to complete our “Related Media” activities (on Class Notebook) and use a variety of video sources to answer the following questions:

• What is dystopia?

• What are the characteristics of the dystopian genre?

• What dystopian characteristics are present in The Giver?

Additionally, students will take the mid-year MAP reading growth assessment. Students will record their scores and complete a short reflection on their reading growth in Class Notebook (accessible through Clever).

Katy Byrns

katy.byrns2@k12.dc.gov

Amazon Wishlist

Politics & Prose Wishlist

This week we practiced writing and solving algebraic equations. We also revisited equivalent ratios and learned how to graph the ratios on a coordinate plane. We took one Summative Assessment on powers of 10, which has already been graded and is in Aspen. Students can reach out to me if they wish to retake the Summative for a higher score. We also took a Formative Assessment on equivalent ratios and graphing points on a graph.

Next week, we will take our third RCT (Required Curricular Task) for the end of our third unit. This will take place Wednesday-Thursday. Tuesday we will review everything we’ve studied since December: combining like terms, writing and interpreting algebraic expressions and equations, deriving algebraic equations from word problems and tables of equivalent ratios, and the distributive property.

As a reminder, all students have one iReady lesson due every Monday. By Monday 1/19 students should be at 20 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.

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

Students and families from all grades are welcome and encouraged to join us for International Night on Saturday, Jan 24 from 6-8pm! This time-honored Alice Deal event brings together the 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.

Wear your dancing shoes - we will have a DJ! Join us for this festive night of celebration! Buy your tickets here or make a donation to contribute to the fund. Tickets are $35 for adults and $20 for students.

Students and parents can also click here to volunteer.

Save the Date! January 1/24 from 4:30-6:30 is our Annual Community Project Donation Fair! This is when those 8th grade students running donation drives for their Community Project will have booths set up for collection. This is the same evening as International night. We paired it on purpose- hopefully folks will come to support CP by making a donation and then keep it going by attending International Night. It means a lot to students to see their teachers (current and former) stop by and donate to their projects. So....if anyone plans on doing any New Year cleaning in January, please plan on stopping by!

Last week, families should have received a notice of any library materials that students have checked out from the library this year and are now overdue by 30 days or more. Please return these materials to the Deal library as soon as possible in order to allow other students to borrow these items. I will be away for the week of 12/15-12/19. Please return items to the library in January if the door is locked. Please remind students not to leave library returns in the hallway outside of the library. All materials should be returned to the bin just inside of the library door. Items may also be returned to the main office if the library is locked. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday break! See you in 2026!

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.

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.