Team Antananarivo

We are very committed to supporting your student's on-time daily attendance. Students' regular attendance in school and engagement in instruction is critical during their important middle school years.

If your student is absent, excuse notes must be shared with Ms. Stephens, attendance counselor. To ensure accurate attendance records, please submit attendance excuse notes – including those from a doctor – in one of the following ways:

• Submit through Aspen Go
• Send an email to DealAttendance@k12.dc.gov
• Drop off at school (Welcome Center)

Tardy arrivals and early dismissals require a submitted excuse note. You can also reach out to teachers for information about missed assignments.

Our goal is for every student to be as close to 100% in-seat attendance as possible, with every student's over 95% in-seat attendance.

Your student's transition to middle school includes a new responsibility - being on time for each class period each day. Sixth grade students who are late for three or more class periods per week will be required to attend tardy hall on Thursday afternoons from 3:30 - 4:30 PM.

Because students are missing important instruction when they are late for class, students at 6th grade tardy hall will leverage their time to complete missed work and reflect on ways they can ensure on-time arrival moving forward. If your student qualifies for tardy hall, you will be notified by Ms. Watson, 6th grade dean, during the week of their tardy hall assignment.

Our 6th grade team is excited to welcome families to join us at Deal for Family Workshops next week! Family Workshops are an opportunity for new and returning Deal families to learn more about instruction, team culture, and available supports for 6th grade students.

When?

• Tuesday, September 8
• Wednesday, September 9
• Families are welcome to attend one or both nights.

Where? In-person at Deal MS

When? 6:30 - 8 PM

Habrá interpretación en español disponible para sesiones selectas cada noche.

Families will be able to choose up to 3 sessions to attend per night. Topics include but are not limited to:

• Supporting Your Reader and Writer
• Organization and Communication at Deal
• Math Rubrics and Criteria
• IB Programme
• World Languages
• Transitioning to 6th Grade: Strategies for Success
• Aspen and Grading

• September 7th: Labor Day, No School
• September 8th and 9th: MAP Growth Testing in ELA Classes
• September 8th and 9th: Parent Workshops at Deal, 6:30 pm
• September 16th: Back to School Night at Deal, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
• October 3rd: 6th Grade Barbecue at Deal
• October 14th: Team Antananarivo Field Trip to Sandy Springs Adventure Park

Thank you all for supporting your students in their middle school journey! If you would like to donate resources to a classroom, here are the teacher wishlist links:

Mx. Winston's/Ms. Clark's Wishlist

Mr. Ledix's Wishlist

Ms. Wesselhoft's Wishlist

Ms. Sagan's Wishlist

Ms. Sun's Wishlist

Ms. Patsalos's Wishlist

Wishing everyone a safe and restful holiday weekend! When we return from Labor Day, students will complete the fall MAP Reading assessment on Tuesday and Wednesday. This adaptive assessment measures students’ current reading skills and helps us plan instruction and monitor their growth throughout the year. Please encourage your scholar to arrive well rested and ready to give their best effort.

Next week, we’ll also continue our unit, “Characters Who Grow and Change,” by reading The Scholarship Jacket by Marta Salinas. Students will analyze how the author develops characters and practice identifying and supporting the story’s central idea.

Students will have a short, in-class vocabulary quiz on Monday, September 14. We will review the terms and study strategies throughout the week. The quiz will include multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions.

1. Burden: something heavy or difficult to carry; a challenging responsibility

2. Despair: the feeling of having no hope

3. Dignity: the quality of being worthy of honor and respect

4. Reluctant: hesitant or unwilling to do something

5. Reputation: the way others think about someone or something

6. Trait: a quality or characteristic that distinguishes someone or something

7. Transform: to change completely

Finally, I look forward to meeting many of you at Wednesday’s Sixth-Grade Family Workshop, where the English department will discuss supporting independent reading at home. As a reminder, scholars should read for at least 20 minutes each day. I’m only presenting on Wednesday only, so I’m sorry to miss those attending Tuesday!

Next week, we will dive deeper into the world of geography! Students will begin developing their map skills.

Throughout the week, students will:

• Learn and practice important geography and map vocabulary - there will be a formative assessment of these vocabulary words on Thursday, Sept. 10th.

• Identify and compare different types of maps

• Learn the 5 essential parts of a map

• Practice using map elements to read and interpret maps

• Build the map skills we will use throughout the school year

By the end of the week, students should be able to look at a map and understand what it shows, where places are located, and how to use its features to find information.

We’ve had a great week in Math after testing! Students have been taking the Beginning-of-Year iReady diagnostic on their school-issued devices, starting this past Tuesday. This important assessment helps us determine appropriate class placements to best support each learner. Most students by this time should be done with their i-Ready diagnostic. If not, they will continue and finish by the end of this school week.

Students have begun receiving math homework on Pear, accessible via Clever, this upcoming week. They may have also begun their “My Path” on i-Ready if they finished with time left during their testing session. Students are also responsible for at least one graded lesson a week on i-Ready— however, it has been clearly communicated with the students that at least two per week is required if they'd like to reach more “advanced” levels of math understanding. If your child needs help accessing Pear or i-Ready, they are welcome to visit me during recess for support. We appreciate your patience as teachers carefully review the data to make thoughtful decisions.

Hi Scientists! This week, students practiced classroom procedures and wrote a letter to their teacher describing their first week of class. Through this activity, students learned how to use a rubric for assessment and feedback using Criterion D.

Next week, we will begin Unit 0: Nature of Science. After taking a pre-assessment on Tuesday, students will start learning about scientific practices and the scientific method, with a focus on making observations and exploring what it means to be a scientist.

Later in the week, students will learn about independent variables, dependent variables, and controlled variables. They will also participate in an engaging Mystery Envelope activity. During this investigation, students will use their observation skills to infer the contents of sealed envelopes, providing an interactive and hands-on learning experience.

Throughout the school year, students will build their scientific vocabulary by learning Latin and Greek root words, 5 words per week, for a total of 30 words. Each week past the first week of the quarter will also include "keepers" from the previous week(s) that will remain on each of the subsequent quizzes until the quarter (root word - sub means under, sequ means follow).

Studying roots will be homework EACH WEEK. Students have a Roots organizer in their agenda, a digital copy with the definitions already filled out on Canvas, and we will also send the roots out in our weekly email.

This week's roots are:

• Sci = to know (think science, unconscious)

• Pre = before (think prekindergarten, prepare)

• Post = after (think postgraduate, postgame, postpone)

• Script = to write (think description, postscript)

• -ic = like, of (think scientific, terrific, dramatic)

Keepers (words from last week that will be on this week’s quiz): uni, bi, tri

Ms. Patsalos is in her 10th year at Deal. Before becoming a teacher, she was a television news producer. She has a BA from Colgate University, an MS in Journalism from Columbia University and a MAT-ESOL from American University.

Ms. Sun is in her 7th year at Deal and in her 11th year of teaching. Ms. Sun has an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language and World Languages from the George Washington University and a BA in General Education from Shawnee State University. Before teaching at Deal MS, Ms. Sun taught in Columbus, Ohio and China.

Ms. Clark is in her 4th year at Deal and in her 12th year teaching. She has an MA in English Education, ELL Endorsement, and Reading Endorsement from University of Iowa. She will be working with MLL students in Mr/x. Winston’s classes.

Dr. Kouassi (koo ah see) or Dr. K. is excited to join the Deal community! She brings 23 years of experience working with students of all ages and loves helping multilingual learners grow and feel confident. She also spent nine years at the U.S. Department of State training American diplomats. She holds a law degree, an MS in Educational Leadership from Trinity Washington, and a doctorate from Delaware State University. She speaks English, French, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Baoulé, Dioula, Agni, and Ashanti.

- Ms. Clark, Ms. Patsalos, Dr. K, and Ms. Sun

Here is the link to our amazing World Languages Newsletter page. Feel free to follow them for the most up-to-date information!

Meet Deal's librarian Mr. Reichlen! Learn about the great things happening this month at Deal's library. Check out great books and media, read about events at Deal and around the city, and stay connected with Deal's Library:

https://app.smore.com/n/9unb1

“What should my student do if they want to try out for a sport?”

Information about sports tryouts can be found on the Deal website. If there is no information there currently, then it will be updated closer to when tryouts occur.

“What should by student do if they want to sign up for a club?

Posters about clubs are hung up around the school, and information is posted on the Deal website. If your student wants to create a new club, they should find a faculty sponsor. Clubs often change year by year - current information is usually posted by the 3rd or 4th week of school.

“What time should my student arrive at school?”

Your student should arrive to school by 8:20 at the latest. This is because every 6th grader has to share a single entry point, so the line can get very long. The first class bell rings at 8:45, and students need to be in their seats and ready to learn by that time.

“How does dismissal work?”

At 3:15, the final bell rings and the students are dismissed from classes. Unless your student requires specialized transportation, it is up to you and your student to plan their best way to get home safely.

“My child has to miss school; how do I get their absence excused?”

If your student isn’t in class, we are required to mark them absent. Your student’s teacher does not control whether that absence is excused or not. If your student needs to miss a class, please use the Aspen GO app or submit a paper doctor’s note to the attendance office.

“What should my student do if they are out sick? How do they catch up on work?”

Please have your student contact their teachers via Canvas to ask about missing assignments!

"What are all of these new websites that we have to use?”

• Aspen is a virtual gradebook that teachers use to track grades
• Canvas is a learning management system where teachers can upload files, links, and homework for students to access
• Clever is an app hosting service so DCPS students can log into a variety of apps (PEAR, i-Ready, Canvas, Aspen, NearPod, Amplify, etc) with a single sign on

None of these sites directly communicate with each other, so gradebooks do not automatically update to reflect assignments completed on other platforms.

"My student and I have a question for their teacher - how should we contact them?”

Your student is now a 6th grader, so they are expected to work on their communication skills. Please help them write a message to their teacher through Canvas to grow their email etiquette skills.

“If I have a direct question for my student’s teacher, what should I do?”

You can email your student’s teacher - please keep in mind that we have over 100 students each and need time to thoughtfully respond!

To be eligible for participation in the KRF program, each student must be:

• A resident of the District of Columbia, and
• Ages 5 through 21, and
• Enrolled in an elementary or secondary public, charter, private, or parochial school located within the District, or a youth in the care of the District.

Cards will be available in room C115, located on the center east side of the 1st floor of the main building. Students will receive a date according to their team to come to the office between 3:15-4:15pm during the first week of school.

• Almaty - Monday, August 24
• Chirilagua- Tuesday, August 25
• Nara - Wednesday, August 26
• Oslo - Thursday, August 27
• Antananarivo - Friday, August 28 (that's you!)

Returning Deal students already have cards that do not expire until September 30, 2026. They will receive cards before that date at room C115.

"I keep hearing about this newsletter that you just sent me. Do I have to actually read it?”

The team newsletter is a weekly newsletter with important information from your student’s teachers. It includes assignments, announcements, and other details that you and your student need to know. We use the emails listed on Aspen to create the mailing list. If you haven’t received it directly in your email inbox by the 2nd week of school, reach out to your student’s teachers and we will fix it.

"I am super busy and don't always have the time to read the newsletter. How should I help my student access the information?"

Students are told or given everything they need that is contained in the newsletter during classes via being told to write assignments in their school-provided agenda and also sometimes via letters home. If your student loves receiving emails, though, they can talk to us about having their personal email added to the newsletter mailing list so they can access it from there as well.

“What can I do to best support my student and their teachers?”

Check in with your student, enforce structures and consequences at home, and please teach them how to use deodorant properly!!

Sign up for Fall Theatre Workshops!

These workshops are for any student who wants to act, sing, or learn to work backstage.

Schedule:

Sessions begin on Tuesday, September 8th, right after school from 3:30-5:00 or 5:30 (some days will run long)

Students will be assigned to given workshops based on their interest form (linked below). Use the form to share your availability!

How to Prepare:

Performing arts students will participate in an audition workshop during the first week! Bring a prepared monologue and a song (no need to memorize). Every student will get feedback on both strengths and opportunities for growth.

Interested in Backstage Crew? No need to prepare an audition - just fill out the interest form.

Please fill out one form per student at https://forms.gle/SEVBqa8AiUNrCjxA9

Each month our school community celebrates one of our IB Learner Traits. The team teachers discuss who to nominate and chooses two students from Team Antananarivo who have demonstrated this characteristic in all of our classes. Stay tuned as we continue to celebrate all year, and make sure to shout out our past learners!

Ms. Gathers, 6th Grade Assistant Principal: Stacey.Gathers@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Watson, 6th Grade Dean of Students: devin.watson@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Morris, 6th Grade Counselor: tysha.morris@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Wesselhoft, Geography: naeemah.wesselhoft@k12.dc.gov

Mx. Winston, ELA: alvin.winston@k12.dc.gov

Mr. Ledix, Math 6 and 7: ralph.ledix@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Sagan, Science: ellie.sagan@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Patsalos, Multi Language Learning Specialist: constance.patsalos@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Sun, Multi Language Learning Specialist: dijia.sun@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Clark, Multi Language Learning Specialist: katlyn.clark@k12.dc.gov

Dr. Kouassi, Multi Language Learning Specialist: sandrine.koassi@k12.dc.gov

☎️ 202-939-2010

🖥️ alicedealmiddleschool.org