Team Kathmandu: Week 5
September 26, 2025
Save the Date!
Saturday, Sept. 27: 6th Grade BBQ (11-1 @ Deal)
Thursday, Oct. 9: Student Led Conferences
Friday, Oct. 10: No School, Prof. Development Day for Teachers
Monday, Oct. 13: No School, Indigenous People's Day
Friday, Nov. 7: Picture Day Make-Ups
6th Grade BBQ
Saturday, September 27
11 AM - 1 PM
Families are invited to join the 6th grade team for food and fun!
We could also use the help of parent volunteers. If you'd like to sign up, please complete this form. We need your support with:
- Setting Up - 9:30 - 11:00 AM - Come out early to help us get ready for the festivities!
- Grilling - 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
- Buffet Maintenance - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM - Keep things neat and tidy!
- Grilling - 12:00 - 1:00 PM
- Buffet Maintenance - 12:00 - 1:00 PM
- Clean Up - 1:00 - 2:00 PM
Geography with Ms. Trenkle
Thank you to all who are checking this newsletter. The newsletter is just one means of communication for teachers. I personally, send emails out to the team, classes, a group of students/parents, or individuals. These emails are sent out through Aspen. They will say: noreply@k12.dc.gov To receive these emails (from any teacher through Aspen), please make sure that this address is not going to spam Also, if you notice inaccurate contact information in Aspen, please call the Deal Welcome Center or email our registrar Manik.Hinchey@k12.dc.gov. I sent out a reminder email to all students, parents/guardians through Aspen on Wednesday a.m. titled “Reminders for Sandy Spring Tomorrow (9/25)” that should have populated the inbox of the email address in Aspen.
This week in Geography we began putting our map skills knowledge to work! We started the week reading thematic maps of DC and interpreting the story they tell. We continued our local focus by talking about community mapping—we did this through Geospatial Revolution video examples and then brining it closer to home by doing a neighborhood look for assets and opportunities. On Friday students went over their assignments that are due on Monday, September 29. Students will choose a neighborhood/community they would like to study and complete an observation handout on this community and then make a map based on their community profile (observation) notes. Both assignments are due September 29.
On Friday CEA #1 (Current Event Analysis) was due. Students are reminded each of the due date and encouraged to turn it in before Friday. Students may turn it in on Monday for a high score of 80%. After Monday, the CEA will not be accepted for a grade. A new CEA is always rolled out on Monday and due on Friday. This is a great assignment to discuss at home, or even read together! :)
Next week students will use their observation notes and the map to identify an opportunity that they will write about to a DC leader (Mayor, council member, or ANC member). We will brainstorm for the letter and draft it in class. The final letter is a summative grade and will be due on Wednesday, October 9.
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.
Amy Trenkle
Math with Mr. Brown
This week in Accelerated 6th Grade Math
This week, students worked on converting, simplifying, and dividing fractions of various types as well as visual displays and real-world application. It is imperative that students master their basic multiplication facts. This week students will write and solve division and multiplication equations from scenarios with mixed numbers 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. 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 analyzing graphs, tables, equations, and word problems related to proportional relationships. Students took a Formative Assessment Friday on the current topic, Proportional Relationships. Students this week will have various assessments, with a Summative Assessment (Tuesday) and a RCT Assessment (Wednesday/Thursday). 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. 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
Science with Ms. Johnson
Hello families!
This week, students are learning about the Earth's surface and tectonic plates! We’re kicking off our new unit with an engaging in-class activity focused on locating earthquakes and volcanoes.
Students will take Roots Quiz 1.5 on Friday, October 3rd.
The root words for this quiz can be found below.
I’d also like to share some exciting opportunities for your child, including challenges, competitions, and more. If they are interested, please feel free to contact me.
Roots Words 1.5
*petro, petri = stone (petrified, petroleum)
manu = hand (manuscript, manual)
*ign = fire (igneous, ignite)
*super = over, above (superimpose, superb)
Pan = all (pandemic, Pangaea)
Keepers: uni, bi, tri, cent, post, gen, poly, sub, hyper, pre, pyro, topo, seismo
Opportunities/Challenges
shanishka.johnson@k12.dc.gov
English Language Arts with Ms. Byrns
First off, THANK YOU! My classroom wish list has never seen so much action! In the picture below, you can see many of the titles we have added to our classroom library. This is much appreciated! In related news, students are doing a great job of checking out books and having them ready to read if they finish work early and have a few minutes to spare. I love seeing this reading habit take shape. A few students have fallen into the habit of forgetting books at home. I am advising these students to keep one book at home to read in the evenings and on weekends, and a second book at school which they can keep in their lockers. This will work so long as those home books eventually make their way back!
This week in class students worked on revising their writing, with extra practice on selecting the most relevant evidence. We also practiced using parenthetical citations for text evidence.
Next week, we will work on a few narrative writing skills which will provide students with a little break from the literary analysis we’ve been doing. Our focus will be perspective & point of view. In middle school writing, this often entails rewriting a scene from a story from a different character’s perspective. For example, if we had read the chapter in Harry Potter where Harry first takes a potions class, what would that scene look like if Snape was the one narrating it rather than Harry?
We will also visit the school library. The October reading challenge involves reading a mystery or scary story. Deal librarian Mr. Reichlan has vowed to help us with this goal!
Katy Byrns
Math 6 Resource with Mr. Shufelt
This week in math we practiced converting improper fractions to mixed fractions, as well as mixed fractions to improper fractions. We learned about the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) and used the GCF to simplify fractions. Next week we will practice adding and subtracting fractions and learn how to multiply and divide fractions.
As a reminder, all students have one iReady lesson due every Monday. Please reach out to me if there is any issue with students completing the iReady lessons at home. Pear assignments are given out on Mondays and Wednesdays and due Wednesday and Friday. In the coming weeks we will have student-led conferences on 10/09 as well as our first RCT (Required Curricular Task) in Math which will cover Unit 3 on fractions.
Deal Clubs
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.
Attendance
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.
Library Corner with Mr. Reichlan
Mr. Reichlen has created a new web collection of school and public library links to support the novel lists for independent reading texts from the CommonLit 360 ELA curriculum. Here students can find access points to all of the catalog records for recommended texts that support each of this year's unit themes organized by grade level and unit. Students can checkout and place items on hold. The collection will be updated throughout the school year to provide access to recommended titles as units change. See the link below for more information:
https://bit.ly/ADMSLibraryLibGuide_ELA_Resources
Stephen Reichlen
Library Media Specialist
Deal MS – DC Public Schools
