Team Kathmandu: Week 11
November 7, 2025
Save the Date!
✌🏻Tuesday, Nov. 11: No School, Veterans Day
🥳Tuesday, Nov. 18: Team Kathmandu Term 1 Celebration
🍁Wednesday, Nov. 26-30: No School, Thanksgiving Break
⛄Dec. 22-Jan. 2: No School, Winter Break
Geography with Ms. Trenkle
This short week in Geography we finished our African Diaspora case studies by looking at Candomble in Brazil, Step Africa, Go-Go, and Chef Adjepong. Students took a formative to share that they understand how to read for key information related to the diaspora and began their summative on Thursday. Students will work on their summative in class on Monday and Wednesday and curate our museum exhibit on Thursday, and reflect on Friday. The summative is done in class, and a hard copy of the directions and activities were given, but all materials and links are also in Canvas.
Shout out to students who came to this week’s CEA Club on Wednesday during recess. We had about 15 students who read, discussed, and finished their CEA during recess. A reminder that all students are invited and just need to pick up a pass from Ms. Trenkle before going to lunch on Wednesday.
Students are off and running in Term 2 with new jobs! Thank you to all who helped our classes Term 1 and welcome to Term 2 job holders! :) Your efforts are appreciated!
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.
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.
Pictures that are on our Kathmandu Can Do Attitude board can also be found here. I will continue to add pics to it throughout the year!
Amy Trenkle
Math with Mr. Brown
This week in Accelerated 6th Grade Math
This week, students solve problems involving equivalent ratio tables and finding unit rate using various diagrams to explain speed and convert units of measure for distance. This week students will given a ratio, calculate two-unit rates and compare prices in preparation for Formative Assessments. Please discuss with your child where unit rates (“how much for one”) appear in the real world (shopping etc). 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. Students should see me about any makeup opportunities. 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 and calculating scale drawings and discuss related scale factors. Students this week will continue looking at creating scale drawings and using scale drawings to analyze maps. Please converse with your child about the places where scale drawings may appear. 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. Students should see me about any makeup opportunities. 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 marcus.brown@k12.dc.gov
Science with Ms. Johnson
Hello Scientists!
Students conducted a hands-on lab to explore weathering and erosion using Skittles and water. They also reviewed their Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) worksheet from last week's rock classification activity, providing feedback and improving their explanations to meet Level 8 expectations on the IB rubric. We wrapped up the week with a second lab focused on erosion and deposition, followed by our first Term 2 Roots quiz.
Next Week:
Students will continue learning about weathering, erosion, and deposition through selected readings and a Gizmo simulation. We will also begin exploring topographic maps and how they represent the shape of the land on a two-dimensional surface.
Roots 2.2:
circ = ring/around (think circle, circus, circumference)
*equi/equa = equal (think equality, equity, equator)
*geo = earth (think geology, geography)
nox/noc = night (think nocturnal, equinox)
*vacu = empty (think vacuum, evacuate)
Keepers: cent, kilo, octo
shanishka.johnson@k12.dc.gov
English Language Arts with Ms. Byrns
This week we will launched Unit 2. In Unit 2 we will spend more time reading non-fiction articles and exploring the question: What does it take to achieve success? We are focusing on identifying central idea and the most relevant supporting details as we read a variety of informational articles.
Throughout the unit, students will collect notes identifying various "ingredients for success" (i.e. learning from failure, practice, mindset, etc). At the end of the unit (in that week before Winter Break) students will create PowerPoint presentations about these "ingredients for success" which they will then present in class. To practice our public speaking skills, Mr. Shufelt taught us the "Um, Like, Uh" game which can easily be played in the car or at the dinner table. To play, you simply pick a single topic and see how long you can speak about that topic without resorting to long pauses or uttering an "um," "like," or "uh." In the picture to the right you can see Vida talking about Thanksgiving food and Josh talking about the Commanders.
The November reading challenge is to read a Biography, Autobiography or Memoir (see what some students are reading below). There will be a Term 2 Reading Project rolled out after Thanksgiving Break and due before the end of the term. For now, students should be reading those biographies and completing the biography questions handout. This can be found in green folders or on Canvas for a digital copy.
Katy Byrns
Math 6 Resource with Mr. Shufelt
This week in math we learned how to use tape diagrams as another method to finding equivalent ratios, on top of the ratio tables and double number lines we’ve been practicing. Next week we will continue to practice finding equivalent ratios to solve unit rate and speed problems.
As a reminder, all students have one iReady lesson due every Monday. By 11/010 students should have passed 10 total iReady lessons. 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 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.
International Night
SAVE THE DATE!
International Night
January 25th
6pm – 8pm
Students and families from all grades are welcome and encouraged to join us for International Night!
This time-honored Alice Deal event brings together the Alice Deal 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. Please sign up as a host Deal International Night Volunteer Host Tables
Wear your dancing shoes - we will have a DJ! And of course, Deal merch will be on sale.
Join us for this festive night of celebration! Buy your tickets here https://DealInternation.givesmart.com
****International Night is our number one fundraiser for important scholarship dollars for the upcoming 8th grade foreign language trips!
Questions: shannonharrisbehm@hotmail.com
Holiday Market Looking for Student Entrepreneurs
Are you ready to shine?
Show off your creativity, talent, and entrepreneurial spirit at the Deal Holiday Outdoor Market – Student Entrepreneur Fair on Saturday, December 6, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Alice Deal Middle School.
If you’re a student entrepreneur selling your creations — or if you’d like to share a performance (such as singing, playing an instrument, or another talent) — we’d love for you to participate! Please note that both the market and any performances will take place outdoors, and all Deal students are welcome to apply.
To apply, please click on the student application form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1uQiUxnjtI-w1jRVLefDxSypw1QmBejNDbGVRd8OIFQ8/preview
Questions? Please contact lead Virginia Arrisueno, at virginiaarrisueno@gmail.com
Politics & Prose Book Fair
Politics and Prose will hold a Book Fair for the benefit of Alice Deal Middle School on Sunday, November 16, 2025. You can check out their website ahead to get an idea of what is available.
Perfect time to stock-up on your winter reading!
Library Corner with Mr. Reichlan
Please help us with our Battle of the Books Wishlist at Politics and Prose!
This wishlist is to support the Battle of the Books competition and reading initiative at Deal MS for school year 2025-26.
The goal is to purchase 20 copies of the books for the school and encourage families to purchase additional copies for individual use. Battle of the Books is a great way to encourage our students to read award-winning books and test their knowledge in a friendly competition with their peers! We hope to have both a schoolwide competition with teams from each grade competing to determine which students will advance to the district wide competition. You can learn more about the district competition here:
https://dcla.org/DCLA-Battle-of-the-Books
We hope to provide every student at Deal with access to these titles and participate in the Battle of the Books, a schoolwide trivia contest! Please help us support this initiative by purchasing books for the school at the Politics and Prose Alice Deal Book Fair on November 16th or online by using the wishlist link below:
Https://politics-prose.com/wishlist/7152175339255482
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://secure.smore.com/n/z01ut
Thanks,
Stephen Reichlen
Library Media Specialist
Deal MS – DC Public Schools
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.
