Team Paramaribo

Supplies

As we enter the new year, many students are losing their pencils, notebooks, and other supplies at record rates. Please check in with your student to see if they need to bring in new supplies!

Additionally, the Paramaribo classrooms always try to stock extra supplies, but we have officially run out of pencils. If you are able to donate any of the following:

Pencils
Erasers
Paper Towels
Clorox Wipes
Tissues
Printer Paper
Lined Paper

Please feel free to do so - we are so incredibly grateful for your support!

- The Team Paramaribo Teachers

Attendance and Absences

Families may submit student absence excused notes by:

Submitting information electronically via AspenGO (preferred method)
Submitting a hard copy excuse note to the Attendance Counselor
Emailing DealAttendance@k12.dc.gov

We can once again accept absences excuses via email, as this is the only way to electronically attach documents. Please note information received via email may be processed more slowly than excuses submitted via AspenGo.

Save The Dates!

January 19th: MLK Jr. Day, no school
January 20th-21st: ELA MAP MOY Testing
January 23rd: Last day of the 2nd Quarter
January 24th: International Night (information at the bottom)
January 26th: Professional Development Day, no school for students
January 27th: First day of the 3rd Quarter

Classroom Supplies Wishlists

We are so incredibly thankful to everyone who has sent in supplies so far - you are all truly appreciated!

If you would like to donate to your student's classrooms, here are the Amazon wishlist links:

Ms. Wesselhoft's Wishlist

Mx. Gomez's Wishlist

Mr/x. Winston and Ms. Clark's Wishlist

Ms. Patsalos' Wishlist

Ms. Sagan's Wishlist

Ms. Sun's Wishlist

Any donations can be sent to the school with this format:

ADCA c/o Teacher Name

3815 Fort Dr NW

Washington, DC 20016

English and Language Arts with Mr. Winston

I’ve been so excited to receive everyone’s Independent Reading Assignments! Scholars did such a great job expressing their creativity, and I’m looking forward to reviewing them in the upcoming days. 😊

Next week in ELA, students will continue exploring related media to deepen their understanding of our current genre, using video examples to help them make meaningful connections to our unit texts and discuss what they’ve learned. They will also practice applying new vocabulary through context clues while beginning work with Chapter 6, focusing on how authors develop characters and how readers identify character traits. Midweek, students will revisit key writing skills, strengthening either their CER writing or narrative writing based on class needs. We will close the week by preparing for and engaging in collaborative discussions on Chapters 1–6, emphasizing active listening, student generated questions, and thoughtful responses to peers.

Math with Mx. Gomez

It has been wonderful to start the new year seeing our students working so hard and staying focused! Their dedication has been impressive, and I’m excited for the progress we’ll continue to make together.

This week, students have finished their Middle of Year iReady (MOY) Diagnostic. SMAC eligibility emails will be sent to families on Tuesday. If parents would like a copy of their student’s diagnostic data report, I’m happy to provide a PDF upon request.

6th Grade Accelerated Math

We will continue exploring ratios by using tables and graphing coordinate pairs. Students will apply these skills to real-world scenarios and deepen their understanding of proportional relationships.
Additionally, students will have an RCT next week covering expressions and equations with tables.

7th Grade Math

Students will extend their work with integers, applying multiplication and division of positive and negative numbers to practical, real-world problems.

Please encourage your child to stay on top of their assignments and reach out if they need support.

Summer Math Acceleration Camp (SMAC) Information

🔎Please direct all questions to DealSummerMath@k12.dc.gov.

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.

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

📎 Follow Along at Home

Families and students can explore the curriculum, preview lessons, and access resources using the link below:
🔗IM Accelerated Math Curriculum

🔗IM Grade 7 Math Curriculum

World Geography and Cultures with Ms. Wesselhoft

Next week students will begin the theme of the unit – Access to Education. Students will define barriers preventing students from accessing education such as physical geography, gender inequality, poverty & labor, and conflict. We will then look at case studies that apply to these different barriers.

Here is the new wishlist link if you would like to donate to the Geography classroom.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/O9VNS5ZC4A1S?ref_=wl_share

Earth and Space Science with Ms. Sagan

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!

Notes from MLL Support

Last week we continued with HMH and iReady in independent stations and student workbooks, Code 1, 2 and Comprehension in Teacher-led stations. Additionally, students used a Frayer Model as their exit ticket along with their independent stations. The goal is to learn at least one new word a day. Next week we will continue the stations.

Ms. Sun’s Amazon Wishlist

World Languages Newsletter

Read the weekly Deal World Languages newsletter to find out more about the happenings in Chinese, French and Spanish classes, including units of study and upcoming assignments and assessments.

https://app.smore.com/u/emily.bullock5

Library Corner

Overdue Library Books: 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!

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

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

International Night

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.