Team Antananarivo

Hello all, and welcome to Team Antananarivo! We’re thrilled to be teaching such an incredible group of students, and we look forward to seeing you grow through amazing new experiences in 6th grade. Here we grow!

Please review the Welcome Letter below with your student. They will receive a paper copy on Monday, August 24th, and will be expected to return the attached questionnaires to Ms. Wesselhoft on Tuesday, August 25th.

Below, please look over the supply lists and guides for early success!

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.

• Friday, August 21st: 6th Grade Orientation
  
• Monday, August 24th: First Day of School
• September 7th: Labor Day, No School
• 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

On Monday, August 24th, students will receive a combination lock from the school to put on their lockers. Many of our 6th graders have some familiarity with these locks, but EVERYONE NEEDS TO PRACTICE to ensure a smooth rollout on Monday.

Here is a link to a popular combination lock practice website - feel free to find your own resources as well!

https://www.hoodamath.com/games/combinationlock.html#gsc.tab=0

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

Mr/x. Winston (he/they) is excited to begin his second-year teaching at Deal. Prior to their career in education, Mr/x. Winston was a government consultant who served clients at the IRS, the US Army, and the states of Connecticut, Oregon, and Kentucky. They graduated with a B.A. in History from Yale.

Welcome to 6th Grade, Team Antananarivo! I’m Mr./Mx. Winston, and I am honored to serve as the team’s English Language Arts (ELA) teacher. I firmly believe that literacy, the ability to read, understand, and engage with a variety of texts, is a passport to knowledge. Strong reading skills help us access new ideas, perspectives, subjects, and experiences. In turn, strong writing skills provide the tools necessary to communicate our own thinking with others. At this level, ELA is both a reading and a writing class. Every single day, we will practice and strengthen these essential communication skills by reading fiction, poetry, and informational texts.

At Alice Deal Middle School, we proudly say, “Here We Grow.” In 6th Grade English, that means continually working to become stronger readers, stronger writers, and stronger communicators. The fiercest competition we encounter is often with ourselves, so our goal is simple: to become the best we can be or, at the very least, a little better than we were yesterday.

Ms. Wesselhoft is in her 12th year at Deal. She graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor's in History and worked in Prince William County Public Schools prior to coming to DC.

Throughout the school year, students will become world travelers as we explore the people, places, cultures, and issues that shape our world. We will travel region by region, learning about physical and human geography while examining topics such as culture, religion, population, migration, economics, and global challenges. Students will learn through maps, current events, discussions, hands-on activities, research, and creative projects that encourage them to think like geographers and global citizens. My goal is for students to leave geography with a stronger understanding of the world around them, an appreciation for different perspectives and cultures, and the skills to ask thoughtful questions about their place in our interconnected world.

Mr. Ledix is excited to begin his first year at Deal and his second year at DCPS. He has been a teacher for six years starting at KIPP DC Public Schools and at DC Prep and has also taught Social Studies & ELA. He graduated with a B.A. in Political Economy & Math from Georgetown University.

In Math this year we’ll begin work on ratios, rates and percentages, fractions and decimals, equations and expressions, and so much more! I look forward to supporting students’ independent and rigorous work through independent practice, guided activities, regular assessments, and Do Nows. All students will need a spiral graphing notebook and pencils in order to take notes, show work, and complete their deliverables.

Ms. Sagan is in her 5th year at Deal. Ms. Sagan has a B.S. in Environmental Science from American University, is a graduate of AmeriCorps City Year here in Washington, DC, and she is currently pursuing her M.S. in Learning Design and Technology from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Hello scientists, and welcome to 6th Grade! My name is Ms. Sagan, and I am thrilled to be your science teacher for our amazing year of exploring Earth and Space Science.

For our first week, we will be focusing on classroom norms to ensure that all students feel confident navigating their way through the class in both physical and virtual spaces. We will also complete a fun first lab - The Gab Lab - which is designed to help students get to know their classmates!

As we approach the first day of school, all I need you to do is make sure you have all your science supplies ready by Monday, August 31st.

For our class, you will need:

• A 1 inch 3 ring binder (this will permanently stay in the science classroom)

• 5 tab dividers for the binder

• A notebook with holes punched in it (will permanently stay in the science binder)

• A box of pencils

• Colored Pencils

• 1 roll of paper towels

• 1 box of tissues

Optional:

• 1 bottle of hand sanitizer

• Disinfectant wipes

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!!

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