6th Grade Newsletter

We are excited to celebrate our upcoming Incentive Spirit Week from March 23–27. Throughout the week, students will have the opportunity to participate in fun, themed dress-up days.

To wrap up the week, students who are in “Good Standing” will earn a special 🎬 Incentive Movie Day during Block 7/8 on Friday.

Students qualify by maintaining positive attendance, behavior, and academic engagement—coming prepared, completing work, and participating positively in class.

We are proud of our students for their hard work and look forward to a fun-filled week celebrating their positive choices and school spirit!

For additional information, please see Ms. Fishman's Incentive Week Information Email

Students were notified on Friday if they need to complete a “restorative task” in order to participate in next Friday’s Movie & Snack incentive.

Restorative tasks were assigned based on the following criteria:

• Attendance below 90%

• More than 3 tardies to class

• More than 3 behavior incidents

Students received a notification letter with specific information about what they need to complete. These tasks are an opportunity for students to get back on track and still be eligible to participate in the celebration.

We appreciate your support in helping your student complete any required tasks!

For additional information about any restoration support, please email Mrs. Dortzbach (dortzbachd@district65.net) or Ms. Lau (lauc@district65.net).

Mar 30 – Apr 3 - 🌴 Spring Recess

April 8 - School Improvement Day – Early Dismissal

We welcome collaboration from anyone who would like to get involved.

All are welcome to sign up to volunteer, teens are encouraged and will receive official community service hours. Additionally, volunteers who want to pack their own box of food and essentials are welcome to take their items on Saturday.

Sign-up to Volunteer

View Food and Essentials Collection List

Schedule:

Friday, March 27th

• 12-5 PM Art Makers Outpost: 609 South Boulevard Drop off Essentials & Non Perishable Food at (For people heading out of town for spring break)

Saturday, March 28th

• 9am-12pm: Dawes Park—Truck drop-off of all items- Essentials, Food & Gift Cards on list
• 12-5pm: ETHS Field House Food, Essentials & Gift Card Drive up & Drop off
• 5-6pm: ETHS Pantry pickup from the Field House

Sunday, March 29th

• 12-3pm: ETHS Wildkit Drive Family & Individual Distribution: Drive up & pick up

This week, students read two inspiring biographies: “Donna O’Meara: The Volcano Lady” and “Margaret Bourke-White: Fearless Photographer.”

In ELA, students are beginning an exciting Photo-Journalism Character Creation project! Using a powerful photograph as inspiration from Margaret Bourke-White, students will create a detailed character and develop the foundation for a suspenseful narrative.

Check out the photos here: Link

Students will explore what it means to truly “build” a character by thinking deeply about their appearance, fears, motivations, and experiences. They will also consider how setting, relationships, and personal interests shape a character’s identity and choices. This work will serve as the foundation for a future narrative writing piece.

Throughout this project, students will practice their narrative knowledge:

• Expanding their ideas with detailed descriptions

• Using sentence starters to strengthen their writing

• Developing complex characters with clear motivations

• Making connections between setting and character development

We encourage students to take their time, be creative, and really get to know their character—this will help them become stronger, more thoughtful writers. We are excited to see the unique and imaginative stories they create!

📊 Important Assessment Notice: Next week, students will be taking the Unit 3 StudySync Assessment, which will measure their understanding of the key skills and concepts from our current unit, “In the Dark.”

This assessment will ask students to read both informational and literary texts and demonstrate skills such as identifying central ideas, analyzing text structure, using textual evidence, and understanding vocabulary. Students have been preparing through close reading, class discussions, and writing activities.

Students have officially completed their first week of book clubs, and we could not be more proud of the effort they are putting in! They have done a fantastic job preparing for thoughtful and meaningful discussions about their novels.

It has been exciting to see how engaged students are in their reading—many are already connecting with their characters and diving into the storylines. They truly seem to be enjoying the experience!

We can’t wait to hear their ideas and insights as the plots begin to thicken and discussions become even richer in the weeks ahead.

Students will have a quiz on Monday, March 23 covering:

• Accent rules

• The verbs ser and estar

To prepare, students should review their notes and use the accent rules chart posted in Google Classroom, which explains when and where accent marks are used. This will be a helpful study tool as they get ready for the quiz.

Next week, students will continue building their skills by:

• Reviewing adjectives and adverbs

• Rewatching the class video and answering comprehension questions

📊 Important Assessment Notice: Students will take the STAR Lectura assessment on Thursday. Please encourage your student to get a good night’s sleep and come ready to do their best!

Thank you for supporting your student’s learning!

This week, students continued building their understanding of one-step equations, the order of operations, and the distributive property.

Students were also introduced to different ways of representing mathematical relationships, including tables, equations, and graphs. This helps students see how numbers and patterns connect across multiple formats and strengthens their overall problem-solving skills.

Unit 6 Guide

Last week, students worked on drafting their Athens vs. Rome essay, where they evaluated which civilization had a stronger system of citizenship.

After developing their ideas, students completed their final drafts and began the editing process, focusing on improving clarity, organization, and supporting evidence. This assignment challenged students to think critically, compare historical systems, and support their opinions with facts.

We are proud of the effort students put into their writing and look forward to their continued growth!

This week, students will continue working on their Athens vs. Rome essay by completing the editing process. Once revisions are finished, students will write or type their final draft and submit it before Spring Break.

All students are expected to turn in both their DBQ packet and final essay before leaving for Spring Break—even if they will be absent or leaving early.

Please encourage your student to stay on track and complete all components of the assignment on time.

Thank you for your support!

This week, students completed their Ultimate Cup Challenge and shared their commercials.

In addition to the commercials, students started their Sex Ed Unit.

This week, students will complete the Sex Ed unit with the following lessons:

• Lesson 3: Communicating About A Sensitive Topic (who to talk to and how to start conversations)
• Lesson 4: More Than Friends - Understanding Romantic Relationships (discussing comfort levels with a partner)
• Lesson 5: Liking & Loving...Now and When I'm Older (discussing limits and respecting them in others)
• Lesson 6: Image Overload (how to determine if information platforms and reliable)
• Lesson 7: When Should A Person (how to avoid peer pressure)

Winners will have a pizza part at lunch next Friday, March 27th. Parents, feel free to view all students' projects. 🎉🏆🍕

This week in AVID, students took advantage of Homework Day on Tuesday, using the time to catch up on assignments, stay organized, and prepare for upcoming learning.

Next Week students will resume their regular AVID schedule as they get back into Collaborative Study Groups and discovering solutions to their points of confusion in Math and in ELA.

📌 Upcoming Event: We are excited to share that students will be attending a field trip to Northwestern University on Thursday, April 16th! Permission slips will be sent home on Monday, March 23rd—please be on the lookout.

Today, students enjoyed a special music assembly featuring Ruan & Hide, who perform a unique fusion of Chinese, Taiwanese, and Brazilian folk music.

Students learned about the history of the music as well as the instruments being played, gaining a deeper appreciation for different cultures and musical traditions. It was an incredible experience listening to the beautiful and captivating sounds of Tzu-Tsen Wu and Brent Roman.

For more information on their instruments click here

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