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Ms. D-H |
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AnnouncementsApril 15, 2012
Greetings Stupendous Sixth Grade Families, Mariners March 5K, Saturday April 28th The Mariners March 5K is fast approaching. Have you registered yet? The registration form is available on line,so you may download one in the comfort of your own home and return to school. Why not invite friends to walk or run with you? The more the merrier!http://www.marinersmarch5k.com/Mariners_March_5K_Run_Walk/Register.html Mary Immaculate's event got terrific reviews from runners last year, and it looks like this year will be a resounding success as well. It was festive, family friendly and well run. An additional benefit was that it brought many people onto our campus for the first time. They were blown away by the beauty of our school and grounds. What a great promotion for us! In support of the event the parent organizers have asked that each family donate a case of water or Gatorade (water preferred). Please drop these off in the school vestibule(stick your name on it). If you can volunteer, please check with the office to see how you can help.
Field Day Friday, April 20thThis Friday is Field Day! The team assignments are below. Please wear a shirt to match your team. Make sure to wear sneakers, your favorite hat and wear plenty of sunscreen. It will be a full day of school, it would be a good idea to bring a clean t-shirt to change into. (Personally, I would greatly appreciate that since I will be in the same room with them all!) We will need to plan for lunch, so stay tuned. Suggestions welcome. Each participant should have their own water bottle to keep handy. We will also wanta few healthy snacks for them to munch on between events. Parent volunteers are genuinely appreciated. You would be a great help in starting events,keeping track of scores, cheering them on, reminding them to stay hydrated, keeping track of snacks as we move from event to event, etc. It makes for a busy and fun morning. Please e-mail me if you can help with snacks or volunteering. Many thanks!
2012 Mariners March 5K Run/Walk is Saturday April 28th. Registration and sponsor forms are available on line at: Have fun, stay healthy and support Mary Immaculate all at once! March 1, 2012 Salutations 6thGrade Parents, This is just a friendly reminder that tomorrow night, Friday March 2, 2012, is our turn to help at the Knights of Columbus Fish Fry. We are working the dinner with Ms. Hemmesch and the 3rdGrade. We will have a fun time! Please bring baked goods to the office tomorrow or directlyto the dinner. They need our help from 4:30until about 8 pm. Come for as much of itas you can. Ms. Hemmesch will be there early;I will arrive later and stay for the end. Look forward to seeing you there. Blessings from Rm. 204, Eileen D-H News from Room 204 February 25, 2012 Fish Dinner . . . Tests This Week . . . Red Mass . . . Iowa Testing Fish Dinner: This Friday March 2, 4:30-ish - 7:30-ish pm* 6th& 3rd are to supply the desserts this week and help the Knights of Columbus, who do all the cooking, etc. Typically we set out the desserts, clean tables, sell 50/50 Raffle tickets and help dry dishes. Bring baked goods to the dinner or drop off at the office on Friday. The Knights cook up a storm with baked and fried fish, and the fixin's. The kids are a great help, enjoy the work and each other. Ms. Hemmesch and I look forward to seeing you there. All proceeds from these dinners go to the school. If you want to eat, the all you can eat dinners are $12 for adults, $6 for kids, with family pricing available. *The bulletin lists time for the dinner as 5:30-7:30 pm, but we usually help with set up and stay a little after with cleanup. Tests This Week Next week we will be wrapping up some items before the Iowa testing begins. · Monday-Vocab test on Mal (Finally! Apologies to those who were ready this week. I failed to fully take into account this week's religious observances when planning.) · Tuesday--English test Unit 3.9-3.13 More homework is being turned in and it has had the correct heading on as well. Bravo! · Wednesday--Geography test on Mexico based on notes, Global Weekly, text. Format will include matching, multiple choice, short essay. They have already been given the essay topics and the vocabulary to study. Note-no map test for this one. · Thursday- Spelling Unit 27 Spelling effort and scores seem to be improving. Keep up the good work! Red Mass: March 2, 2012 at Noon There will be no 8:15am School Mass this week. However grades 5-8 will attend a special Mass at noon, the Red Mass, which will be celebrated by Archbishop Wenski. The tradition of the Red Mass goes back to the thirteenth century and asks God's blessings and guidance for "all protectors and administrators of the Law." Each year the older students attend this Mass along with members of the Monroe County legal community, including law enforcement personnel. Typically the Monroe County judges attend wearing their robes and process in with the bishop. The students are usually impressed at the pomp and dignity of the experience although the content of the homily can be a little beyond them. Nonetheless it is a great experience to see that while separate, church and state work together for the dignity of justice and law. Dress: Please make sure students are neatly dressed and in proper uniform on Friday. Boys-plan on tucking in shirts (wear belts). Avoid uniforms that are stained or torn. Lunch: Pizza will be ordered early so they can eat with time for clean up before we go to Mass. Iowa TestingThe good news is that there will be no homework the week of March 5th! The flip side is why: standardized testing will be conducted Monday through Friday in the morning. Rest & Breakfast The pro's tell us that students who have had a good breakfast and are well rested will do better on their tests and be less stressed out. Enforce regular bedtimes especially next weekend and testing week. Make sure cell phones are not in bedrooms to avoid after hours texts and calls. Eat breakfast each morning and please make every effort to be on time and present each day. Snacks & Water We will have short breaks, so please send in a small snack. Water bottles would be a great idea as well. If anyone would like to send in a boxes of crackers, cheese cubes, pretzels or something simple that I could share among them, I am sure they would enjoy that. Test Prep We will use Iowa's practice test so the students could get an idea of what to expect. We will be using a new edition of the test, so it will be a little different for all of us. The kids and I have spoken about the Iowa tests, what they measure, and what information they provide to us, their parents and teachers. They also know that they are not like the FCATs which can be passed or failed. My biggest concern about this class is their tendency to overlook directions and rush through tests. You know this from the papers that go home. Ms. Luciani and I encourage, cajole and scold them about it with limited success. It is partly a maturity issue, but next week would be a great time for maturity to kick in! Please understand that for us it isn't just about a score. Scores skewed because a student misread or ignored the instructions will not truly reflect their abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Test data is useful for instructional planning. Encourage your sixth grader to pay attention to directions, raise their hand and ask for clarifications if they do not understand something, and to check their work, time permitting. The Good with the Bad If your child seems particularly anxious, please let me know. I can empathize because as a kid I was an awful test taker. I have shared those stories and that eventually we overcome test anxiety. I will do my best to put them at ease so they can do their best and enjoy a homework-free week. Thanks again for sending your terrific kids to me every day. They are wonderful, clever, and a lovely reflection on you and your families. Blessings from Room 204, Eileen D-H
February 9, 2010 Greetings Perfect Parents and Super Students! Here are some upcoming test dates for you. The information below can also be seen on today's 6th Grade Homework page: R 2/9 Literacy Night Tuesday January 31, 2012 5:30 - 6:30 P.M. A reminder to 6th Graders: You have an option for the February book report! Just make a presentation at Literacy Night. Select a book you have read, dress as a character from the book, and do a "book talk." Summarize the book, tell us why it was good, or even read a short excerpt from it. (about 4 minutes). Presentations done will take the place of a February book report. You will also have the opportunity to hear about books your fellow tweens are reading. Parents are invited to attend and hear about the books the middle schoolers are reading and visit other classrooms for their presentations. The middle grade book talks will be coordinated by Brother Bud, 7th & 8th grade reading teacher. Unfortunately I will miss Literacy Night due to a diocesan meeting in Miami. January 17, 2012 Salutations Sixth Grade Families, Have you had a chance to see the bright yellow flier in theTuesday envelope that went home today? Busy people that you are, you may not have had a chance to catch yourbreath yet, much less go through the envelope. So let me help you out with item number one from our fundraiser lineup. This weekend, Saturday night, January 21st, isthe annual Italian Dinner in Sacred Heart Hall (cafeteria). The Knights of Columbus organize and cook allthe food, and we school-people provide the desserts and table help. Please bake or buy desserts for thisevent. Goodies can be dropped off at theoffice Friday or brought to the cafeteria Saturday day. The Knights will be in there cooking theirhearts out. Middle grades are signed up to help clear tables, stockdessert tables, etc. from 8 - 9pm. Please plan to be there for that hour. We're lucky because our kids are old enough to help; don't hesitate tobring them so they can lend a hand, too. Since we are the last shift, I expect we may be sweeping, giving thetables the final wipe down and drying gi-normous pots. Good clean fun! By the way! Please keepin mind that we'll all be called on to bake for the Rock'n'Roast, too. That is in two weeks and is an even biggercrowd since it's all afternoon and evening. Don't burn yourself out baking for the Spaghetti Dinner. Might be a good time to teach that middleschooler how to bake your favorite dessert or watch for sales on cake mixes! And did I mention the Lenten Friday Night Fish Dinners ? Not to worry . . . Just pace yourself! We'll keep it fun and it is all for a greatcause-great kids! Blessings from 204, Eileen D-H January 11, 2012 Reminder! PTSA Meeting Tonight Wednesday January 11, 2012 5:30-6:30pm Sacred Heart Hall (Cafeteria) Hope to see you there! January 8, 2012 Hello 6thGrade Characters! Happy Feast of Epiphany! I am sure you had a wonderful vacation, and hope that you are eager to return to school if only to see your friends and fellow characters. Tomorrow, Monday January 9th, will see us reunited in Room 204 to continue your education and edification. I will do my best to make it entertaining and engaging as well! Bring a smile and your wonderful sense of humor along with that backpack when you return tomorrow. Just a few reminders in case your brain is a little clogged with Christmas tinsel. Yes, it is really true that Mary Immaculate resumes classes tomorrow, Monday January 9, 2012 at the usual time. Remember to pack a lunch and a snack. Remember your Christmas reading homework-2 hours written down on your Reading Log with a parent's signature. Lost the paper? Do the same on loose leaf. Look around and find everything that belongs in your backpack-pencils, binder, speller, etc. We'll be wrapping up our economics unit with Geo Weekly this week, so make sure it is in your binder along with your Cornell notes. There will be a test this week so anticipate review time. If you brought home your speller, you might want to get a head start on Unit 19. It will be due on Wednesday, with the test on Thursday, as usual. January is a busy month-the Knights of Columbus Spaghetti Dinner, Catholic Schools Week, Rock'n'Roast around the corner, etc. So get ready for some fun and be ready to roll up your sleeves to help with some of these events. I'll look forward to seeing you all tomorrow, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! Blessings from 204, Ms. D-H December 19, 2011 Christmas Greetings to my wonderful 6th Grade Parents and equally wonderful students, The Christmas Program was full of Christmas joy and you made it so! But the celebrations of Christmas continue. On Wednesday, the middle grades will have some fun together, coordinated by Ms. Luciani. Then 6th Grade will celebrate with a Ms. D-H tradition-the 6th Grade Christmas Brunch. There will be waffles, sausages, [real] maple syrup, whipped cream, juice, milk, etc. For entertainment we will also tackle some other seasonal fun-cleaning out lockers and desks. It can be most interesting to see what has accumulated in small, metal, rectangular spaces. Along the way we'll also discuss Christmas assignments, and finish up 2011 with some Christmas stories, mark our height, and maybe a movie or board game. The Christmas Eve Children's Mass on Saturday at 5pm will be a wonder-filled liturgy for young and old. Several of you showed up to participate, and I can't thank you enough. It will be fun to don Morrocan jalabas, Saudi kafirs and egals and help the Holy Family and Wise men with their wooden beasts of burden. You guys were great sherpas. Father will also need altar servers at that Mass, so be sure to let me know if you would like to participate. Last week one of you characters said, "Wow! This year has gone by FAST!!!" I couldn't agree with you more. You've grown in wisdom and grace and inches! We'll celebrate the end of the year together and look forward to a New Year equally filled with the good Lord's blessings on the second floor of a most blessed place: Mary Immaculate Star of the Sea School. Blessings on your Holiday Heads, Ms. D-H December 19, 2011 Ho ho ho, Secret Santas, Here are a few few tips on being a Secret Santa in case you're still pondering the how-to's.
Don't tell who your person is--someone may catch you leaving a treat, but try to be sneaky. You might have small treat for you person--something they can eat at snack or lunch, a funny note, paper snowflakes, paper chains, pencils, pens, etc. The idea is to brighten someone's day and keep them guessing.
Where to hide the treat? If you can hide it in their desk or locker, great. But you could also put it someplace obvious in the room (by the textbooks, etc.) so they find it. Try to hide it when no one is looking. Don't forget to make sure their name is on it! Disguise your writing--type it up, cut out letters, use their initials--so they don't know it is from you. You need not spend lots of $$$--you can use things you might have at home. The idea is to surprise someone and keep them guessing.
Have fun!
Blessings on all you Merry Elves!
Ms. D-H
December 9, 2011 Dear Stupendous Students and Dedicated Parents, This Sunday, December 11, 6th Grade will be the readers at the 9 AM Family Mass. The students have practiced and I am sure will do a terrific job. Here are the particulars:
If for some reason you cannot make it, please let me know as soon as possible so I can have another student take on that role. (My home and cell numbers are below.) For the same reason, please be in church no later than 8:45 AM. That way everyone can focus on their assigned role and not worry about what else they might have to tackle. I am most thankful for your commitment to attending this event. Although each grade is only called upon to do this twice each school year, I know you are already plenty busy. As I told the students, their presence means a great deal to not only the priests, it also means a lot to parishioners who generously support the school. Many thanks to you all! Blessings from Rm. 204, Ms. D-H h: 305-292-1208 c: 305-304-0230 November 8, 2011 Busy times ahead! The Tuesday envelope was crowded with papers clamoring for your attention. Here are the highlights:
If you follow Teacher Web, you will already know some of this 6th jazz:
November 1, 2011
Greetings Patient Parents, The make-up day for yesterday's storm day (Wednesday October 19) will be Friday, October 28. There Friday the 28th will also be our day to celebrate Halloween. The students may wear costumes, there will be a costume parade after Mass, etc. Monday the 31st will be a "normal" school day with uniforms, not costumes. If you have any questions, please let me know. Blessings from Room 204, Ms. D-H October 4, 2011 Happy Feast of St. Francis! School on Monday 10/10 Please note that next Monday, October 10, is a regular school day. Progress Reports will go home on Tuesday, October 11, 2011. Picture Day is coming Tuesday October 11. They wear uniforms since the picture is used for the yearbook. All students are photographed at no cost to you, however if you want to purchase any pictures the flyer is in today's envelope. Homework Planners As the students received their new planners yesterday, they put the old ones in their Tuesday envelope to go home (I did not look at them). If you notice that your student's planner is blank or incomplete just let me know. They seem to have the routine down of recording their homework so I have stopped initialing them daily. However if the planner has little or no work written on it, let me know and I will reinstitute the dismissal ritual of planner inspection. Reading Please read the letter from me about Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness. It is concerns a movie I plan to watch with them which coordinates with a selection in our reading book about Chiune Sugihara. PTSA Room Representative 6th grade needs a parent liaison for PTSA. The work load is minimal-principally forwarding e-mails from PTSA, occasional meeting, and a willingness to share PTSA info with the rest of the 6th grade parents. Please let me know if this is something you could do for us. Box Tops for Education Thanks for sending them in and by all means please keep clipping them! You are wonderful! Next week PTSA volunteers will be tallying what we've collected so far. They have sent home sheets for you to glue them on but you can just send them in loose if that's easier. I have a little collection bag on our bulletin board so 6th grade gets credit for what we collect. I can have the kids mount them on the sheets before school. Amazon purchases can benefit Mary Immaculate and it is really simple. Just like using the little keychain barcodes at Albertson's and other stores to benefit the school, Amazon purchases can help the school, too. I use it myself and it is easy, with no change to my Amazon profile. If you use the link below to enter Amazon's website, a small percentage of your purchase will be given to the school. (If you notice, Mary Immaculate is coded in the regular Amazon.com link.) I finally figured out how to do it everytime automatically-I replaced the old "Amazon.com" link on my tool bar with the one coded for MISS. Here's how I did it. (I apologize for the repetition if you've already figured this out--I wish I'd thought to do it sooner and thought it worth sharing.) I used the link to go to Amazon, and then dragged the Amazon icon to my toolbar, saving it there. It is one click and all purchases automatically benefit MISS. If you shop at Amazon please consider giving this a try. It's just an electronic version of those little keychain cards. Thanks for staying on top of your wonderful kids! They are a great source of entertainment and wisdom for all of us. Let me know if I can be of assistance in any way. Have a terrific week. Blessings from Rm. 204, Ms. D-H Field Trip Alert Ahoy, 6th, 7th and 8th Grade families! On Tuesday afternoon, September 27th, we will tour the USS Spruance. Please be advised that it is likely that we will return to school after the 2:50pm dismissal time. If this presents a problem for you or your student's after school schedule, please let us know and we will have them stay at school. Our tour on board begins at 2pm. It should run about 45 minutes then the trolley will return us to school. I estimate that we should be back by 3:15pm, but that is an estimate. I regret any inconvenience, but this is a rare opportunity and the students are certainly excited to see the ship. Most of them heard a presentation on the Spruance last spring from the ship's Command Master Chief, and some mentioned they are attending the commissioning next weekend. Please return field trip forms and $3 for the trolley on Monday, Tuesday morning at the latest. Many thanks for your help and cooperation. Blessings from Rm. 204, Eileen D-H September 13, 2011 Dear Perfect Parents and Splendid 6th Graders, 1. Tomorrow morning we will take another walk down Elizabeth Street to the public library. Please sign the permission slip that was in the Tuesday envelope and make sure it gets back to school tomorrow morning. If any books were checked out two weeks ago, they are due tomorrow; send them in and they'll be returned.If possible I would like them all to have their library cards so we can access the library's on line databases. So, permission slips, books and library cards in back packs tomorrow! Got it 6th Grade? 2. Besides the usual array of papers and news, there were two Scholastic Book flyers (September and October) in this week's Tuesday envelope. With the closing of our local Borders Books, Scholastic might be another source for fun books to read in addition to the library. Mrs. Gould has volunteered to coordinate the orders for our class. Scholastic is a great way to purchase books inexpensively and will also earn points we can use toward books for our classroom library. Watch for flyers headed your way via Tuesday envelopes. Please be sure to check for a due date on the back of the order forms. Checks should be made payable to Scholastic Books. 3. Please remember to check Teacher Web regularly. I will post important reminders to the scrolling marquee-today's has a reminder about the permission slip and pizza. I post daily to the homework page and old homework is retired to the "homework archive." If you are a regular follower, you may notice that I sometimes include more than just a list of pages numbers. I hope this information helps you keep tabs on what we've done in Room 204, so you can ask questions and offer advice on homework. While 6th graders are lively and talkative in school, I think sometimes they are less so at home. Thanks again for sharing your great kids. (And kids, thanks for sharing your great parents!) Stay in touch-you know how to reach me. Blessings from Room 204, Eileen D-H August 24, 2011
Dear Parents of my Sensational 6th Graders, I think we're off to a great start in 6th Grade, and I hope you all feel the same. We've spent the first period each morning becoming acquainted with how things "work" in the middle grades. We've also done a language arts lesson (English/Spelling) each day, and then they moved on to Math and Science with Ms. Luciani and various specials. Their schedule is posted on TeacherWeb for you to see. I hope you are becoming familiar with TeacherWeb if it is new to you. If electronic communication is not your thing, give me a call and we will work things out. The students and I have set up their binders with dividers, weekly planners & homework rubric. Look for my initials for the next few weeks on the orange homework planner. At the end of the day I will check to see that the homework is recorded and initial it. The next day I will circle in highlighter on the planner any homework not submitted to me (Language Arts, Geography or Reading). That way you will know right away that what's up, e.g. homework was done, but never made it to school. Let me know if you find this helpful. We have reviewed behavioral expectations, including how to come and go without distracting everyone else, when it is necessary to walk in lines and when it is fine to be informal. The overarching guide is the golden rule of treating others as we would like to be treated. Remember they may bring in a small snack--something they can consume in 5 minutes or less--for between the 1st and 2nd period. They know this is a privilege and if they are late for class, they may lose it. So far so good! One of my adjunct roles at school is to coordinate the servers and school Masses. That means that 6th grade is the class that helps the youngest students with baskets, etc. at Mass. I am also the contact person when the rectory needs altar servers for weddings and funerals. Today I took a quick survey to see which students are already altar servers and who would like to be. While on the subject of service, I seized the teachable moment to discuss the various ways in which they support the church with their contributions of time, talent and treasure. In my family and schools we were always taught to think of others when we ourselves were hurting. "Offer it up," my parents and teachers told us. If we were hungry, think of those who were hungrier. If we had to take awful medicine, think of the poor kids who had no doctors, etc., and offer our sacrifices up as a prayer. I believe it helped many of us to grow up with empathy for and awareness of others. It also helped us recognize prayer as actions as well as formal words. As we start a new school year, it is my belief that we will all grow not only in wisdom and learning, but also as caring and confident children of our God. The world will be richer for the presence of these wonderful kids! Thank you for sending them to me each day. Blessings from Room 204, Ms. D-H August 8, 2011 Are you counting the days until Open House on August 22? It is that time of year, and before long the Mary Immaculate campus will come alive with all of your energy and enthusiasm! It has been very quiet without you all that is for sure, and I can't wait to see you. I have posted answers to frequently asked questions -- if you've gotten this far you have probably seen it. Missed it? Just click on the Questions? face. If you have questions that aren't answered there, just drop me an e-mail. I usually am able to keep an eye on my e-mail, and usually can get back to you the same day. Be assured that I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Hope you are doing well and enjoying a wonderful summer. Blessings from Room 204.5, Ms. D-H  July 14, 2011 Happy Bastille Day! I hope you are having a great summer so far. The days seem to fly so make the most of them. The question on the top of everyone's list is, "When does school start?" The first day of school is August 22nd, Open House. You will receive a letter from the office a little later this summer confirming this. I have posted the 2011-2012 Mary Immaculate School Calendar on the link and included a .pdf copy that will print off as a single page for your convenience. Just click on the link and it should open for you to print. The supply list is posted as is a copy of the book report form. At Open House you will have a chance to meet your teachers, classmates, learn about the upcoming year's courses, complete paperwork, etc. You may bring in classroom supplies that day, too. We will try to take care of the necessary housekeeping items so school can begin smoothly for everyone. If you have any questions-about school supplies, books to read, whatever!-just send an e-mail to me at ed-h@live.com or via the mailbox link on this TeacherWeb site. I would be happy to hear from you. Blessings from Room 204.5, Ms. D-H |
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