Sixth Grade Newsletter Your Monthly Update from the CCP Middle School Team
December Edition
Theology & Technology Mrs. Schmidt
mschmidt@chaminade-stl.org Theology: Almost everyone has seen or heard of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dream Coat. Our last chapter looks at Joseph and his life journey. Lives can be messy, but if we trust in Divine Providence, we can learn to hold on and allow God to lead us to safety and new life. We will also learn about the season of Advent and Our Lady of Guadalupe/Juan Diego. The final assessment will require the students to answer 4 of 6 essay questions. Please check CANVAS as the essays choices will be given in advance. Technology: The last project will serve as the exam assessment. After hearing a presentation on bullying by the middle school counselors, the students will create an Adobe Spark video on the topic. Remember, this is a one semester class.
Social Studies
Mr. Mug
kmug@chaminade-stl.org In Social Studies this month, we will briefly cover ancient India and the origins of both Hinduism and Buddhism. Afterwards we will shift our focus on preparing for our exam. The exam this year will be focus on larger concepts of social studies such as comparing and contrasting topics we covered, analyzing maps, and understanding the make-up of a civilization. Students will not be asked to memorize specific facts and dates, but rather have an overarching understanding of what we covered this semester and how it is connected. We will spend a considerable amount of time preparing for the exam in class. Materials will be provided to assist the students during their exam. If your son is looking for a place to begin reviewing, I suggest he becomes very familiar with pages 106-107 in his textbook.
Science
Mr. Kelly
jkelly@chaminade-stl.org Sixth grade science is wrapping up our final discussions on the Kingdoms Fungi and Protista with a test on Friday December 4th and Tuesday December 8th. We will begin reviewing for the Semester 1 Exam next week including filling out a study guide and other review materials in class, that will help students prepare for the exam. The exam will primarily focus on larger concepts from this semester while also covering several diagrams as well as a reduced number of objective/multiplechoice questions. As always, while your son is preparing for the exam, I encourage him to come by and see me to discuss any questions he might have before school (7:40 – 8:10) or after school (2:50-3:10) most days. Also, a friendly reminder that all missing work for this semester must be completed for my class by Friday December 11th in order to receive late credit. Thank you for your support and patience this semester and I hope you and your family have a safe and relaxing holiday!
Math
Mr. Winebright
awinebright@chaminade-stl.org MAT 630 – The class is finishing up the first semester of CCP math with a bit of number theory including prime factorization and GCFs. With fractions on the horizon, we have begun to transform our decimals into their fractional counterparts. Please take this weekend to organize your math binders and put all of your notes in order as they will be a useful resource during your exams. MAT 650 – With the time left in the semester, we have being working on solving more and more difficult types of equations: two-steps, distributive properties, and even variables on both sides! The boys have been getting into the Christmas Spirit by “unwrapping” our equations with inverse operations to find the mystery “gift” in the solution. Please take this weekend to organize your math binders and put all of your notes in order as they will be a useful resource during your exams. Next week we will begin to prepare for our semester exams on December 15-18th. Both classes will have an exam consisting of 40 short-answer questions (similar to those on the chapter assessments) and one “essay” type question (a word problem with multiple parts). The exam will be cumulative over the fall semester. The exam will be worth 150 points, but there will 170 possible points to be earned. The exam will be open binder, allowing for notes, practice pages, and old quizzes/assessments to be used for guidance.
English
Mr. Gauvain
tgauvain@chaminade-stl.org We will continue reading and writing about our novel, Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls. The boys are enjoying the exciting tales of Billy Colman and his championshipcaliber, red-bone, raccoon-hunting dogs. They will have daily writing assignments in class as we read through the chapters, and they will have many other writing assignments and discussions about four of the constant themes running throughout the novel: Determination, Love, Family, and Religion. The study of this novel is a memorable and favorite time of the sixth grade year for many students … and for their teacher. Semester exam will cover our final 3 vocab. units from this semester and small essays about our novels and each student’s Chaminade experiences, so far. Mr. TG will load several exam study guides on Canvas in the next two weeks. Thank you for your support.
Stem
Ms. Schaaf
cschaaf@chaminade-stl.org 6th grade STEM continues to impress! We have just started our Binary unit and will move onto Logic Gates in the coming weeks. Our final exam will include only the binary and logic gate units.
PE & Technology Mr. McCoy
dmccoy@chamiande-stl.org Physical Education: The boys just completed the last health quiz of the semester. The PE exam will be 25 multiple choice questions taken right from the health quizzes throughout the semester. The boys need to study the quiz questions and the correct answers to prepare for the exam. We will have the boys bring home there PE uniform over the break to be washed. We will also be deep cleaning the locker room over the break. Please make sure your son's name is on all article of clothing that he wears to school. The lost and found pile is growing. Technology: We had our last presentation this week and have started the last project of the semester. this will be one part of the semester exam grade. The boys are creating an informational video on bullying and positive reactions to stop bullying. They will use the book Wonder as a reference. The second part of the exam grade will be a typing test. The boys need to be practicing 10 -20 minutes a day at the minimum. The goal given to them at the beginning of the year was 30 words per minute.
Art
Mr. Anthony
manthony@chaminade-stl.org 6th grade Art students are wrapping up an excellent semester of serious play with art making. They have been working with clay and are beginning to apply paint and glazes to their pieces. Their final exam will be a reflection essay, that speaks of their creative journey this semester. Excellent semester gentlemen!
Theater
Mrs. Lawrence
slawrence@chaminade-stl.org In 6th grade, students have begun our final unit, which focuses on costume design and special effects onstage. Students are learning the fundamentals of design work, and are finishing up work on creating a “costume bible” that they will then present in class. Students are invited to view the Drama Department’s livestream event of The Adding Machine and Oedpius Rex, performing December 3 - 6. Tickets are free to Chaminade students, and can be found here - https://chaminadestl.tix.com A reminder that students should work to complete their Final Exam paper, writing about a production they watched online. Resources and guidelines can be found in our Final Exam Module on Canvas.
Band
Mr. Jones
hjones@chaminade-stl.org Winter Jazz Concert: The NEW date is Wednesday, December 9, at 7:30PM in the SKIP. This concert will be live streamed and will be available later with a link on you tube. (This was the original Christmas Concert date.) Middle School Jazz Band members should be onstage in the main auditorium by 6:45PM. The attire is white jazz polo, khaki pants and dress shoes. We expect the performance to end at 8:45PM. Christmas Concert: This performance was originally scheduled for December 9. Instead, each group will be video recorded on stage during their class time as follows: Beginning Band (10:00AM) and Intermediate Band (8:15AM) on Friday, December 11. ATTIRE for all groups is coat and tie with dress shoes. A video link for this performance will be sent to each band family during the week of December 14. DATES TO REMEMBER: 12/7: No School! 12/8: House Polo Day! 12/9: Virtual School Day! 12/11: House Polo Day! 12/15-12/18: 1st Semester Final Exams 1/5: Back to School
ATTENDANCE REMINDER: Will your son be absent? Does he have an appointment and need to leave early or arrive late? Call the Middle School Office at 314.692.6687.
Messgaes from your Middle School Team:
Principal Dr. Guidry
tguidry@chaminade-stl.org
Counselor
Mrs. Griese
lgriese@chaminade-stl.org
Learning Consultant Mr. Hale
jhale@chaminade-stl.org
Final exams are just around the corner! Our schedule is below:
We have many resources on our Middle School Office page on your son's Canvas to help them prepare for exams. If you need anything else, feel free to contact us!