Sixth Grade Newsletter Your Monthly Update from the CCP Middle School Team
January Edition
Theology & Technology Mrs. Schmidt
mschmidt@chaminade-stl.org Theology: We are journeying with Moses on the Exodus: burning bushes, plagues, manna and quail, the Ten Commandments, and the golden calf are examples of what we are learning. Please ask to see your son’s Power Point. They are half-finished and are proving to be interesting and entertaining! Every student will have to memorize the Ten Commandments exactly as they appear on the handout. All Chaminade students engage in service projects. This is a unique year and because the students cannot physically do service hours, we have committed to serving a St. Louis charity, Our Little Haven. Click here for more information. Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 3 all sixth graders will participate in Focus 11, a virtual vocations workshop presented by the Archdiocesan Office of Vocations. This hour-long event will include prayer, games, and talks that spotlight hearing and discerning God’s call in our lives. Outside of the hour-long workshop, the students will attend classes as usual that day. Technology: Home keys, home keys, home keys! We cannot say it enough. Please encourage your son to use the home keys when keyboarding for all subjects. Daily practice is imperative! There will be two projects this month. Sue Rozier, R.N. will present information on good hygiene and the boys will use Power Point to showcase their understanding of the subject. Next, Dr. Guidry and Ms. Dunlap will speak to the students about academic excellence. The students will then create a presentation using Adobe Spark Pages.
Social Studies
Mr. Mug
kmug@chaminade-stl.org We are currently taking a deep dive into the history and culture of Ancient Greece. We are continuing to use our textbook to practice reading comprehension and note-taking skills as we move through chapters 4 and 5. In addition, we continue to develop or writing skills. We recently worked on planning and writing eight sentence paragraphs. Our culminating project is a newscast video project that we will make in small groups. Each group has been assigned a Greek city-state to represent and will produce a short newscast featuring various segments on Greek history and culture.
Science
Mr. Kelly
jkelly@chaminade-stl.org In 6th Grade Science we are wrapping up our unit on the Carbon Cycle, Energy, and Earth's Atmosphere. The boys have been doing a great job connecting the links between living things, the carbon cycle, energy, and our atmosphere. We will be doing several home projects in the coming days while each student receives a "Home Energy Efficiency Kit" to help with those projects. I appreciate in advance any help you can offer your son to complete these projects and to help them calculate some of the estimates for energy and water use at home. The class is off to a great start this semester and I am excited for what's ahead!
Math
Mr. Winebright
awinebright@chaminade-stl.org 630: We are finishing up our unit on Fractions! The boys have worked hard remembering to find common denominators and using reciprocals when needed. After our quiz this week, we will spend a day review before the Fraction Assessment early next week. Be sure to organize all of your notes, assignments, and quizzes to help you on the assessment! 650: This unit we leapt forward with our unit on rates and proportions! Many geometry and trigonometry applications helped us work on our cross-multiplying, and we used rates to determine who had the "better deal." The chapter assessment will be at the end of this week so keep studying and organizing your math binder as a reference for the test!
English
Mr. Gauvain
tgauvain@chaminade-stl.org Vocabulary units never end, currently starting unit 8, with units 9, 10, and 11 coming up in February ‌ new novel and new essays about Brian’s Winter, by Gary Paulsen, going on in all classes. Sentence diagramming and other grammar topics coming soon. Thanks for all of the awesome Christmas cards; I was very touched that so many boys and their families would think of their teachers during the holiday season.
PE & Technology Mr. McCoy
dmccoy@chamiande-stl.org Physical Education: Physical education is off to a great start this semester. We started with racquet sports; first table tennis and then pickleball. Our next sport will be indoor soccer. We continue to work on aerobic fitness and muscle strength. We have started the health quizzes this semester. The first quiz is on a good night sleep and what it dos for the body. The boys will have a quiz every other week. We continue to have many items that are lost in the gym and locker room. The items are taken to the middle school office. If the boys names are on all of their belongings it is easy to get them returned. Technology: We have finished our first project of the semester. After the school nurse gave a presentation on good hygiene the boys created a good hygiene power point. The next presentation will be from our principals on Chaminade academics. The students will create and adobe spark slide on their academics at Chaminade. The other responsibility is typing. The students are working on using all the proper fingers from home row. The boys are need to be 25 wpm for the first test in early March. They should be typing every evening to create good form.
Art
Mr. Anthony
manthony@chaminade-stl.org Six grade Art students are gaining experience in using color and incorporating meaning into their work. They are also learning how to talk about art and find and make meaning through their own work. Recently we learned about artist Paul Klee and how he used his imagination to create abstract work. Several students shared that they learned that art doesn’t have to “look like something” [realistic] in order to hold deep meaning. Students will be making their own creations inspired by what they have learned from Klee next. Keep up the good work gentlemen!
Stem
Ms. Schaaf
cschaaf@chaminade-stl.org Circuits have begun!! The level of knowledge and engagement is already impressive! Keep up the good work!
Theater
Mrs. Lawrence
slawrence@chaminade-stl.org Students are beginning their first performance project, where they will use Pantomime to perform "Two Minutes of Daily Life." Students will perform live in class and online. After this, students will continue using their bodies to tell stories by creating a Silent Film. Audition information for the Middle School play will be sent out mid-late February, stay tuned!
Band
Mr. Jones
hjones@chaminade-stl.org This month the Middle School Bands have been working on music from Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean. We’re also working our way through the Essential Elements for Band books; the beginners are on p.12 of Book 1 and the Intermediate Band is on page 5 of Book 2. All band students will participate in our annual Solo and Ensemble Invitational which will take place Wednesday March 31st from 3-5pm. Everyone performs with a small ensemble at the festival; students may also choose to perform a solo for 50 extra credit points. Students who want the optional solo should see Mr. Jones for music.
DATES TO REMEMBER: 2/8: No School-Professional Development Day 2/12: 4th Grading Period Ends ATTENDANCE REMINDER: 2/13: Course Registration Opens Will your son be absent? 2/15: No School-President's Day Does he have an appointment and 2/16: 5th Grading Period Begins need to leave early or arrive late? Call the Middle School Office at 314.692.6687 or email Susie at sclark@chaminade-stl.org
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
Can you believe we are talking about 7th Grade already!? Registration for the 2021-2022 school year opens on February 13th! If you need any help with the process, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to talk to you about classes and placements. I will be in your son's classes on February 4th and 5th to discuss what their language selection is. They will need to choose a first and second choice language. More information about classes are in the video included.
Congrats to our December and January Students of the Month! Des Allman Jack Bayer