GMAS Information Letter

Today, your 6th grader received a letter about the Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS). There is an error regarding how your child will be tested - 6th grade students WILL NOT be tested online. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to email me.
Thank you for your patience :)

Thursday, 3/31/16

Happy Thursday :)

A few more events/reminders to add to our schedule -

This Friday, April 1st, is a Dress Down Day for $1.00 in honor of our veterans and their families. The money raised will go to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Tuesday, April 5th (6pm - 7:30pm): Healthy Body - Healthy Mind. Please join us to participate in Beastmode Fitness and sample fresh fruit and vegetables.

Saturday, April 2nd - Please see Ellis PTA information regarding our annual Rummage Sale

http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/Ellis/Exp/Shared%20Documents/Healthy%20Body%20Healthy%20Mind.pdf

Academic Reminders:
Social Studies Test tomorrow - Chapter 5 (Sections 1 and 2)

Terrific Tuesday News...

Parents,
Just a gentle reminder that we have started conferences this week to discuss your child's progress during the 3rd marking period. If you have not yet signed up for a conference, please do so as soon as possible so we can coordinate the best times for you to come in. As we prepare for MAP, SRI, and GMAS assessments, we appreciate the opportunity to talk with you about getting your child ready for these tests.

Due to conferences, there will be NO TUTORIAL this week for Mr. Trent or Ms. Susan.

Please be sure you have secured a copy of The Outsiders for your child. We will be reading Chapters 2 - 4 this week.

Also, please be aware that we have a new date to add to our calendars: Saturday, April 9th. It is the 2nd annual Family Involvement Day and will take place at the School of Liberal Studies at Savannah High School from 9am - 2pm. It is a day of fun and learning where parents can learn more about helping their children academically as well as with community service projects. This event is FREE and offers child care, food, and blood pressure checks. There will be information sessions about the GMAS as well as test-taking strategies.

A few needs for our classrooms:
If you have a gently used vacuum cleaner that you could donate, the 6th grade would be eternally grateful. We LOVE our new reading area and even got more new things in today - I'll try to get some pictures posted soon!! But, we are finding that the carpet needs to be taken care of daily.

We are also in need of wipes, plastic-ware (forks, spoons, etc), hand sanitizer, pencils and erasers. If you are able to help us out, please know it is greatly appreciated Thank you in advance!! I wish I could tell you where all of these pencils and erasers go; it is almost as if they are the lost sock in the washing machine! Thank you for all of your help and support.

Week of March 28

Happy Spring Everyone :)

I hope everyone is enjoying this extended weekend with their families and treasuring this precious time with their children - they truly grow up too fast, so enjoy every wacky moment!

General Announcements:

• Please make sure you have returned your child's conference form so we can schedule our 3rd nine weeks' conferences. We look forward to talking with you about your child's progress and setting goals for our final quarter.
• Please return your child's Spring Picture Package - whether or not you plan to order photographs, we have to return the pictures to the company. The ordering deadline is April 5.
• Please be mindful of having your child at school on time as we work on preparing for the end of year assessments (SRI, MAP, and GMAS). While I can fully appreciate that testing can be a stressful experience, please encourage your child to relax. Trust that they are prepared and will do their very best - I know they will.
• PTA RUMMAGE SALE: Saturday, April 2 from 7am to noon. Items can be dropped off in the MPR beginning 3/31. For more information, consult our Ellis webpage or the PTA's Facebook page.
• Beastmode - April 5th ~ The Wellness committee along with the PTA will host a Healthy Body-Healthy Mind fun time.
• The Child in Nature Symposium is coming up on Friday and Saturday, April 8 - 9 at Oatland Island. For more information, please visit the Ellis website or the Savannah MESS website (www.savannahmess.org).
• Please continue to check PowerSchool for the best information regarding your child's assignment status in his or her classes. 

Weekly Academic News & Due Dates:

Social Studies: 

• Thursday, 3/31 - Canada Map Test
• Friday, 4/1 - Chapter 5 Test (Sections 1 & 2)
• Tuesday, 4/5 - Chapter 5 Test (Section 3)
• Friday, 4/8 - Canada Choice Sheet Activities (3) due

English/Language Arts:

• The Outsiders: Read Chapters 2 - 4 by Friday
• **Several students have yet to turn in their Hatchet Essay which was due March 11 (before Spring Break). This is a test grade, so please encourage your children to take care of this assignment if they have not yet done so. I will email individual parents to let you know if your child needs to submit this work.  

Thanks for reading and have an amazing week :)

Susan

WELCOME TO THE 4TH NINE WEEKS!!!

Wow!! Spring has sprung and we are well on our way to finishing our wonderful 6th grade year together! On that note, please gently remind your child that school is in indeed in session - there is much work to be done in addition to preparing for benchmark assessments, covering curriculum, standardized testing, and, last but not least, Charles Ellis Presents.

THE OUTSIDERS:

Many thanks to you who have already gotten the required text for this quarter. If you have not yet bought, checked out, or downloaded The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, please do so at your earliest opportunity. Children are expected to have read Chapter 1 by this FRIDAY, MARCH 25. I do have 12 copies in the classroom but the students will have to read quite a bit at home. If you are unable to get a copy for your child, please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you!

DONORS CHOOSE: 

Many, many thanks to those of you who supported our goal of a new reading space in our classroom. Thanks to you, and the fabulous Ms. Amiee from room 15, we met our goal in just 4 days!! Our goodies began arriving this afternoon and we couldn't be more excited! 

TUTORIAL AND REPORT CARDS:

There will be NO tutorial sessions this week for myself or for Mr. Trent. Please keep an eye out for your child's report card and conference form that will be sent home Wednesday. Please note: students with an overdue library book will not be able to get their report cards until that issue is resolved by either returning the book or paying the fine.

GMAS PRACTICE:

Notices were sent home today to explain how your child can look at GMAS-type questions in a practice setting online. The website is: www.gaexperienceonline.com. Ask to see your child's handout for information about logging on to practice.

IMPORTANT DATES:

March 23: Report cards and conference forms come home

March 24: Explorers of the Universe program - come see what our students have been learning in Math, Science, and Social Studies. The program begins at 5:30 pm.

March 28: School Holiday - no school

April 4: Students will take the SRI/MAP benchmark assessments this week.

April 5: Spring picture money is due

April 12: GMAS testing begins

Building Community Through Reading - Our Donors Choose Project!!

Hello Everyone!

   I am so excited to let you guys know about the new project I created for our classroom. It is called "Building Community Through Reading." It is my class' first project and everyone is excited. We are hoping to create a calm reading area with cushions, rugs, lamps, and new. 

I am hoping we can fund this project quickly, but it is a big goal. We can only use a doubling code for ONE project per year, and this is the one I am choosing. If you would like to donate, the best way to make the biggest impact is to first turn off the optional 15% donation to Donors Choose. This will allow us to fund our project for less money!

****Next make sure you type in the code LIFTOFF during checkout to double your donation. This makes a huge difference so don't forget! If you do forget, you can contact donors choose through the help center, and they can go back in and fix it for you.

Thank you so much for your dedicated and generous support of my classroom. You have made such a difference in the lives of my students. We are forever grateful! Here is the link!

www.donorschoose.org/project/building-community-through-reading/1903071/?challengeid=208861

Building Community Through Reading, a project from Mrs. Torrance www.donorschoose.org We need 8 table lamps, a selection of middle grade books, a cozy rug, and comfy floor seating to make our classroom warm and inviting. Having students recognize the importance of reading in both the classroom and in the real world is invaluable. My students, like Ella and Liz, were stunned to learn of the illiteracy rate in the...

DON'T FORGET TO DOUBLE YOUR DONATION USING LIFTOFF!

Thanks again!

 -Ms. Susan and the rest of our six/ seventh grade!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!!

Current Novel Study:

We are close to finishing our first class novel, "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen. We have a few more exciting chapters to go but will see what other adventures Brian has in the next few days. We have watched parts of the movie, read silently, read as a class, and listened to the book on Audible (I think the kids preferred that the best!). 

Progress Reports & Ending the 3rd Nine Weeks:

Please accept my apologies for the delay in getting grades posted; technology has not been my friend for almost a week now but I am going to hope for the best the rest of this week :) PowerSchool has been having intermittent issues as well as our large copier but our goal is to have progress reports to you by the end of this week. 

PLEASE BUY:

Our next novel study will begin after Spring Break and is "The Outsiders" by S. E. Hinton. We only have 9 in our classroom, so each child will need to purchase their own copy. More information to come this week.