WELCOME TO 6th grade curriculum

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Communication

• We believe that communication between parents and teachers is instrumental in helping students be successful in all facets of school life.

• Students have individual student planners that they should be bringing home daily with all assignments and announcements noted. (**Planners cost $3.50)

• All 4 teachers keep an active website that we urge you to check frequently to keep up to date with information.

• The easiest and quickest way to reach us is via email. We ask that you email all 4 teachers whenever trying to contact us.

• Erin Duffy, ELA eduffy@nsd.org• Adam Gervis, Social Studies agervis@nsd.org• Keri Molitor, Math kmolitor@nsd.org• Katie Sparks, Scienceksparks2@nsd.org

Expectations

• We follow the school-wide expectations and expect students to do the following:

• Show respect• Make good choices• Solve problems

NOTE: By meeting expectations and turning in work on-time, students will have the opportunity for a reward at the end of each quarter.

Progressive discipline

• If students are not following classroom/school wide expectations, our 4 step discipline policy will be implemented:• 1. verbal warning, loss of recess, and/or

participation points• 2. develop a plan for behavior modification • 3. communication home• 4. office referral• NOTE: These steps may be taken out of order if

the behavior warrants it.

Grading Policy

• GRADING POLICY:  We use standards based grading for quarterly and semester reporting periods, but will be communicating with percentages on our bi-weekly progress reports that will be emailed to you via Easy Grade Pro. The standards based grades are as follows:• “4” student is working above grade level expectations (consistently over 100%)

• “3” student is working to grade level expectations (approximately 80-100%)

• “2” student is approaching grade level expectations (approximately 60-79%)

• “1” student is working below grade level expectations (approximately anything below 59%)

Student absences

• As a policy, homework is not given out in advance due to early vacations. First and foremost, planning is done a few days before the start of each new week. The progress of the prior week determines the schedule for the new week. Another reason is a lot of our homework really involves class instruction and can't be explained easily without the students' presence. Lastly, follow-through to complete the work has been spotty over the years. Students must do the best they can to keep up using the web sites of the 6th grade teachers.

Conferences

• All conferences will be occurring the week before Thanksgiving.

• We will be communicating our calendar and available times to you mid-October.

• Some students may be requested to meet with all 4 core teachers and some may just be meeting with their homeroom teacher.

Science Teacher

Katie Sparks

A Brief Bio

• Born in Iowa, lived in Mill Creek since I was 2

• Graduated from Cedar Park Christian School & followed at SPU for my undergraduate and Masters degree

• Married my husband David in 2012 & have no babes of my own but have two sponsor kids I was able to visit in Africa

• Passionate about travelling and other cultures, lived in Rome teaching English for half a year & had a variety of other travel experience

• Few favs: baking, hiking, gardening, crafting & community involvement with my church, hanging with my family near by

Photos

Expectations

- Safety First! In Science, safety is key to a successful experience

- Being prepared for class

- Making up experiments if absent & check in with absent buddies to ensure journal write ups are complete

- Showing respect

- Following procedures & staying on task

Teaching Philosophy

• I believe every child is capable and can learn

• It is my job to ensure that every child has what they need to be successful

• I will advocate for each child in order that specific needs are met and know that communication with you as the parents is key

• Encourage students to reach their full potential beyond just academics

Primary Objectives

•Learning how to complete an effective lab write up

supporting claims with adequate evidence

•Connecting authentic real world problems in order to create solutions through research & experiments

Timeline

Key Components

• Scientific Method focus within Journal Write Ups

• Next Generation Science Standards incorporating STEM components

• Science World Magazines to bolster comprehension and real life application

• Science in the News- discover what real Scientists are doing today

English Language Arts (Reading, Writing,

Speaking, Listening and Communication.

Ms. Erin Duffy

About Me:

7th year at KO/ 10th year teachingEducation:Seattle UniversityCal State-HaywardMy Family-Jim, Frances, Rory, and PJInterests outside of teaching:Spending time with my extended family, travel and volleyball

Teaching Philosophy

Supporting students to become independent, responsible

learners.

Setting high expectations for students to become positive contributors to our school

community and society at large.

Teaching Philosophy, continued

How do I/we do that?

*Teamwork *Communication

*Knowing our Students!

ELA Curriculum

Springboard Pilot-Common Core State

Standards for College and Career

Readiness.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• TEACHER

• Mr. Gervis

A little background

• Born in London England

• Education: University of Washington, City University, UCLA.

• Interests: Soccer (Premier League, Sunderland, Saturday morning horror shows currently, MLS Seattle Sounders),golf, running, hiking.

• Family: Daughter Tamzin just entering sixth grade, wife Denise a counselor and two dogs Tabitha (American Eskimo) and Scruffles (Mixture of Lassa and ?)

Coaching

• Boys Varsity Soccer Coach at Eastlake High School winning a state title.

• Girls Varsity Soccer Coach at Mercer Island High School state finalists

• Coaching Director for Seattle Sounders for their summer camp program

Teaching

• 5th grade teacher (2 years)

• 6th grade teacher (6 years)

• 8th grade humanities teacher (9 years)

MY BACKGROUND AND APPROACH TO TEACHING

• *critical thinking/how to use the mind well

• *focus on clear communication (reading/writing/speaking)

• *integration of history/English

MY BACKGROUND AND APPROACH TO TEACHING continued

•*global perspective/modern issues

•*challenging yet supportive environment

•*enjoy the learning process

WHAT I EXPECT FROM MY STUDENTS

• To use their minds to explore ideas

• Put out their best effort

• Be an active learner in class (Ask questions, share ideas)

Expectations continued

• Be responsible for their own work and success

• Be able to work with others, and by themselves (making good choices)

Curriculum for Social Studies

TIMELINE

• September- October SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS: Big6 and EPS introduction (Once the skills have been attained both of these skills will be used throughout the school year)

• October-November GEOGRAPHY, (mapping skills, Locating places and regions in the world)

• November-December ECONOMICS (financial interchange with society and government and world issues)

• January-February CIVICS (forms of government)

• March-June HISTORY (Ancient cultures)

Learning tools

•Big6

•Turnitin.com

MathTeacher

Keri Molitor

About me

• 3rd year teaching at Kokanee, past 2 have been as the ELA teacher

• 15th year teaching

• Graduated from Western Washington University

• Master’s from City University

• I have a husband, Gavin, and a daughter, Makenna

• Interests outside of teaching are: paddleboarding, traveling, crafting, hanging out with friends

Teaching Philosophy

*Every student has the ability to learn.*Student, parent and teacher are a team in a child’s education.*I am here as an advocate for all students in order to place them appropriately as they enter junior high, and to have them leave the 6th grade feeling completely prepared for junior high.*To be a cheerleader for all students and encourage them to be the best they can be. *Give all students the tools they need to be successful.

Expectations

My expectations are high, yet achievable for all students. I expect all 6th graders to:

*Be ready to learn on a daily basis.*Complete all homework and be prepared

every morning.*Not settle for anything less than grade level.*Create a positive classroom community by

being respectful to each other and all staff members.

*Work collaboratively in groups with other students.

*Ask questions when they are not understanding.

*Take responsibility for themselves. *Take pride in all of the work they produce in

our classroom.*Find a way to be organized that works for

them.*Work towards becoming productive members

of society.

Syllabus Overview*September-November:

--5th grade review--Algebra

*November-December:--Decimals

*December-January:--Fractions

*February-March:--Collecting, displaying, and understanding data

*March-May:--Proportions, Ratios, and Percents

*May-June:--Additional Common Core Concepts (i.e. Measurement,

Probability, Integers —will also be working on throughout the year)

*ALL YEAR: PROBLEM SOLVING

Syllabus OverviewHolt Textbook: This is a hardcover red book that is checked out to each student. Students can leave these books in their homerooms if they do not need them at home. The pages of the textbook are available online.Online site: In addition to the pages of the textbook that are available online, there are also many helpful resources on this site that I will share with our students. Probably the most valuable resource is the ability to watch videos (provided by the publisher) on the concepts that are addressed in the book. These are very helpful especially when a student has been absent. However, please remember, some concepts will be addressed during the year to match the new Common Core standards that are not in the book.

An Interactive Math Binder: All math will be kept in their math binder. This will also include their daily classwork spiral where students complete all classwork and examples. This is good to refer to at home when trying to figure out how to complete homework assignments.

IXL: This is an interactive skill based website that we will be using both in class, and also as homework. Students will be required to log approximately an hour of additional skill practice weekly.

Questions??

Thank you for coming!!