This Weeks News! 8/22-8/27

Room 17’s 6^th Grade News

This Weeks News Week of:    8/22/16-8/26/16 ·        We had a great first week! It was wonderful meeting everyone and getting to know each other! ·        Our class is in need of a few supplies and any donations are appreciated. We need anti-bacterial surface wipes (eg; Clorox and Lysol), Kleenex, anti-bacterial gel, liquid hand soap, paper towels, and post-its. Thank you so much for your contributions! ·        Early dismissal Tuesdays begin this week. Students will finish with class at 1:34 p.m.     ·        Check Students homework calendars for assignments and reminders daily ·        Spelling and Vocabulary Tests begin this Friday (see words below) ·        Math tests are given as Unit Topics are completed. This week, students begin their first Unit,  Ratios and Rates

Notes, Reminders, and Upcoming Events: ·        Back to School Night is Tuesday, August 30th beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the MPR. Classroom sessions are from 6:00-7:00 p.m. ·        Friday, September 2nd is Admissions Day. School will not be in session ·        Monday, September 5th is Labor Day. School will not be in session

Homework ·        Check Student Homework Calendars daily! Homework is assigned on a daily basis and should be turned in the next day unless otherwise given a different due date. ·        Daily Reading, Math, and Language Arts assignments will be given ·        Spelling Words: gram, clash, dense, dread, prank, strict, drill, swan, prod, shrunk, scuff, clutch, threat, dwell, fund, mock, text, rank, plaid, brink ·        Vocabulary words: sensational, unimaginable, embarked, extravagant, promenade, lamented, precarious, establishment

  

Welcome to Ms. Krumal's 6th Grade Class at Mt. Washington Elementary!

August 16, 2016

Dear Parents/Guardians of 6^th Grade Students in Room 17,

Hello! My name is Jessica Krumal-Bernal and I will be your child’s teacher this year at Mt. Washington! The students call me Ms. Krumal, or Ms. K’. I thought I’d introduce myself to you thru this letter, so you may have a bit of background information about me.

           

I have worked for Los Angeles Unified School District for 12 years. I have taught all grade levels and I am so excited to teach 6^th grade this year! I have also taught as an adjunct at California State University of Los Angeles (CSULA) within the areas of Education and Collaboration amongst Communities and Schools. CSULA is also where I did my undergrad work as well as where I attended grad school.

            I am absolutely thrilled to be here at Mt. Washington this year! I grew up in Eagle Rock and it is an absolute privilege and pleasure to be working within this surrounding neighborhood. I am also looking forward to teaching the sixth grade curriculum because it is so rich in information regarding History and Science (which we will be doing many projects based on).

For the first week of school, there will only be a couple homework assignments, but don’t fret! Homework will be given regularly next week with a minimum of 1 Math, and 1 Language Arts Assignment, along with Reading Comprehension of various topics in History and Science. Students are also responsible for reading a minimum of 30 minutes per night. Once a book is finished, students must obtain a book report form from me and may complete it for homework. There will be more information to come regarding book reports.

This week, students must obtain a 3 ring binder and 5 dividers with pockets. I will provide a paper homework calendar for students to write daily assignments Monday-Thursday (no homework will be sent on Fridays unless they are ongoing projects).

           

This year is a going to be fun and exciting and I look forward to meeting all of you! Please feel free to drop by and say hello anytime before or after school. If you have any questions or concerns, you may reach me at school via (323) 225-2561 or my email at jek7653@lausd.net.  I look forward to meeting you!

Sincerely,

Jessica Krumal-Bernal

Dear Parents of Room 17, June 2, 2016

Hello everyone! The end of the school year is here and there are a few events and activities that are important for our last week of school.  Our class has been working on a play and would like to perform for the fifth grade students’ families on Wednesday, June 8^th at 10:40 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room.  They will be performing this play again on Thursday, June 9^th during culmination as well, for the 6^th grade families. 5^th grade parents and families are more than welcome to view the play on the day of culmination if it is more convenient for you.

For our play, costumes are needed as followed:

• 6^th grade students must wear togas, or a costume or sheet that resembles a toga, with a belt or rope as a belt
• 5^th grade students must wear black pants and black shirts 

Some students have been assigned various props to make and head bands to create also. Please make sure to send students to school with props and costumes by Monday, June 6^th.

Our class has been planning a potluck for the last day of school. Students signed up for tentative items to bring. On Monday I will send out a letter entailing what your son/daughter said they could contribute to the potluck, and a tear-off for you to confirm that item is okay for them to bring. 

Thursday, the culmination will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room, and a reception with refreshments is to follow.  Friday, June 10^th, the last day of school, our annual 6^th grade vs. the teachers softball game will begin at 8:30.

Lastly, Tuesday-Friday will be minimum days. Students will be dismissed at 12:50 in the afternoon.

This has been quite a busy year, to say the least, and I just want to thank all of you for your support.  Our students have grown in so many ways and I am very grateful you’ve allowed me to grow with them.

Sincerely,

Jessica Krumal-Bernal

Room 17's News: March 28-April 1, 2016

This week's news 3/28/16-4/1/16

Thank you to those who donated paper and anti-bacterial surface wipes for our desks. We could still use more! Any donations would be greatly appreciated! 

Picture Day is Thursday! The 6th Grade Panorama picture is being taken that day as well. 

Check homework daily. Look out for additional Math assignments. They may say Chapter Test, however, they are just used for review to prepare for SBAC testing. 

Order Forms for books have been sent out. Please make sure to turn them in this week. We need them by Friday. 

We need sponges! Donations of sponges would really be appreciated! We will be finishing an art project involving our Black Historian portraits. We need sponges to complete the project. Dishwashing sponges are the perfect size. 

Notes, Reminders, and Upcoming Events: 

SBAC testing has been scheduled the first week of May, Tentatively for our class. 

6th Grade Culmination will be held in the morning on Thursday June 9th. 

Fieldtrip to the Huntington May 11th. All of room 17 will attend. 

Homework

Daily Math,  Spelling and Grammar, and Reading
Math Review (They look like Chapter Tests) will be sent out
Look out for Social Studies and Science homework. 

The News This Week 3/14/16-3/18/16

Thank you to those who donated paper and surface wipes (anti-bacterial) for our desks. We still could use more! Any donations would be greatly appreciated! 

Fifth Grade Social Studies "Writing a Petition Assignment is due Tuesday, March 15th. 

Round Table Black History Presentations are this Thursday, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. in the MPR. Students must come dressed from home as their historian. Invitations to come see students present were sent out last week. 

Progress Reports Cards were sent out last Friday. Please contact Ms. Krumal if you'd like to arrange a conference. 

Check homework daily. There will be new homework assignments sent home pertaining to Spelling and Grammar, Reading Comprehension, and Writing. This week students are working on finishing their books that will be published. Please allow student's time to type their pages at home for homework. Please save this work to a USB drive or send it to Ms. Krumal's email at jek7653@lausd.net

Order forms for books will be sent out soon. 

NOTES, REMINDERS AND UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Spring Break-March 21-March 25
Have a wonderful and restful break with your family! 

SBAC testing TBA. It will either be held at the end of April or the beginning of May for our class. 

6th Grade Panorama Picture will be taken Thursday March 31. 

HOMEWORK
There will be new homework assignments sent out this week. Spelling City, Reading Logs, and Math will remain the same. There will be additional Spelling and Grammar, and Writing Assignments sent home as well as Social Studies and Science homework.  Please make sure to check your child's homework and confirm they have completed all the work assigned daily. This week students must work on finishing their writing for their books that will be published. Thank you! 

Room 17 News for December

Hello Room 17 parents,

I hope you all had a nice weekend and had a chance to enjoy some holiday cheer.  Yesterday, my daughter and I enjoyed plans for making holiday candy apples – A new tradition I hope to continue throughout the years.

I wanted to let you know about how our Friday was last week.  When students first came into class, we made a schedule of activities for the day.  Students wanted to take some time to reflect on the incident that happened on Thursday, hear my side of the story, do some outdoor P.E., enjoy the scheduled student winter presentations, make cheerful cards for Sullivan, learn about Physics, silent read, and rehearse for the School Winter Program.  Amazingly, we were able to do everything on our Friday list. 

Counselors did take time to talk about how to process the events of Thursday.  I remembered two important key thoughts - 1.) Know that there is a good community of support at Mt. Washington that we can go to if needed and 2.) People process trauma in different ways, so if you’re feeling sad, angry, or even nothing, it is okay.  I feel fortunate that I teach in a school where the community is strong and very supportive especially during a crisis.

We have a very busy schedule of activities ahead for us this week.  First, students will be performing in our Winter Program on Monday.  We will also continue our winter presentations.  So far, I have seen some amazing presentations where students have given our class real experiences of cultural celebrations in winter!  I am looking forward to what this week will bring during our presentation time.  We are also expected to receive our donors choose books in the mail.  Students will have a chance to take a book home and will be assigned a book report to complete for the winter break.

In closing, I’d like to thank Franki Cox and Heidi Falconer for coming to our class on Wednesday to do a wonderful harvest garden lesson with Room 17.  Kids made vegetable rolls with their garden harvest and fragrant herbal sachets.  Moms, you rock!  I’d also like to thank Sherry Young for volunteering in our class.  Your help is much appreciated.

Remember that science camp applications are due this week.  If you have any questions or concerns about the science residential camp, please reach out to me. 

I am looking forward to a great week of winter celebrations and learning.

Sincerely,

Michele

News this week in Room 17

Hello Parents!

It was wonderful to see the creative and unique costumes of room 17 and throughout Mt. Washington Elementary at our Halloween parade last week.  I remember seeing Mike from Monster's Inc, Kernal Sanders, and many other fantastic costumes.

Our Orange day last week was another day of wearing something different from the ordinary.  Student Council called attention to Bully Prevention by asking our school to wear orange. Our sixth grade leaders; Tomiko, Alijiah, Jasmine, and Hailie tied orange ribbons around school trees, created anti-bullying posters, and spoke to classrooms about the importance of bully prevention and wearing orange.  We also read aloud a book in class called  "Confessions of a Former Bully."  From this book we learned that 90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying and that more than half of bully situations stop when a peer intervenes on behalf of the student being bullied.  We will continue to discuss this topic throughout the year.

This week an enthusiastic group of 5th and 6th grade students who love and adore books met at lunch to discuss and select books they would like to see in our tall empty bookcase at the back of the classroom.  Besides the book lists they reviewed, they made many special requests - some including "Percy Jackson," "Lord of the Rings," "The Jedi Academy," and even "Shakespeare." In the next few weeks, my goal is to post a request through DonorsChoose.org for these books.  Stay tuned to learn more.

I am happy to report that all of our students in 5th and 6th grade have worked hard to learn all of their songs for our upcoming dress rehersal with Master Chorale this week.  Your children sing beautifully.  I am sure you will be amazed by their performance coming up on November 13th.

Lastly, I'd like to thank Franki for her continued and unwavering support.  Recently, she created a Shutterfly account where we will be able to safely post pictures.  Soon, you will be able to see pictures of our students doing science experiments, spirit days, field trips, and other activities.  This account should be active and linked to this blog within the next few weeks.


Sincerely,

Ms. Madrigal