Dear Sixth-grade parents and students, August 19, 2016
I am incredibly excited to have your child in my 6th grade class. It is going to be a fantastic year! I want to take this opportunity and briefly introduce myself. I am originally from Salem, Oregon but my husband and I moved to Utah last year. I graduated from Brigham Young University- Idaho in 2014 with Bachelors in Elementary Education. I taught in Odgen in the Chinese immersion program during the 2014-2015 school year. This last year I worked a substitute teacher in the Murray District. I am thrilled to be now teaching at Woodstock. In my spare time I am an avid reader. I also love to cross-stitch, hike, canoe, and play board games.
This a brief overview my expectations this year. I have also included a brief explanation of what we will be learning this year.
Reading:
This year we are working with a new program called Wonders. I will also be adding things like literature circles and Shakespeare throughout the year to enrich the Wonders program. At the beginning of the year, I will be assessing each student and seeing the best placement for them in reading, math, and spelling. Your patience is greatly appreciated since this will take a while to complete. Please feel free to ask any questions.
Language Arts:
Sixth grade does quite a bit of writing. As a class, we will be reviewing and practicing the different parts of writing such as organization, word choice, voice, and grammar. Writing is a process that takes time and will not be prefect in the first draft. Your child will receive help with their writing through writers workshops and peer editing in class.
This year students will be learning Greek and Latin root words which they will keep track of in their interactive notebook. This is a notebook that students place handouts that give students a visual of the meaning of the root word. I will have an example on my website. I am really excited to use these this year.
Spelling:
This will be connected to the reading program this year. I do differentiate this, so your child may have 10 words, 20 words, or 25 words, depending on their ability. It will be challenging but completely doable. The list will come home on the first day of the week and the test will be on Friday.
Math:
Students this year will be placed at their appropriate level for math. It will take a few weeks to really figure out what they can do, so there will be changes in grouping maybe 3-4 weeks into the year. Your child will have assignments ever day Monday through Thursday. There is usually enough time in class for these assignments to be completed . We are using the Go Math program this year along with a new program called ST Math. ST Math is a fantastic program which provides fun activities that will enhance a child’s understanding of various math topics.
Your child’s grade will be based on two things in math. First of all, 40% will be based on assignments, then 60% on test, quizzes, and times table facts. If they haven’t be actively working on these facts, and they need to, just 5 minutes a night as a review works wonders.
Science:
We cover 3 huge topics in sixth grade, so it works out to almost a whole term on each. We test in April, so I can’t take a whole term at the end. The topics this year are: Light, Heat, and Sound; Astronomy and Space; and Microorganisms. It will be a lot of fun to delve into these topics and students usually have a lot of fun with them.
Social Studies:
This is my favorite subject! Sixth grade covers everything from Ancient Civilizations to World War II. That is a huge chunk of history! We will be using an interactive notebook which will be a lot of fun. I will also send home notes when we start a new unit. At the end of the year, we do a great World Fair. Each child chooses a country from the Eastern Hemisphere to learn about, and then do a big project on it. A great deal of this will be done in class, so don’t panic.
Health:
A variety of topics from healthy eating to first aid, to diseases will be taught this year. We do the Prevention Dimensions program at this school, and it is fabulous. We teach about standing up for yourself and standing up for others when people aren’t treating them well. This grade will be included in the science grade, and the PE class they have weekly with Ms. Bateman will also be part of their health grade.
Assignments:
I won’t be giving ‘homework’ assignments. If your child is bringing work home, it has been started in class and they just need to finish it up. I know that students are very busy outside of school and also need to spend time with their families. Your child will have an assignment every day, Monday through Thursday. They will be given plenty of time in class to complete these assignments. If your student is bringing home work every night, not just occasionally, there might be a problem with wasting time in class or they are on a level that is too difficult for them. Please let me know if there are any problems with assignments. If you let me know early, we can take care of it right away. Students will be using planners again this year. While I won’t require a parent signature, I encourage you to look at your child’s planner to see what was done during class and what assignments they may have.
Attendance:
It is extremely important that your child is here every day. We cover a lot and it can’t be make up with worksheets or reading in a textbook. If your child is going to be gone for an extended period of time for vacation, please let me know. If your child is ill and misses class, I will have a folder with the work that they missed. Please try to schedule appointments so that they miss as little of school as possible.
Grading:
My philosophy is that whatever we are working on in school should be turned in on time. If your child is prepared, on time, they will earn full credit for the assignment. If the assignment isn’t 100%, they will have an opportunity to correct mistakes and turn it back in. I believe that we learn best from our mistakes. If the assignment is made up because it wasn’t finished, and turned in that day, they will lose 25%, if it turned in the week it is assigned, they will lose 50%. Anything after that will only get 5%, so it will help their grades tremendously to be prepared.
I will post grades by the end of the week. Please have your child check his or her grades regularly. If I make a mistake, please contact me and I can correct it right away. Have your child bring me the assignment and I will fix it. Please don’t wait until the end of the term to fix it.
I believe that is everything. Thank you for sticking through to the end! I know it is a lot of information.
One last thought, I believe that parents are as crucial to a child’s education as teachers. We are on the same team. I want your child to succeed just as much as you do. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to email or text me. I will be available to visit with you after school from 3:15-4:30 Monday through Thursday. I will be using an app called Remind 101 to send reminder texts every once and a while. Please download this app. It is free to use. I have attached instructions of how to add my class on Remind 101. I will also be updating my website every week with new information about what are doing in class.
I look forward to having your child in my class this year. It is going to be a wonderful year. Thank you so much for trusting me with your wonderful children this year. I will take very good care of them.
Sincerely,
Amy Hanich
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.hanichclassroom.weebly.com
(503)930-4631
Please email me when you have read this. [email protected].
remind_101_instructions.pdf
I am incredibly excited to have your child in my 6th grade class. It is going to be a fantastic year! I want to take this opportunity and briefly introduce myself. I am originally from Salem, Oregon but my husband and I moved to Utah last year. I graduated from Brigham Young University- Idaho in 2014 with Bachelors in Elementary Education. I taught in Odgen in the Chinese immersion program during the 2014-2015 school year. This last year I worked a substitute teacher in the Murray District. I am thrilled to be now teaching at Woodstock. In my spare time I am an avid reader. I also love to cross-stitch, hike, canoe, and play board games.
This a brief overview my expectations this year. I have also included a brief explanation of what we will be learning this year.
Reading:
This year we are working with a new program called Wonders. I will also be adding things like literature circles and Shakespeare throughout the year to enrich the Wonders program. At the beginning of the year, I will be assessing each student and seeing the best placement for them in reading, math, and spelling. Your patience is greatly appreciated since this will take a while to complete. Please feel free to ask any questions.
Language Arts:
Sixth grade does quite a bit of writing. As a class, we will be reviewing and practicing the different parts of writing such as organization, word choice, voice, and grammar. Writing is a process that takes time and will not be prefect in the first draft. Your child will receive help with their writing through writers workshops and peer editing in class.
This year students will be learning Greek and Latin root words which they will keep track of in their interactive notebook. This is a notebook that students place handouts that give students a visual of the meaning of the root word. I will have an example on my website. I am really excited to use these this year.
Spelling:
This will be connected to the reading program this year. I do differentiate this, so your child may have 10 words, 20 words, or 25 words, depending on their ability. It will be challenging but completely doable. The list will come home on the first day of the week and the test will be on Friday.
Math:
Students this year will be placed at their appropriate level for math. It will take a few weeks to really figure out what they can do, so there will be changes in grouping maybe 3-4 weeks into the year. Your child will have assignments ever day Monday through Thursday. There is usually enough time in class for these assignments to be completed . We are using the Go Math program this year along with a new program called ST Math. ST Math is a fantastic program which provides fun activities that will enhance a child’s understanding of various math topics.
Your child’s grade will be based on two things in math. First of all, 40% will be based on assignments, then 60% on test, quizzes, and times table facts. If they haven’t be actively working on these facts, and they need to, just 5 minutes a night as a review works wonders.
Science:
We cover 3 huge topics in sixth grade, so it works out to almost a whole term on each. We test in April, so I can’t take a whole term at the end. The topics this year are: Light, Heat, and Sound; Astronomy and Space; and Microorganisms. It will be a lot of fun to delve into these topics and students usually have a lot of fun with them.
Social Studies:
This is my favorite subject! Sixth grade covers everything from Ancient Civilizations to World War II. That is a huge chunk of history! We will be using an interactive notebook which will be a lot of fun. I will also send home notes when we start a new unit. At the end of the year, we do a great World Fair. Each child chooses a country from the Eastern Hemisphere to learn about, and then do a big project on it. A great deal of this will be done in class, so don’t panic.
Health:
A variety of topics from healthy eating to first aid, to diseases will be taught this year. We do the Prevention Dimensions program at this school, and it is fabulous. We teach about standing up for yourself and standing up for others when people aren’t treating them well. This grade will be included in the science grade, and the PE class they have weekly with Ms. Bateman will also be part of their health grade.
Assignments:
I won’t be giving ‘homework’ assignments. If your child is bringing work home, it has been started in class and they just need to finish it up. I know that students are very busy outside of school and also need to spend time with their families. Your child will have an assignment every day, Monday through Thursday. They will be given plenty of time in class to complete these assignments. If your student is bringing home work every night, not just occasionally, there might be a problem with wasting time in class or they are on a level that is too difficult for them. Please let me know if there are any problems with assignments. If you let me know early, we can take care of it right away. Students will be using planners again this year. While I won’t require a parent signature, I encourage you to look at your child’s planner to see what was done during class and what assignments they may have.
Attendance:
It is extremely important that your child is here every day. We cover a lot and it can’t be make up with worksheets or reading in a textbook. If your child is going to be gone for an extended period of time for vacation, please let me know. If your child is ill and misses class, I will have a folder with the work that they missed. Please try to schedule appointments so that they miss as little of school as possible.
Grading:
My philosophy is that whatever we are working on in school should be turned in on time. If your child is prepared, on time, they will earn full credit for the assignment. If the assignment isn’t 100%, they will have an opportunity to correct mistakes and turn it back in. I believe that we learn best from our mistakes. If the assignment is made up because it wasn’t finished, and turned in that day, they will lose 25%, if it turned in the week it is assigned, they will lose 50%. Anything after that will only get 5%, so it will help their grades tremendously to be prepared.
I will post grades by the end of the week. Please have your child check his or her grades regularly. If I make a mistake, please contact me and I can correct it right away. Have your child bring me the assignment and I will fix it. Please don’t wait until the end of the term to fix it.
I believe that is everything. Thank you for sticking through to the end! I know it is a lot of information.
One last thought, I believe that parents are as crucial to a child’s education as teachers. We are on the same team. I want your child to succeed just as much as you do. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to email or text me. I will be available to visit with you after school from 3:15-4:30 Monday through Thursday. I will be using an app called Remind 101 to send reminder texts every once and a while. Please download this app. It is free to use. I have attached instructions of how to add my class on Remind 101. I will also be updating my website every week with new information about what are doing in class.
I look forward to having your child in my class this year. It is going to be a wonderful year. Thank you so much for trusting me with your wonderful children this year. I will take very good care of them.
Sincerely,
Amy Hanich
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.hanichclassroom.weebly.com
(503)930-4631
Please email me when you have read this. [email protected].
remind_101_instructions.pdf