BACK TO
SCHOOL!
Grand Center Arts
Academy
Friday September 7th,
2012
6th Grade Week in Review
Math
Course 1:
We have taken our first test! This test
covered material taught in Lessons 1-5. We will now
be taking a test after every five lessons. Each test
will be cumulative. For example, after we have
learned material from Lesson 15, we will have a test
on material in Lessons 1-10. After Lesson 35, we will
have a test covering material learned in lesson 1-30.
Prior to each test, a practice test will be taken in
class. Students are encouraged to ask any questions
they may have during this practice test and clarify
any misconceptions prior to the test. This practice
test is an excellent study guide for the test! Because
tests are cumulative, it will help narrow down the
skills to be assessed on each test.
Please help your child with their homework each
evening and help encourage them to ask questions in
class. It’s amazing how much they grasp when a
peer is asking the question.
Course 2:
We will be taking our first test in Course 2
this coming week. This test will cover material
taught in Chapter 1. Students will be given a study
guide to complete in class so that the m may ask for
clarification on concepts prior to the test. This
study guide is designed to show students what types
of questions will be asked of them on their test. We
will have time in class for students to ask questions
while completing the guide and prior to starting the
test they will have another opportunity to ask
questions. Over the next couple weeks, we will be
starting a chapter on Integers and Rational numbers.
Two very important topics to be covered are
Greatest Common Factor and Least Common
Multiple.
Science
This week we finished our computer research on
famous geologists. The students took the
information they found and put it on a 3D paper
cube. If you have a chance to come upstairs, you’ll
see all the cubes dangling from the ceiling. It looks
a little like a cube-shaped snow storm in my room.
We also began our unit on the scientific method and
science inquiry. First the students had to work
together to solve a simple problem such as how not
to squash a sandwich in a backpack. Later we’ll
work through some more involved experiments and
the students will devise their own experiments as
well. We’ll discuss such things as dependent and
independent variables and the difference between
an inference and an observation. All this will lead
us to begin our major focus this year which is the
study of Earth Science.
Please remind your student that 5 current event
reports are due this quarter. I’m asking for one a
week to prevent students from putting it off and
having to do all 5 at the end of the term. They can
turn them in early if they wish.
Communication Arts
We finished up parts of speech this past week with a
quiz last Friday. Students have the option to do quiz
corrections to get up to half their missed points back.
These next few weeks we will cover plot, conflict,
setting, and characters. There will be a test at the
end of the unit.
We continue to study vocabulary every day.
Students have a composition book that we call a
“Writer’s Notebook”. They use it every day. We will
have our first vocabulary quiz in a week and a half
and we will make flashcards in class. Students are
expected to know the part of speech, correct
spelling, and definition of each word.
Social Studies
In Social Studies we have been learning
about how we learn about history. We’ve
learned that history is really just a mystery
to be solved and the way we solve the
mystery is through the investigation of
primary sources. Ask your child what a
primary source is! We started discussing
why we write down history and different
ways of writing history down (through
storytelling and timelines). Students have a
written story and personal timeline project
due on Monday, September 10th. Don’t
forget about 3 current events due on
October 18th! I’ve been so impressed with
so many students having already turned in
one, two, or all three!!
Casey Jagusch – Social Studies
Casey.Jagusch@grandcenterartsacademy.org
Denise Farnworth – Math
Denise.Farnworth@grandcenterartsacademy.org
Carol York – Science
Carol.York@grandcenterartsacademy.org
Liz Zeiser – Communication Arts
Liz.Zeiser@grandcenterartsacademy.org
REMINDER:
2 hours of service are required to be completed
outside of school by October 8th. Contact your
student’s Study Skills teacher if you have any
questions.
Enrichment Classes

Mrs. York’s Enrichment: We continue to focus on nutrition and wellness. We had a visit from
our school nurse who spoke to us about her job and how she works with the students. We’ve
been planting lettuce, collards and mixed greens which we hope to harvest later this fall. We’re
putting the final touches on a nutrition survey that we’ll pass out to the GCAA students and
faculty.
 Mrs. Farnworth’s Enrichment: Our class has been working hard completing their “jobs” so they
can earn a salary every Friday. I believe we even have some students that will be able to
“buy” their seat very soon!! In addition to our experiment in managing personal finance, we
have been discussing the use of tax dollars and how paying taxes affect your salary.
 Mrs. Zeiser’s Enrichment: Students have been studying newspapers for the first few weeks of
class. We learned what newspaper articles look like and what it takes to write one. Students
have received their newspaper assignments and have started writing their articles for our 6 th
grade newspaper! The first edition should be out soon!
 Ms. Jagusch’s Enrichment: Class has been quite “far out” these past few weeks! We are
taking the quarter to answer a very big question: Does entertainment influence society or does
society dictate entertainment? Students voted to discuss specifically music, fashion, literature,
and video games. We just finished up learning more about music through the music and
events of the 1950s, 60s, 80s, and 90s. The lyric projects were amazing and so creative!
Your child will need the following
supplies this year:
1. backpack