Sixth Grade 2017 – 2018 Blog

ADVISORY  Dear parents, We are excited to let you know that this week we started a mindfulness program in advisory. The program is comprised of once a week meetings. The Program Goals: Provide students with the tools to create a space between stimulus and response and manage high school process more effectively. Help students to distinguish between reality and their own thoughts and foster an ability to observe and label their own thoughts without judgment. Discover roots of mindfulness within Jewish Text and Values Cultivate caring community members Create a time and space of quiet reflection. We hope the children will benefit from the... Read More

HUMANITIES Our first full week back after the many holidays was a productive one, now that we have more time to really dig into the material. In Writing class, students wrapped up their final drafts of their narrative essays, in which they all told true stories of obstacles in their lives. They spent some time peer-editing as part of the writing process, which allowed them simultaneously to learn more about their peers’ lives while also gaining valuable writing tips. In Literature class, students finished reading The Epic of Gilgamesh. The final chapters sparked sophisticated discussions and questions: Did Gilgamesh reach his goals? Did he find true fulfillment... Read More

HUMANITIES This week in Literature we began our new book, The Epic of Gilgamesh. We looked into the story’s background (or the “story of the story”), and read about its origin as an ancient myth. The tale was found written on buried tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, the civilization that we will begin studying in History class in the coming weeks. In fact, Gilgamesh’s story is one of the oldest pieces of western literature still around today. As students read, they are keeping track of themes such as Heroism, Death v. Immortality, and Strength v. Weakness, and searching for examples of... Read More

HUMANITIES It was so wonderful to meet all the 6th graders this week during advisory time and humanities classes. In advisory with me and Mike Noll (Science), students had fun practicing non-verbal communication skills. They learned to work as a team and communicate creatively as they completed tasks without using their voices. In Literature class, students learned about the literary term “theme” and analyzed the theme of friendship in their summer reading book, Bridge to Terabithia. They answered the question: “What does friendship mean in Bridge to Terabithia?” and found evidence from the text to support their answers. Lastly, in History class, students shared... Read More