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= Welcome to Greensboro Day School's Middle School Sixth Grade Wiki! =



The purpose of this page is to provide a window into the goings-on of the sixth grade and our life here at school.

What's New?
= Fling into Spring!! =

When: Friday, May 28, 2010; 2:30 to 4:30 Admission: Entrance is one can or one dollar What: Inflatables, games, sports, free food, time with friends Optional: Bring extra money for the ice cream truck that will be stopping by Parents: Please contact Lisa Hazlet @ haztwo@triad.rr.com if you are interested in helping during this event.

Heading Down. . . Town
On Friday, June 4th, GDS sixth grade students will be touring the new International Civil Rights Museum located in downtown Greensboro at the site of the 1960 Woolworth’s sit-ins.

This field trip serves as a culmination of a recent social studies unit on Africa and the history of Africa-Americans. It also relates to our current advising unit on Roots and the year long theme of “telling our stories.”

At the museum, students will have a chance to more completely understand many of the civil rights issues from our American past. It is hoped they will gain an appreciation for the length of time and magnitude of struggles it took to get to where we are now.

We will be leaving after lunch at 12:30 and will return at 3:00 pm. All expenses are paid. The only thing students need to bring is a pencil and a bit of money if they wish to purchase any souvenirs.

Please feel free to email or call us if you have any questions.


 * We would also like for our parents to join us in our assembly with the Haleys, family members of the author of Roots. This event will take place on Monday, June 7th from 8:30a – 10:00a in the Bengal Den. Let us know if you have any questions.

Roots! Beginning soon, students will be viewing the award-winning miniseries Roots during their classes. Please visit the Roots page on the wiki to learn more about this powerful unit.

This Friday Mr. Head will take students to Food Lion to buy cans of food during flex times. Students are asked to use the money they've earned themselves. Mrs. Williams will give out the math project associated with the can purchases. This is not a required activity. Students are free to do shopping with their families instead.

Upcoming Farm Trips and Schedule: __ Information __ We will be going to the farm by activity bus the week of April 26th-30th. Each time we visit the farm we do different activities. This time we will catch crayfish, build fires, visit and do a water color painting of our solo spot.

Parents who wish to attend should contact Mr. Head. We can always use extra chaperones.

__ Things to bring __ -clothes that can get dirty and are appropriate for the seasonal temperatures (the poison ivy is starting to come out so don’t wear shorts if you are allergic). - boot, sturdy shoes, or old tennis shoes ( you might want a change of shoes and an extra pair of socks to change into when you get back or if they get wet). - back pack with snack, lunch, drink, and full water bottle, pencil, small writing pad or notebook with pen, and a towel or pad to sit on. epi-pen if you are highly allergic to bee stings.

The UNC-G Piedmont's Young Writers' Conference

Eight middle school students have worked for the past 6 weeks to create stories and illustrations, which will be submitted to UNC-G. The stories will be assessed and scored by a panel of area teachers. Those students who receive the highest scores will be invited to a reception at UNC-G in May. The students who participated in this year's PYWC include: Katherine Kane, Tyler Williams, Lucy Dunham, Madi Caviness, Spencer Vass, Anna Gilbert, Caroline Jessup, and Kabir Mann.

Farm Week-- Visit Schedule Click here to download complete instructions. Friday, Feb 19th 11:00-2:50 Core 4 Monday, Feb. 22nd 11:05-2:50 Core 1 Tuesday, Feb 23rd 8:20-12:30 Core 2 Wednesday, Feb 24th 8:20-12:30 Core 3

More information about lunch and clothing options will come home closer to these days (which are a change from the original dates).Upcoming Dates

Spring Fling is coming! Friday, May 28 @ 2:15-4:30

Helping Haiti

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What makes a good summary? In language arts classes, students have been learning how to write effective summaries of non-fiction that quickly describe the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, and why). We've been discussing the fact that summarizing is a life skill, not just a school skill. Share with your child a time when you have needed to make a summary of key information from your reading (whether you did so in writing or verbally).

Below is a Wordlewe made from the class summaries of the story of Amy, a teen who is trying to help end childhood hunger in America. Your child can tell you just what a Wordle reveals!

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On Monday, January 18th, school will be closed for the Martin Luther King holiday. In recognition of this important event, students will spend some time on Friday, January 15th (MLK's actual birthday) studying his leadership in the civil rights movement. Students will write poems in response. Watch the wiki to see some of their work soon.

Can the Director! Well, fill his office with cans :) Have you seen Dr. Dickinson's office?? It's time he cleaned it out! We'll be putting every can middle schoolers bring in this month somewhere in Dr. Dickinson's office. Our goal is to bring in enough cans to force Dr. Dickinson to find a new workspace. Eventually, he'll have to clean up when all those cans are due to be delivered to Greensboro Urban Ministry!

Blood Drive Information : The blood drive is coming! This event is a highlight of the 6th grade year. Here are some things you can do: Save the date--March 3rd. The phone-a-thon to recruit donors will take place on the evenings of February 1st and 2nd (6:30 to 8:30). This is a fun, voluntary evening event. Sign ups will be coming soon.

We are also actively recruiting guest speakers to talk with students about blood donation. Do you have an experience with blood donation (either as a donor or recipient) that you would be willing to share with the students? Please contact Carol Williams at carolwilliams@greensboroday.org or 288-8590.

CASTLES ! Castle building will start in February. All the specifications, rubric, and time management plans will be given to your child and there will be a copy of each on the calendar. Please check this with your child as of January 22. You can get them prepared by saving small cardboard boxes ( girl scout cookies, granola bar, other small boxes) and cardboard tubes. Tubes from paper towels, wrapping paper or mailing tubes are excellent. Each student should have a sturdy base board ( foam core board, ¼ inch plywood, or doubled cardboard) no bigger than 29” X 40”. Castles should be able to be completed in class but if your child has not met the weekly deadline, they will be advised to take their castle home to catch up. DON’T STRESS! Don’t try to start the castle early! The castles are fairly easy to put together if the students follow the plan that is given. Students have been advised that they should select a castle built between 1000 and 1400 AD, and should have a birds eye view plan and sufficient history to make a research paper. Previous news:

We've completed another round of farm trips. This makes two seasons on the farm, summer and fall. Check out our video!

media type="custom" key="4860255" The 2010 Sixth Grade Intramural basketball is at the half way mark. The games have been fun and exciting. Here is the most updated roster and schedule.

AD/HD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) Support Group We are pleased to announce that the Greensboro Area AD/HD Parent Support Group now has its very own website: http://www.adhdgreensboro.org Use this site to contact the group coordinators, search for resources, and keep up with the latest information about our meetings and events. As you'll see, the site is still a work in progress. We welcome your suggestions on information and resources that should be listed. Please send your feedback to mailto:brooke@fsncc.org or give me a call at (336)334-5601 Ext. 217.

There's a new baby in our family! OMG had her baby early Monday morning, so the students who visited the farm Monday got to see a less than one day old calf.

There's some good discussion going on in the discussion tabs on this page and on the video page about two very different topics, immigration and blood donation. We'd really like to have some parents join in the discussion! Please remember that you have to be a member of the wiki to leave a comment. Comments should be written so that they include no personal references about students ("you did a great job at Saturday's soccer game at Bryan Park" would NOT be appropriate!). Thank you!

A couple of student comments:

//In my perspective, immigration (especially from Ellis Island) is critical for certain human beings to live. Whether they're running away from a country that is falling to ruins, or simply looking for a new life, America may just happen to be the perfect place to go. As a matter of fact, my ancestors immigrated through Ellis Island during the Holocaust. If it weren't for there brave voyage, I would not be here. To conclude the topic, I will say-once again-that although legal immigration is a lot of work, it can not only help lives, but save lives

and

I really liked all the videos on Blood Donation, and for the first time EVER it actually makes me want to give blood when I get older. It also makes me very excited to help work at the blood drive this year.//

Writing Buddies
Some of the sixth graders have new buddies. The 11th graders taking Advanced Placement English are advising one section of sixth grade students on ways to improve their fiction stories about boats. Partners met for the first time today to share ideas about what makes writing effective. We plan to have to have all of the sixth graders get a chance to work with the advanced students by the end of the year.





Archives We've added a couple of new pages about our projects in the sixth grade. We've built boats and now we're constructing and programming out own robots.

If you have a middle schooler, you've certainly seen multitasking in action. Have you wondered if this is really a good idea? Dr. Dr. Russell Poldrack says that "multi-taskers learn but they do it differently and cannot retrieve the information as effectively." Have you wondered how you can help your child master effective study skills? You can read more about the study and learn more about how "getting organized is crucial for your child, says Linda Winburn, a veteran South Carolina middle school teacher who became the state's 2005 Teacher of the Year. "And the key is parent involvement."

Student Council News
On September 23, 2009 Student Council went on its annual all day retreat. We began by listening to the Upper School Student Council officers, Anne Lucas, Anna Dorsett, Austin Pittman, and Will Copeland speak about leadership. We then rotated through three stations to brainstorm some ideas that we were going to focus on throughout the year. Mr. Newsom, Upper School Counselor, led us through a discussion about how to be great leaders and how Student Council can help the middle school. Next, Jenna Schlein, a high school honor board member, ran us through an activity describing what the honor board means. Some of Mr. Campbell’s upper school students led us through an activity focusing on diversity. Overall, Student Council got a lot done, and we learned a lot about one another.



We invite all parents to become members of the wiki. Once your membership is approved, you will be able to post comments in the discussion section of the wiki. **How to join?** Just click the join this wiki link on the upper right side of the page. You will be prompted to create a wikispaces account when you apply to join if you don't have one already. Then, Sarah Hanawald will get an email asking her to approve or disapprove your request to join. The approval process is usually just a few minutes (unless it's late at night after I've gone to bed!). We do ask that you use your real names so that the students will know who you are when you post to the wiki, e.g. MsSSmith, or SusanSmith. If your name is unavailable, just add GDS to the end. Students will be identified by first names and last initials only to protect their privacy. Teachers use their full names on the wiki. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Hanawald. This front page will serve to share team news, important dates, and links to other resources. Upcoming Dates will always be the first item, followed by news and announcements. As "new news" is published, old news will be archived further down the page and will eventually be removed (after about two months). News =Homework Calendar Back Up=

The homework calendar for the 6th grade is back up and is embedded in this wiki as well on the Links Page. All of the homework assignments are also available to students via our internal email system, First Class. Students can view all assignments on the calendar in our class workspace (the icon for this is a dolphin). In addition, teachers remind students to write assignments down in their agendas during each class period. =Technology News= There is lots going on in technology these days!! Last week, we had our orientation session for those new to GDS laptops. This week, students set up their blogs. Ask your sixth grader to show you what blogging is about.
 * < **Upcoming Dates** ||  ||<   ||
 * October 8th ||  || Regatta! ||
 * October 23rd ||  || Save the date! Night out with the sixth grade--movie, dinner, and fun! ||

On Thursday, students will bring home a hard copy of the Greensboro Day School Technology Policies. Please read and discuss this with your child. There is a slip to sign and return to indicate that you have reviewed the policies with your child. We welcome any questions or comments, please contact Sarah Hanawald or Dana Smith with these.

Students reviewed the technology policies in class on Tuesday, September 22nd. We discussed the rules as being extension of the Four Respects that are already a part of our school culture.

As part of our Thinkpad orientation, we viewed the following humorous, but thorough video made by Lenovo on the care of laptops in a school 1:1 environment.

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=Gleaning Trip= Next week the 6th graders and advisors are embarking on their first service learning project. We will be working with The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA), which is a local non-profit, which gleans produce from farm fields.

Working as volunteers, we will glean what has been left behind so that SoSA can take the produce to local agencies or communities. SoSA serves low-income housing, senior’s housing, soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, etc.

Our plans are to glean sweet potatoes from a local farm in Stokesdale. In fact is about twenty minutes from Greensboro Day School. Six thousand plants have been planted, and now they need to be harvested. In order to complete this activity, students will need to wear long pants and sturdy shoes. (Clothing will get dirty.) Garden gloves are recommended but optional. Students will need to bring a snack and a drink. We will return to campus by lunch time (12:00 noon).

At this time, we are planning to go on Wednesday, September 23. However, if it looks like rain on that day, we will go on Tuesday, September 22. The soon-to-be-elected Middle School Student Council representatives from the sixth grade will not be participating in this activity. They will be at the MSSC retreat on Wednesday. If we go on Tuesday, they will participate in this service learning project. Please complete the enclosed Society of St. Andrew-North Carolina Gleaning Form/Liability Waiver and return it to school by Monday, September 21st. This waiver will cover all of our trips to the farms. If you are interested in participating in the gleaning as well, you are required to complete the form, too. Please contact Marilyn Jones if you are interested.

We look forward to a special time of serving our community.

Here is the liability form for the Sweet Potato Gleaning Trip. Please have this returned to GDS on Monday, September 21st.

In the near future, Dana Smith, Director of Technology, will be offering a different seminar on "Parenting Your Child in Cyberspace," so keep an eye out for this announcement.

From Angela Ballou: The Parents of Children with ADHD Community Support Group will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, September 22nd from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Trinity Church. Dr. Susan Farrell will present "Can't vs. Won't in AD/HD, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia & Dyscalculia." For more information, download this flyer.

News from GDS
After School Study Hall Available [|Help "can" hunger]

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