Good Morning,

With the closing of schools, we are working hard to make sure that students will still have the opportunity for and access to the education they deserve. Your advisory teacher should be sending you an email with an important survey about technology.

Going forward in Social Studies, please take the time each day to check Google Classroom for assignments and materials. If you are having trouble with your work or are confused about anything, please send me an email. I will be checking my email and Google Classroom each day.

I am also available to help you with accessing any materials online. I will do everything I can to help you.

If you just want to chat or share with me anything that you are thinking about, please do! I will miss seeing you all each day over the coming month and look forward to see you again in April.

Thank you!

Good Afternoon!

Next week is Parent Teacher Conferences. You can come to conferences on either Monday, November 11 or Wednesday, November 13. Teachers will be available from 4-7 each evening. Please come any time that is convenient for you within those hours. There may be lines at classrooms, but we do not require appointments for conferences at Smith.

Each night, there will also be people in the Atrium to help you get acquainted with different online systems and school programs.

If you are unable to attend conferences on either night, but would still like to meet with your child’s teachers, please reach out to all of us to set up alternative meeting times.

Please check Google Classroom for daily agendas, materials, and resources.

Have a great weekend!

This week we will be taking the NWEA test. On Tuesday, we will take the Math test, on Wednesday, we will take the Reading test, and on Thursday, we will take the Language test. Friday is a half day, but students will be pulled to do makeup testing if they have missed a day or did not finish a test.

Testing Reminders:

• Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night
• Eat a balanced breakfast — do not eat too much sugar, and do not forget to have something with protein (milk, yogurt, peanut butter, etc.)
• Bring a water bottle so you can stay hydrated during testing.
• You will have classes after testing. You need to be ready to learn, even if you are tired from testing.

We’ve got this! Don’t stress! This is to find out where you are at coming into Middle School so that your teachers can help you grow throughout the year. It is important to do your best on every test you take to show what you know and what you can do!

I hope that everyone is feeling as great about this school year as I am! You have all been rock stars in Social Studies this week and I want to thank you for making the beginning of the school year so fun!

We have finally started to get into our actual Social Studies content and skills this week with a pre-test about writing in Social Studies. Remember that this test is not graded–it is just to help me better understand what skills you have right now so that I can plan a productive school year for us.

I have also sent home a letter about the professional development series the social studies teachers at Smith are participating in. We are working with researchers from the University of Michigan to learn how our teaching practice–what we do–impacts how students think and write. The permission slip ONLY needs to be returned if you do NOT want your student’s work included in the published research by the University of Michigan. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me or any of the researchers listed on the permission letter.

Please check Google Classroom for daily agendas, materials, and resources.

Let’s keep up the good work, friends!

Welcome!!

I am excited to get to know all of you during the coming year in World Geography. Throughout the year, I will use this blog to update weekly on our progress. Please subscribe to receive email updates!

We will also begin to use Google Classroom in the first few weeks of school, where daily agendas, materials, and resources will be available.