Sixth & Seventh Grade: October 21 - 25, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

Last week, the class primarily focused on preparing for the upcoming Business Math test on Wednesday. Again, the focus here is learning how to study for a test. Another skill the students have been working on solidifying is note-taking when we review example equations on the board in class. As these review problems are variations of what will be seen on the homework and the test, it is important students capture not only the answer, but also the question and process so that these notes can be used at home when doing math homework. 

Students had the fun opportunity to reconcile the cash boxes from the Kingdom of Halloween and were thrilled to learn that the booth had collected over $500 in cash sales alone. We are still waiting on final totals from card and ticket sales, but it appears that our fundraising efforts were very successful! Additionally, we calculated the interest earned on the money from last year’s bake sale - $258.60! Oh, the power of compound interest! 

Finally, the class has been split into two groups for creek water testing for this school year. This week, the first group in our class tested the creek water. They did a great job at remembering the steps and making sure that we obtained accurate results. This practice is excellent hands-on/real world experience with chemical reactions, pH testing, and scientific observation. Our class will be able to pull from this practical task when we reach the Chemistry Block in the spring. They were also thrilled to learn that their results are reported directly to Cobb County and used to help assess the health of our watershed system. 

Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • Business Math Test on Wednesday 10/30

  • 11/01: No School (Teacher In-service Day)

  • 11/22: Thanksgiving Luncheon


Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley

Sixth and Seventh Grade: October 14 - 18, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

Thank you all so much for your help at The Kingdom of Halloween and, in particular, for supporting our class at the food tent. Thank you also to those who attended the Community Meeting on Monday night! 

At the Kingdom of Halloween, the Middle Schoolers worked hard at the Bake Sale during their shifts. We talked about their experience and overall, they all feel positively about the success of the fundraiser. We will be reconciling the cash boxes this week and can’t wait to see how much they made. 

Last week, the class prepared to work their booth at the Kingdom of Halloween, which ties nicely into their Business Math Block. The students designed and painted a sign for the booth, prepared the cash boxes, and practiced with the (new and exciting!) Point of Sale tablets. Lots of practice solidified the student’s customer service skills! 

In Business Math, students learned how to pay bills (and write checks), as well as do end-of-month reconciliations with a ledger. The class had lots of practice accounting for money in and out (debits and credits) and learned the value of precision when calculating with money when the ending amounts didn’t match! In ELA this week, students reviewed some example letters to learn how to format and write a business letter.  Using a graphic organizer, they planned out proposals and wrote a rough draft. 

Please take a moment to peek at the photos in the First Grade messenger. Ki Michelle is sharing some photos from the 7th Grade/1st Grade Buddies time. 


Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • Business Math Test on Wednesday 10/30

  • 11/01: No School (Teacher In-service Day)

  • 11/22: Thanksgiving Luncheon

Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley

Sixth and Seventh Grade: October 7 - 11, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

Thank you all for joining me for parent conferences. It was lovely to touch base with you, talk about your child, and celebrate their growth so far this school year. 

This past week, the class continued with their Pet Store, learning the process of receiving Store Orders, as well as calculating sales tax on orders. Additionally, they learned to do an inventory recount as they prepare to order more inventory for the next “month.” 

To tie in with this block, the class learned about the function of a Business Letter. We discussed the various uses of a formal business letter and how it differs from a friendly letter, both in tone and layout. The class split into groups and will be writing a proposal to the school administration and/or the church to obtain approval for several new additions to our supplies at recess (for example, a basketball net, gaga ball court, pickleball court, and a storage container for playground equipment). The class had a lively discussion of how to take action (via the right methods/channels) to enact change for the greater good. Starting within our community is a great way to practice this skill. 

Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • Practice giving change in preparation for the Kingdom of Halloween

  • Bring in pie donations on Friday, October 12 (please do not slice them!). If you use a store-bought pie crust, please cut out the ingredient list and tape it to the top of the pie. 

 

Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley

Sixth and Seventh Grade: October 1 - 4, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

Last week was a quick week! We started the Business Math Block with a discussion about the function of a bank and the process of lending and saving money. We talked about interest rates, both for borrowing money and investing money. Students will get a clear picture of compounding interest when we calculate the amount of interest earned on the Bake Sale earnings from last year! 

The main project in the Business Math Block consists of students starting and running their own business, in this case, a Pet Store. Each student was “given” $10,000 in start-up money. They ordered initial inventory, learned about markup and profit, and set the prices based on a certain markup. The class is very excited about this project and is looking forward to the next steps. 

We also celebrated Eva’s birthday this week. Happy Birthday, Eva!

Kingdom of Halloween Bake Sale/Fundraiser Booth:

Over the next two weeks, we will be practicing in class how to run the bake sale booth. Any practice you can do with your child in giving change for a purchase would be helpful! Going to get a coffee? Ask your student to calculate the change if you paid with dollar bills. Our bake sale will be sold in whole dollar increments ($1.00, $3.00, etc.), which should help with quick mental calculations; however, any and all practice is beneficial to your child feeling confident on the day of the bake sale. I will be working the cash register with the students as added support. 

As this is a fundraiser for the Eighth Grade field trip, each student is asked to make a pie to sell at the bake sale. We will be selling apple pies (whole and uncut) and individual slices of pumpkin pies (to be cut and portioned at school, please). Please sign up for a pie to make here. We will be providing the recipes so that families who are purchasing know the ingredient list. 


As a reminder, the schedule for working the booth is as follows:


3:45 - 5:15 - Major / Bridget

5:00 - 6:15 - Jiyah / Asher / Eva

6:00 - 7:15 - Olivia / Julian / Brendan

7:00 - 8:15 - Rory / Nico


Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • Please practice math facts/ giving change with your student.

  • The Parent/Student Book Club had their introductory meeting last Wednesday to introduce the book Into the Magic Shop. To view the pacing guide and see a recording of the meeting, please click here. Wednesday, October 30, at 3:30 p.m., will be the follow-up meeting to discuss the book. Ashley and Kristie hope to see you there! I have printed out copies of the pacing guide that I will have available at conferences if you are interested. 

  • Please sign up to help at Kingdom of Halloween. I look forward to working with you all there.

 

Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley

Sixth and Seventh Grade: September 16 - 20, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

In the Middle Ages, the few who fought to protect the communities were the rulers and the warriors. They were called chevaliers in French and knights in English. The knight was expected to follow a strict code of conduct called chivalry, which comes from the word chevalier, meaning “one who rides a horse.” The Laws of Chivalry demanded high standards from knights. Their training was rigorous and began when the child was seven or eight as a Page. They had to be dependable, honest, loyal, and responsible, for the life of the knight they served could be at stake. After success at being a Page, the next step was to be promoted to Squire. 

Our class followed the path to become a Knight, and all rose to the challenge. We celebrated this achievement with a feast on Thursday. During the feast, each Squire presented their Knighting project and shared about the admired person they interviewed. 

While we will be moving from studying the Middle Ages as part of a Main Lesson block, we will continue to work on biographies of influential people during this time in our ELA track class. This thread will carry us to the Silk Road as we explore the Middle Ages in other parts of the world. 

Today, we started our Business Math block as we prepare to run the Bake Sale and food booth at The Kingdom of Halloween. The money raised goes towards the Eighth-Grade field trip. Each student will work the booth for a duration of time. Please see the schedule below for when your child will be working the booth. While I will be at the booth the whole time, it is recommended that you coordinate your volunteer slot at the booth with your child’s time slot!

Schedule:

3:45 - 5:15 - Major / Bridget

5:00 - 6:15 - Jiyah / Asher / Eva

6:00 - 7:15 - Olivia / Julian / Brendan

7:00 - 8:15 - Rory / Nico


Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • Field Trip on Friday! Please pack a snack and a water bottle. 

  • Registration for the Sacred Awe Coming of Age Book Club starts today.

  • Layers, layers, layers! They will continue to keep your child comfortable regardless of the weather/temperature range of the day. 

  • 10/10-10/1:1 Fall Conferences (adults only). Please sign up here. If you need a different time, please let me know.

     

Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley

Sixth and Seventh Grade: September 9 - 13, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

The class continues to work on demonstrating the skills and traits to earn the title of Knight before the ceremony this coming Friday. Several of the students were promoted to Squire this past week, showing great responsibility with their goals, and several more this week were promoted as well! Way to go! 

This week, the class did a deep look into castles and cathedrals and how they rose during the Middle Ages. Initially, castles were built as protection from the invading Vikings, and these invasions continued to shape the structure of life in the Middle Ages. In hearing about innovation in architecture, the class saw how thinner walls allowed for larger windows, and the prevalence of large stained glass windows in cathedrals began to grow. Students worked on their own stained glass windows, realizing how painstaking and intricate the process can be (what a lovely parallel to how stained glass really is created). The final product is a sight to behold!  While working, the students listened to the biographies of Charlemagne and Haroun Al-Rashid, which serves as a lovely bridge to learning about the Silk Road when we return from Fall Break. 

Additionally, the class was thrilled to get back into the Woodworking tent this past week to make their shields for the Knighting ceremony on Friday.  They were all so joyful sanding and prepping the wood. We learned about Heraldic Shields and that since the majority of the population could not read during the Middle Ages, a Knight’s coat of arms was essential for identification in battle. Each Ordinary, Charger, and Symbol on the shield held its own significance and was often passed down the family line. 

We look forward to rounding out the first weeks of school with a Medieval Feast, an epic game of Middle Ages Capture the Flag complete with swords and shields (the game Capture the Flag was invented in the Middle Ages), a jousting match, and capping it off with our Knighting Ceremony on Friday. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful Fall Break next week, and we’ll see you in October! 

Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • On Thursday, please wear sneakers for running. Students are welcome to wear clothing inspired by the Medieval Ages for the lunch feast. We will have beef stew and trenchers (bread bowls). Please bring a snack and water bottle, and if they would like something small to supplement their “feast” they are welcome to bring it. 

  • On Friday, please wear fiery colors (red, orange, gold, yellow). 

  • If you know of any small business owners who would be interested in coming into the class after Fall Break to talk about their experience running a small business, please let me know! 

  • Please sign up for a conference slot here.  


Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley

Sixth and Seventh Grade: September 2 - September 6, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

It was good to see everyone at Curriculum Night last Wednesday. It was a pleasure to share what your children are learning and doing, as well as give you a brief glimpse into their day-to-day lives here at school. Thank you so much for joining! 

Last week, the class delved into the Middle Ages block with the first step in their Knight training (starting as a Page). The community service projects they are participating in are helping Ki Heidi with some heavy lifting at the farm. The compost heap needed a bit of tending to, and the rich compost soil required transport into the garden so that the Third Graders could plant this year’s garden. Additionally, they helped with trash cleanup and weeding in and around the farm and Loom. At the end of the day, the class has taken on the responsibility of wiping down the counters in the bathroom, sweeping the floors, and taking out the trash. Their willingness to help out and dive into hard work is commendable!  During our Community Work Day this coming weekend (Saturday, September 14), our class will focus on building sandboxes for the Kindergarten outdoor classrooms. Please bring your drills and hammers! 

The students have also been working on their goal tracker and checking in with me each day. The intention is to track progress and build a sense of accomplishment; therefore if there is a goal that is becoming a difficulty at home, another goal can be chosen.

We have looked at the fall of the Roman Empire and how that led to Feudalism in the Middle Ages. Additionally, we studied the biography of a few influential figures: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Hildegard. Ki Gaby has also been working with our class to learn the recorder each morning, with the intention of bringing the Middle Ages style of music to the students. Along with that, she is also teaching the class Calligraphy, which will lend some beautiful authenticity to their Main Lesson pages and writings. 

Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • Community Work Day hosted by 6/7 Grade: Saturday, September 14, from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. We will be building sandboxes for the Kindergarten outdoor classrooms. Please bring drills and hammers! 


Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley

Sixth and Seventh Grade: August 26 - 30, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

We wrapped up our First Block last week with the students celebrating their wall of beautiful geometric drawings. While they were sad to take down their pictures, seeing all of their work in front of them allowed students to evaluate their portfolio of Geometry Main Lesson pages. There are many new skills the class is developing, and one of these is to objectively evaluate their work. Given a rubric, the students evaluated their work for each Main Lesson page and handed it to the teacher, along with reflections on the block, which included thoughts on what they learned, which page they were most proud of, and goals for the next block. This page went home for parents to sign, along with evaluations on the student’s Main Lesson work, academic work, behavior, and participation. As this is the first time these are being sent home, this process will be reviewed during curriculum night. 

Thursday morning, students arrived to find a challenge laid at their feet. They were welcomed as Pages into the classroom by their new queen, Queen Lesley, and were seated at various castles. This Middle Ages to the Renaissance block will be a quest filled with fun and adventure! 

I look forward to seeing you all at curriculum night! 

Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • Please make sure you received and read the email that was sent home last week, which is filled with exciting details about our coming Middle Ages work. 

  • Please sign and return your child’s geometry evaluation.

  • Please join us for Curriculum Night tomorrow from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.


Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley

Sixth and Seventh Grade: August 19 - 23, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

The Sixth and Seventh Grade class pushed their geometry skills to more intricate levels last week! Using the 12 and 24 divisions of the circle, the students created several unique geometric constructions. Within the many lines and intersections (in a 12 and 24 division of a circle), accuracy errors jump out with constructions that don’t “look right.” Allowing students the time and space to work through and overcome frustration is a valuable part of the mathematical process. Students have kindly helped one another find their errors as well, and that is wonderful to see. The class finished off the week expanding their skills with basic constructions and learning about congruence. 

As a counterpart to the artistic elements of geometry, the class is continuing to review computational math skills (long division, multi-digit multiplication, fractions, and decimals) before the introduction of new material. These skills are scaffolded in the class. In this way, new concepts have time to be introduced and practiced, concepts are able to be reviewed when needed, and more complex equations are offered when merited. The math program we are using this year, Making Math Meaningful, consistently rotates skills through all of the class work so that students gain confidence in their computation knowledge. In class, students are creating tailored Math Flash Cards, which include only the math facts they personally need to memorize. Reviewing these 2-3 times a week at home will go a long way to increasing your child’s speed and confidence in math! Practice through repetition is essential!

During the school day, I have office hours on the following days/times:

  • Monday - Wednesday, and Friday - 10:50 - 12:20

  • Thursday: 10:50 - 11:30

If you need to communicate something time sensitive (such as a carpool change, early pick-up, etc.), please call the front desk or email hello@thegardenmarietta.org, as it is entirely possible that I may not see your email and/or text message until the school day is over. 

Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • Geometry Test - Wednesday, August 28

  • Finish reading August book choice and complete review - Due Friday, August 30

Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley

Sixth and Seventh Grade: August 12 - 16, 2024

Dear Middle School Families, 

This week, the class delved further into Geometry. Main Lesson is a mixture of a review of math skill work, an introduction of new material, and time for discovery and creation, all reflected on the students' Main Lesson pages. Geometry, as with many math skills, follows the rhythm of an introduction the first year, review and skill building the second year, and mastery the third year. Within this three year rhythm, the material presents as introductory information for the Sixth Graders and for the Seventh Graders, as review and then an expansion and deepening of their understanding. The photographs from this week’s Main Lesson present a wonderful example of this - both illustrations are built on a six-division of the circle. The flower petal shape is the introductory form, then the students move on to more challenging constructions with a more complex pattern such as the nesting hexagrams. All students are asked to focus on the accuracy of their designs, and proper handling and usage of geometric tools. 

As part of our Environmental Education this year, our class will be maintaining two areas on campus. The first is to maintain the area around Liza’s Loom and the pond nearby. Secondly,our class has partnered with the Fourth and Fifth Grade class to complete a year-long study of the creek. This will include the creekside flora and fauna, as well as animals living in and around  the creek. Additionally, our class will utilize the Adopt-a-Stream program and learn how to test our creek water, allowing an even more in depth look at the complex biology of a creek. 

Finally, we celebrated Nico and Brendan’s summer birthdays on Monday. We had a lovely banquet lunch together. Happy Birthday Brendan and Nico! 

Announcements and Reminders for Sixth & Seventh Grade:

  • Depending on the weather, we will visit the creek on either Thursday OR Friday. Please make sure that your student is prepared for the creek both days. 

Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,

Ki Lesley