Welcome to the Sixth Grade 2013-2014

(last year’s 6th graders in Jamestown, Virginia)

Welcome to a new school year! We are so happy to have your child join the Sixth Grade Team at the Franklin Academy. We have created this presentation for you to use as a reference throughout the school year. In it you will find an introduction to the sixth grade homeroom teachers, volunteer needs, fieldtrip information and more. We hope you will find it helpful and informative. We want this year to be the best school year of your child’s life so far!

We welcome your comments and suggestions throughout the year. The best way to communicate with your child’s teachers is through email. We check email several times throughout the school day. We look forward to meeting and talking with each of you. The Sixth Grade Homeroom Teachers:Mr. Fradel fradelg@franklinacademy.orgExt. 118Mrs. Mann manna@franklinacademy.org Ext. 125Mrs. Taylor taylorb@franklinacademy.orgExt. 119Ms. Tokostokosh@franklinacademy.org Ext. 127Mrs. Humes humesr@franklinacademy.org Ext. 117

Mr. FradelMr. Fradel lives in Wake Forest with his wife Kimberly their two dogs, Maggie and Sanders, and their cat, Tiger. They are also wanting to add a baby girl or boy in their future. When Mr. Fradel isn't teaching you can find him fishing, camping, playing drums, kayaking, or traveling with his wife. Mr. Fradel graduated from East Carolina University with a major in middle grades education. Mr. Fradel has taught for 9 years and has taught 6, 7, 8 grade science, math and social studies. This will be his 3rd year teaching at Franklin Academy. He loves teaching and seeing middle school students grow in their knowledge, and share that knowledge with the world.

Mrs. Humes

Mrs. Humes grew up in New York and now lives in East Raleigh with her husband, Bryan, and two dogs, Hudson & River. She has a Bachelor of Science in Health Education from SUNY Cortland, and a Master of Education in Child and Adolescent Counseling from Harvard University. She has taught health education in NY, counseled adolescents in Boston, M.A., taught summer school math and reading in the Mississippi Delta, and for the past two years has taught math and science in Durham. Her hobbies include fishing, playing with her dogs, going to the beach, and eating whatever Mrs. Tokos bakes. She is very excited to be joining the Franklin Academy family!!

Mrs. MannMrs. Mann has 14 years of teaching experience in grades 3rd-8th. She starting teaching at Franklin just last spring and is delighted to be back for a full year. Mrs. Mann graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College with a BA in Education grades K-8 and a focus in English Language Arts (6th-9th). She lives in Wake Forest with her husband, Steve, and three children. Hudson is in 5th grade, Elena Grace, 1st, and Eden is in kindergarten- all at FA! In her spare time, Mrs. Mann likes to take long walks, read, cook, work in the veggie garden, and spend time with her family. She also helps coach the Franklin Academy Middle School girls’ basketball team. A few final tidbits about Mrs. Mann: She likes coffee, eats mostly organic, enjoys all kinds of music, a LOVES the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Mrs. TaylorMrs. Taylor has 20 years of teaching experience in grades 5th – 9th. She began her teaching career at Western Middle School located in Elon College. Her Husband and she moved to Greenville, NC as he finished up his degree at ECU. At this time, she worked in Edgcombe County as a fifth grade teacher. She helped open the doors to the Franklin Academy fifteen years ago as a 5th grade teacher. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in Mathematics. She has two children, Ty (15) and Kaley (13) who both attend the Franklin Academy High School. Finally, her other areas of interest are watching her daughter’s sport of figure skating – if she’s not at home, work, or church she’s at the rink! She also loves football (a very loyal ECU fan), digital photography, reading, visiting the mountains, and spending time with friends and family and her loyal miniature dachshund Abby

Mrs. TokosMrs. Tokos: Mrs. Tokos has three years of teaching experience in grades 6th-8th. She lives in Wake Forest with her husband and two English Bulldogs, Gus and Leela. They are very excited to be adding a baby girl to their family in late October! Mrs. Tokos earned her bachelors degree in History from Binghamton University in New York. Next, she moved to South Carolina and earned her Masters degree in Middle Grades Education from Clemson University. In her spare time, Mrs. Tokos enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, participating in animal rescue, and baking. She is looking forward to another great year at Franklin Academy!

Wish ListAs you are shopping for school supplies, you might want to contribute to some of our wish list items. There are a few things that are nice to have stocked in the classroom. If you feel like contributing, please send in these items anytime throughout the year. We will alert you through the grade level e-Newsletter if we are running low or need something new. Thank you so much (in advance) for anything you send it!

Napkins Wrapped Candy

Stickers Extra Mechanical Pencil Led

Plastic Ware

We have gone Green! All important information sent home by the sixth grade team will be sent home via email. We will send out 6th Grade Newsletters, fieldtrip permission forms, reminders, special event, etc. via email throughout the school year. PLEASE make sure that we have the most current email address so that you will be included in the group email. If you have a friend who didn’t get this email… then we do NOT have a current email for them. Tell them to email their child’s homeroom teacher as soon as possible!

Parent Volunteers There are many times throughout the year that our class will need Parent Volunteers. Here is a list of just a few opportunities:• Lunch Volunteers (an email will be sent

out each quarter to request volunteers)• Field Trip Chaperones• Room Parent(s)• Special Projects throughout the year • Testing Proctors (during Iowa Basic Skills

Test and the End-Of-Grade NC Test)• Parent Volunteer Committee (school-

wide) If you are interested in filling any of the above volunteer needs, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher. All volunteer hours are very much appreciated.

Room Parent Every class at The Franklin Academy has a Room Parent. (In the past, when there are two parents that are interested they have shared this position). This parent would be responsible for the following:• Coordinating parent volunteers

throughout the year• Coordinating special events

throughout the year with the homeroom teacher.

• Finding Lunch Volunteers during each 9-week period

• Organizing special celebrations (holidays, end-of-the-year, etc.)

• Delegating responsibility is certainly expected.

If you are interested in being our Room Parent, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher as soon as possible. We look forward to working with our Room Parents!

LockersAll Middle School students will be issued a locker. All of the student’s belongings need to be housed in his/her locker. Students are not permitted to put a lock on the locker. Students will be expected to keep their lockers neat and orderly. Lockers may be visited between classes only. It is often helpful to purchase a locker shelf to help organize your books. The locker dimensions are 16.5 x 12 x 35.5 inches. Social Events

Sixth Grade Social Events are sure to be an event each quarter that you don’t want to miss. The teachers in the 6th grade thought it would be fun to get outside of school and get to know our students. Look for quarterly announcements explaining the details. These events are NOT considered fieldtrips and will not be held during school hours. Parents will be asked to provide transportation. These events are optional – but provide a great avenue to connect to other Franklin Academy families. Look for our first Evite to our first quarter social!

6th Grade Fieltrips…

We want to give you an idea of how many fieldtrips you can expect to go on in the sixth grade. During the first quarter, we have visited the Botanical Gardens in Durham for a science fieldtrip. In the second quarter we go on our “Donate and Skate” fieldtrip. We work with the Salvation Army to provide a better holiday season for a family in need. Then, we celebrate winter by going ice skating at the Factory in Wake Forest. In past years we have gone to Marbles Museum in downtown Raleigh to enjoy an IMAX movie and science lab. We can’t predict this far in advance if they will have a movie that fits the sixth grade curriculum. Our end-of-the-year fieldtrip is a treat for us all and a wonderful way to wrap up the year! We go to Williamsburg, Virginia. While in Williamsburg, we visit Busch Gardens and Jamestown. More information on all of these trips will be emailed throughout the year. (As per school handbook, any monies collected for fieldtrips are non-refundable.)

Botanical Gardens, DurhamThis fieldtrip allowed the students to stop and really hear (and observe) the sounds of nature. After our nature walk, the guides took us a little deeper into hands-on experiences where we discovered how different climates affect the vegetation in various parts of our state. We ended the day at South Park mall with a quick lunch before heading back to school.

Donate ‘n SkateWhat a trip it is to see 6th grade boys and girls shopping for clothes for someone they don’t know. The groups are on a mission to shop for items on their Angel’s wish list. They have to endure a little math (Mrs. Taylor – really?) as they find unit price and comparison shop… just preparing them for their college years when they will be on a budget! Then we have fun and go ice skating at The Factory (well, some of us skate and others just hang on to the wall)… Regardless, it is a fun way to spend the day before we track out in December!

IMAX and ExplorisThere is nothing like seeing a movie on an IMAX theater screen! Depending on what is available each year, we try to see a curriculum related movie at Exploris in the IMAX theater. Immediately following the movie, we experience a very well designed learning lab. What a fun day!

Williamsburg – End-of-Year Finale!The BEST way to end the school year!!! Mrs. Taylor is totally in charge of this fieldtrip – she’s taken kids to amusement parks for 15 years now! Too fun to spend our last few days in a theme park riding roller coasters. “I absolutely LOVE it!,” says Mrs. Taylor. We spend the night at the Embassy Suites and on the way home experience Jamestown Settlement – an amazing tour and very interesting way to end our trip. Plan ahead – it is $180 per student and $150 per chaperone – you don’t want to miss it!