Mr. Jaques Math & Science Class

It's hard to believe that the school year is almost over. Despite all of the standardized  testing, wild winter weather and all of those virtual makeup days, it's been a great year. I've truly enjoyed this year and I will miss the students and the relationships I've formed with them this past year. I wish everyone the best of luck at NJHS or whatever school you plan to attend next year. I hope you have learned not only a lot of math and science this year but also how to be a respectful, responsible, organized person along the way. Take care and I wish you the best of luck in the future!

We haven't had much luck with field trips this year. Our Toyota tour was cancelled due to  snow and Astronomy Night was cancelled due to rain. Hopefully, we'll have better luck with your next scheduled field trip. We plan on canoeing on Pigeon Creek in late April as part of the  Canoe Evansville  program. We will be going on two different days (April 29th & 30th) with 30 students going each day. Be on the lookout of the permission slip and medical waiver release form needed to take part in the canoe trip. We are asking for $4 per student to cover the cost of canoeing and bus transportation. We have two more exciting field trips that will go on regardless of the weather. We will be visiting North Junior High School as part of the "Welcome to the Pack" program NJHS puts on each May for incoming seventh grade students. This is always a fun day as students get to meet their seventh grade homeroom teacher along with other incoming students from Vogel, Scott, Ev...

Due to rain and cloud cover, we had to postpone Astronomy Night this past Thursday, March 20. We hope to reschedule sometime in April and have better weather. Please be on the lookout for information about the new date and time. You won't want to miss out on this fun night of activities and sky watching!

As we wrap up our science unit on Earth and Space Science, we are capping it off by hosting an Astronomy Night at Delaware School on Thursday, March 19 beginning at 6:30 PM. Representatives from the Evansville Astronomical Society will be here with a couple of high-powered telescopes that will allow us to view distant objects in the night sky. We hope to have a clear night so we are able to view the planets Jupiter and Venus, the Comet Lovejoy and more! We also plan to have some fun activities in the cafeteria while we wait for the sun to set before looking at the night sky. We hope you will join us on what is sure to be a fun and fascinating evening!

It's that time of year when we start taking our core experience field trips! This Spring, we have several exciting trips planned for our sixth graders. We will be visiting Toyota and taking a tour of their Princeton, IN plant on Friday, February 20. You can learn more about this trip by visiting this link: Toyota Plant Tours . In March, we will be hosting an Astronomy Night here at Delaware School. This will take place on Thursday night, March 19. The Evansville Astronomical Society will be bringing some high-powered telescopes to Delaware on this evening so we can get a close-up view of our solar system. We hope to be able to see Jupiter on this night among other stars and constellations. We will also be having some engaging, hands-on activities on this night as well. You can learn more about the Evansville Astronomical Society by visiting their home page . In May, we will be visiting Indiana University and the WonderLab Science Museum  in Bloomington, IN. We plan to visit I...

We have started a new unit in science: Earth & Space Science. Students will  be  learning  all  about the Earth, Sun, moon and the planets. Students are currently working on a web quest and Google presentation to learn more about our solar system and the relationships between the planets, sun and moon and the force that keeps them in a regular and predictable motion. Once the weather breaks and we are able to get outside, we will be doing some hands-on activities and observing the sun and moon and what affect they have on the Earth. As a culminating activity to this unit, we hope to have a local astronomical group come in one evening in March and bring some telescopes to allow our students to get a close-up view of some stars and planets! The  Evansville Astronomical Society  visited last March and the students loved it. We had activities in the cafeteria and then two giant telescopes out in the courtyard. Students were able to see...

Christmas break has come and gone and it is already 2015! It's hard to believe that the  school year is halfway over. As we begin this second semester, it is important that students continue working hard and come to school ready to learn. For students, this means coming prepared to class, completing classwork and homework and taking things home that they need to complete and return. For parents, this means making sure kids are getting at least 8 hours of sleep, eating breakfast either at home or at school, and asking students about their agenda, homework, notes to be signed, etc. I want to make sure that all of my students are well prepared for NJHS next year! Parents, please be on the lookout for ClassDojo flyers that will go home the first week back from break. All sixth grade teachers will be using this website to track student behavior. If you have internet access or a smartphone, you can follow along and track your student's progress and communicate directly with their t...

Students in my class will be participating in the Hour of Code this coming week.  As part of the celebration of Computer Science Education Week, the Hour of Code is a week devoted to introducing students to the basics of computer programming. This basic introduction into coding is designed to get students excited about computer science while helping develop skills such as problem solving, logic and creativity. We will be spending some time each day during science class learning the basics of coding using a number of different websites listed below. You can learn more about the Hour of Code campaign and what we will be doing by visiting the  Hour of Code website . Below are some of the websites and coding activities students will be doing in class this coming week. YouTube Intro Video YouTube Celebrity Video Start Here --->  Learn the Basics Apply What You've Learned ---> Coding Studio More options Holiday Lights Beats - Make music More Projects

Oh my, a snow day before Thanksgiving?!?! I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. We will  hope for the best and that this year does not end up anything like last year! We have too many fun things to do and learn; nobody has time for snow days! When we are in school, we will continue to work on computation with exponents and order of operations in math. We will soon be getting into algebra where students will be evaluating and writing algebraic expressions. In science, we are continuing to learn about forces and motion. Students have had the chance to do some hands-on learning with our science kits. We are using roller coasters to model and explain potential and kinetic energy. We will soon be discussing Galileo, Newton and the laws of motion and how they affect our lives on Earth. We have also started doing some social studies lessons during our enrichment period. Students are learning some map skills right now, including latitude, longitude and world geography (oceans, ...

I recently signed my students up for Class Dojo. This is a very engaging, hands-on, behavior management system that gives students immediate feedback on how they are doing in class. I have also sent letters home to parents that gives them an access code to sign in and link their account with their student's account. This allows parents to see the progress of their student at anytime in real-time. It also has a messaging feature in the app that allows you to communicate with me directly. My goal for Class Dojo is to highlight all of the positive behaviors that are happening in class and immediately reward those students that are doing the right thing. The hope is then, that other students will follow their lead and try to earn positive points. I'm always looking to hand out at least four positive points for each negative point. This next week, we will be discussing as a class what appropriate rewards might be for positive points. I want this to be something meaningful for the ...

We had a great trip to Wesselman Woods to cap off our unit on ecology. Students got a firsthand look at the predator/prey and consumer/producer relationship in nature. Students got to dissect owl pellets to gain an understanding of what owls consume. We also were able to go on a nature hike and learn about many plants and trees native to Indiana. The students had a great time on the trip and loved the hands on activity and the time spent outdoors away from the classroom!

Welcome to the photosynthesis webquest! It's time to learn all about photosynthesis and why it is important to you and me! Below are the websites you will need to complete your webquest. Remember to record notes in your Google Doc as you visit each of these websites. Also, make sure to save any pictures or video that you may want to use later in your Prezi! Photosynthesis Basics - YouTube Video Photosynthesis on BrainPOP Introduction to Photosynthesis Animation Interactive Photosynthesis Simulation The Process of Photosynthesis Photosynthesis Virtual Lab Advanced Learning & Additional Info

Wow, it is September! It is hard to believe school has been in session for  a  month  already! We're off to a great start here in sixth grade and students are learning a lot of new things in math and science. In math, we have been studying fractions and decimals. Students are learning how to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions and decimals. We will be starting a new standard this week: 6.C.3: Solving real-world problems with fractions and decimals. In this unit, students will learn how to solve problems involving fractions with different denominators and problems involving money in decimal notation. These standards require students to constantly use their multiplication facts to solve problems involving long division, finding the least common multiple (denominator) and greatest common factor (reducing fractions). Please encourage and help your child study and learn their multiplication facts (0-12). In science, we have started our ecology unit. Ecology is the s...

We're starting to really get into science and the students are loving it. We just finished learning about the scientific method that included some exciting hands-on activities using Gobstoppers and gummy worms. We are now starting to talk about the different states of matter. Students got to experiment with oobleck (slime) last week. They discovered the unique properties of this non-Newtonian fluid. It behaves as a liquid until force or pressure is applied to it; then it acts as a solid. This is a very easy and inexpensive experiment that you can try with your children at home. All you need is some cornstarch and water (food coloring optional). You just need to use a 2:1 ratio of cornstarch to water or two parts cornstarch for every one part of water. Thoroughly mix it until you start to see and feel the mixture resisting being mixed further. This is how you know the have right consistency. The oobleck is ready to be "played" with at this point. In math, we are working ...

Please plan on joining me at Delaware's Open House night on Thursday, August 21 from 6 - 7:30 PM. This is a great time to meet your student's teachers and sharing any thoughts or concerns that you might have regarding the upcoming school year. I always enjoy spending this night with families to learn more about my students and what expectations parents and guardians have for their children. I hope to see you this Thursday night at Delaware!

It's hard to believe it's August already and time for school to start back up again.  I'm excited to welcome a new group of students to sixth grade. I love this grade level and really enjoy teaching math and science.  I will be using this website to keep you informed of important things happening in my class and at Delaware. This will include: important dates, upcoming events and field trips and what we are currently learning in math and science class, including the standard(s) being taught. Speaking of standards, Indiana has adopted brand new standards for this school year. Those can be found by following this link: 2014-15 IN Standards The first few days of school we will be focusing on SOAR rules and procedures, learning a little bit about each other and, of course, some paperwork, netbook and locker assignments, etc. By the middle of the week we will begin learning about our first math standard of the year:  6.C.1 - Divide multi-digit whole numbers fluently u...

It's hard to believe that the school year is almost over. Despite all of the standardized  testing, wild winter weather and all of those makeup days, it's been a great year. I've truly enjoyed my first year in a homeroom and I will miss the students and the relationships I've formed with them this past year. I wish everyone the best of luck at NJHS or whatever school you plan to attend next year. I hope you have learned not only a lot of math and science this year but also how to be a respectful, responsible, organized person along the way. Take care and come back to visit me next year!

ISTEP is over and it's time to take a long, deep breath! What a relief - all of our standards have been taught and we have finished our standardized testing for the year! It's time to relax and have a little fun. For the remainder of the school year, students will be participating in the 6th grade Delaware version of The Amazing Race. Students will have to use math skills they learned this year to answer questions and earn points that will be cashed in for miles so they can travel to different parts of the world. Students will have to plan out their route of travel to different world cities: Athens, Greece - Rome, Italy - London, England - Veracruz, Mexico - and Manaus, Brazil. Students will compete in teams which will require cooperation and teamwork along the way. Numerous math, writing and social studies standards will be incorporated in The Amazing Race. Teams will have to write diary entries about the places they visit and their trip along the way. They will need to use ...

Wow, what a winter - ice, snow, frigid temps and a LOT of snow days! Now that this is all behind us, we can look ahead to spring and warmer temperatures. We will also be moving onto a new unit in science and be preparing for the multiple choice part of ISTEP beginning in late April. In addition, we have some very exciting core experience field trips coming up. We will be going to visit Indiana University in Bloomington and the WonderLab Museum of Science  in early May. In mid-May we will be visiting North Junior High School and students will be meeting their new homeroom teachers for next year as well as taking a tour of the school. Later in May, we will be canoeing on Pigeon Creek as part of the Canoe Evansville program with the Wesselman Nature Society.  In math, we will continue our geometry unit, finding the surface area and volume of prisms and cylinders. We will then move onto similar shapes, translations and reflections and then unit conversions before ISTEP i...

I am excited to announce that we have scheduled an Astronomy Night at Delaware School for Tuesday, March 18 beginning at 6:30 PM.  We are finishing up our science unit on the solar system and thought it would be great if we could give our students a core experience that would tie in directly with what we have been studying here at school. Representatives from the Evansville Astronomical Society will be here with some telescopes for the students to use to view the moon, stars and hopefully the planet Jupiter! We also plan on having a few fun activities to do as well.  We hope to have a great turnout, nice weather and a clear night to view the stars! We hope you will join us!