Mrs. Mills

Classroom Teacher

5th/6th Grade

Room 36

Classroom Expectations

Students are expected to be honest, respectful, and responsible at all times.  These are human values that are required for good citizenship.  Students who practice these values will be "student governed" and allowed to make many of their own decisions, as well as gain certain privileges at school.

Students who are dishonest, disrespectful, and/or irresponsible will be "teacher governed" and will need permission for all that they do as they have not yet shown the good citizenship needed to make mature choices on their own.

Parents, please help reinforce these values at home with your own expectations of your maturing child.

Together we can help your child grow and achieve the core values needed for good citizenship in American society.

See the handbook for dress code.  

Supplies  

The following supply list was given to all students at the end of 5th grade in the hopes they would come to school prepared to learn.  Mrs. Mills will supply paper, crayons, one pencil a month, 2 pens a year, 1 yellow highlighter a year, 1 pair of scissors a year.  Your child should bring the following:

2" White Binder

3 pocket folders kept in the binder

pencil sharpener with plastic housing to catch the pencil shards

5 binder dividers

pencil pouch for the binder

Extra pencils (no mechanical pencils)

Ball point pens only (no retractable pens)

rounded scissors

2 spiral notebooks for Journal writing and math notes

water with a lift top that can be closed (no screw tops or open containers in the classroom)

CAUTION:   Students are taking a big risk to bring anything of value to school.  There is no secure place to store anything of value since backpacks hang outside the classroom and are never brought in.  Although the classroom door will be locked when the teacher is not present, the desks themselves are accessible to all students during class and students are encouraged to interact and meet with partners and teams away from their desk.  Other students from Mrs. Fredrik's and Mrs. Peterson's classes will be coming in during Language Arts Intervention and may be sitting in your students desk so don't bring valuables to school.

Students playing with items at school that are not part of the lesson will have these things taken away from them.  They may wait until the last day of school to pick them up or their parents may come in to pick them up and visit with Mrs. Mills.  Thank you for your cooperation.

About Our Classroom This is a combination class that is working hard to learn the most possible.  Mrs. Mills is AVID trained which means her classroom is designed as a college prep classroom.  Organization and taking responsibility for learning are the keys to success.  Socratic thinking (learning by questioning), different learning styles and strategies, student tutoring sessions and shared information add to the mental calisthenics to provide an interesting, engaging and advanced class.  Students are expected to work hard to succeed while enjoying the interesting content. Students find motivation is easy when they're engaged in real learning.

Students will step back in time as they enter Room 36.  The 5th graders will study native Americans before the Discoveries of the New World.  The Colonies and their struggle for independence will be highlighted and the birth of our nation and constitution.  Moving accross the continent and the opening of the West will lead us to California and the Age of Industiralization.  We will focus on the Civil War and Reconstruction, and then a changing America up to present times.

The 6th graders will study early man and ancient societies will be examined.  Sumeria (Current day Iraq ), Egypt , Greece , Bactria , Israel , China , Japan , Korea and Rome will be investigated.  Societal organization and events will be evaluated and compared.  Throughout the year, students will be introduced to different writing systems and the development of mathematical thinking through these early civilizations.  

About Mrs. Mills This will be Mrs. Mills' 3rd year teaching 6th Grade.  Off all the grades she has taught (1st, 4th, 6th grades), this is her favorite. "I absolutely love 6th graders because the students are really ready to learn content material and are very motivated to do well.  That's where my job comes in.  I make sure students have all the tools for success."

Mrs. Mills brings a great deal of "real-life" experience to the classroom.  She loves to travel and has lived abroad extensively in Japan , Korea and Afghanistan .  She began teaching elementary school in 1996.  Mrs. Mills has had the opportunity to  work in a number of interesting professions because her husband has traveled in his job extensively.  Other positions she held: macro economist for the Army Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan ,  Family Advocacy Manager for the Air Force in Korea ,  College Professor/English Coordinator for Korean Military Academy , Software/Hardware Middle Manager of the Space Shuttle Project at Vandenberg and a Community Center Recreation Supervisor. Her favorite profession so far is teaching 5th and 6th graders.

Mrs. Mills has successfully reared 2 children. Devin Mills, 26 years old, Petroleum Engineer working in Colorado , and Erin Andersen, 24, Interior Architect and Designer working in New Mexico married to Curt Andersen, a mechanical engineer.  Her children have taught her that there are many ways to be successful and flexibility is the key when dealing with different personalities and learning styles.