Welcome to the sixth grade at Leonardo da Vinci K-8 School.  As you walk into the classroom of Rooms 17-18 on the first day of school, you will be entering the Academy of Ancient Civilizations.  Be prepared to take a fantastic and detailed journey into the glorious ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.  Read the syllabus on the next several pages to get a detailed preview of your sixth grade school year.  You will explore these spectacular cultures through amazing learning experiences.  Whether you are reading a book on the topic, listening to a lecture, working on a group project and presentation, visiting a museum, creating a model or working on an art project, you are sure to find these cultures exciting.

Not only will you learn about the history of the great ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, you will study several related topics in science.  You will begin your year studying the brain and your preferred learning styles.  In addition, you will also research birds of prey and give an oral presentation explaining your research.  In astronomy, the focus will be the birth and death of stars and the myths and identification of the various constellations.  Plate tectonics, earthquakes, rocks and minerals, and volcanoes will also be studied.

Your sixth grade year will be filled with fun and challenging projects, great closure activities, and field trips.  You will design and build an ancient Egyptian tomb and create an authentic Greek temple.  You will participate in the Sixth Grade Olympics, Nero’s Banquet (where you will put on your performing shoes), and hike the forests of Sly Park.  In addition, as a student in the Academy, you will explore caverns, tombs, and bird sanctuaries.  Moreover, you will be a published author when you compose an original short story for the Young Author’s Program and also write a book on the Greek Gods.  As a scientist, you will explore the scientific method and devise a science project of your choice.

We look forward to taking you on a journey into the wonders of the past.  Although the cultures are distant to us now, each had a vision of excellence.  Therefore, the name of our year theme is Distant Visions.

Sincerely,

Mr. Morehouse/Mr. Waller