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This is the first installment of the JA Journal. A monthly newsletter relating the activities of the JA Academy of the Detroit Service Learning Academy.
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JA Journal! Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2011
T H I S M O N T H I N J U N I O R A C A D E M Y
2/4 Report Cards Mailed Home
2/9 Count Day
2/14 NAAPID - National African-American Parent Involvement Day
2/15 Board Meeting
2/17 Curriculum Night
2/21-22 No School/Mid-Winter Break
Junior Academy Creates Newsletter Second semester begins with emphasis placed on student success, parent involvement
Mr. Wallace Assistant Principal
As we move past the halfway point of the school year, the Junior Academy staff has committed itself to the monthly JA Journal, which will be chock full of helpful information, interesting news, and timely reminders. Please look for the monthly editions of this newsletter during the first week of each month!
The second semester began on January 31, and the 2nd Quarter report cards will be mailed home in early February.
It is important that parents and teachers work together to insure the success of all students. Remember parents, all students have daily planners that are used to record homework assignments and other information that affects student grades. Also, some students receive daily homework logs to communicate student’s daily responsibilities. Also, passwords are available for Parent Portal, which allows parents to check grades on PowerSchool. Check it out!
33Uniform Reminder
To insert linked text boxes in a document, click Text Box on the Insert menu. Click and drag in your document where you want to insert the first text box, and insert additional text boxes where you want the text to flow.
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In the first text box, type text that you want. As the text box fills, the text will flow into the other text boxes that you’ve linked. To let the reader know that an article will continue on another page, insert a small text box under the text box, choose the Jump To style, and then type
Quick Reminders Uniform and other policies still hold true
Mr. Wallace Assistant Principal
Don’t forget….
The uniform policy is still in effect. Remember that all-black boots can be worn by ladies if they can be covered by pants. Also remember that non-uniform sweatshirts and sweaters are not permitted.
Doing The Right Thing!
We are very proud of Kennedi French, who did the right thing last week after school.
After Dance practice, a young lady left her clothes and other items in the room by mistake. She called the room after leaving school and asked for someone to hold on to her things until she came back to get them.
Kennedi, who took the call in the classroom, held on to the items, but had to leave as well. She stopped by the Security office and dropped off the girl’s clothes before leaving. The girl was able to pick up her clothes the next day.
This is an example of great character on Kennedi’s part. She showed responsibility by turning in the items to an adult when she wasn’t able to give them to the girl. Thanks Kennedi!
See Page 4 to learn how to edit or replace this picture.
Detroit Service Learning Academy, 21605 W. 7 Mile Rd, Detroit, MI 48219 www.Detroitsla.org (313)541-‐7619
8th Grade Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2011
I M P O R T A N T 8 T H G R A D E D A T E S
2/4 $50.00 Deposit for 8th grade Washington D.C. Trip is due.
3/4 2nd payment ($110.00) for 8th grade Washington D.C. Trip is due.
4/8 3rd payment ($110.00) for 8th grade Washington D.C. Trip is due.
DSLA’s New Dace Team is founded by 8th Grade Teacher
The new DSLA Dance team consists of 5th through 8th graders that will bring out unique talent to the Basketball Games as well as the African American History Program. Come out and support us and all of the teams!
Ms. Johnson’s ELA Class January: Figurative Language Raps-‐-‐Students were creative in using a Hip Hop or R&B beat to teach their peers about similes, metaphors, personification, idioms, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and hyperboles. January: My eighth graders blew it out the water with their power points, book reports, collages, artistic drawings and storyboards for the Make Lemonade Project. February: My students will be assigned a creative project for African American History Month. They will choose an inventor or scientist and creative that invention. They must also dress up as the person they choose, as well as type a brief description about the person and how their invention helped/changed society.
Mrs. Pack’s Science Class Current Mrs. Pack’s science class is covering Particles and Matter.
The year’s 2nd and final Science Fair is due in April 11th. The final Science Fair projects has involves more requirements than the first as well as a research paper. Be sure to review the assignment packet for more details.
small text box under the text box, choose the Jump To style, and then type the words “Continued on Page.” Click Cross-reference on the Insert menu. Choose Heading from the Reference type drop-down list, and Page Number from the Insert Reference To. Select the name of the follow-up heading from the For Which Heading list box and then click Insert.
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Mrs. Rossi’s Math Class We finished the 2nd quarter with some awesome student presentations on Two Step Equations. We are currently working on Multi-‐Step Equations that include integers, decimals and fractions. Any student struggling with these concepts must practice them at home. There are several websites and games available to help, just Google the math concept. What’s ahead? – Ratios, Rates, Proportions, Percents and lots of Problem Solving. Just a reminder – homework is always posted on my website. Please remember that students must SHOW WORK for full credit on all assignments.
Mr. Enochs’ U.S. History Class As part of our Black History Month awareness, Mr. Enochs’ 8th grade U.S. History students will be preparing Photo Stories on a topic of their choosing. PhotoStory3 (a free, downloadable software) allows students to animate photographs set to music and record dialogue in a film editing format. The students will use this program to create a Movie Trailer about their specific person or event. The top 5 student projects will be show cased at DSLA’s Black History Month pageant scheduled for the first week in March. The Projects are due on February 23rd. Specific information on the requirements of the project can be found in room 253.
Field Trip News
D.C. Here We Come! The DSLA 8th Grade team will be traveling to Washington D.C. this year for their end of the year trip. The trip is scheduled for June 7th through the 11th. Students and staff will travel by charter bus to our nation’s capitol. Sights to be seen include The Capitol Building, The Smithsonian Institute, Arlington National Cemetery, The National Mall, The White House, various national monuments and many other fascinating sites. The trip is scheduled to take a maximum of 50 students. The total cost of the trip is $369.00. The first deposit of $50.00 is due Friday, February 4th. The 8th grade staff will supply 3 fundraiser opportunities for the first 50 students who turn in their deposit to Mr. Enochs by 2/4/11. For more information on cost and required paper work see Mr. Enochs in room 253.
Sensational 7 Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2011
Extra Credit Has Been Issued If You Choose to Accept It
Have you seen the extra credit assignment that was sent home with all 7th graders on Monday, January 31? If not, here’s a recap:
Each school day during the month of February students may turn in 1 paragraph (8 sentences, typed) for up to 5 points extra credit IN EACH CORE CLASS. Let me repeat that. 1 paragraph may earn 5 extra points in all core classes. By the end of February, that equals up to 90 points. IN EACH CORE CLASS. That’s a whole lot of extra credit for a minimal amount of work.
The paragraph must be a brief biography of an important African-American in history. There are a couple of conditions, however. 1) The first 10 paragraphs submitted must be about a scientist (not inventor) or mathematician. After the first 10, the biographies can be about anyone important. 2) Paragraphs must be typed and error free for full points. 3) Paragraphs must be turned in by February 28. Nothing will be accepted after February 28. 4) Paragraphs can be turned in daily to homebase teachers or all of them can be turned in at once.
Service Learning Update Campaign Against Bullying
This year the 7th graders are participating in a “Campaign Against Bullying” as our service learning project. As you are aware, I’m sure, bullying has become a serious issue nationwide. With the number of cases that have been in the news recently, our students have decided to become proactive.
Each homebase is working on a different aspect of bullying.
Ms. Rogers- legal ramifications of physical, mental, and cyberbullying
Mrs. Ulishney- creating PSAs to educate the public
Ms. Chateau- creating a website with links to information, stories, and prevention suggestions
Mrs. Smith- creating ABC books for younger students
Together, the homebases are writing letters to the Michigan legislature to get Matthew’s Law passed and are working towards organizing an anti-bullying rally.
To raise money, the 7th graders have designed and will be selling anti-bullying wristbands. The wristbands cost $2 each, are available in adult and youth sizes, and sport the phrase “Bullying = Crime”.
Helpful Websites and Tips To aid in studying math each night, Mrs. Smith has recommended the following websites:
www.multiplication.com
www.coolmath4kids.com
Also, encourage your student to make flashcards or pick some up at the dollar store. Multiplication and division facts are proving to be a weakness in 7th grade this year.
Dates To Remember
Feb. 1- wristband sales begin
Feb. 28- last day for extra credit
April 8- MSU field trip (all 7th graders)
TBD- Science and Social Studies benchmark testing
TT H E H E BB I G I G SS I XI X !!
In our monthly newsletters you will see all the spectacular things going on in our classrooms. We are always doing something fun and exciting to ensure the success of every student in the sixth grade.
Parents if you have any questions for the teachers are a few options: make an appointment, give us a call, or the BEST option is to send us an email. Below you will find the email for each core class teacher in the 6th grade. Also, if you would like to stop in to see what fun lessons the students are engaged in, please feel free to do so. Please be sure to log into our PowerSchool system to check your child’s grades weekly. If you need your personal log in, please let us know and we can get that information to you right away.
Welcome to The Big Six!Welcome to The Big Six!
SENSATIONAL SOCIAL STUDIESSENSATIONAL SOCIAL STUDIES By: By: Mrs. Mrs. CC. . CutlerCutler
We have been studying Ancient Egypt and its influences on the modern world. We’ve looked at the social class structure and how students are working in groups to create a lesson to teach to the rest of their classmates about a specific topic on Egypt. *Don’t forget to watch the news for current events happening in Egypt today!
F e b r u a r y 4 , 2 0 1 1F e b r u a r y 4 , 2 0 1 1
V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1
ELECTRIFYING ELAELECTRIFYING ELA
BBy: Mrs. T.Williamsy: Mrs. T.Williams
MAGNIFICENT MATHMAGNIFICENT MATH
By: By: Mr. R. HinesMr. R. Hines
In science we are finishing up our Life Science unit. We took the benchmark test on Tuesday, February 1, 2011. I hope you studied!!! We are now going to be adventuring into our last full unit of Earth Science. Some of the topics we will cover in Earth Science will be rocks and minerals, weathering and erosion, and plate tectonics. Finally we have been introduced to a new novel we will be reading in science class. Yes, I said we will read a novel in science! The title is “Flush” by Carl Hiaasen. If you can download it to your electronic device at home!
It is time for us to move on in English Language Arts from writing friendly letters and peer editing. We have been working diligently in class to make sure our writing is complete and taking our time while we proofread the writing of our classmates. Our next endeavor in ELA will be descriptive writing. We will incorporate all the grammar skills we have acquired and editing in order to create fantastic descriptive writing.
SPECTACULAR SCIENCESPECTACULAR SCIENCE ByBy: : Mrs. T. DelcourtMrs. T. Delcourt
In math, we are finishing our work on solving one step equations using addition and subtraction. The next concepts we will be moving into are number theory and fractions. We will dig into learning about the GCF (Greatest Common Factor) and the LCM (Lowest Common Multiple) as well as equivalent fractions, mixed numbers, and finally improper fractions. Keep practicing your facts for mastery!
Sensa t i ona l Spe c ia l s
Volume 1, Issue 1 February 2011
Band News, Ms. S. Kaurich
Throughout the month of February all band students will be working towards receiving their music for the Spring Concert. This concert will be held late in May. Specific details will be coming in next month's newsletter.
Students will be reviewing and mastering techniques including, key changes, various articulations and greater range of dynamics. Students will also be briefly studying the history of African American Musicians.
Computer Lit, Ms. V. Walton Students are reviewing computer care, software applications, and hardware components. Students will also be learning how to use Office Live, which is an Internet based version of Microsoft Office. Office Live allows access to Office applications and documents anywhere there is an Internet connection. In addition to learning how to use these applications, special emphasis will be placed on Digital Citizenship which encompasses ethical and responsible use of technology. Ms. Walton’s Website Ms. Walton’s website provides parents and students with access to the curriculum, educational and fun games, and a wide variety of useful resources and references. All parents and students are invited to explore my web page: www.detroitsla.org/profiles/Valencia_Walton_Profile New! This month I added a new section to my webpage titled: “Do Now/Daily Assignments.” All Daily Assignments are listed on this page in order by date from most recent to oldest. This allows students to begin working immediately upon entering the classroom and keep track of assignments throughout the week. .
PHY ED., Mr. N. Patterson This month we will start talking and learning about African American athletes who made some type of impact in the sports world and in their own communities.
Spanish, Mr. M. Lowe Spanish classes are reviewing basic greetings and salutations, how to tell our birth date and age. Students are also responsible for knowing numbers up to 40, days of the week and months of the year. I am working on formal assessments and look forward to announcing the best and brightest soon.
Strings &Choir, Ms. K. Jones Winter, a time when all young musicians’ hearts turn to thoughts of Black History…. and love. During the month of February students in the Junior Academy Concert Choir and Strings classes are furthering their musical studies by learning songs from the Civil Rights Movement and Motown. Come hear a preview on Monday, February 14 as part of DSLA’s NAAPID activities and join us again during the first week of March and hear our selections for the Black History program!