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Lance Lightning Newsletter February 2015
Spring Pictures
March 12th
NO SCHOOL
Friday – February 13th
Dear Parents,
We need your help to ensure your child‟s education be
as successful as possible. Please contact your child‟s
teacher and check Infinite Campus on a regular basis to
monitor their academic progress. It is critical that we
work together to meet the learning needs of your child.
Classroom work and homework is critical practice for
your child to be successful. It is important that they
complete the assigned work and turn it in to their
teacher. We have seen an increase in students not
completing their daily work. We need your help for the
students to understand the importance of this.
Thank you,
Mr. Dahlk
Social February 20
th
4:15-6:15pm Lance PTO
News from the Lance PTO A big thank you to all who are helping out our PTO! Please
continue to collect the following items and send them into
the office. Keep clipping those Box Tops for Education. Our
contest will be coming in the near future!
Here are ways to help our PTO:
Market Day – Order your favorite products each
month and the profits go to the PTO. Enjoy
delicious food and help our organization! Go to
www.marketday.com to order.
Box Tops for Education – Just cut out those box
tops found on a variety of items. Bring them to the
office, and our PTO makes a percentage of profit
from them.
Target - When you use your target REDcard,
Target will donate 1% of your Target store and
Target.com purchases. Just visit
www.target.com/tcoe or call 1-800-316-6142 to
register. make sure to designate Lance Middle
School (108624)
Congratulations to our Kindness Award winners.
Way to go!!!
Asynchronous Learning Day February 13
th
No school for students.
Students must complete their asynchronous
learning activity for their elective classes.
Your child should see their Science teachers if
they have any questions about the
asynchronous learning activity.
Liberty House Science News from Mr. Walton
In science students are learning about waves. We are about to start our studies on light and sound waves. Students will find a
number of activities and resources on their google drive to access at home. This will help them study for assessments and help
catch up on missing assignments after absence.
Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] and I will be happy to provide you with any missing work. If you would
like to follow your child‟s progress on your phone you may wish to download the „infinite campus mobile portal‟ using Google
play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.infinitecampus.mobilePortal&hl=en) or iTunes store. The mobile app
ID for KUSD is: DYHLCH.
Algebra News from Mrs. Fioravanti
In Algebra, students are finishing a unit on functions the last week of January. The students will continue with a unit on
exponential equations and functions. Lessons and assignments are available online at mybigcampus.com. Tutorials for students
to view are available online at bigideasmath.com. Students use their ID for username and password. There is no time during
class for students to explore Compass Learning and/or ALEKS. If students are looking to expand their math learning at home,
one of the programs is available to your child online. Please e-mail [email protected] with any questions and/or concerns.
For extra help, I am available before school at 8:00 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, as well as, during
lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Please continue to check Infinite Campus often to be aware of how your child is
doing in Algebra.
Grade 8 Math News from Mrs. Fioravanti
In math, students are finishing a unit on linear equations the last week of January. This is such an important unit with all the
algebra skills needed to be successful in high school math classes. The students will continue with a unit on systems of linear
equations. Lessons and assignments are available online at mybigcampus.com. Tutorials for students to view are available
online at bigideasmath.com. Students use their ID for username and password.
The students are spending some class time on Compass Learning to review math skills and introduce new skills in math.
Students are able to work from home on Compass Learning at https://www.thelearningodyssey.com. Please e-mail
[email protected] with any questions and/or concerns. For extra help, I am available before school at 8:00 a.m. on Mondays,
Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, as well as, during lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Please continue to check
Infinite Campus often to be aware of how your child is doing in math.
English News from Ms. Peura
Due to the snow days, we will start third quarter with the poetry unit. This unit has a heavy emphasis on figurative language.
The vocabulary is a bit intense, but we will continue to use figurative language with each unit for the rest of the year. We will
also being reading The Harriet Tubman story in honor of Black History month. Liberty House would like to encourage all
students and parents to actively monitor Infinite Camps to monitor grades and deadlines. With high school rapidly
approaching, we would like the students to start practicing responsibility and accountability for their academic progress. If you
have any questions please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Spanish
As we kick off a new semester, I would like to advise all of my new students that you should be sure to bring
a pen/pencil, a notebook or paper, and your assignment notebook to class each day. Headsets for Tell Me
More have already been checked out and can be kept in the classroom. If a student would prefer to bring
their own headset from home that is fine but I would suggest that they not be left in the classroom. Also, the
headset must have a microphone. The kind used with a mobile phone do not work with the computers. All
students have been added to the Spanish class groups on My Big Campus. There are links there to access
both Tell Me More and our online textbook, Voces. If parents have any concerns or questions, please
contact me by email as you will get the fastest response that way. My email is [email protected].
Excellence House It is hard to believe we are about to start Quarter 3 of the 2014-2015 school year! We are looking forward to an
outstanding third quarter.
English with Mrs. Brown
Happy February!! In the coming month, we are going to begin our unit on Informational text. The entire sixth grade will
be working on research skills, information text reading, informative writing, and multimedia presentations. It‟s going to
be great fun!
We will continue to have cumulative grammar quizzes every Friday unless specified. We will also continue to work on
vocabulary with a focus on Greek and Latin roots. Your child can study for the units with our Quizlet class online.
Students can search for the Mrs. Brown Excellence Class to access our unit words. This website allows students to play
games and practice using the current and past word lists. Every student should be reading 15 minutes five days a week
and logging what they read. Please remember to check those Reading Journals to ensure that your child is getting the
minimum required reading done each night.
Be looking for Scholastic Book Club order forms each month. These are a great way to put fantastic reading materials in
the hands of your students for very reasonable prices. Every time you order, our classroom library will grow!
I look forward to another great month of learning! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me via email at
Math with Mrs. Ford
In the coming month, sixth-grade math will begin computer rotations twice per week. We will be using the Compass
Learning program which is aligned to each student‟s individualized MAPS score. Students are encouraged to bring
inexpensive earbuds which can be left at school to be used when working on this program. You may see your child
working on this program from home if students are not able to complete their work at school.
Thank you for encouraging your child to be checking My Big Campus and Infinite Campus daily, especially when they
miss a day of school. All assignments, homework help, and math grades are posted daily by 5:00 p.m. Finally, please be
reminded that if your child needs to come in for any extra help, I am here Tuesdays through Fridays at 8:00 a.m. If you
have any questions or concerns, please feel to contact via email at [email protected].
Social Studies with Mrs. Vitkus
Students did a wonderful job on their culture boxes! We are beginning our exploration of the world‟s countries. We start
in Mexico before moving to the Central and South America. Some students will be working on in-class projects based
upon their pretest scores, while others will be continuing our in class tasks and discussions.
Students and parents should expect two to three nights of homework a week, as well as a vocabulary/map quiz. We will
have a unit test every three to four weeks. Assignments are posted daily on My Big Campus. You can also find links for
worksheets under the assignment description on Infinite Campus. Please check Infinite Campus weekly for updates on
your student‟s progress, as well as My Big Campus for updates on a majority of class work. Feel free to contact me with
any concerns at [email protected].
Science with Mrs. Casey
Just a reminder for students and parents, if students retake or take a Quia because they were absent, they need to write
their score on a piece of paper and turn it in to me. Also, students can retake Quia quizzes (not tests) for a higher score.
Right now in science, we are studying Minerals. We have had a couple of labs. In the first lab we looked at the physical
properties of minerals. Students observed color, luster, cleavage and fracture. They also performed the Streak test using
streak plates. In the next lab, we observed if a fingernail, a penny and or a nail would scratch the minerals. In the next
lab, students will be using mining equipment to mine for chocolate chip cookies! We will also be performing
reclamation on the cookies. (Putting them back the way we found them just like the mining companies are supposed to
do with the environment after they leave the mined area.)
Coming up in science, we will be studying the rock cycle. We will be studying the different types of rocks in the rock
cycle.
Integrity House Science (From the Board of Mrs. Petersen)
In January we learned about the three main types of rocks. Metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rocks make up our
Earth’s crust. Our students learned about how each of these form and the processes that change them. We have
learned about how to identify each rock through texture, formations, and composition.
We had a pet rock contest! Congratulations to Chance B. for winning the “Cutest Rock” category. The students also
wrote stories about how their rocks processed through the rock cycle. There were some VERY clever stories. They
were very fun to read.
We will be ending this unit with a Reader’s Theatre skit called I Wanna Be a Rock Star. It stars “Basalt,” the main
character who wants to be a rock star, and “Diamond,” the diva who is already a star. I can’t wait to see the kids
perform!
Social Studies (From the Desk of Mrs. Owens)
We are exploring Mexico and South America this quarter. Students will be working in groups to produce a travel poster
of a country in South America. Please look for the criteria sheet coming home soon. The criteria sheet will be found in
My Big Campus under my resources. We will begin this project after we study Mexico.
I was very impressed with student’s culture boxes. I learned a lot and all presentations were very interesting.
Current Event Packet
Student’s third quarter current events packet was given to each student on January 26th. This packet it due March 11th.
This is a test grade. Students are allowed to turn them in early.
Communication
Don’t forget to check Infinite Campus on a regular basis. This is my daily communication to you. A great resource to
check is My Big Campus. You can find assignment worksheets, the current event packet, and notes under resources in my
group. A list of assignments with homework can be found on my calendar in My Big Campus. Remember there are many
opportunities for your child to succeed in school. Students can fix assignments through the day of the test for each
unit; students may retake tests if they speak to me about it. I am available every morning from 7:45 am -8:30 am for
additional help. I do have outdoor duty on Tuesdays and need to be outside by 8:05. Talk to your child about additional
opportunities to do well in social studies.
English (From the Pen of Mrs. Schrandt)
For the third quarter, we will be starting our “Survival” unit. The students will be learning effective research and note-
taking skills. They will then be conducting research on a disaster of their choice.
Students are expected to use their assignment notebooks to write down their daily agenda as well as due dates. Please
encourage your child to show you his or her assignment notebook as this will help you know what is due so you can better
help your child. Thank you for your continued support at home! As always, please feel free to contact me if you have
any questions.
Math (From the Pencil of Ms. Thomson)
In the month of February we will finish our unit on algebraic expressions and mathematical properties. Following that,
we will turn to a unit on geometry where we will be studying areas of parallelograms, triangles and trapezoids, and
graphing polygons on the coordinate plane. Please continue to encourage your student to watch and take notes on the
lesson videos. Their class time for working on assignments is more successful when they come prepared for this work.
Band
Congratulations to all of the band members on their hard work preparing for Band-O-Rama! The
performances will be outstanding and I‟m so proud of all of them. Many band students have chosen a
piece to prepare for the upcoming Solo and Ensemble Festival, which takes place at Indian Trail HS on
Saturday, March 7th
. More detailed information will be going home with those students participating.
Please make sure that if your child is participating, that they either take private lessons or come to
Lance before school in the mornings to work with Mrs. Kline on their Solo and Ensemble music. The
WSMA Jazz Competition will take place on Tuesday, March 10th
in the evening. More information
will be coming on that special performance (for 8th
grade Jazz Band members only).
Attention all Ohio trip members: this is a reminder that your next $100 payment will be due on
February 12 to either Mrs. Kline or Mrs. Pytel. Please make your checks payable to “Lance Middle
School” and include your student‟s ID number on the check. Thank you!
Galileo House Science Wow! The first half of the year went by so fast, but it was great! We have been focusing heavily on the environment, biomes, and ecosystems, but now are working through environmental problems and solutions. After environmental problems and solutions, the future is to the stars! Soon, we will be going into Astronomy! Let's start the third quarter out with a new fresh start, and finish the second half of the year strong! Pre-algebra During math class, we are beginning our unit on finding the slopes of lines and interpreting the slopes of lines as rates. The instructional videos will continue through the year. There are two to three 12-minute videos per week for your child to watch and take notes, so that he/she is ready to practice the concepts in class. Please watch the videos with your child if needed. Some of them are entertaining and all of them are educational. Enjoy! During English class, we are creating our final explanatory writing pieces during a writing workshop. Additionally, we are studying the language and structure of poetry through reading and writing. Simultaneously, we will be studying the titles The Outsiders and Parallel Journeys as our anchor texts. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] any time with questions, concerns, or celebrations! Thank you for your support! In social studies, we are going to begin Ancient Greece to start the 3rd quarter. We will have several projects with Greece, so please be on the lookout for these as we get going. This is the start of the new quarter, so even if they have struggled there is still time to turn things around. They have a study guide on Google that they are making with their groups that will be a great tool for them to use. Students have been doing an excellent job in the classroom and also with getting their work in on time when they are present. If they do miss time due to illness make sure that you remind them to check the assignment chart in the front of the classroom and pick up any necessary worksheets from our weekly assignments board. Make sure to check Infinite Campus on a regular basis, so that you know exactly where your son or daughter is at this point. Good luck in the second semester.
Dream Team
News- After Christmas break and several cold
days, the Dream Team is finally back on track!
This month we studied an Elephant Sanctuary
in Tennessee. We were able to take a closer
look at the Asian and African elephants. We
read about World Snow Day and encouraged
all our students to get outside and play. We
also learned about a twelve year old boy who
invented a Braille printer made out of Legos!
Each of these three activities was further
explored using art. Look for elephants, snow
watercolor paintings and Lego rubbings to be
sent home with your child.
Revolution House Science (Benser)
We have finally finished up the first semester! At this point, we have finished up our work regarding the first focus of Graphing Skills related to graph construction. During the second semester, we will be working intensely on our graph
interpretation skills. We are finishing up our unit on Electricity and Magnetism, and have enjoyed many hands-on
experiences. Once finished, we will begin our unit on Wave Theory. In the event that your student should miss a lab or any other class activity, please be reminded that he/she must always make arrangements to make these up.
English (Miller)
During the month of February, we will be continuing our work with vocabulary and elements of literature. We will explore the elements of literature through a variety of poetry and short stories. Additionally, we will compose several shorter
pieces of writing in and out of class to strengthen writing skills and prepare for upcoming testing.
Social Studies (Davidson)
During the month of February, we will be studying the first few Presidents of the United States. Expanding westward is also a main topic being covered. As we begin the third quarter, please make sure that your child has all materials needed
to be successful in school!
Math (Kalowski)
Pre-Algebra: In third quarter we'll be studying Systems of Linear Equations which is graphing more than one line on a graph. Students need strong slope skills for this Unit. Then we'll be moving on to Functions, Real Numbers, and the
Pythagorean Theorem. The students are beginning to understand that these skills build on one another! Many students increased their MAPs scores from Fall to Winter! Way to go! Students wrote their scores in their planner, please take the
time to go over the scores with your child!
Algebra: We'll be studying Exponential Equations and Functions, Polynomial Equations and Factoring which will lead us
into Quadratic Functions! Taking notes and doing the practice at home will be critical. Great job on MAPs testing from Fall to Winter! Students wrote their scores in their planner, please take the time to go over the scores with your child!
There are many resources students have access to at home: www.bigideasmath.com (online textbook), Khan Academy is also online www.khanacademy.org. There are many other great math sites where students can get help if they are stuck.
***I will continue to stay after school every Tuesday and Thursday (with the exception of Feb 3, 5, 10, 12, 24, and the 26th so please make arrangements with me directly if you need some help!) from 4 - 5 pm. If your child stays regularly on these days please make other arrangements on these dates.
College challenge update: We are scheduled at UW Madison but we may be changing the date to June 2nd from May 6th. Our Carthage College and Gateway Technical School visits are being scheduled. Details to follow!
Physical Education We would like to remind our 2nd semester students to bring clothes to change into for gym class along with the appropriate shoes. Students will also have health class 3rd quarter. They will need to bring paper, folder, and pen or pencil to class.
Independence House MATH CLASS: Mrs. Keckler As we begin 3rd quarter, I want everyone to remember a few key points. First, my goal is that all students will become proficient in each standard. At the beginning of every chapter, we discuss the standards for the chapter and what we need to produce. At the end of the chapter, we go back to be sure we have reached proficiency on each standard. My second goal, if students haven't reached mastery we reflect on where we need to relearn and retake the assessments to be sure this is completed. Finally, my goal is that the students learn to love math. Students have done a great job this year; I don't want to lose any momentum. Ask them about their MAP score, we saw wonderful improvements in the winter scores. ENGLISH CLASS: Mrs. Valeri February has a lot to offer as students begin third quarter with a quick poetry study. We will be looking at figurative language and how using it can affect the reader and the meaning of the poem, as a whole. We will start examining the theme of freedom with Langston Hughes’ “I, Too” alongside a short piece from Harriet Tubman. Finally, we will end the poetry study with some practice in writing, as students will be comparing and contrasting two poems and writing about them in a short, in-class essay. Is perfection worth the sacrifice? This is the question to keep in mind as we dive into some gory short stories in our literature book, including “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs, “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl, and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe. Students will have some heavy thinking to do at the end of the unit when deciding if the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” is sane or insane. They will have to pull some convincing textual evidence to prove their claims. The second half of the quarter will entail our focus on dystopian literature, as students begin to practice literature analysis with The Giver by Lois Lowry, and War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells in Honors. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email or call me anytime: [email protected] /262-359-2800. Take it easy, Mrs. Valeri SCIENCE CLASS: Mrs. Flox The Second Semester promises to be a very busy one! We have many exciting concepts to still cover in the months ahead. We have now completed our Unit on Electricity and Magnetism and will begin our new unit on WAVES, including a study of Light and Sound. Our skills related to carrying out an investigation on a number of topics have improved considerably. At this point, we are able to complete a lab with minimal help from the teacher, and can complete the lab sheet with relative ease, including the identification of variables. As Second Semester progresses, students will be provided with the Science Emporium project’s requirements, including a rubric and turn-in dates for various components of the project. Stay tuned! SOCIAL STUDIES: Mr. Legler Mr. Legler will be taking over for Mr. St. Peter, who is moving to our 7th grade Counselor. Mr. Legler has done a number of long-term sub positions in our building. He is a certified Social Studies teacher. Please welcome Mr. Legler. He can be reached at [email protected]
Art As we kick off second semester and a new quarter
in art, we‟d like to thank everyone for their past
donations to the art room. We are currently looking
for the following items:
Disinfectant wipes (any brand or scent is fine)
Box of Kleenex
Large plastic containers with lids (such as ice cream
buckets)
Pencils
Buttons
Any kind of paper
Glitter
Erasers
Flat pieces of cardboard
CD‟s without case
Vinyl Records
Thank you,
Mrs. Herron and Mrs. Krueger
WASHINGTON DC TRIP UPDATE
We have recently ended our Candy Bar Fundraiser and will begin the second DC trip fundraiser sale, a COOKIE DOUGH promotion, shortly. Students will receive information on the sale the last week of January. Cookie Dough will be available by the bucket. Students will earn 35 to 40% profit, depending on our total sales. The sale will run through the end of February.
Library News The slow-but-sure Library Make-Over is taking
place. We started the process two years ago by
changing the way that we shelve our fiction
collection. Students now can browse the
collection by genres just like they would in a book
store. The library shelves are divided into realistic
fiction, sports, fantasy, myths, horror, graphic
novels, historical fiction and mystery collections.
We then replaced the 50 year old ramshackle
library chairs with newer, more colorful chairs. The
district provided these chairs which were in
storage after the Indian Trail remodeling. When
we received the Barnes and Nobel book fair
check, we added a soft seating area where
students relax and read.
In 2015, we will replace an oversize computer
table with a sleek, space saving countertop
computing area with colorful stools. AND we’ve
recently added to our walking stick collection.
Come take a look. We hope that you’ll give the
start of our library make-over a 10.
The Kenosha Unified School District No. 1 is an Equal Opportunity Educator/Employer with established policies prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age, race, creed, religion, color, sex, national origin, disability or handicap, sexual orientation, or political affiliation in any educational program, activity, or employment in the District. The Superintendent of Schools/designee (359-6320) addresses questions regarding student discrimination, and the Executive Director of Human Resources (262-359-6333) answers questions concerning staff discrimination.
Orchestra News All orchestra students will be attending a Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 12. Students have received permission slips and information guides about this concert. The cost for the ticket and bus is $5.00. This will need to be turned in by Friday, February 6. Checks should be made out to Lance Middle School. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Kenosha Orchestra Boosters will not be holding our Annual Tea on Saturday, February 22, 2015. We hope to host the Tea in 2016 as we have in the past with silent auctions, painted instruments and refreshments. Please contact the Boosters if you have any questions. All 7th and 8th grade students are currently preparing solos and/or ensembles for this year's Solo and Ensemble Festival on Saturday, March 7 at Indian Trail. There will be limited class time to work on this music, so please make sure that practice is happening at home to prepare for this event.
Honesty House
Social Studies— What a crazy January we have had!! Let's hope we do not miss anymore school!!
We have SO much to do!! We are finishing up with Government this week. Then we will "pack our
bags and head to Mexico"! Everything your child has been learning thus far in Social Studies will
now be applied while learning about the countries. We will also continue to read and write about
Current Events.
Science--We just finished learning about the three types of rocks in the rock cycle. Students were able
to classify the different rocks by looking at them and touching them through the different labs that we
completed. I loved how many students were able to bring in some rocks from home to share in class.
We will be moving to chapters 3, 4, & 5 in the Inside the Restless Earth book. We will be discussing
and looking at Fossils, explaining Plate Tectonics and the layers of the earth. Please remind the
students to bring in a glue stick and a pair of scissors to keep in their pencil pouches. Students use
them to cut and glue their work in their ISN (Interactive Science Notebook).
English--Fun-filled February! This month in English class we‟ll be starting a new, exciting theme and
unit: Facing Your Fears/Dealing With Disaster. Students will analyze the development of the theme
of survival across various texts, evaluate nonfiction text structures, and present claims on these
findings to their classmates. In other words, we‟ll be doing research, extracting information, learning
about credible sources and how to cite them, writing informational/explanatory pieces, and sharing
multimedia presentations. Vocabulary within this unit focuses on what are titles, headings, sub-
headings, illustrations in text, captions, resources, cite, research, rebuttal, paraphrase, plagiarism,
and reliable text. Our class (core) text is Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Our class will be
diving into a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Project, which lends itself to collaborative group work
as well as individual accountability and roles. Using a high-interest topic, students will be actively
engaged in problem-solving, self-directed learning, and meaningful collaboration. We‟re super
excited about this month and all it has to offer! Happy February!
Math--Well, the kids have been quite successful with algebra so far. We are beginning a new quarter
and most of the kids are doing a fantastic job watching the videos and completing the in class
activities and assignments. Most of the work can be completed in class. We will be finishing up with
algebra using the commutative, associative and distributive properties. Next, the kids will be working
with areas of parallelograms, triangles and trapezoids. Thank you for replenishing school supplies for
quarter 3. (Pencils, red pens, red folders, red spirals, the assignment notebook and earphones).
Students are invited into my classroom during lunch, Monday thru Thursday, to work on math work.
All students have a pass and I enjoy having the kids in asking for help. Thank you for checking
Infinite to see how your kids are doing. Please continue to email with questions, [email protected].
Quarter 2 grades are now available
Please check your child‟s academic progress in Infinite Campus on a regular basis. If you
have any questions regarding your child‟s academic progress, please contact your child‟s
classroom teacher.
Shakespeare House
We are so proud of our Shakespeare
House students for winning second place in the Penny Wars. On
Thursday, January 22, the students
enjoyed ice cream sundaes as a celebration for their efforts.
English: Students are working on
their explanatory essays. Blocks 1 &
3 will be writing essays about making choices, while Blocks 2 & 4 will be
writing concept definition essays.
Social Studies: The students are finishing up a unit on ancient
Egypt. As part of a review activity
they will be learning how to use a presentation program called
PowToons in the computer lab. We will begin our next unit on ancient
Greece. Please remember to check
My Big Campus for updates and support materials.
Science: In science students finished
the Environmental Science unit. We
wrapped it up by learning about environmental problems and that are
currently affecting the earth. We will be moving to our Astronomy book
and spend some time this month learning the history of astronomy,
some famous astronomers and finally
learn about stars and constellations.
Math: Students are working on ratios, proportions and applying them
to real life situations. Students are
adjusting recipes using proportions then making slime! Regular math will
be continuing with ratios and proportions and they will begin to
move on to percents and decimals. Accelerated math will be working on
slope and graphing while interpreting
what the lines represent. Please remember to check Infinite Campus
regularly to see your child's progress. Students are able to redo all
assignments and quizzes; please
support me in encouraging your child to do that. I am available before
school Tuesday-Thursday for extra help and during lunch Monday-
Thursday.
Einstein House Science Outer Space here we come! The winter blues are balanced out with the start of the unit that most students are looking forward to. During this unit we create star mobiles, planet cookies, and a model of the sun and that is just a few of the fun space activities students will be involved in. Our class routine of stations Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will remain for this new unit. In addition, each Friday the students do have a small weekly quiz on the content taught that week. It is that time of the year that your child’s spiral from Science needs to be replaced. We glue so much into it that there are very few pages left. Each student should begin the Solar System unit with a brand new spiral. Math Hello Parents: Some of my students are finishing up Chapter 4 on inequalities. Others are studying Ratios, Rates, and Percents. For many that would be Chapters 5 and 6. For others that would also include Chapter 13. In the later 3 chapters students study unit rates and how they are associated with ratios, fractions, areas, and other quantities in like and different units. Students will decide whether two quantities are proportional using tables and graphs. They will identify the constant of proportionality in tables, graphs, equations, diagrams, and verbal descriptions. With the study of proportions they will solve percent problems and find percents of increase and decrease as well as simple interest. Finally, when studying Chapter 13, students will look into how steep an incline is by investigating slope. Students are in need of pencils, paper, a notebook, a 4-function calculator. Please keep in touch and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Mrs. Gosse
English We have officially completed half of the school year and are on to third quarter! The students are already excited about the new novels that we will approach in our next unit. The honors’ classes will read Parallel Journeys, which follows the actual paths of two people during WWII: a man who grew up in the Hitler Youth and a Jewish woman who was simultaneously experiencing oppression in the same country. The Outsiders will be read by our other classes; it’s a classic novel that never ceases to draw students in due to the gang activity and leaves them speechless as we get to know the real kids behind the facade they show the world. Before we get to the novels, though, we will be writing a very important expository piece over the next week or so. Please touch base with your children and ask them what they have chosen to write about and how they are progressing. Mrs. Gaudio
Social Studies To begin third quarter, the students will read about the civilizations of ancient Greece. Whether reading about the Minoans or the Mycenaeans or the Spartans and the Athenians, you will see that where the people lived affected how they lived. You will also read about how the government of these ancient people changed over the years. By the end of Chapter 8, the students will have learned a great deal about the geography and the politics of the ancient Greeks. Finally, Ms. Pendleton is graciously accepting any and all donations of bottles of Elmer’s school glue:) Ms. Pendleton
