December 14th - 18th

News from Mr. Crawford

We are proud to announce that we will be hosting a Boarding School Fair in Hancock Hall on Thursday, January 7, 2016. It will be held from 8:30-9:30 AM, and we would also like to extend the invitation to each family interested to attend. The only students in attendance will be from the 8^th grade, but any middle school parent may attend. The flyer attached has the information on which boarding schools will be in attendance and presenting information, as well as a reminder of the date and time. Please feel free to contact me or my office with any questions that may come up during this process.

6TH GRADE NEWS

6th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Guggenheim

On Monday and Tuesday we will be reviewing for the short story test scheduled for Wednesday. I’ve asked students to review the information listed on their study guide and bring in any questions they may have on Monday. We will continue to brainstorm our short stories, which we will write in class when we return in January.

6th Math with Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will finish up Chapter 5 by dividing fractions.  On Tuesday, we will do an activity with manipulatives.  On Wednesday, we will review for the Chapter 5 test that will take place on Thursday, December 17.

6th-7th Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will review Chapter 4 and then have our Chapter 4 Test on Tuesday.  We will spend the next few days reviewing some basic fraction and decimal operations before we depart for a much needed Holiday Break!!

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will continue talking about the features of earthquakes and talk in depth about the structure of the Earth to better understand earthquakes.  We will begin a lab on Thursday that will involve the students creating a structure to withstand a simulated earthquake.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Huennekens

This week in Science we’ve been studying everything imaginable regarding EARTHQUAKES.  We’ve looked at Epicenter locations and on Friday completed a lab on Earthquake depths.  We spent time discussing the importance of safety, how the scientist study the seismic information and how a seismograph works. Students have notes to use to prepare for their test. The Chapter 11 test will be on Thursday, December 17th.  

6th Spanish with Ms. Sotomayor

This past week we have begun conjugating regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs. The students were quizzed on this yesterday. We also discussed the history of Sephardic Jews in Spain and how Hanukkah is celebrated within the Sephardic community today. A reminder that the test is this coming Tuesday, December 15th. Also, the students were assigned a fun project that is due by next Wednesday, December 16th. Each student has been given a Spanish speaking country. They are to present to the class how Christmas is celebrated in that country, 5 minutes worth information (in English). For the second portion of that project, students are to bring in a treat or dish native to the assigned country on the following day, Thursday,  December 17th, where we will also celebrate Christmas Latino-style! Looking forward to next week.

6th Ancient Civilizations with Mrs. Hannah

We have finished studying Ancient India, and will review next week for the test that will take place on Wednesday 16 December. The map and social class pyramid will be on the test. We will complete test corrections on Thursday.  I hope everyone has a safe, refreshing holiday break!

7TH GRADE NEWS

7th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Hannah

We have been studying poetry, and students are working to create an original annotated poem with a unifying theme. A rough draft of the poem is due Monday, and the final draft is due Wednesday 16 December.  The test over our poetry unit is Thursday 17 December, The vocab quiz originally scheduled for Tuesday 15 December has been postponed until after Christmas break! I hope everyone has a safe, refreshing holiday break!

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will continue in Chapter 6 by solving multi-step and compound inequalities.  On Wednesday, we will review for the open notes Chapter quiz over 6.3 & 6.4 that will take place on Thursday, December 17.

6th-7th Grade Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will review Chapter 4 and then have our Chapter 4 Test on Tuesday.  We will spend the next few days reviewing some basic fraction and decimal operations before we depart for a much needed Holiday Break!!

7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Huennekens

Our class has been busy this week surveying individual and group traits, practicing how to fill out and use a Punnett square by visiting Spongebob and his friends and being able to explain why a person looks the way that they do!  They can tell you all about the genotype and phenotypes. They can explain dominant and recessive traits. They can even tell you the difference between homozygous and heterozygous.  Our Chapter test will be Wednesday, December 16th.

7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will complete Chapter 7A. This chapter covered demonstrative adjectives and stem-changing verbs. The Chapter 7A test will be Tuesday, December 15th. Students will present their Desfile de Moda on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. I hope everyone has a wonderful break!

7th American History Part I with Mrs. English

This week we will continue our study of the Declaration of Independence. Students should be memorizing their assigned  part of the Declaration of Independence. They should be working on their memorization and poster for homework.  They will perform their parts on Thursday, December 17th.  Looking forward to a great week!

8TH GRADE NEWS

8th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor

Next week the eighth graders will continue to study and practice subject verb agreement with indefinite pronouns.  Students will take a quiz over this material on Thursday, 12/17.  We will also use our time together to explore poetry and poetic devices.  I hope that everyone is looking forward to a joyful and restful holiday break!

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will continue in Chapter 6 by solving multi-step and compound inequalities.  On Wednesday, we will review for the open notes Chapter quiz over 6.3 & 6.4 that will take place on Thursday, December 17.

8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will complete our exploration of Algebra.  We will review Chapter 11 on Monday and Tuesday, then take the Chapter 11 (11.3-11.5) Test on Wednesday.  On Thursday, students will discover a connection between the distance formula and a concept from Algebra 1.  Then we will have a much needed Holiday Break!!

8th Geometry with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will start Chapter 6 by learning about similarity (6.3).  We will also learn how to prove triangles are similar by various methods (6.4 - 6.5).  Then we will have a fun art day on Thursday before departing for a much needed Holiday Break!!

8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Huennekens

The students have been busy this week!  On Monday, we used a balloon to bend water. We also watched as dawn liquid detergent broke up the layers of water and oil.  We then moved on to creating crystals. On Friday, students researched the why and how scientist use defects in crystals to form semiconductors and how they are then used in the computer industry.  We also talked about the use of thorium as an alternative energy source. The Chapter test will be on Wednesday, December 16th.

       

8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will complete Chapter 4A. This chapter covered the imperfect tense and indirect object pronouns. The Chapter 4A test will be Tuesday, December 15th.  Students will also learn some holiday songs in Spanish while practicing the preterite and imperfect tenses. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday break!

8th American History Part II with Mrs. English

This week we will wrap up our unit on World War I with our test on Tuesday, December 15th. On Wednesday we will analyze some of the poetry and journals that emerged after the war. Lastly, on Thursday we will hear from Gary Webb, owner of the Webb Military Museum on York Street. He will bring artifacts from WWI and talk to our students at 11:00am on Thursday. He is a great speaker and has an amazing collection.  You are welcome to join us if you would like to hear him speak.  Just send me an email and we will be sure to save you a seat! 

 

    

  

December 7-11

6th Grade involved in an exciting Earth Science Lab!

6TH GRADE NEWS

6th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Guggenheim

We are continuing our study of short stories. We reviewed setting and mood as well as direct and indirect characterization. This weekend we are beginning to  brainstorm ideas for original short stories that we will write in January.  We will read another short story and answer homework questions later in the week; there will be an open-book quiz on Wednesday or Thursday over the story.

Vocab - The List 7 quiz is Tues, Dec. 8.

Grammar - we will talk about personal and antecedent pronouns. There will be a short quiz over pronouns on Friday, December 11.

6th Math with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in math 6, we will begin in Chapter 5 by adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions.  On Thursday, we will review these skills and create a short study guide for the very brief quiz that will be given on Friday, December 11.

6th-7th Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Next week we will be learning about scientific notation (4.7).  Specifically, we will learn how to convert numbers to and from scientific notation, how to compare numbers in scientific notation, and how to multiply numbers in scientific notation.  This will prepare us for the last test before the holiday break, which will be the following week.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Earth science we will review for our Chapter 10 test which will take place on Tuesday, December 8.  On Wednesday, we will jump right into Chapter 11 by discussing earthquakes.  Students will be able to distinguish between normal, reverse, and strike-slip faults.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Huennekens

We have been learning about Plate Tectonics. On the Monday before Thanksgiving, we interpreted fossil data as a mini lab and we connected Science with Language by listening to a poem about volcanoes. This week, we will take a closer look at earthquakes through a lab called Epicenter Location. We will move into studying volcanoes after this chapter.  Students really seem to enjoy the current events that are shared on Fridays, so we will resume our current event schedule the week of December 7th.  A new sign up sheet will be posted on Google Classroom this week. I hope everyone enjoyed friends and family and had a Happy Thanksgiving!  Please Note: Quiz on December 8th and Chapter Test December 17th.

6th Spanish with Ms. Sotomayor

6th Ancient Civilizations with Mrs. Hannah

I hope everyone enjoyed the long Thanksgiving break! We have begun to study ancient India, which we will complete before Christmas break. On Tuesday, we will have a quiz over the geography of India and the Mauryan and Gupta empires. We will compare and contrast the life and culture of India with other civilizations we have studied, and be introduced to the two leading religions in India: Hinduism and Buddhism. Following is the tentative  assessment schedule for Ancient Civ leading up to Christmas:

• Quiz on 8 December
• Unit test on 17 December!

7TH GRADE NEWS

7th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Hannah

         Welcome back from a restful Thanksgiving break! In ELA, we have begun studying poetry, and students will be creating an annotated poem that incorporates a central theme.. This poem will be due on Wednesday 16 December, and students can work on the poem at home as well as the planned in class workdays. We will have a test over the poems we have studied and poetic devices on Thursday 17 December,

         In grammar, we are analyzing participial, gerund, and infinitive phrases. Students should expect a quiz over these phrase types on Friday 11 December. I will have an after school study session on Thursday 10 December from 3:30-4:00 for any students who would like extra clarification with these phrases. I will also post helpful resources in the ‘About” section of Google Classroom.

         We are also studying Lesson Four in our vocabulary workbooks, and will have a vocab quiz on Tuesday 8  December, next week, we will complete Lesson Five, with a quiz on Tuesday 15 December.

KEY DATES FOR 7th ELA:

• Tuesday 8 Dec- Vocab Lesson 4 Quiz
• Friday 11 Dec- Phrases Quiz
• Tuesday 15 Dec- Vocab Lesson 5 Quiz
• Wednesday 16 Dec- Poem due
• Thursday 17 December- Poetry Unit Test

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra we will begin in Chapter 6 by solving inequalities using addition, subtraction, and multiplication.  On Wednesday, we will review and create a short study guide for a brief quiz on Thursday, December 10.  On Friday, we will work with some manipulatives in class.

6th-7th Grade Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Next week we will be learning about scientific notation (4.7).  Specifically, we will learn how to convert numbers to and from scientific notation, how to compare numbers in scientific notation, and how to multiply numbers in scientific notation.  This will prepare us for the last test before the holiday break, which will be the following week.

7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Huennekens

On Friday, November 20th, I shared a current event with the students.  On November 18th, Science Daily, posted an update about our closest wormy cousin - the acorn worm.  Since we’ve been studying cell reproduction and DNA, this current event tied in to what we’ve been studying. We then looked at accident in science - chromosome separation. We also talked about the career of a Cytogeneticist. Returning from Thanksgiving break has us studying Heredity, Chapter 5.  Throughout this chapter, we will survey our classmates to see how many noticeable differences we all have, look at hereditary disorders and how they are passed from generation to generation. Students will be writing down traits that they have and how they would determine how the traits were passed to them. Students will also learn all about Punnett Squares and the Human Genome. We will design a lab that will test for color blindness. Students really seem to enjoy the current events that are shared on Fridays, so we will resume our current event schedule the week of December 7th.  A new sign up sheet will be posted on Google Classroom this week. I hope everyone enjoyed a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Please Note: Quiz December 10th - Test on Chapter December 16th

7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will continue to work with demonstrative adjectives and stem-changing verbs with infinitives. We will read and answer questions about traditional clothing in Panama and students will begin to work on the “Desfile de moda” (fashion show) project.. The Chapter 7A grammar quiz will be Wednesday, December 9th.

7th American History Part I with Mrs. English

This week in American History we will assess our knowledge of events leading to the Revolutionary war with a Chapter 5 Test on Tuesday, December 8th.  We will continue our study of the Revolutionary War in Chapter 6-Sections 1 & 2. Readings and homework will come from Chapter 6.

8TH GRADE NEWS

8th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor

Next week the eighth graders will be working on an in-class writing assignment.  This piece of persuasive writing with give students an opportunity to work on research and incorporating quotations in writing.  This assignment will also provide an excellent opportunity to practice the writing process.  Additionally, we will continue to work on subject verb agreement with indefinite pronouns.  Students can expect a quiz over this material during the early part of the following week (either December 15th or 16th).  

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra we will begin in Chapter 6 by solving inequalities using addition, subtraction, and multiplication.  On Wednesday, we will review and create a short study guide for a brief quiz on Thursday, December 10.  On Friday, we will work with some manipulatives in class.

8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Next week we will have a quiz covering solving radical equations (11.3) and the Pythagorean Theorem (11.4) on Tuesday.  Students will then discover, for themselves, the distance formula.  We will also learn the midpoint formula (11.5).  This will prepare us for the last test before the holiday break, which will be the following week,

8th Geometry with Mr. Lanfear

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Next week we will finish Chapter 5 by learning about the Hinge Theorem in triangles (5.6).  We will also learn a new “style” of proofs: the indirect proof (5.6)!  We will have a day of review and then the Chapter 5 Test at the end of the week.

8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Huennekens

On Friday, November 20th, the students spent their class time creating a homemade pH scale during lab time. The students tested 3 different items to test with pH paper.  They could select from a number of items on the counter. They then compared the pH paper to a pH color chart to determine the acids and bases. They had to make a plan, follow the plan, analyze their data and then form a conclusion. On Monday, November 23rd, we looked at how charcoal and celebrations (fireworks) are connected, we looked at the role of a Polymer Chemist and investigated the chemicals in breakfast cereals. This week, we will discovering how compounds can form between metals in groups 1 and 2 and nonmetals in groups 16 and 17. Students will be discovering the how and why a balloon can bend water and they will create a model of ionic compounds. Students really seem to enjoy the current events that are shared on Fridays, so we will resume our current event schedule the week of December 7th.  A new sign up sheet will be posted on Google Classroom this week. I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving! Please  Note: Chapter Test December 16th

8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will continue to work with the imperfect tense and indirect object pronouns. Students will read the El Arbol Generoso (The Giving Tree) by Shel Silverstein and answer  questions and write sentences using the imperfect tense. The Chapter 4A grammar quiz  will be Wednesday, December 9th.

8th American History Part II with Mrs. English

This week in American History we will continue our study of World War I. Students will take a European Geography Quiz on Tuesday, December 8th.  Readings and Homework will come from Chapter 21.2 & 3.  Looking ahead, we will have a World War I TEST Tuesday, December 15th.  I’m also excited to have Gary Webb from The Webb Military Museum come speak to our kids and show them artifacts from World War I. He will come the week before holiday break!

November 16-20

The Middle School Fall Ball was a huge success! 

6TH GRADE NEWS

6th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Guggenheim

We will begin our unit on short stories next week. We have been preparing by reviewing the elements of a story. We will discuss characterization. There is a vocabulary quiz over List 6 on Tuesday. We are looking forward to finishing West Side Story on Friday. It’s been a great way to broaden our study of The Outsiders.

6th Math with Mrs. Reardon

Mrs. Reardon is out of town and will have her assignments posted by Monday.

6th-7th Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will complete the first half of Chapter 4 by learning about finding the Least Common Multiple (4.4).  There will be a test on sections 4.1 - 4.4 at the end of the week.  I will not be here Wednesday through Friday as I am going to a conference in Nashville hosted by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Reardon

Mrs. Reardon is out of town and will have her assignments posted by Monday.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Huennekens

The students finished up Chapter 7 on Friday. For the week of November 16th, we will begin Chapter 10 Plate Tectonics. There are no scheduled quizzes or tests this week.

6th Spanish with Ms. Sotomayor

We have been learning how to tell time, how to use the verbs SER and ESTAR (to be) appropriately, and learning new vocabulary such as nationalities and occupations. A test is scheduled for this coming Thursday, November 19th. However, this test is a bit different! For more information, be sure to check out Google Classroom.

6th Ancient Civilizations with Mrs. Hannah

We are almost finished with our study of Ancient Egypt! Students will have a quiz over the Middle and New Kingdoms on Tuesday 17 November and  review the chapter Wednesday. We will take the Egypt unit test on Thursday 19 November. Please check the ‘About’ section of Google Classroom for resources related to the chapter, which will aid your student in studying for the quiz and test.

7TH GRADE NEWS

7th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Hannah

We have finished reading our first novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. We will take the novel test on Tuesday 17 November. The students have been identifying elements of symbolism throughout the novel, and the symbolism packet will be due on Tuesday. Please check the ‘About’ section of Google Classroom for resources related to the chapter, which will aid your student in studying for the quiz and test.

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon

Mrs. Reardon is out of town and will have her assignments posted by Monday.

6th-7th Grade Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will complete the first half of Chapter 4 by learning about finding the Least Common Multiple (4.4).  There will be a test on sections 4.1 - 4.4 at the end of the week.  I will not be here Wednesday through Friday as I am going to a conference in Nashville hosted by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Huennekens

We are finishing up Chapter 4 with our chapter test on Thursday, November 19th.  The students have a note taking sheet, practice packet and chapter review that we have gone over in class with all the correct answers that would be most beneficial for use in studying.  I have encouraged them daily for the last week to study nightly for about 20-30 minutes.  

7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will complete Chapter 6B and the chapter test will be Tuesday, November 24th. Students will also have an opportunity to play and evaluate the board games that they created for their trimester projects. At the end of the week, students will have a reading comprehension and speaking activity about “Día de Acción de Gracias”.

7th American History Part I with Mrs. English

This week in American History and Gov’t Part I we will continue our study of the French and Indian War and the events that led to the Revolutionary War.  Readings and homework will come from Chapter 5.1 & 2. We will have a quiz on the events leading to the Revolutionary War on Monday November 23rd.  

8TH GRADE NEWS

8th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor/Ms. Churchill

We will continue our study of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, supporting our experience with comprehension questions, vocabulary exercises, and themed projects.  To aid students in planning and pacing, they  have received a ‘Hounds Calendar’ containing due dates for reading, assignments, and assessments.    

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon

Mrs. Reardon is out of town and will have her assignments posted by Monday.

8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will finish the first half of Chapter 11 and have several days of review.  There will be a test on Thursday covering sections 11.1 - 11.2, which is graphing square root functions, simplifying radical expressions, and rationalizing the denominator,

8th Geometry with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue our exploration of triangles in by learning about perpendicular bisectors (5.2) and angle bisectors of triangles (5.3).  There will be a quiz at the end of the week covering sections 5.1 - 5.3.

8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Huennekens

There is a quiz on sections 1 & 2 on Monday and then on Thursday, November 19th, the students will take the Chapter 5 test.  This particular chapter is a repeat of Matter that stresses the difference in physical and chemical properties and changes. We have discussed the pH scale and acids and bases. The students have a note taking sheet, practice problems in a handout form and also the chapter review that they should use to prepare for the test. Our next chapter will begin after the Thanksgiving break.  We will start with Chapter 6: Atomic Structure and Chemical Bonds.

8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will complete Chapter 3B and the chapter test will be Tuesday, November 24th.  Students will also have an opportunity to play and evaluate the board games that they created for their trimester projects.  At the end of the week, students will have a reading comprehension and speaking activity about “Día de Acción de Gracias”.

8th American History Part II with Mrs. English

This week in American history we will continue our study of Jacob Riis and the end of the Gilded Age. We will begin looking at the Progressive Era and the positive changes that happened for all Americans.  Students need to turn in their Gilded Age Crossword Puzzle and Jacob Riis “How the Other Half Lives” assignments on Monday, November 16th. Readings and homework will come from Chapter 19. 1 & 2.  Looking ahead, we will have Quest Monday November 23rd (Monday before Thanksgiving).