Middle School Matters – Dec 11, 2020

5th Grade

Christmas Auction: 6th Graders have earned and saved MANY auction points so far this year. Our Christmas auction will take place on Dec 18 and we are looking for donations. These donations can be gently-used items from around the house that you no longer want/need (stickers, sports balls, Nerf hoops, purses, stuffed animals, etc), individually-wrapped candy or snacks or new items that you think 6th graders would be excited about. If you wish to donate items, please send them in with your student and let your child’s homeroom teacher know to expect them. Thank you in advance!

Water Donations: All donations for “Water for South Sudan” are due Wednesday, Dec 16. This is an optional donation to build wells for those in South Sudan who lack access to clean water. The student who raises the most money (by earning it themself - doing chores, bottle drive, giving from their savings, etc) will receive a $50 Amazon gift card!

SEED Market: Thank you for all of your hard work to make SEED Market happen this year! Students raised a substantial amount of money for the American Cancer Society, Water for South Sudan, and Heifer International. Products will be delivered by Tues., Dec. 15 at the latest.

Christmas Auction Items: Our Christmas auction will take place December 18 and we are looking for donations! These donations can be used items from around the house that you no longer want/need (sports balls, Nerf hoops, purses, stuffed animals, etc). If you wish to donate items, please send them in with your student. Thank you in advance!

Christmas Party: Our Christmas party is taking place on December 18. Each student is kindly asked to bring a white elephant gift. No need to buy one, regifting is strongly encouraged! The more outrageous, the better! The gift should be about ten dollars in value. Students may bring in their wrapped gifts anytime before December 18.

Christmas Stockings: (Optional) If students want to bring in a goodie or a card for our classroom stockings, we kindly ask that they bring in enough for each student in their homeroom class (5R-14, 5S-17, 5G-16).

Art: 5th grade students began learning and working with the hand building technique of coiling and the 5th graders have a great start that we will finish up in the next period.

Bible: This week we wrapped up our Global Awareness Unit with a Country Project and SEED Market! Wed., Dec. 16 is the last day for students to take justice verses. 50 points = A. Ask your child to show you their justice verse point tally.

History: This week students got caught up in the drama of “sailing on the high seas” as they embarked on a simulated voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. They learned about problem-solving, seafaring, navigation, and more! Their simulation logs are due on Mon., Dec. 14. Next week we will prepare for our Age of Exploration test, which will be on Thurs., Dec. 17.

Language Arts: This week we reviewed A Long Walk to Water by playing games, discussing the book’s themes, and practicing vocabulary words. We tested our knowledge by taking our ALWTW Test yesterday. Next week, we will wrap up our Global Awareness unit by continuing to read Home of the Brave and connecting the book to Salva’s journey in A Long Walk to Water.

Math: We just finished learning how to add and subtract with decimals. We will now be learning how to multiply and divide with decimals. Our first quiz will be next week Tuesday.

Music - Band: We are working on playing a Christmas Carol for a video - it’s due next week. We are also playing some full band pieces where each instrument has a different part! Ask for a concert from your 5th grader - have them play 5 or 10 songs for you!

Music - Choir: Our Carol Projects are underway. They are due next week. We are learning about and singing Good King Wenceslas and Silent Night.

PE: This past week we finished up our time playing eclipse ball with a tournament. Next week we will be playing random team building games prior to Christmas break.

Science: We have created some mixtures and taken some apart this week. We will continue to investigate special mixtures called “solutions” as we approach Christmas break.

6th Grade

Art: 6th grade students continued working on their monster representations of the emotion they struggle with the most. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.

Bible: This week we continued walking through our Advent study. Students have been watching their radish plants grow. They also created a gratitude journal, and are working on Advent collages to represent different ways they see God’s light in the world. The collage will be due next week. Psalm 89:1-4 is due Tues, Dec 15.

History: This week students learned about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and explored the five themes of geography. Next week we will prepare for our test on ancient Mesopotamia, which will be on Thurs, Dec 17.

Language Arts: This week the 6th graders spent time learning more about the parts of speech. They are creating their own slideshows for their notes. We also spent time reading and discussing Fish in a Tree. Next week we will continue to learn about the parts of speech and read our new book.

Math: We are wrapping up our chapter on Integers and the Coordinate Plane. There will be a test next week Tuesday Dec, 15. The students have a review sheet, but it can also be found on google classroom.

Music - Band: We are working on playing a Christmas Carol for a video - it’s due next week. Practice records are also due in January. Ask your band student for a concert - it counts as practice when they play for you!

Music - Choir: Our Carol Projects are underway. They are due next week. We are learning about and singing Good King Wenceslas and Silent Night.

PE: This past week we finished up our time playing eclipse ball with a tournament. Next week we will be playing random team building games prior to Christmas break.

Science: We have been studying weather with a specific focus on wind. We have observed some pretty severe wind phenomena like fire whirls, straight-line winds, and tornadoes and are now working to figure out the combinations of pressure and temperature that drives these weather conditions.

7th Grade

Art: 7th graders are moving onto taking their organism signs designs and transferring these drawings onto the sign boards. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.

Bible: On Friday Dec, 11 students were sent home with a parent edit of their devotional project. Please take the weekend to complete the assignment with them. Follow the worksheet instructions, sign it, and have students bring it back on Monday for credit. We will be spending this next week making final edits to our devotionals and then sharing them in small groups.

History: This week, we continued our conversations about the many differences represented in the world. We began exploring things that cause difference and did a bit of work sorting out the beauty of God-given difference (diversity) and the brokenness that can come from difference (inequality). Next week, we’re excited for a simulation that will help us understand the role that natural resources play in causing difference in the world. Students have also begun studying the basic geography of Africa and will be tested on African countries and natural features after Christmas break.

Language Arts: We will have concluded our study of The Witch of Blackbird Pond just in time to fit in some Christmas literature! For our final week of the calendar year, we will be reading a condensed version of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. After reading the short version, we will be watching the 1984 film adaptation. While we study both versions, students will analyze the character progression of Ebeneezer Scrooge, determining whether his is round or flat, and static or dynamic. Why does conflict push us to change?

Math - 7th Math: We finished our chapter on rational numbers and are starting to focus our attention onto algebraic concepts with a new unit on expressions. We will explore how to simplify, add, subtract, and factor expressions.

Math - Algebra: We have worked hard to develop a solid understanding of linear equations. Now we get to take it a step further and begin learning about systems of equations.

Math - Pre-Algebra: We completed the Chapter 5 test and I am so proud of the hard work students put into it. Chapter 6 on Percents is very short so we are working together as a class to make sure that we can take the test before Christmas Break. Right now we are scheduled to take it on Thursday, Dec 17 so that Friday can be reserved for a fun Christmas activity.

Music - Choir: Our Carol Projects are underway. They are due next week. We are learning about and singing Good King Wenceslas and Silent Night.

PE: This past week we finished up our time playing eclipse ball with a tournament. Next week we will be playing random team building games prior to Christmas break.

Science: We are finishing up solids, liquids, and gases this week and will have a test next week Wednesday. The review guide is posted on google classroom.

8th Grade

Art: 8th graders have been working on giving shape to the character of at least 4 family members. A great conversation with your 8th grader might be asking what shape(s), color(s), pattern/design your student has given to you. This step in the project is due on Tuesday. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.

Bible Huttenga: We will continue our study of CS Lewis’s The Last Battle. While reading, students will be working independently as well as in small groups to determine parallels between the story and the events of the Protestant Reformation and the Reformed worldview.

Bible Sloterbeek: This week, we wrapped up the bulk of our study on Lee Strobel’s Case for Christ, and students began to make connections between this book and the work of apologetics. At the end of this week and up until Christmas break, we will be moving into a study of what the Bible is. We’ll use a few more chapters from The Case for Christ for our study, and we’ll make use of The Bible Project’s teaching about skills that help us glean more meaning from our Bible reading.

History: This week, we looked at a bit of the history of European competition in the Americas and the events taking place in Europe that played a role in motivating their exploration of a continent that was foreign to them. Students are now working in groups on a timeline project in which they choose one perspective from which to tell the European-Native American history of this time period. This project will be put on pause next week (picking up after Christmas break) as students prepare for a test on this chapter in history that will be given on Thursday, Dec 17.

Language Arts: We will be concluding our study of Lois Lowry’s The Giver. In our final week of the calendar year, students will be using the feedback they’ve received in their outlines to write a rough draft of the NHD essay. This will not yet be graded - instead, we are setting ourselves up for style and revision lessons for when we return from the break.

Math - Algebra: We will be completing chapter 4 with a test on Thursday on Linear Equations.

Math - Geometry: We just finished up our chapter about congruent triangles and how to find missing angles, lengths of sides and do a variety of proofs. Next week we will start our next chapter and learn about the different relationships within triangles.

Math - Pre-Algebra: We concluded our unit on ratios, proportions, and similar figures and jumped right in to a review unit on percents. Students will work on an in class activity throughout the next week that will end with a final project rather than a unit test.

Music - Choir: We are finishing up Fiddler on the Roof….we are beginning our OWN musical: Beauty and the Beast!

PE: This past week we finished up our time playing eclipse ball with a tournament. Next week we will be playing random team building games prior to Christmas break.

Science: We are finishing up our unit on sound waves with a test on Wednesday. Then we will be moving into light waves!

Athletics

The 5th-8th grade girls basketball sign-ups are closing on Dec 14. Please follow this link to register, ACS Girls Basketball Sign-up.

All boys basketball practices and games are cancelled through December 20 due to the order from the MDHHS.