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Middle School Matters – Feb 08, 2019

General Announcements

SEED Market: SEED Market: SEED is next week Wed, Feb 13, from 2:00-4:00pm. The final SEED update will be sent home this week. Students, make sure your products are ready. Parents, come out and support our businesses! If you have extra plastic bags laying around the house, please send them in with your child anytime before SEED. Thanks!

Fifth Grade:

Music Field Trip: We are planning to go to see the Grand Rapids Symphony on Thu Feb 14 at 9:40am. We will leave ACS at about 9:00am, attend the concert, and then return to school by about 11:00am. There is no cost for this concert. Please fill out this digital permission slip so your 5th grader may attend - so many of you have already done this - bless you! :)

SEED Market: SEED is next week Wed Feb 13, from 2:00-4:00pm. The final SEED update will be sent home this week. Students, make sure your products are ready. Parents, come out and support our businesses! We need your help! If you have extra plastic bags laying around the house, please send them in with your child anytime before SEED. Thanks!

Valentine’s Day: If students want to bring in a goodie or a card for Valentine’s Day, we kindly ask that they bring in enough for each student in their homeroom class (27 students in each HR). That way, everyone feels appreciated and loved!


Art: We will finish up our Modigliani projects next week and move on to introducing the artist Georges Seurat. 

Band: We are learning the solo in our band book - it is going great! Feb practice calendars went home, and January are due now

Bible: We are working our way through the miracles of Jesus. We have talked through what these miracles say about Jesus character, as well as why they are important for us today. Students are wrapping up their Healing of the Paralytic writings and are beginning an interview from Peter’s perspective on the Feeding of 5,000. We have also been wrapping up Daniel 1-6 for BOB. Reminder that Matthew 5:3-10(NIV) is due Tues Feb 12.

Math: We began looking at essential skills related to fractions - determining the GCF or LCM and simplifying fractions. Chapter 8 test is Tues Feb 19, practice test due Mon Feb 18. Looking for a way to give your child extra support? Attached is a list of IXLs & videos associated with each math lesson for chapter 8. Here is the practice test for chapter 8 if you would like to work ahead with your child. Keep practicing math facts by playing Multiplication Grand Prix.

Orchestra: We are practicing all songs and exercises numbers 1 through 100! Sheet music has also been handed out so ask for a concert of the new sheet music. Practice 60 minutes this week! Most of the students are doing a great job on practice records.  Keep up the wonderful work.

PE: We will begin a study of floor hockey. Please remind students to come prepared with appropriate footwear and clothing for PE each Wed/Fri.

Science: We continue to enjoy mixtures and solutions. We will have a unit test on Tue Feb 19. A review sheet will be coming soon.

Social Studies: We will celebrate our learning with a test next week. Students will need their study guide and social studies notebook to prepare.

Spanish: We have completed a short story and will take a week to do all things Wooly. It’s Wooly Week! Bring a charged iPad to class.

Sixth Grade:

SEED Market: SEED Market: SEED is next week Wed, Feb 13, from 2:00-4:00pm. The final SEED update will be sent home this week. Students, make sure your products are ready. Parents, come out and support our businesses! If you have extra plastic bags laying around the house, please send them in with your child anytime before SEED. Thanks!

Chicken Checker & Got Yolk: Please look at the sign up to indicate when your family will be taking a turn to help out on the weekend. We ask that all families take at least 1 turn per trimester.

Devotion Sign-up: Sign up to lead devotions for our 6th Graders on a Thur (8:00-8:10am) this school year. We love to have parents and guests come to share a story, song, verse, prayer or devotional with us. We have many open dates for the next several months!


Art: 6th graders will complete the explorations of watercolor painting and move onto taking the painted experiments and use these them to create a mosaic of the landscape photograph they brought in. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook assignments and project due dates.

Band: We are learning songs very quickly and progressing very nicely through our books. Yay band! It’s amazing to see how well they are doing! Keep encouraging the practice time at home - Jan records are due and Feb records are out there to be filled in!

Bible: We’ve been carefully studying several traits of Jesus including his compassion, prayerfulness, servant heart, and self-control. Many great discussions and lots of close readings of Scripture are happening every day in 6th Grade Bible class!

History: Students will take a brief break from Ancient Egypt to study a culture unit for World Fair.

PE: We will begin a study of floor hockey. Please remind students to come prepared with appropriate footwear and clothing for PE each Wed/Fri.

Orchestra: Encourage more practice time at home.  Some students are falling behind on knowing how to play some of the music. Practice 60 minutes this week!

Science: We will wrap up the trimester investigating energy. This will include a research project that will be done mostly in class.

Spanish: We have just completed unit 3. We will start Unit 4 very soon. But first, we must take a day to celebrate Wooly Week!  Bring a charged laptop to class!

Seventh Grade:

Algebra (7th): We are finishing our studies of exponent rules and exponential functions with a test next Monday and we will begin a chapter studying quadratic equations.

Art: 7th graders will be working on drawing their final Lego portraits taking inspiration from the previously created thumbnails. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook assignments and project due dates.

Band: Our next quiz is on the solo in our band books. You should see how quickly they learned it - it was really awesome. :) Jan records are due, Feb records are out there. Go band go!

Bible Huttenga: We will be drawing our sermon unit to a close and move on to Gratitude/Thankfulness. 

History: We will be working through an overview of the history of Africa this week. While it’s impossible to cover it all, we will start by looking at the ancient history and the rise of different kingdoms throughout Africa. Then we will jump ahead and look at the role of imperialism played and the lasting effects it has had.

Language Arts: Since we’ve lost so many days, we are going to be kicking it into high gear with our reading of Trouble. More likely than not, students will be assigned reading the novel at home in the hopes that we can complete the unit test before the close of T2. After midwinter break, students will be introduced to a major research-writing project, and we will also be working with Mr. Wanner to complete the Organism Road sign project in time for Fine Arts Night on Apr 25.

Orchestra: We have many new pieces - Palladio, Blue Fire Fiddler, Jupiter as well as all of the music for the Feb 28 concert at Grand Rapids Christian high. Be sure to practice at least 60 minutes this week!

PE: We will begin a study of floor hockey. Please remind students to come prepared with appropriate footwear and clothing for PE each Tue/Thurs.

Pre-Algebra: In the coming week w

Orchestra: Focud 10.

Science: We are looking more deeply at the periodic table and into the way that atoms are constructed to understand why certain elements tend to bond with others.

Spanish: 7B - VOCAB check! (7B, this is scheduled for the next time I see you - Feb 13?) We are attempting to wrap up Unit 9. There will be a Unit test on Feb 20.

Eighth Grade:

Algebra: We have been stuck in chapter 7 on Solving Systems of Equations due to snow days and MAP tests. So, this coming week we hope to review and take a test on the material. The chapter 7 test is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.

Art: 8th graders need to be wrapped up plastering by next Wednesday Feb 13. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook assignments and project due dates.  

Band: We retired our book and now have the Essential Technique books to work through. I wonder how fast they will get these done? It will be great to see….and hear!

Bible (Huttenga): Because we’ve lost so many days to weather the 8th graders are going to be working very hard on the Case for Faith unit, which will be our final unit of T2 - hard to believe it’s already almost over! In addition to the reading and responses for the book, students will also have a parent interview assignment and a final project - an essay titled “Articulation of Faith”. Parents will soon receive more specific information about these items in separate emails.

Bible(Van Noord): We have a lot of things going right now. The Case for Christ, The book of John, Finishing Mark….lots and lots of things going. Assignments for Bible are on the calendar - we are hard at work. Reading their work is joy! Ask to see some!

History: Next week we hope to wrap up chapter 11 and take a test covering the material. We will schedule the test for the later half of the week.

Language Arts: We are done with NHD! Congratulate the 8th graders on the completion of this long and rigorous project! In the coming week, students will have completed the first portion of the Book of Memories creative nonfiction project and be moving on to the second which will also begin our study of the memoir genre. We will also begin our first novel study on Tuesday -The Giver, by Lois Lowry.

Orchestra: Work on speed and intonation on Palladio, Blue Fire Fiddler and Jupiter! Some need to really learn this music so be sure to practice!

PE: We will begin a study of floor hockey. Please remind students to come prepared with appropriate footwear and clothing for PE each Tue/Thurs.

Science: We have investigated speed and will be looking at physic’s definitions of velocity and acceleration and applying that to what we know about gravity and friction.

Spanish: We are attempting to wrap up Unit 9. There will be a unit test on Feb 20.