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Middle School Matters - Feb 15, 2018 February 15th, 2018

General and Grade Level Announcements

General Announcements:

Mothers & Sons: Come join us for an Amazing Adventure on Fri, Mar 02 from 6:30-8:00pm. It will be a night designed to test your wits with team challenges, "Survivor" type puzzles, and creative games! Tickets are on sale online or in the office. Couples tickets for $20 and family tickets for $30. Registration deadline Feb 22.

Is your daughter interested in playing softball? Coach DK would like to offer a softball club for skill development. Email her at more information.

Blue Lake - a large number of student auditioned for Blue Lake Summer Camp Scholarships. You should be receiving a letter about this in about a week if your student auditioned. Scholarships defray the cost of camp very nicely. Blue Lake does great things in the summer.

Knollcrest Music Camp - a lower cost and more local summer day camp option - - band, choir, jazz, orchestra, music theatre, bells, dance, music tech - - lots of great options at Calvin College. Many ACS students have attended and enjoyed this day camp.

Dates for your calendar:

  • Feb 15 Parent Teacher Conferences in the Commons 5:30-8:30pm
  • Feb 20 - BOB ends
  • Feb 20 - 5th grade to GR Symphony
  • Feb 22 PT Conferences in the Commons 4:30-7:30pm
  • Feb 23 & 26 - No school, winter break
  • Mar 02 - End of trimester 2
  • Mar 02 - Mom/Son Night
  • Mar 02 - SEED Market
  • Mar 22 & 23 Dessert Theatre performances
  • Jun 07 - 8th Grade Graduation at Thornapple Covenant Church

Fifth Grade:

Chicken/Goat Care - We are short on families to care for the chickens and goats in the next few weeks. Please click here to sign up. Updated instructions are linked here and also on the sign up. Thanks to all of you for your help!

BOB: Finish this last weekend strong! The last day to take a quiz is Tuesday. Our BOB extravaganza is next Thursday afternoon. We need 4 parents who are willing to come along with us. We will leave ACS at 10:30 and return at 3:00. Please let Mrs. Witte know if you are interested.

SEED update: SEED Market day is coming up on Mar 02 from 2:30-4:00.  If your child cannot stay until 4:15 (15 minutes to help clean up), please let us know. Any extra SEED Money is due back to school by Thu Mar 01. Please ask Mrs. Witte or Mrs. Westrate if you have questions.

Art: 5h is working on completing Modigliani and 5s learning about Seurat and Pointillism.  

Band: Thanks so much for coming to the concert we had today! Your encouragement and your support are WONDERFUL.

Bible: Keep memorizing scripts for parable plays! We are continuing to discuss Jesus’ parables and miracles. 5S continue memorizing Bible memory--20 points are due by spring break!

Language Arts: There is a spelling quiz tomorrow. Next week we will work on editing our persuasive essays.

Math: Test Tues Feb 20 and practice test due Mon Feb 19. Please check over your child’s practice test answers. An email was sent with a list of helpful IXL’s if your child is interested in extra math practice.

Orchestra: Thank you so much for coming to hear our fabulous Fifth grade string concert this morning.We had so much fun preparing to perform for you and we appreciate your encouragement and support. If your child practiced 200 minutes for the free symphony tickets - be sure to mail the forms in by Feb 16!

PE: It’s Olympic season and for that reason we will begin our floor hockey unit next week!

Science: We will have a test on the remainder of our unit on Mixtures & Solutions on Monday (02.19). A review went home with students on Wednesday. Our next unit is Living Systems.

Social Studies: CANADA QUIZ next Tuesday! On to our neighbors to the south…..Central America, South America and the Caribbean nations.

Spanish: Student signed up for Senor Wooly. They may work on this at home but it is not homework. Look for our vocabulary to be posted on Moodle this weekend.

Sixth Grade:

Chicken/Goat Care - We are short on families to care for the chickens and goats in the next few weeks. Please click here to sign up. Updated instructions are linked here and also on the sign up. Thanks to all of you for your help!

Devotions: Please sign up to lead our class in devotions on a Wednesday this year. Click this link for details and an opportunity to sign up.

SEED update: SEED market day is coming up on Fri Mar 02 from 2:30-4:00!  If your child cannot stay until 4:15 (15 minutes to help clean up), please let us know. Any extra SEED Money is due back to school by Thu Mar 01. Please ask Mrs. Witte or Mrs. Westrate if you have questions.

Art: 6th graders are working on creating their landscape photograph out of their watercolor experiments. Please check the homework calendar for project due dates and homework.

Band: Quiz on Mon Feb 19 in the new books!

Bible: We are still juggling an unusual schedule due to World Fair Speakers. This week, in extending the Olympic Theme, we created posters on what the Bible has to say about health and fitness. We also did a small lesson on Lent and are working on memorizing Psalm 8 with interpretive movement.

History: This week in social studies we started learning about Ancient Greece! Students were grouped in poleis for a series of challenges that will lead to our culminating event--the Olympics. Culture Web rough drafts are due this Fri Feb 16. This is the first piece to their World Fair project. Next week the students will be expected to create an online version of their culture web.

Language Arts: World Fair letter will come home on Friday. Students will need to turn in their top five country choices by next week Tuesday. Also, next Thursday (02.22), students will have a short quiz on adverbs.

Math: We have started Functions and Inequalities.

PE: It’s Olympic season and for that reason we will begin our floor hockey unit next week!

Orchestra: Back to working in the book on Lessons 44 and 45 with B flat and E flat. Ask to hear #240 - #249.

Science: Air is the focus of our study this coming week as we begin to think about the processes that drive weather here on Earth.

Spanish: Student signed up for Senor Wooly. They may work on this at home but it is not homework. Look for our unit 5 vocabulary on Moodle as well as music we have listened to this week.

Seventh Grade:

Algebra (7th): We will be working through Chapter 9 on quadratic equations.

Art: 7th graders have a planned 2 more classes to complete the painting of their Lego self-portrait. Please check the homework calendar for project due dates and homework.

Band: Celebration! Song 100 in our method book has been mastered and achieved, Go Us!

Bible(Huttenga): 7th graders will be concluding their unit on sermons and then begin to explore the concepts of Thankfulness and gratitude from a Biblical perspective.

Bible(Wanner): Book binding quiz on Wednesday Feb. 21. In class we are working on prayer journals and prayer projects to go along with our first 2 lessons.  

History: We are reviewing for a test on Africa. We are scheduled to take that next Thursday in class. Students have a review sheet, a map, and flashcards to help them study for the test.

Language Arts: Students will be brushing up on their Literature Critique Letters. They will also be familiarizing themselves with the program No Red Ink, and learning more about grammar conventions, rules and usage in a writing context. Students should be continuing to read novels independently at home and update their reading records.

PE: It’s Olympic season and for that reason we will begin our floor hockey unit next week!

Math: We will be reviewing what we know about inequalities and equations. Test will be on Thursday.

Pre-Algebra: Equations. Students must show each step on both sides of the equation.

Orchestra: Our focus this week will be on mastering Fantasia for Strings, Wexford Circle and La Rejouissance.

Science: We will wrap up our investigation of chemical interactions within the next two weeks. Currently we are investigating phase changes.

Spanish: Student signed up for Senor Wooly. They may work on this at home but it is not homework. Look for our unit 5 vocabulary on Moodle as well as music we have listened to this week.

Eighth Grade:

Algebra: We are beginning our study of chapter 9 which focuses on square roots and solving quadratic equations.

Art: 8th grade students have 2 more planned class periods to complete the painting of their Frank Stella inspired family shape portraits.  Students may need to plan on working at lunch or before or after school to complete this project on time. Please check the homework calendar for project due dates and homework.

Band: We are exploring second instruments. It’s going to be an adventure!

Bible(Huttenga): Students will be working through their unit on Lee Strobel’s The Case for Faith.

Bible(Van Noord): We continue to read and respond to Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ.

Geometry: We will begin our next unit about surface areas and volumes.

History: We are reviewing chapter 13 and preparing for a test on Thursday that covers Western Expansion, Manifest Destiny, and the Mexican-American War. Students should study from their notes, review sheet, and flashcards on moodle.

Language Arts: 8th graders will be concluding their first Literature Critique Letter, and begin reading through Lois Lowry’s The Giver.

PE: It’s Olympic season and for that reason we will begin our floor hockey unit next week!

Pre-Algebra: Equations. We will improve our accuracy by showing each step on both sides of the equation. ⅓ of the value will be given for the correct answer and ⅔ value will be given for the process.

Orchestra: We will sight read more sheet music.

Science: We will continue our investigation of waves and energy.

Spanish: Unit 5 TEST next week (moved due to snow day). See Moodle for test information. We wrap up our unit this week with a quick look at Bull Fighting.

Athletics:

5th & 6th basketball uniforms should be returned to Mrs. O’Brien as soon as possible.