Middle School Matters – Mar 11, 2022

General Announcements

Important Dates:

Mar 14-18 Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week
Mar 23-25 Spring Book Fair
Mar 24-25 8th Grade Musical SchoolHouse Rock LIVE, Jr
Mar 31 Last day of school before Spring Break
Apr 11 School resumes
May 06 GrandFriends Day - details to come
May 12 5-8 Spring Concert at ACS

Willing To Wait - (Parent Action Needed):

Ada Christian School is committed to nurturing the whole child - mind, body and soul - in Christian community. To support this mission, we have partnered with Willing to Wait for our 5th - 8th Grade students.

The Willing to Wait program is a character-based Christian educational approach that directly encourages abstinence until marriage. It teaches a positive and realistic lifestyle that promotes self-control, respect, responsibility, and good health.

Each Willing to Wait instructor is a committed Christian and has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In the table below you can view the 2022 dates and session titles, as well as click on the appropriate grade level link to view more details about each session. Boys and girls will be separated for the sessions and an ACS teacher will be in the room at all times. If you have questions about the Willing to Wait program, Natasha Mueller (moc.tiawotgnilliw@ahsatan), the Willing to Wait educational director is happy to connect with you.

Please open this document to view more information and to complete the parent permission form.

5th Grade

Reproductive Education: Ada Christian School is committed to nurturing the whole child - mind, body and soul - in Christian community. To support this mission, we have partnered with Willing to Wait to have a conversation about Reproductive Health for our 5th - 8th Grade students. In the coming weeks, it would be great to find an opportunity to discuss Reproductive Health with your child. After spring break, the 5th grade team plans to begin a short unit on Reproductive Education. Ms. Gerig will be with the girls while Mr. Stepanek will be with the boys. We plan to discuss identity, physical aspects of puberty, as well as treating our bodies with dignity and respect. Please have a conversation with your child before we have this conversation at school. More information and dates will be sent out in the coming weeks.

Art: 5th graders have continued to put dots into their pointillism landscapes of places that they hope to travel sometime in the future. We will work on adding more dots next week.

Bible: This week we worked our way through a number of Jesus’ teachings. Students illustrated the meaning of each teaching to add to their Jesus Project Binders. We also took our Beatitudes quiz.

Language Arts: This week we planned and started drafting our persuasive letters on why all Michigan schools should have outdoor education just like ACS! Next week we will continue to draft, revise, and edit our letters. The first draft of the letter is due on Wed, Mar. 16. The final draft of the letter is due on Tues, Mar 22.

Math: Students have a test next week Tuesday. A review sheet can be found in the back of their gold packet and on google classroom. Next week we will begin adding and subtracting fractions.

Music - Band: We have a March 131 practice assignment sheet for all bands grade 5-8! Ask your band student how far they are in their work toward 131 minutes and assorted band videos too. Everything is due prior to spring break. Go bands go!

Music - Choir: We are learning Irish songs, shepherd songs, worship songs and also we are learning about a great musical work: Pictures at an Exhibition by Modeste Mussorgsky. We are also learning Irish and shepherd songs and experiencing March Mania with the President’s Own Marine Band.

Music - Orchestra: We are doing a lot of sight reading as we are looking forward to concerts/ events ahead. Also keep working in the work book! New music coming home soon!

PE: We just started up pickleball and have been working on learning the proper skills and rules needed to be successful when playing.

Science: Students have been reviewing the material from the past unit. Students will have a test on Tuesday, March 15th. The review sheet is on Google Classroom.

Social Studies: We are traveling on the road to the Revolutionary War! This week we learned about the French & Indian War, Proclamation of 1763, Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Committees of Correspondence, and the Townshend Acts.

6th Grade

Art: 6th grade students will continue work on placing color into their drawn out landscape images. This part of the project is much like a mosaic. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.

Bible: This week we wrapped up our study of Paul’s missionary journeys. Next week we will take our final quiz.

Language Arts: This week we finished our poems about cultures around the world. We also started drafting informative paragraphs about the cultures of our World Fair countries. The rough draft of the “Land and Climate Paragraph” is due on Mon, Mar 14, and the final draft is due Tues, Mar 15. The rough draft of the “People Paragraph” is due on Thurs, Mar 17, and the final draft is due Fri, Mar 18. While we have plenty of time to work on these writings in class, please help your student keep up with the due dates as he/she may need to finish up some work at home.

Math: We just finished up our chapter on equations. We have started learning functions and will then transition into inequalities. Look for a few quizzes next week.

Music - Choir: We are watching and singing our way through the Sound of Music. We just learned about the anschluss….something very like this is happening in our world today. We are also learning Irish and shepherd songs and experiencing March Mania with the President’s Own Marine Band.

Music - Orchestra: We are doing a lot of sightreading as we are looking forward to concerts/ events ahead. Also keep working in the work book! New music coming home soon!

PE: We just started up pickleball and have been working on learning the proper skills and rules needed to be successful when playing.

Science: Students have been reviewing the material from the past unit. Students will have a test on Wed, Mar 16. The review sheet is on Google Classroom.

Social Studies: Students have been exploring the geography of ancient Greece. They’ve also learned about the economy and government.

7th Grade

Art: 7th grade students will continue to work on painting their Lego self-portraits in class next week. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.

Bible: Bible Students are working through denominations presentations, we will be discussing more of some of the key differences among them. After, we will be discussing the topics of sanctification and thankfulness.

History: We have finished looking at the dramatic differences in the North and South brought about by the Industrial Revolution and the Cotton Boom. Now we focus on those final attempts to deal with the issue of slavery as we draw closer and closer to the Civil War.

Language Arts: Seventh graders have finished Trouble, and we’ve been discussing common themes, conflicts, and character growths from the other two stories we’ve read so far this year. As we discuss the common thread of the “Dangers of a Single Story”, the 7th graders will be starting the ProCon 2022 research-writing project in which they will learn the multiple sides of a relevant issue. Parents, you will be getting more information about this project soon.

Math - 7th Math: Our class is coming close to the end of our study of geometric figures. Students are taking a quiz today; we will review on Monday and test on Tuesday. Monday is Pi day! We will celebrate by eating pie and playing some pi related games. Talk with your student about whether you can send in a pie to share!

Math - Algebra: Students are doing really well as they learn how to factor polynomials. We have a couple more sections to go. These last two sections can be a little time consuming, but they have shown a good understanding of the skills needed to solve them, so I think they’ll finish strong! A test is planned for Friday and there may be a quiz or two throughout the week.

Math - Pre-Algebra: Pre-algebra is having their first small test on Chapter 9 on Wed, Mar 16.

Music - Choir: We are almost done with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang….it’s been a wild ride. :)

We are also learning Irish and shepherd songs and experiencing March Mania with the President’s Own Marine Band.

Music - Orchestra: We are doing a lot of sightreading as we are looking forward to concerts/ events ahead. Also keep working in the work book! New music coming home soon!

PE: We just started up pickleball and have been reviewing rules and applying them to a game setting.

Science: We continue to work on our seeds. We are watching them grow and talking about the processes that allow for the seeds to start growing and continue growing.

8th Grade

Art: 8th graders have continued the process of painting their family shape projects. 3 more class periods remain to work on painting. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.

Bible: We are finishing up the Case for Faith. We have read about so many topics that could be obstacles to faith. Our final project will be due soon and then we will begin the Plumb Bob project.

History: We have started our study of World War I. We’ll focus on new technology that affected how the war was fought and how this war fought on another continent affected and changed the US at home.

Language Arts: This coming week, 8th graders will be working on and completing their second memoir. It will be due Fri, Mar 18. In the meantime, we are beginning our study of The Diary of Anne Frank. We’ve learned the historical context; next, students will be doing a virtual scavenger hunt in a 3D rendering of the Anne Frank house to get a better understanding of the setting of the play we’ll be reading.

Math - Algebra: Our class has started a new chapter on polynomial equations and factoring. Students should anticipate a quiz on what we have covered so far this Tuesday. Monday is Pi day! We will celebrate by eating pie and playing some pi related games. Talk with your student about whether you can send in a pie to share!

Math - Geometry: We are learning about right triangles! We are specifically learning about the pythagorean theorem, special right triangles and will start learning the basics of trigonometry.

Math - Pre-Algebra: Pre-algebra is having their first small test on Chapter 9 on Wed, Mar 16.

Music - Choir: Check your email for information about tickets and other details for our production of Schoolhouse Rock LIVE Jr…..coming up March 24/25 here at ACS.

Music - Orchestra: We are doing a lot of sightreading as we are looking forward to concerts/ events ahead. Also keep working in the work book! New music coming home soon!

PE: We just started up pickleball and have been reviewing rules and applying them to a game setting.

Science: This week we met our rats and learned about our digestive systems. We will dissect the digestive system next week and start learning about the respiratory system.

Athletics

We look forward to spring sports starting up in the upcoming weeks. Please be looking for more information about your season coming soon.

We are still looking for some ⅚ and ⅞ baseball coaches for this spring. Please let Mr. Meyaard (gro.naitsirhcada@draayemc) if you are interested or someone you know may be interested.