Middle School Matters – Mar 18, 2022

General Announcements

Thank you so much for spoiling us during Teacher Appreciation Week we are thankful for all the blessings! - The MS Staff

Important Dates:

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 12 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.

Knollcrest Music Camp is a camp run by Calvin University every summer. It has amazing opportunities for any musician entering grades 7-12. Sign up today at this link Knollcrest Music Camp.

5th Grade

BabyBook Shower for Mrs. Reidsma:

What: Baby Shower/Book Shower for Mrs. Reidsma
When: Wed Mar 23

The Reidsma family is expecting a baby boy in April. Thanks be to God!

To celebrate we are planning to have a Baby/Book Shower on Wednesday Mar 23 with the entire 56er student and teacher crew.

If you would like to contribute a book - used and well loved or new is totally fine - - with your student's name and a little message signed inside of it so that Mrs. Reidsma and the new baby will know which books are from which 56ers, this would be awesome. As they read stories together Mrs. Reidsma will be able to be reminded of her 56er students. SO fun!

Books should be brought to Mrs. Van Noord’s room - anytime is fine.

If you would prefer to donate money instead of a book, or in addition to a book - please send the money by Mon Mar 21 to Sarah Kraay, our MSSC rep for this event.

moc.liamg@yaarkjharas

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 grade students will finish up their pointillism artwork. The students that finished this week have amazing results. Look for all these artworks to be displayed at Fine Arts Night.

Bible: This week we studied parables of Jesus. We learned about what parables are and are not. We also identified some heavenly meanings behind various parables. Matthew 6:25-27 OR Matthew 6:28-30 is due Fri, Mar 25.

Language Arts: This week we finished drafting our persuasive letters and learned some revising and editing skills. The final draft of the letter is due on Tues, Mar 22. Next week we will also begin our biography unit!

Math: 5th graders are continuing to work on adding and subtracting fractions. Look for some quizzes next week and a around March 29. Students have a review sheet in their packets and one can also be found on google classroom.

Music - Band: We have some Easter melodies- There is a Redeemer and others as well - ask for a concert! 131 Practice Minutes are due before Spring Break as well as some videos too.

Music - Choir: Pictures at an Exhibition - the unit continues. We have listened to some beautiful music! We are also singing Shepherd songs. And Irish tunes as well. All this and theory too.

Music - Orchestra: Keep practicing from the book and our three songs for this spring. You are all amazing!

PE: We have been learning the rules and skills of pickleball and applying them to a game setting.

Science: This week students reviewed and took a test on their mixtures and solutions unit. We started our unit on Living Systems by participating in an ecosystem simulation!

Social Studies: We are wrapping up our Road to Revolution unit with a test next week Friday, Mar 25. Students may use their social studies notebooks and study guides to prepare.

Spanish: This week we started our novel: Llama en Lima. Students have prepared for the novel by learning vocabulary and studying Peruvian culture prior to this unit. Each chapter will include a graphic organizer and assessment questions. Assessments are open note and open book. The novels include a glossary in the back of the book. These books are kept at school.

6th Grade

BabyBook Shower for Mrs. Reidsma:

What: Baby Shower/Book Shower for Mrs. Reidsma
When: Wed Mar 23

The Reidsma family is expecting a baby boy in April. Thanks be to God!

To celebrate we are planning to have a Baby/Book Shower on Wednesday Mar 23 with the entire 56er student and teacher crew.

Books should be brought to Mrs. Van Noord’s room - anytime is fine.

If you would prefer to donate money instead of a book, or in addition to a book - please send the money by Mon Mar 21 to Sarah Kraay, our MSSC rep for this event.

sarahjkraay@gmail.com

Art: 6th grade students will be working on their torn watercolor landscapes again next week. Each week the artworks are becoming more stunning. Please keep an eye on the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.

Bible: This week we wrapped up Paul’s final journeys with a quiz and began looking at Paul’s letters. We talked through the structure of Pauline letters and looked at the book of Romans. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 is due Fri, Mar 25.

Language Arts: This week we continued writing informative paragraphs for our World Fair websites. The rough draft of the “food” paragraph will be due on Mon, Mar 21, and the final draft will be due on Tues, Mar 22. Next week will also begin writing paragraphs about students’ own chosen topics.

Math: Students are wrapping up their chapter on Functions and Inequalities. There will be a test next week Tuesday. A review sheet can be found on google classroom or in the back of their notes packet.

Music - Band: 131 Practice Minutes are due before Spring Break as well as some videos too. Summer music opportunities - Knollcrest Music Camp (Mrs. VN often works there in the summer). Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp up north is great as well.

Music - Choir: We are almost done with our musical unit. We are also singing a variety of songs as well.

Music - Orchestra: The March Google Video is due the Tuesday before break. Knollcrest Music Camp is a camp run by Calvin University every summer. It has amazing opportunities for any musician. Sign up today at this link Knollcrest Music Camp.

PE: We have been learning the rules and skills of pickleball and applying them to a game setting.

Science: This week students reviewed and took a test on their Earth History unit. We started our unit on Electromagnetic Force by building roller coasters!

Social Studies: Mr. Sparta and Mr. Athens came to visit this week! Students also learned about four forms of government and the Persian Wars.

Spanish: Students are learning about Bullfighting in Spain next week. We will look at the “sport” and why there are those who love it and those who oppose it. Videos and discussions are appropriate for 6th graders and only short segments of a bullfight will be viewed by students.

7th Grade

Art: 7th graders will continue working on their Lego portraits next week and hopefully begin working on painting their Lego’s clothes. Please keep an eye on the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.

Bible: In Bible we are starting our unit on leadership. Bible Memory is on Matthew 18:19-20; the quiz will be on Monday, Mar 24.

History: We’re wrapping up our study of the political acts and events (compromises, Bleeding Kansas, bad Supreme Court decision, etc.) that increased tension finally breaking into the Civil War. Test next week Thursday or Friday.

Language Arts: The 7th graders are making some good headway with the ProCon research project. This week they will have a parent conversation assignment due (an email with details to come soon). This week we get into some of the technical stuff of research: building bibliographies, labeling notes, paraphrasing vs. direct quotes, and even some hints of parenthetical citations.

Math - 7th Math: We have just started a new chapter on measuring figures. Students are learning about diameter, radius, and how to find the area and circumference of a circle. We will have quiz towards the end of next week.

Math - Algebra: We wrapped up Chapter 7! It was a challenging unit and I’m so proud of how well everyone grasped these concepts. We will begin Chapter 8 next week and students will be learning about graphing quadratic equations. As we continue to learn new skills, encourage your child to continually study their notes to help really gain a better understanding of the new terms and concepts. Students are also beginning to review what we have covered throughout the entire year. We will have a final course test at the end of the year, so it’s important that they spend time looking back and really reviewing what we’ve learned so far.

Math - Pre-Algebra: We took our pt.1 test for Chapter 9 and will now be beginning pt. 2. This part of chapter 9 involves solving systems of equations. Students will be utilizing skills from chapter 8 and 9 to complete each problem and it is extremely important that they take their time to show work. I am available before and after school and during noon room if students would like to work through homework with me.

Music - Choir: We finished our musical movie. We will have a quiz on the movie/plot/songs and will also sing the songs from the show as well. The quiz will be the week prior to Spring Break.

PE: We have been reviewing the rules and skills of pickleball and applying them to a game setting.

Science: We are finishing up learning about seeds and will be moving into trees shortly. We have a test on Tuesday. Students should spend some time reviewing for this test over the weekend.

Spanish: This week we learned about the Legend of the Cucuy. Students wrote a 75+ word summary of the legend in Spanish. Impressive! They also took their test this week.

8th Grade

Art: 8th graders have one more class period to work on painting their family shape project. If they do not finish painting their project in this class, students will need to work at lunch time, before or after school to complete this project by Wed, Mar 30. Please keep an eye on the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.

Bible: We have begun work on the Plumb Bob Project. This process is special and very dear as students read God’s word, find verses that have deep meaning for themselves and share their faith with their classmates.

History: We learned all about WWI and how the US was affected by it and participated in it. Test on Tuesday. After that we look at the Roaring 20s!

Language Arts: The 8th graders will have a little lighter of a workload this week due to the busy schedule of the musical. However, we have completed our virtual tour and scavenger hunt through the secret Annex, and the kids will be reading through the play adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank, paying careful attention to the interpersonal conflicts between characters.

Math - Algebra: We are currently working through the topic of factoring polynomial equations. This is a challenging concept; encourage your child to continue to work hard and persevere! We will take a quiz on 7.3-7.4 on Monday.

Math - Geometry: In Geometry we will continue to study trigonometry. We will spend most of this week reviewing and practicing these new concepts and talk about the law of sines and cosines.

Music - Choir: See you at the show! Mar 24 and 25 - start time is 7:00pm….ends with dessert each night.

PE: We have been reviewing the rules and skills of pickleball and applying them to a game setting.

Science: This week we checked out the digestive system. We finished this week by learning about the respiratory system. Next week we will be dissecting the respiratory system and spending some time working on our keynote. We will have a good amount of time to be working on that, but students should be putting some time into this at home as well.

Spanish: This week students began a grammar study on the verbs SER and ESTAR. Both verbs mean “to be” but when do you use which one? That is the question. We continue the study this coming week with a QUIZ on the 29th/30th.

Athletics

Spring sports are starting up practices in the upcoming weeks, game schedules should be released prior to spring break for all teams.

We are in need of a ⅚ boys baseball coach. Please let Mr. Meyaard (gro.naitsirhcada@draayemc) if you are interested or someone you know may be interested.

ACS Athletics Summer Camps:

Basketball Camp (June 27-30): Information and to sign-ups.

Volleyball Camp (July 25-28): Information and to sign-ups.