General Announcements
Book Fairs – We have decided to extend the Book Fairs through the weekend. Hop online and check about what books are available!
JLG (Junior Library Guild) offers hardcover books starting at $5 that are shipped to your home.
Follett is 80% paperback books and their orders are shipped to school.
5th Grade
Rice Week: Rice Week is next week (Nov 16-20). Please make sure your student packs a bowl and spoon each day, along with veggies and fruits for snacks/sides.
Water Walk: The Water Walk is Nov 24. Please make sure your child has an empty gallon jug with a handle to bring to school for the walk.
SEED Market: SEED money went home with your child today. Please make sure that you find their envelope if you signed up for SEED money. Be sure to get started on making products at home. In addition to the products, your child will need a sign with his/her business name and logo. SEED Market is Fri, Dec 04.
Art: Printing is the name of the game in art this week and next week. Many wonderful prints are being created in a rainbow of colors.
Bible: This week we continued to read A Long Walk to Water. We also discussed world hunger in preparation for Rice Week next week. A reminder that 10 pts worth of justice verses are due Fri, Nov 20.
History: Students completed an ABC poem displaying their understanding of the Arctic Region. Next week, they will consider how the Great Plains location affected native peoples’ sources of food, shelter, clothing and traditions.
Language Arts: This week students continued to read A Long Walk to Water, learned to spell words commonly misspelled in other subjects, and practiced determining the central ideas and main purposes of informational texts. Next week, students will continue reading their Global Awareness books and informational texts.
Math: There will be a test next week Wednesday on Dividing by two-digit divisors. The students took a quiz on Thursday, and I noticed that many struggled on estimating. We have practiced this more, but please work through some of the estimation problems found on the review sheet over the weekend. There will be another quiz on Monday.
Music - Band: Be sure your student has a regular practice schedule at home. They will need your help with time management - thank you! They are filling out a practice calendar, it’s due Nov 19.
Music - Choir: Edmund Fitzgerald - the ship, the song, the project. Projects are due next week.
Music - Orchestra: Keep working in the book, especially pg 20- 23, practice sheet is due at the end of the month.
PE: We just started up volleyball this week. We have been working on our skills of serving, passing, and setting. They will be playing games this next week using these skills.
Science: We’re studying water on Earth. This week we will consider the 3 forms of water and how it is recycled between each. We are also spending time thinking about and looking at technology that helps unlock the resource of fresh water for people all over the world.
6th Grade
SEED Market: SEED money went home with your child today. Please make sure that you find their envelope if you signed up for SEED money. Be sure to get started on making products at home. In addition to the products, your child will need a sign with his/her business name and logo. SEED Market is Fri, Dec 04.
Art: 6th graders are beginning a new project this coming week dealing with emotions. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.
Bible: This week we continued our unit on the characteristics of Christ. We focused on the traits of self-control and humility. After collecting evidence on how Jesus demonstrated these traits, we put the characteristics into practice ourselves.
History: We began our unit on Ancient Mesopotamia by exploring the geography and mapping the land. Next week, students will learn about Mesopotamian government.
Language Arts: This week we studied words from individualized spelling lists, learned about writing voice, practiced writing with vivid and descriptive words, and drafted our diary entries for our Tuck Narrative Writing Project. Next week we will revise and edit our diary entries.
Math: Thank you to those that brought in boxes for our “store”! Next week we will be learning about rates, tables, and graphs. Just a reminder that homework pages, notes, and videos can all be found on google classroom.
Music - Band: Practice records are due Nov 19. We are blazing through the books - and we started a swing song - super fun.
Music - Choir: We are blitzing theory, singing about the Edmund Fitzgerald and other songs too.
Music - Orchestra: Keep working on Fiddles and the March!
PE: We just started up volleyball this week. We have been working on our skills of serving, passing, and setting. They will be playing games this next week using these skills.
Science: We will have an open-resource test on Tuesday over our electromagnetic force unit. Students have been working on a review sheet on Google Classroom to help them prepare. Our next unit will be about weather and water on Earth.
7th Grade
Art: 7th graders are continuing work on their texture paintings this coming week. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.
Bible: In Bible class students presented their top five prayer element projects to class and everyone did great. We are now starting on our devotions unit, after a few days of note taking we will be completing a couple of different projects and presentations so students should be prepared for some work days coming ahead.
History: Students have just completed the final project that will appear in their Trimester-1 grades. We’ve spent the week enjoying, learning from, and reflecting on each other’s projects. Next week, we will be in our unit on the history of national development.
Language Arts: Students have been learning the routines and expectations for reciprocal reading, and this week they will have their first go at meeting (socially-distanced) with their small groups to read and discuss The Witch of Blackbird Pond while utilizing conversation stems. As more characters enter into this Puritan love-triangle, 7th graders will continue to make claims about characters and work together to provide textual evidence backing those claims.
Math - 7th Math: Students completed their test on percents and we have now moved into our next unit on rational numbers - specifically fractions. Next week we will focus on adding and subtracting fractions and students can expect a quiz late in the week.
Math - Algebra: We will begin a new chapter on Monday. We will spend time learning how to write linear equations using standard form, point-slope form and slope-intercept.
Math - Pre-Algebra: We have completed the Chapter 4 test on roots and square roots and are now moving into Chapter 5. This unit focuses on proportions (ratios, rates and conversions). This kind of math is very practical for everyday use and students have found the first couple of lessons to be logical work. We will take a bit more time on unit conversions and hopefully go a bit faster through the rest.
Music - Band: Concert dress for Nov 24 is Black/White. Does your student have a white top(not a T shirt) or sweater and a dark black pair of pants or a skirt….and dark shoes? This was on the list for school supplies - - - hopefully you already have these things! Email Mrs. VN with any questions about this.
Music - Choir: Erie Canal projects are due next week. “I’ve Got a Mule, and her Name is Sal” Great song. Bruce Springsteen sings it too - very nice live performance in Dublin on Youtube. So...since you cannot travel to Dublin right now….go see The Boss singing there. :)
Music - Orchestra: Keep working through the checklist and practicing hard! Also, check the handbook out to make sure that you have the appropriate uniform for performing, black jeans are allowed.
PE: We just started up volleyball this week. We have reviewed the skills of volleyball and have been applying them to volleyball style games.
Science: We are finishing up our unit studying Earth History today with a test. Next week we are starting Chemical Interactions!
8th Grade
8th Grade Pictures: Both baby and yearbook photos are due Dec 01. Please email or send in a copy of your students picture to Dani Buchanan (gro.naitsirhcada@nanahcubd). Questions? Read the details.
Art: 8th graders continue to work on their ceramic pots. The goal is to have the building of the ceramic pot completed by thanksgiving break. Please check the homework calendar for sketchbook and project due dates.
Bible Huttenga: This is our final week of Bible before switching over! In the coming week, students will continue and conclude their study and discussions of Lee Strobel’s The Case for Faith. They will also be submitting an essay on Tuesday, Nov 17, titled “My Articulation of Faith (So Far)”. At the end of the week, students will reflect on the trimester in a final FlipGrid Response
Bible Sloterbeek: We finished our look at the main messages in each of the 4 gospels this week, and students ended this time with some reflection. This coming week is our last together in Bible class, and students will (through a final project/paper) be synthesizing their thinking on our trimester of learning and making connections between our learning and their lives.
History: Students have just completed the final project that will appear in their Trimester-1 grades. We’ve spent the last few days enjoying, learning from, and reflecting on each other’s projects. Next week, we’ll move from units on historical context into our first unit on specifically American history -- colonialism in the Americas.
Language Arts: We’ve completed the outline for NHD. We will take a brief reprieve from research while those are graded, and focus fully on The Giver. Students have been learning the routines and expectations for reciprocal reading, and this week they will have their first go at meeting (socially-distanced) with their small groups to read and discuss the novel while utilizing conversation stems. Together, the groups will discuss the events and make connections to conflict, characterization, and dystopian society. How does conflict impact our lives?
Math - Algebra: We are investigating slope and looking into some real world applications of it.
Math - Geometry: We will be finishing up our chapter on transformations with a test on Wednesday. On Thursday we will begin studying congruent triangles.
Math - Pre-Algebra: We wrapped up our unit on roots and square roots with a test and began a new unit on proportions. Next week we will explore unit rates and conversions and students can expect a quiz by Friday.
Music - Band: Concert Dress, does your student’s black and white fit? Our performance is Nov. 24 - Students need to wear black/white this day (a pop of color is allowed too).
Music - Choir: The Fiddler on the Roof unit has begun.
Music - Orchestra: Keep working on our ensemble pieces for Solo and Ensemble November, 24. Check the handbook out to make sure that you have the appropriate uniform for performing, black jeans are allowed.
PE: We just started up volleyball this week. We have reviewed the skills and rules of volleyball and have been applying them to the game play.
Science: We have a test on Tuesday to complete our studies of Planetary Science. We will be diving into Waves after that!
Athletics
The boys basketball season is officially underway. Thank you to parents, players, and coaches for all the work and help so far this season.