General Announcements
Dates to know:
Dates for your calendar:
Oct 17: ACSEF Annual Dinner
Oct 21 & 22: Parent Teacher Conferences
Oct 23-25: No School, Staff in-service and teacher’s convention
Upcoming Chapels/Small Groups for 6-8 (Chapel meets 8:15-8:45 in the Commons)
Oct 11: SG 01
Oct 18: Special verses/Plumb Bob Chapel given by teachers
Oct 25 (no school)
Fifth Grade:
Art: 5th grade classes are all working on different parts of the printmaking project.
Bible: This week in Bible the Israelites made it out of Egypt! We also practiced the 10 Commandments (due Fri Oct 18) and began studying Leviticus.
History: Students will be celebrating their learning with a geography test next week! Here is the study guide.
Language Arts: These students are poets! Ask your child to share his/her survival poetry with you. Important upcoming dates: The first spelling test will be Fri Oct 18. Students should continue to read their survival story at home also. It should be finished by Mon Oct 28.
Math: We just finished up our unit on Multiplying Whole Numbers. Next week we will begin learning division. What is the difference between a dividend, divisor, quotient, and remainder? These are just a few things to come!
Music - Band: We are moving quickly through our books - it’s awesome to see and hear. :) Regular practice really helps - encourage your student to give you a concert - we have a lot of songs we know!
Music - Choir: Lots of work on treble or bass clef, music racer, singing/listening/doing.
Music - Orchestra: We are moving along quickly through our book and focused on pages 20 and 21 - new note G . Be prepared to play numbers 38 - 43!
Science: Students are writing letters from objects in the Solar System. They will have a test over our study of Earth & the Solar System (so far) on Fri, Oct. 18. A review will be handed out on Monday. We will review in class, but students are encouraged to use the review along with their Science notebook to study and prepare at home as well.
Spanish: Our new story has us exploring all types of sports and sport words. We are practicing our new words with various games and activities.
Sixth Grade:
Devotion Sign-up: Sign up to lead devotions for our 6th Graders on a Thursday (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!
Weekend Chicken Checkup: Check to to see when your family is on the schedule for weekend chores. If you have a conflict on your assigned weekend, please work in advance to switch with another family. Click here for the instructions for Weekend Chicken Checkup. Questions? Contact Bill Hoo at 616.250.0089
Art: All 6th grade classes are working on visually displaying how the artist sees God in their life. Please check moodle and the homework calendar for homework and project due dates.
Bible: This week we learned about Jesus showing self-control, humility, and being prayerful. Students put these characteristics into practice through a number of activities. We also spent time in worship.
History: Students finished and presented their group landform projects this week. Ask your student what they learned! Next week, we will celebrate our learning with a geography test.
Language Arts: The 6th graders will receive “weekly work” starting next week. The weekly work will include a short passage that students need to read over each night and answer a few questions. Next week’s questions will focus on citing evidence. It is important that the students refrain from answering all of the questions in one sitting, but re-read the passage on different days. In addition, students will practice specific skills using IXL or grammar sheets along with some spelling or writing practice. Please note these important dates:The first spelling test will be Fri Oct 18. Students should continue to read at home. They will begin a project with that book on Mon Oct 28.
Math: We are finishing up our Chapter on Fractions, Decimals, and Percents. There will be a test next week Tuesday. Following the test we will be learning about Fractions.
Music - Band: We are almost done with our book - it’s awesome. Watch your email for news!
Music - Choir: “It is Well” projects were presented today (Oct 11). This past week was the 148th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. Ask your student how that fire relates to the story behind the song!
Music - Orchestra: We learned B flat , ½ steps from flat to natural and the F major scale and songs in the key of Fmajor. You practice pages 41 and 42 and I choose 3!
Science: 6th Graders have a test over our study of Living/Non-living classification and cells on Tuesday. A review sheet has been given out and can be found on Google Classroom for students to practice at home. Their Science notebooks will be helpful to provide information as they study.
Spanish: Students have completed their first Story Ask about a famous person who walks, runs, and sees another famous girl/boy...helping us focus on these action words in Spanish
Seventh Grade:
Art: 7th graders will be working on completing the painting of their sculptures and creating unique examples of lines. Please check moodle and the homework calendar for homework and project due dates.
Bible: Parents, thank you very much for letting your child their devotionals with you and giving them thorough, thoughtful feedback. The final drafts of the devotionals and their corresponding illustrations will be due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, Oct 15. On Monday, we will be sharing/doing devotions with elementary students - 7th graders will be leading. Later in the week, 7th graders will be studying different units depending on their teacher. Huttenga will be teaching about sermons and Meyaard will be teaching about prayer.
History: We are continuing our study of different climate zones next week. We are also practicing and practicing identifying different countries, rivers, and mountains around the world.
Language Arts: In the coming week, all 7th-8th grade students will be creating a reflection and report about their reading and spelling so far this year. Once they are finished, I’ll be requiring students to show the reports to parents, and I’ll request a signature by Friday, Oct 18. The students will do the same thing again at the end of the trimester, but I want students and parents to have insight about progress since PT conferences are around the corner. This report will reflect not only much of what we’ve been discussing in class and practicing at home, but also give a good indicator as to what can be expected in the LA standards section of the T1 report card. In the meantime, 7th graders will continue to focus on the monologue portion of their organism roadsign project, and we will have a quiz on some literary terms/concepts re: plot and conflict on Friday. Other weekly assignments and quizzes apply, please check the homework calendar for details.
Math - 7th Math: We will check our ratio and proportion skills with test on Monday. Students have been reviewing in many ways over the last 3 days.
Math - Pre-Algebra: Next week we will be finishing up Chapter 3 on working with fractions and rational numbers. A Chapter 3 test will likely be early the following week.
Music - Band: We are working on our solos for Nov 12. Ask for a mini concert and see how your student is doing. All the accompaniments are available online on Moodle. Do you play piano? Could you accompany some students live? We’d love to have your help!
Music - Choir: We started some choral-style music and also some classical listening exercises. The Moldau (by Smetana) and In the Hall of the Mountain King (by Grieg). Try listening at home via Youtube…or watch the LineRider of the Grieg piece. :) Ask your student about it.
Music - Orchestra: Continue the great work on your solos and duets. Ask for and mini concert!
Spanish: Our new unit contains review vocabulary so we will focus on a few ways in which verbs can change in spelling and meaning. Our unit is called “Sientate!” (Sit down!).
Eighth Grade:
Art: 8th graders have a printmaking quiz. Please study the chop and monogram notes on the google class room, the blue sheet on the printmaking tools, and the white sheet on how to mark a print. All presentations are available on moodle for further review. Please check moodle and the homework calendar for homework and project due dates.
BibleHutt: The 8th graders will be working on their Narnia & Reformation posters. The project will be due before teachers break for CEA conventions.
BibleVN: We are finishing up the book of Mark. A lot of great work was handed in for Matthew - - it’s been such joy to read their work.
History: We are in the middle of studying the American Revolutionary War. This past week we learned about the Declaration of Independence and early battles of the war. Next week we will focus in on one of the largest turning points of the war, the Battle of Saratoga.
Language Arts: In the coming week, all 7th-8th grade students will be creating a reflection and report about their reading and spelling so far this year. Once they are finished, I’ll be requiring students to show the reports to parents, and I’ll request a signature by Friday, Oct 18. The students will do the same thing again at the end of the trimester, but I want students and parents to have insight about progress since PT conferences are around the corner. This report will reflect not only much of what we’ve been discussing in class and practicing at home, but also give a good indicator as to what can be expected in the LA standards section of the T1 report card. In the meantime, 8th graders will re-group from the NHD outline and consider thesis statements, clean up bibliographies, and possibly parenthetical citations and direct quotes. Other weekly assignments and quizzes apply, please check the homework calendar for details.
Math - Geometry: Two column proofs have challenged some of us. We are working to improve our ability to explain/prove our thinking. Chapter 2 test is on Tuesday.
Math - Pre-Algebra: Next week we will be finishing up Chapter 3 on working with fractions and rational numbers. A Chapter 3 test will likely be early the following week.
Music - Band: We have a lot of music going all at once. Our festival performance will be Tue Nov 12. More details to come!
Music - Choir: We are listening to a variety of music including Gustav Holst’s The Planets and Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, also Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King (there is a cool LineRider on Youtube of this). We’ve also begun concert music as well.
Music - Orchestra: Work on the tough spots in your Ensemble music for Festival!
Spanish: Our new unit is called “Deportes” (Sports). We will be blending culture and vocabulary this unit to learn about sports played in Spanish speaking countries and how to talk about sports in Spanish.