General Announcements:
Grades 6-8 Spiritual Retreat Sep 09: Join us in prayer as we anticipate this exciting and meaningful event for our middle school community.
Fifth Grade:
Band: We are off to a great start! Students should practice the first parts of their books, and also watch the DVD or the online videos that come with their new books. See the back of the book for the website and the code to access the online video and content. Watch your email for additional information. Full band both Tuesday and Thursday next week!
Bible: The 5th graders start the year reviewing the stories from the Pentateuch. Our stories this week reviewed the creation stories found in Genesis 1. Our first Bible memory will be memorizing Psalm 8 (it will be broken up into two pieces, and we will let the 5th graders know what piece is due when.)
Language Arts: We finished our “Melvin Bubble” writing and illustrated our own page to learn about each other more. This week we focused on dialogue writing and starting our “survival” books.
Math: We have been reviewing some of the concepts that will be built upon in 5th grade - the place-value chart, factors, and multiplication of multi-digit numbers to make sure that we are up to speed on everything. Next week we will move on to converting fractions into decimals, and vice versa.
Orchestra: We will have all cello players on Mondays. Violins and violas on Tuesdays and full orchestra on Thursdays. Call me or stop in the orchestra room if you have any questions or concerns!
PE: We will continue our soccer unit! Students will practice their soccer skills and put them to the test during game play. Students will also learn the rules of the game of soccer.
Sixth Grade:
Please remember to fill out the “Parent Homework” sheet and return it to your child’s homeroom teacher.
Parent Information Night is Thu, Sep 08. Please plan to attend one of the two 6th grade sessions. The schedule for the evening can be found in the Ada Connection.
Band: We are off to a great start! We have been reviewing what we learned last year and we are really enjoying hearing this band play song after song after song! Band meets Mon/Tue/Thu. Hooray for music!
Bible: Memory Work (Psalm 139:13-14) is due Thursday.
History: We have spent many days the past week getting our computers personalized and ready for school. We will be continuing our geography unit in the following weeks. Your child will need their 100 page spiral notebook by next Tuesday.
Language Arts: We have been working through 5-a-day LA skills and learning the importance of knowing synonyms. We are also reading Tuck Everlasting. Through this novel, we will study characterization, plot development, vocabulary, and figurative language (similes, metaphors, and personification).
Orchestra: We have orchestra every Mon.,Tue., and Thursday so remember to bring all books, music, bow and instrument on those days! We handed out book two-Muller Rusch. Also practice Doxology and For the Beauty of the Earth.
PE: We will continue our soccer unit! Students should be prepared to go outside. Students will practice their soccer skills and put them to the test during game play. Students will also learn the rules of the game of soccer. There will be test at the end of the unit.
Science: Students completed their first quiz of Middle School. They are ready to participate in lab safely. We will move on to a study of lab equipment and measurement.
Seventh Grade:
Algebra (7th): We will continue chapter 2 on Real Numbers. There will be no test this week.
Band: We have been reviewing lots of music, and have been listening to possible pieces we might like to learn this year. It is really fun to get back to playing together in a big group again!
Bible (Huttenga): Students will continue work on a creative project regarding this year’s school theme.
History: We have had a good week learning about why we study Geography and how we are going to study Geography. Next week in 7th grade history we will be learning about different types of maps and we will begin learning about some new geography vocabulary words.
Language Arts: Our first unit on short stories continues this coming week. We’ve discussed how conflict is not only a part of our daily lives, but present in all stories as well. We will begin discussing elements of plot and begin brainstorming our own short stories to pull together what we know.
PE: We will continue our soccer unit! Students should be prepared to go outside. Students will practice their soccer skills and put them to the test during game play. Students will also learn the rules of the game of soccer. There will be test at the end of the unit. The review sheet is posted on Moodle.
Pre-Algebra (Kiser): Our review of the “Language of Algebra - Ch 1” is almost complete. We will have a test over Chapter 1 on Thursday. A study guide is found on page 42 & 43 of the textbook.
Orchestra: Wow! We are off to a great start. Practice Doxology, For the Beauty of the Earth and Rondeau.
Science: We will begin Investigation 2 in our study of Diversity of Life. Students have set up a “minihabitat” as well as another visual tool we will use for this investigation.
Eighth Grade:
Algebra: Next week we will finish up Chapter 1 and prepare for a test at the end of the week.
Band: We are off to a great start. We are preparing for a special hymn concert and also for band festival. What a great group - - they are wonderful to work with!
Bible (Westrate): Students are creating and assembling a timeline of the Bible. We will then move on to a study of the Gospels.
Bible (Huttenga): Students will continue their unit on Christian allegory with their study of The Last Battle by CS Lewis.
History: We are looking at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Next week we will look at a couple of early battles including the Battle of Bunker Hill. We will also have a short quiz on Chapter 5 later in the week.
Language Arts: Reading, sources and notes: research is the name of the game for the early part of September as students continue to work diligently on the National History Day project. Students can expect class-long research sessions nearly every day this coming week as they compile information for the upcoming outline portion of the project. Parents, you will continue to receive more specific information from me via email. l
PE: We will continue our soccer unit! Students should be prepared to go outside. Students will practice their soccer skills and put them to the test during game play. Students will also learn the rules of the game of soccer. There will be test at the end of the unit. The review sheet is posted on Moodle.
Pre-Algebra Enhanced: We continue our review of the “Language of Algebra - Chapter 1”
Orchestra: We are off to a super start. Practice Rondeau and for the Beauty of the Earth.
Science: Our first unit is Planetary Science. We will spend time learning about some of God’s largest creations!