Poland Middle School Newsletter
October 2017
Monthly Message from the Principal Team
Welcome to the first ever Poland Middle School grades 5-8 newsletter! We had an absolutely wonderful start to the school year! During the months of August, September, and October we enjoyed getting to know our students by hosting meetings, visiting classrooms, and being present in the hallways.
We enjoyed meeting many of you at Open House and the support given to the students at the start of the year. We held class expectation meetings for each grade where we discussed the importance of making deposits in other people’s lives, speaking up, and getting involved in the numerous activities Poland Middle School has to offer.
Students are getting used to the routines and have become very comfortable navigating the halls and making their way to classes. Additionally, students are getting to know each other through various team building activities during Advisory time.
We loved starting the year with our students and look forward to the year together!
Academics
Sports
Advisory
Classroom Happenings
Math
In fifth grade math, we are concentrating on decimal place value, reading and writing decimals, rounding decimals, writing decimals in word form, standard form, and expanded form, and problem-solving using decimals in real-life situations like races, distances, and measurement. In sixth grade math, we are concentrating on fluently dividing by double digits using standard algorithm form, using compatible numbers to estimate, determining what to do with remainders in real-life problem solving, and turning fractions into decimals and percents. In the 7th grade math classes, students are developing an understanding of ratios and proportional relationships. This unit is a very important building block in mathematics for your student. The students can apply this unit to everyday life. For example, modifying recipes, comparing costs at grocery and clothing stores, deciding how much material you may need to make clothing, or cover a floor with carpeting are just a few real-world examples we will investigate in class this month. Mrs. Hohloch’s 8th Grade Math students began the year by reviewing foundational concepts such as operations with integers, fractions, and mixed numbers as well as absolute value and order of operations. These basic math skills are so important and will be part of the curriculum throughout the entire year and beyond. Currently, students are working with the idea of the real number system as rational and irrational numbers. They are learning how to estimate irrational numbers into rational approximations in order to compare and order them. Soon, students will be moving into the concept of rigid and non-rigid transformations on the coordinate plane to show congruency and/or similarity. In Mrs. McMahon’s 8th grade math class we are in the world of Geometry. We are learning about rigid and nonrigid motions and how rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations can effect 2-dimensional figures. We move from the idea of figures coinciding, to proving congruent figures, and proving similar figures. Students have been participating in hands on activities to help make transformations come to life. Mrs. Hohloch’s Algebra students started the year by exploring several types of functions such as linear, exponential, square root, absolute value, and inverse variation. They learned a little bit about a lot of concepts and will spend the remainder of the year breaking down those concepts to gain a much deeper understanding of each. Students have also been learning the difference between equations that represent functions and those that are not considered functions. Currently, they have been tapping into prior knowledge about linear equations as they explore more deeply into how to represent linear functions in various ways such as a table of values, an equation, a graph, or a situation. Students are working within teams to become the thinkers, communicators, and problem solvers of the future.
English Language Arts
Poland Middle School has a cross-school-district book club serving students in grades 5-7. More than two dozen PMS 5th and 6th graders have read “Refugee” by Alan Gratz over the past month and prepared to discuss the beautifully woven stories of three children seeking refuge at different times in history. Our students will meet with students from Canfield and Columbiana middle schools at the Panera on Market St. We’re expecting about 40 students all together and half a dozen teachers from the three schools.
The project started last spring when Mrs. Sullivan and Mrs. Rogers from Columbiana Middle School got together at a teacher workshop and invited students to read and discuss “The Girl Who Drank the Moon” by Kelly Barnhill. The students have met at various coffee shops over the summer to discuss other selections.
Science
Social Studies
5th Grade-Is currently studying the geography of North America. Students are identifying important physical features like the Mississippi River, The Rockies Mountains, The Andes Mountains, The Grand Canyon, and other important natural features. Students are studying how these unique environments impacted the indigenous populations in North America as well as European colonists.
6th Grade-Students are exploring geography by using the five themes of Geography. location, place, human environment interaction, movement, and regions are all being used to help students better understand the world around them. Students will be working in stations on each theme to demonstrate their knowledge of these themes and how they impact the people that live in these locations.
7th Grade Greek Civilization-7th graders are currently studying Ancient Greece. Students just completed studying the geography of Ancient Greece and its impact on Greek civilization. Students created posters that illustrated the effects of geography on the people of Greece. Students will begin studying the cultural aspects of Greek Civilization with a focus on the religion of Greece. The unit in Greece will culminate with a project on Greek Mythology.
8th Grade-8th Grade is currently studying European Colonization of North America. Students are analyzing primary documents like the Mayflower Compact. Students are evaluating the impact these historic documents had in shaping America at the time and the lasting impact and influence that these documents still have today.
Specials Spotlight: Art
5th graders are currently studying 5 of the 7 Elements of Art-Color, shape, line, value. and space. We are also working on creating foreground, midground. and backgrounds to landscapes to help create depth. To help them remember all of that information, we have been working on Old Victorian homes/Haunted Houses. Everyone is almost done coloring their pictures and will be ready to paint before long!!
6th graders started off the year with My Name project. It is a fun way for the students to express themselves through art. The goals for this project was for the students to learn how to complete a piece of artwork, assess their own work and learn how to refine it until it is completed. This is sometimes a hard skill for artist at this age to learn because they often stop a piece of art too soon.
The skills that the students are learning in 5th and 6th grades will help them not only become better artist but they are also life skills. Never give up and keep going. Revise, revise, revise!!!
School Counselors
In the month of October, success class has been learning the difference between a conflict and bullying. They have learned the difference between tattling and telling/reporting, communication styles, body language, and 4 ways to be an upstander.
The classroom guidance lessons for 7th & 8th grade students have been about bullying and the effects name calling and “roasting” can have on other students. They’ve discussed strategies to stand up to bullying and ways to show empathy.
The week of October 16-20 is Say Something Week. On October 17, a leader from Sandy Hook Promise came to our school to talk about the importance of speaking up if you hear of someone who is talking about hurting him or her self or someone else.
The week of October 23-27 Poland Middle School is celebrating Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week®, the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation, reaching millions of young people each year. It is an ideal way for people and communities to unite and take a visible stand against drugs and to support healthy lifestyles. Students in grades K-8 will participate in the following themes: Monday's theme is “Your future is key, so be drug free!” and students and staff are to wear red. Tuesday's theme is Winners Don’t Do Drugs, Wear your favorite team apparel. Wednesday's theme is “Be bright and say no to drugs--wear neon colors!” Thursday's theme is “Show your passion and say no to drugs--dress in what makes you unique”. Friday's theme is “Wear Poland Pride and be drug free!”
On October 31st, we are celebrating National Misfit Sock Day and Mix It Up so No One Eats Alone Day. Students and staff are encouraged to wear mismatched clothing to celebrate our differences and individuality. At lunch, students will be sitting according to the number they pick as they are walking into the cafeteria for lunch. There will be conversation starters on the table and Junior Leadership students will be helping students converse.
Clinic Information
At any time within the school year if there is any vision or hearing concern, parents are welcome to call Holly LeFoer at extension 37613.