The Latest News From Room 207
Teacher-Ms. Abigail Rigney
The Week of April 4, 2016
Advisory
- On Tuesday, March 22nd we held our 13th advisory session of the year. Advisors were given activities based on grade-level topics and themes. Below is a short description of what we did:
7th and 8th Grade
Communication skills/Building Blocks Activity
- This activity is designed to get students to understand the importance of every day communication and experience the limitations of one-way communication.
- Students were split in to small groups and instructed to build a Lego structure. As they were building, students needed to record directions on how to build their structure--it was up to a team of their peers to try to recreate it.
9th and 10th Grade
Time Management Activity
- The first part of this activity will ask you to write a few items on the board (feel free to change/add things to this list). Your group will need to write the order of how they would accomplish these tasks and determine how much time each item will take them to do.
- The second part of this activity will involve discussion questions that will require your students to think about how they balance the things they need to do with the things they want to do.
11th and 12th Grade
Decision-Making Skills Activity
- Description: Ask students to make a group decision concerning a highly charged, imaginary situation. Here's a short summary of the situation:
- “You are surgeons at a large hospital. Your committee must make a very important decision. Seven patients need a heart transplant. There is only one heart donor at this time. All of the patients are eligible to receive this heart. All are physically able. And all have compatible tissue and blood typing. Which patient would you choose to receive the heart? Why? Your committee must agree on the choice. (You may wish to inform students that patients who do not receive this heart will not automatically die. Some (not all) will probably survive until another donor is available.
- Tuesday, April 5th: Advisors will be provided with two different activities from the Teaching Tolerance curriculum that we are implementing this year. Advisors will have the opportunity to choose which on they feel will work best for their group. Check out the link below for some more information about the Teaching Tolerance curriculum:
- http://www.tolerance.org/
- Wednesday, April 27th: Worcester County Sheriff Lewis G. Evangelidis will present his Face2Face presentation to students and staff in grades 7-12. This new drug prevention program will give students an opportunity to see how drug use could impact their personal appearance.
- A link at the bottom of this page provides additional information about this presentation.
Senior Internship Program
- April 1st will mark the final day of regular classes for our senior interns. 4th quarter officially begins on Monday, April 4th, which means that is our interns first day on the job--good luck!
- The date has been set for senior internship presentations. All presentations will be done on Tuesday, May 24th between 1:30-4:30 in the high school KIVA.
Project Purple
- A reminder that Project Purple meets every Tuesday in Room 207--this club is open to all students!
- May 9th is quickly approaching! The week before Chris Herren visits, our Project Purple students will be helping us spread awareness about the dangers of substance abuse. One way we will do this is by creating a How Much Do You Really Know About Substance Abuse "quiz" that all students can take during lunch the week of May 2nd. Each completed quiz will be placed in to a drawing for Dunkin Donuts gift cards! Gifts cards have been generously donated by Country Bank.
- Beginning the week of March 28th, we will have "working" lunches in Mrs. Rigney's room on Days 1, 2 and 5.
Class of 2016
- The Senior v. Faculty basketball game was a big success. Although the faculty did prevail, the senior class had a great time. A big thanks to everyone that helped us make the event what it was.
- The date has been set for the senior class trip! We will be heading to Six Flags on Tuesday, May 17th.
- Senior Banquet is quickly approaching! This semi formal dinner dance is held the same day as Class Day, which is Friday, June 3rd. The location of the Senior Banquet this year is Old Sturbridge Village. More details on banquet and class day in the coming weeks.
Child Development and Health
Child Development
- It's hard to believe that we are beginning work on our 4th and final unit of the year...where did the time go?? For the next few months, we will be studying Psychosocial Development; our focus will be on how children grow emotionally during middle childhood.
- To kick things off, we will be studying the Neo-Piagetian stages of self-definition and exploring the factors that contribute to a child's self esteem. In the classroom, students will working in their journals and exploring an online photo gallery titled Toy Stories: Photos of Children From Around the World With Their Favorite Things (there is a link to the page at bottom of this newsletter).
This week in Child Development, students will be able to:
- Describe how self definition can evolve during middle childhood.
- Students will be able to explain how a child’s self esteem can be impacted by the ability to learn skills and become “productive” members of their community.
- Analyze how different family structures can impact psychosocial development.
9th Grade Health
- By now, well over 50% of students have "spent the night" with our infant simulator. As a follow-up to the actual simulation experience, students need to write a short, reflect essay outlining details of the experience.
- We've completed our lessons on the structures and functions of the reproductive system and have moved on to the stages of pregnancy and birth. We will then move on to discuss methods of contraception and pregnancy prevention.
This week in 9th grade health students will be able to:
- Describe normal and abnormal functions of the male and female reproductive systems.
- Explain the stages of the menstrual cycle as it relates to pregnancy prevention.
- Identify key developmental milestones that occur during each trimester of pregnancy.
8th Grade Health
- Our unit on Disease Prevention continues and most recently, included lessons on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Students learned how the disease is transmitted and, more importantly, how to prevent transmission. To conclude this topic, we explored the political and social impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the United States and around the world.
This week in class, 8th grade students will be able to:
- Explain how HIV/AIDS transmission can be prevented.
- Describe the role of epidemiologists and explain how they work to prevent disease transmission.
- Demonstrate their knowledge of common STI infections by presenting information to classmates.
7th Grade Health
- Over the past few weeks in health, students had the opportunity to practice some healthy coping skills--particularly, yoga! We've spent a significant portion of this class identifying stressors (or triggers), signs and symptoms of stress, and coping strategies--it was fun to get in to the gym and try something new! I
- The final part of our stress reduction unit will involve the use of the Disney Pixar film, Inside Out. After viewing the first 30 minutes of the film, students will be answering and discussing journal questions regarding their five "core" emotions. In the coming days, students will be creating their own Islands of Self. The purpose of these activities is to encourage students to think about how their emotions work together and sometimes conflict with each other.
This week in class, 7th grade students will be able to:
- Explain how emotions can impact perspective.
- Demonstrate understanding of their five core emotions.
- Describe their own Islands of Self and explain significant elements of their personality.
Grading Breakdown (for all Health classes)
Class Participation and Effort 20%
Homework 15%
In Class Assignments 25%
Quizzes 15%
Tests/Projects 25%
Email: ajannette@nbschools.org
Location: 10 New School Road, North Brookfield, MA, United States
Phone: 15088677131
Facebook: facebook.com/B
Twitter: @abbeyrigney
Senior vs. Faculty Game 2016
9th Grade Health
7th Grade Health
THP Runs
Although not the big dance (the marathon is two days later), I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to run in Boston for a great cause.