TCA Times
Wayne Central Middle School Newsletter
APRIL 2018
Dear Middle School Families,
Happy spring! It certainly has been a long winter and hopefully the weather will catch up to the calendar soon. We have recently completed spring conferences. We thank you for your time and dedication to your children and our schools. As we move through the spring many outside activities will be starting for children and it can become difficult to remain focused on their academics. Please continue to support your child with his/her homework, assignment, and projects.
Sincerely,
Holly Armitage 5th/6th Grade Principal
Derek DeMass 7th/8th Grade Principal
APRIL'S CALENDAR OF EVENTS
4/11 NYS ELA exams
4/12: NYS ELA exams
7:00pm Board of Education Meeting @ DO
4/25: 7:00pm Board of Education Meeting @ DO
NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY 2018
Eva Tennity
Owen Doran
Izak Krajeski
Marley Hewitt
Kyle Tomaselli
Alec Gilbert
Mikayla Venti
Michael Clark
Gianna DeVito
Sydney Kachmaryk
Gretchen Pickering
Meaghan Harvey
Jacob Wilson
Isabella DePascale
Cael Lawson
Jonathan Powers
Sean Nellis
Matt Bedford
Madeline Hillen
Isabella Annesi
Lauren Hill
Danniele Pierson
Brandon Harrington
Gianna Ryndock
Jordan Ford
Chloe Harisis
Kayla VanBortel
Nick Gillette
Elizabeth Haak
Abi Sullivan
Elandria Brzezniak
Taryn Mascioletti
Emily Pratt
Anthony Vacca
Rowan Constable
Austin Kelsch
William Frank
Julia Landon
Anna Malbone
Tyler Senecal
Madison Parker
Tori Mueller
Courtney Pettit
Grace French
Paige Lasher
Colton Melos
Alek Reynolds
Olivia Huber
Aidan Mills
Emma Schumaker
Justice Kubida
Jack Curtis-Braley
Arianna Venture
Mara Booth
Kylie Brooks
Katie Cieplinski
Alyssa Hadcock
Marlee Ostrowski
Aliyah Giudice
Rachel Dennie
Savannah Steurrys
Molly Rosenzweig
Megan Coene
Student Council
The tragic events on February 14th at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida have been on everyone’s minds. In response, students across the country and those here at Wayne Middle School planned student led activities to support the safety in our schools movement on March 14th. As a middle school, we met with our Student Council to hear from them as to how they were thinking of responding. We are constantly impressed with their desire to lead!
All were encouraged to wear orange; the color orange symbolizes the value of human life. We took part in a school-wide moment of silence at 10:00 am to honor victims of school violence. Following the moment of silence, students had the opportunity to contribute to a school-wide chain by adding their name and how they individually can make our middle school a safer and more inclusive place. We feel these activities brought about reflection, discussion and eventual change.
We invite you to stop in the cafeteria the next time you visit the Middle School and see our chain proudly displayed as a symbol of unity.
5th and 6th Grade Student Recognition: Self-Discipline
5TH GRADE ACADEMIC AWARD:
Madalyn Malbouf (Martin); Gracin Kubida (Coon/Reynolds); Fiona Ross-McGuire (Dysart); David Barnhart (Liseno); Madison Mayeau (Shoemaker); Michael Grasso (Welch); Braden Osborn (Bristol); Katie Mueller (Wells)
5TH GRADE CHARACTER COUNTS:
Alana Nolan (Herendeen); Brayden Herbster (Coon/Reynolds); Joshua Ebert(Dysart)
Araya Olszowy (Liseno); Aidan LeStrange (Shoemaker); Derek Cregin (Welch); Iliana Surowiec (Bristol); Kaylee Duyssen (Wells)
6TH GRADE ACADEMIC STUDENT OF THE MONTH:
Kasey Eaton (Eaton); Cameron Crawford (Gray); Gage Fiaretti (Martin);
Jessica Ficarra (Finley); PJ Treasure (Herrick); Trinity Surowiec (Molisani)
6TH GRADE CHARACTER STUDENT OF THE MONTH:
Jaylyn Gramz (Eaton); Aziliz Brumley (Gray); P.J. Ostrowski (Herrick); Sophia Vereecke (Martin); Nick Tramacera (Finley); Casey Thomas (Clemons); Michael Prentice (Molisani)
7th & 8th Grade Student Recognition: March
7TH GRADE STUDENTS:
Marley Hewitt: Marley works very hard to be successful. She is very involved in her academics, student council, sports and extremely helpful to all. She is an initiator and a positive achiever!
Mikayla Venti: Mikayla always hands assignments in early and will ask many questions to make sure she understands what she did wrong and makes corrections.
Jordan Ford: During sports seasons, Jordan prefers to do his homework in a classroom setting rather than in Sports Study Hall just being social.
Jacob Wilson: Jacob always does homework, prepares well for tests, tries to learn and practice more than the minimum in order to earn higher grades and asks questions if he doesn't understand.
Alek Reynolds: Alek always does his homework and prepares well for tests. Tries to learn and practice more than the minimum in order to earn higher grades. Also asks questions when he doesn't understand something.
Tyler Senecal: Tyler always asks for clarification to make sure he understands an assignment. He also is willing to stay during lunch or after school to ensure he is successful.
8TH GRADE STUDENTS:
Daniel Merrell: Daniel shows self-discipline in and out of the classroom. He shows great time management skills, and always makes sure his school work is finished before he participates in sports and other leisure activities. His effort is ingrained in his daily routine.
Hannah Elliott: Hannah's motivation is top notch. She is dedicated to her studies and always stays on top of her tasks. Keep it up!
Ronnie Cassano: Ronnie is always working hard and has a positive attitude. Even when something is difficult, Ronald pushes through.
Madilyn Mudge: Madilyn has a wonderful work ethic and is constantly persevering through problem solving in math as well as working continuously to improve her mathematical skills.
Jennavieve Schrage: Jennavieve has a 100 average in German. She also received a 100 on her midterm. Her dedication, perseverance and self-discipline is admirable. These character traits are great cornerstones for future success.
Scott Frederick: Scott moved his seating location in the cafeteria after realizing that some of the boys at his lunch table were not behaving in a manner that exemplified a very high level of character.
5th Grade News
ELA--In Mrs. Herendeen’s ELA classes, we are working our way through Unit 4, which has the theme of The Art of Storytelling. We are enjoying some great fictional stories, while we are also doing fictional writing. We have done our own comic strips and soon we will be doing an autobiography about an important event in our life. With grammar, we continue to work on parts of speech, such as adjectives and adverbs.
ELA--In Mrs. Welch’s ELA classes, we are working our way through Unit 4, which has the theme of The Art of Storytelling. We are enjoying some great fictional stories! We recently finished our Opinion Writing pieces, and will be starting some fiction Guided Reading books. Fiction writing will occur later in this unit as well. With grammar, we continue to work on parts of speech, such as adjectives and adverbs.
In Math, we continue to work through Unit 8 which is a long one. This unit involves conversions, volume, and exploring the properties of geometric shapes. The kids now have several different formulas and strategies on hand to help them be successful. The unit test will be in mid April. Please continue to check to make sure your child has completed their nightly homework. The more repeated practice they have, the easier the new concept becomes!!! Keep up the great work!
Social Studies - Students in SS classes will be transitioning from the study Native American Indians to the study of Canada. We will be looking at the history and geography of Canada, as well as how global current events are impacting the country. Our classes will also be comparing and contrasting the United States with our neighbors to the north. Please remind your child that a pencil and headphones/earbuds are a requirement for SS class!
Science classes (Martin) are exploring our infection detection unit where they are learning about viruses and bacteria and how they are spread. They will eventually study evidence of an outbreak at a fake school to try to determine what the disease is, who started the disease (patient zero), and exactly how it spread to everyone.
Science (Liseno) During the next month of school our class will be investigating how scientists study the respiratory, circulatory, muscular and skeletal systems of the human body, and also be introduced to genetics. Students will being doing some simple physical exercises to see how our different systems react to each other throughout the unit.
6TH GRADE NEWS
Social Studies: Students in 6th grade SS have been exploring ancient Egypt. We have looked at why Egypt has been called the "gift of the Nile," and how the world's longest river has contributed to such an amazing civilization. Students have taken time to learn a little bit about life along the Nile, the power of the Pharaohs, and how a very distinct social structure impacted everyday life. Upon returning from Easter break, the kids will be completing a mini project that takes them exploring (online) underground in the Valley of the Kings. They will each be assigned a tomb in the valley to “excavate.” By the end of April, we will be leaving the ancient river civilizations of the Middle East and moving to the classical civilization of ancient Greece.
ELA: Spring has sprung and with it comes NYS testing. After we return from April break, students will have an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned when they complete the NYS Test. Please remember that students will need a good night’s sleep, nutritious breakfast, #2 pencils, eraser, and highlighter. And good news - this year’s NYS Test will be 2 days instead of three as in the past. Best of luck to our 6th graders!
Flashback from February: ELA classes have begun a new unit, “Meaningful Voices” focusing on themes of literature, conflict, tone and mood, and analyzing arguments. Students will continue their work with vocabulary and figurative language. While increasing these skills, students will participate in the novel study, Flush by Carl Hiaasen and read related nonfiction articles, poems, and short stories. Research will come into play towards the end of the unit as students use their own research to create a project that will “Change the World” - or at least their own corner of it.
Science: Science classes have started a short three-week unit on plants. Topics of this unit include plant parts and functions, photosynthesis, respiration, and different plant tropisms. The unit involves many hands-on learning activities, such as dissecting a celery stem, observing plants grown in the light and in the dark, and conducting starch tests with iodine on different plant parts.
Health: Students recently finished our study of the primary ‘Gateway’ drugs - tobacco, alcohol and marijuana. We critically examined short and long term effects of each and how they often lead to the use of other more potent drugs. Most importantly, students should have initiated a conversation at home by completing the “Prevention Starts When We Start Talking”. Presently, students are working in groups to complete the research for our upcoming Personal Health & Safety Projects. Topics include: sun safety, water safety, sports & recreation safety, gun safety, babysitting basics, fire safety, child abuse, first aid, internet safety, and preventing abduction. Group Google Docs of research are due before Spring Break and the creation of Google Slide presentations will begin when we get back.
Math:
Topic 7 focuses on geometry. Students will practice finding area, surface area, and volume.
Please refer to pictures below.
7th Grade News
Social Studies- We are moving west! Students are examining how the U.S. acquired western lands and whether manifest destiny harmed or helped more Americans.
Science- How can parents who have brown hair have a child with blonde hair? Can you predict if your children will be able to roll their tongue? Using their understanding of genetics, students will be able to answer this and many other questions that relate to tracing patterns of inheritance and predicting future outcomes of offspring.
Band- we had great All county and Music in Our Schools Month concerts, and the spring is a busy time in the band room. Students had 2 audio/video assessments to record and submit before the concert. Many are late. They can still be submitted before the end of the marking period.
Save the date!! Tuesday May 15th is TCA Night at the Redwings! Our 7th and 8th grade band students will be performing the National Anthem. Ticket order forms will be coming home soon.
Our final concert of the year will be Tuesday, May 29th, the day we return from the long Memorial Day weekend. Please make sure to put that on your calendars.
Health: We are moving onto our Sexuality unit in health. All 7th grade students were sent home with a blue parent letter that was supposed to be read and signed by parent/guardian. We will be starting out with expectations of class behavior during this unit and then moving onto the cognitive, social, emotional and physical changes that happen during puberty. We will review the puberty information from last year before starting anything new. I will also plan another food lab to happen soon, so the kids should be excited for that!
Spanish 7: Work on the school unit continues, and some students still need more practice telling time on an analog clock. They are confusing the minute and hour hands. Please practice that at home whenever an opportunity presents itself.
We have also been talking about school subjects and sharing our feelings about them. This is usually enjoyable for the 7th graders. Before finishing the unit, we’ll learn vocabulary related to classroom objects and school personnel. Due to the timing of the spring break, the unit test will not be given until after we return in April.
Math 7: We have been briefly reviewing geometry, since the New York Math State test is scheduled for May 1st and 2nd. We are starting our units on Probability and Statistics. Please remind your child to be watching and taking notes for the videos that are being posted on Google Classroom.
8th Grade News
ELA 8 Smith:
To Kill a Mockingbird is complete! Students wrapped up the novel with a riveting socratic seminar. They questioned why the author used certain literary devices and discussed the purpose of reading the entire text. This enthralling experience concluded the unit and students are now reading texts on the Holocaust.
Additionally, with the introduction of 1:1 chromebooks, students worked on sending out proper emails and the format of what an email should look like.
Finally, Students have the choice of reading three different books: Yellow Star, Night, and Someone Named Eva. These three books set the stage for a unit that was the favorite of last year’s students.
Algebra: Students are currently solving quadratic equation by factoring, completing the square and also by using the quadratic formula. Soon we will begin to take a look at the graphic representations of a quadratic function and why we need more than just linear functions to model many real world situations. To continue our preparation for the regents exam in June students have 20 regents review questions due the 20th of April.
Social Studies: The Great Depression is ending with a culminating essay. Students have explored the causes, the conditions and are now learning about FDR’s solutions to the Great Depression. They have been sharing their research skills on Padlet. Next up is WWII.
Band: Congratulations to our 8th grade All County Band members on a fantastic performance. Students need to submit their concert music assessment by next week. They need to submit a performance of the excerpt they have been given from each of the 2 concert pieces, and either attach a video to the assignment in Google Classroom or submit their best “take” on the Smartmusic software.
Math 8: This month we concluded our study of Geometry. We discussed many different career paths that Geometry is required. If you have a job that uses Geometry, I encourage you to share the applications with your child. We are moving into a unit on Exponents. Our world population is growing exponentially. Understanding exponents help us to make predictions for the future and hopefully discover solutions before they become a problem. Check out http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ to see how this growth is calculated and modeled. In addition exponents are used to describe very small and very large numbers. Check out http://scaleofuniverse.com/ to learn about the magnitude of our universe and how the powers of 10 helps us to grasp the extremes of our world.
Physical Science: Students have completed their Chemical Reactions unit and are now studying Energy. We will identify the 6 main forms energy takes; debate pros and cons of energy sources such as fossil fuels, solar panels, and wind turbines; and learn how each form of energy transforms into other forms via devices and processes including batteries, nuclear power plants, and photosynthesis. We will take a closer look at Thermal Energy and how heat is transferred by Conduction, Convection, and Radiation. Also included in this unit are lessons about the Electromagnetic Spectrum and Wave Phenomena such as light and sound. Very importantly, the Coach review book project will be introduced right before Spring Break. The Coach work will integrate all science disciplines in preparation for 9th grade Regents courses, and will count for most of students’ Q4 grades. As always, please stay on top of your son/daughter’s progress using online resources such as schooltool and email Mrs. Becker with any questions or concerns.
Spanish: Students have finished the clothing and shopping unit. Our next unit is El Fin de Semana, or The Weekend. In this unit we will learn how to extend, accept, and decline invitations. We will talk about going to the movies, chores, celebrating special events and other activities that we do on the weekends. We will focus on the communicative function of persuasion in this unit as students will try to convince one another to partake in certain weekend activities.
8th Grade Health Modules
The third required Health Module for 8th graders is available online and is due April 11th, the Wednesday after Spring Break. The time commitment is approximately one hour. Students will be watching three videos from http://drugfreeworld.org/ without fast forwarding. They will use the information from these videos to answer questions in Classroom. There is also a video from Brain Pop that includes a vocabulary worksheet. This can be done in Classroom or hand written and handed in to Mrs. Kittleson for approval. Finally, since this unit is about drugs and prevention, a big part component is family conversation. Refer to the handout that offers conversation Hot Topics. Parents or guardians should have open discussions about drug use and family expectations, sign that they have had these conversations, and return to Mrs. Kittleson. The handouts have been given to each student at school but are also included here. If you feel that the completed forms may become lost, feel free to mail them to the school or scan and email to: dkittleson@waynecsd.org.
Students that do not meet these expectations will be asked stay after school to complete the assignments. Completion of the 4 modules is mandatory - especially if the student plans to participate in the 8th grade trip to Washington, DC. A letter explaining the modules and due dates was sent home in September. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Mateo, Mr. Molisani, or Mrs. Kittleson. There will be one final module that will be due June 15th. Please encourage your student to not wait until the last minute.
Counselor's Corner
This past month seems like we have been focused on health and safety as our School Counseling Department has provided tools, resources, and workshops for our 5th and 6th graders in the areas of growing and changing and personal safety. I was pleased to find out that our very own library has fantastic and informative books if your child wants to know more about growing and changing and how to deal with all those physical and emotional changes and perhaps challenges that go along with growing up!
Debra Ortiz-Pardi, a community educator from the local office of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children gave a safety workshop to all of our 5th and 6th grade students to remind them about being aware and following the 4 general safety rules . We teach these rules each year beginning in Kindergarten. These rules are:
· CHECK FIRST before going anywhere or whenever you change your plans.
· TAKE A FRIEND as you are always safer in a group
· SAY NO to danger, random adults asking for help, people offering you things, etc.
· TALK TO TRUSTED ADULTS if you ever feel that you have been put in an uncomfortable situation, someone is taking advantage of you, or you need help dealing with something.
You can get all the information that was shared as well as resources for you and your child at www.kidsmartz.org
Talk2Prevent https://talk2prevent.ny.gov/parent-toolkit
The Talk2Prevent website gives parents the tools to talk to your children about the risks of underage drinking. The toolkit for parents includes:
· Conversation starters
· Ways to text your child about keeping safe
· List of warning signs for underage drinking
· An agreement that both parent and child can sign to establish a clear understanding of family rules around underage drinking
The Talk2Prevent website also has resources for community prevention coalitions and links to more than 400 town and county level alcohol prevention and treatment service providers across New York State.
TCA Night at the Red Wings
TCA Night at the Red Wings!
May 15th, 2018
7:05 pm game, Redwings vs. Syracuse Sky Chiefs
The TCA 7th and 8th grade band members will be performing the National Anthem.
Ticket order forms will be coming home soon!
It is a T-shirt Tuesday, and the first 500 fans in the gate get a free Redwings t-shirt.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 07:00 PM
Frontier Field, Plymouth Avenue North, Rochester, NY, USA
NOTE FROM THE NURSE
To all my 8th Graders attending the Washington, D.C. trip this May please use this medication form attached below to obtain permission from your child's Pediatrician for both Rx and over the counter medication your child may need during this trip.
NO PREVIOUS MEDICATION ORDERS FROM THIS SCHOOL YEAR WILL BE VALID.
Please call me if you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter.
Annie Harris, R.N.
Middle School Nurse
Wayne Central Middle School
315-524-1084
TC Armstrong Middle School
Email: ddemass@waynecsd.org
Website: http://wayne.k12.ny.us/Middle.cfm?subpage=83211
Location: 6076 Ontario Center Road, Ontario, NY, United States
Phone: (315) 524-1080
Twitter: @WayneCentralMS