Sandwich Middle School Newsletter
February 2019
6th Grade News
February is here, and the Sixth Grade is excited to continue in 2019! We will bring in the 2nd half of the school year with many new topics. Students are also reading for Ozzie’s Reading Club which will allow them to earn a ticket to a Kane County Cougars game on April 16th. Students who earned the trip will get to not only go watch the noon game, but get a free hotdog, drink and souvenir. On Feb 15th, sixth grade will be having their annual Career Day where students will listen to eight presenters speak about their career and how schooling plays a large role in it. Students are always excited to hear about what people do at their jobs and gets them started in thinking about their future.
In Social Studies students will be doing a unit on Ancient Rome, and by the end of month will begin learning about the Middle Ages.
In Language Arts we finish up our novel, Bud, Not Buddy and learn about text structure.
In math will be finishing up our ratios unit, while AT and ACC will be diving into decimals, percentages, and fractions.
In resource math, the students will be working with understanding equations and inequalities.
In resource language arts, students will be working on the novel study THE CASTLE IN THE ATTIC as well as text structure.
In science we will be traveling back in time and exploring fossils.
Students of the month are McKenzie Schindler and Denim Tuymer! Keep up the great work!
7th Grade News
With January rolling to a close, we are focused on the growth of America in Social Studies. Having finished our study on the Jeffersonians, we are now ready to address the Jackson presidency. We will also examine the evolution of the modern political parties and the birth of Manifest Destiny.
In science, we are finishing up our Astronomy unit. We are finishing up with the moon and different moon activities. We will finish out the Astronomy unit with a group model project that will be completed in class.
As we begin the back nine of our school year in Language Arts, we will continue to develop new word strategies. Information text and sources will season our readings, as will our experiences with R.A.C.E. response exercises. This month we will analyze text structures, technical passages, and visual components of everyday passages. Yes, there is an art to reading those confusing directions and advertisements. As our writing experiences continue to expand, our expectations for proper grammar will increase, too. Be well!
In the math classes, we just finished up our unit on equations and inequalities. During this unit, the students learned how to solve one-step and two-step equations and inequalities. They also learned how to solve equations with rational number coefficients and how to work backward to problem solve. We are now starting on our geometry unit. During the first chapter of this unit, the students will learn how to classify angles and triangles. They will learn how to problem solve using the make a model technique. We will finish up this chapter by learning how to use scale drawings to solve problems, draw 3-D figures, and about cross sections.
In pre-algebra, we are starting our chapter on more equations and inequalities. During this chapter, the students will learn how to solve multi-step equations and inequalities and equations with variables on both sides. They will also learn how to solve equations for different variables and solving system of equations. We will then move on to our next chapter over graphing lines. During this chapter, the students will learn how to graph linear equations, find the slopes of lines, and how to use slopes and intercepts to graph. They will also learn how to use point-slope form, direct variation, graphing inequalities with two variables, and lines of best fit.
Our students of the month this time around are Richard Cabreja and Ashley Hintz.
8th Grade News
In language arts the students are busy preparing for the upcoming state tests. They are finishing the novel, The Cay, and will soon be starting the novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis. In science they are studying oceanography. In math, students are fully engaged in unit 4 – Graphing reflections, translations, and rotations on the coordinate plane. In history, students are learning about the factors that lead to WWII and what actions were taken throughout the world in response to events of WWII.
Reminder: The Illinois Assessments of Readiness is coming. This test will be just like the PARCC test that the students have taken in the past several years. Please make sure your son or daughter gets plenty of rest. A great breakfast to start the day is highly encouraged.
Please double check and make sure that all medical and conduct forms are turned in for those students who will be attending Washington, D.C. in February.
Students of the Month are Hailey Erikson and Cody Peterson. We are so lucky to have them as members of our team. They work hard every day, are always polite and always go that extra mile. We applaud your efforts and hard work.
Speech and Drama News
Speech & Drama I starts the quarter by giving a few quick speeches, discuss good audience qualities, and then gets into reading the play Arsenic and Old Lace. We will spend time reading the play, watching the movie, comparing the movie and the play, and discussing character. We learn about how plot diagrams work and apply that knowledge to another couple of plays. After that we work on presentations, focusing on how speeches are put together, vocal variety and communicating a message to an audience. This is done with many different types of presentations: presenting a story as a poem, a “Big Mac” speech, and an “I am” poem. If there is time the quarter will conclude with watching Singin’ in the Rain.
Speech & Drama II begins the quarter by reviewing complete sentences and subject/verb agreement. This leads us to a more thorough examination of speech introductions and conclusions. From there we go on to reading a play about a blind woman and how she defends herself against some nasty conmen. The play is called Wait until Dark and the movie stars Audrey Hepburn as Susy. From there everyone in the class moves on to presenting a “How To” speech utilizing a prop. After that we will turn out attention to presenting a dulogue or trilogue (similar to a monologue) and reading a play, Text This, that relates to both our anti-bullying initiative as well as reviewing plot diagrams from last year’s speech class. We will have an “I am” poem along with other speeches in class.
Speech & Drama III begins the quarter introducing a partner and then giving a much more detailed speech about three of our own memories. After that we will by reading Harvey, a wonderful play about a 6’3” invisible rabbit followed by the movie starring Jimmy Stewart. From there the class turns its attention to how to put on a play. We will look at set, costume, lights, sound, and special effects as well as the jobs of a director, house manager, stage manager, and actors. We will go on a field trip to see the backstage workings of a working theatre. Finally, we turn our new knowledge towards a play, The Foreigner, and make a few design choices of our own.
News from the LRC
The Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Award program will finish up this month. Students can continue to read and talk about the nominated books thru Friday, February 22nd. We will vote for a building wide winner at our voting party and the state-wide winner will be announced in March. Thanks again to the Sandwich Education Foundation for supporting and making the Caudill program possible!
The results of the LRC’s annual Tic Tac Toe tournament are in and the winner is: TYLER LISSMAN. After beating his sister, Erin, in an earlier round Tyler fought a hard battle against Luigi Colin in the championship and after many scratches Tyler won it all.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all and here’s hoping the weather is more “loving” to us all in February.