Maple Avenue Middle School
January 2018 Newsletter
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Student of the Month: 7th Grader, Ryder Lane
The Lightning Team is proud to present Ryder Lane as Maple Avenue’s Student of the Month for January, 2018. Ryder is the son of parents Steven and Heather Lane and the younger brother of Jakob Lane. Our team chose Ryder because of his excellent work ethic in the classroom. He is always willing to help classmates, take a leadership role in groups and motivate others to do their best. Ryder is surrounded by peers who inspire each other to put forth their best effort all day, every day.
Ryder contributes to the Maple Avenue community in other ways as well. He was the winner of this year’s Geography Bee!! He just took a qualifying geography assessment which may allow him to go to Harrisburg in April to compete in the state competition. Ryder also was selected to participate in the “Pocket of Innovation” presentation that Maple Avenue put on for the IU featuring STEM activities in our PILOT program.
Outside of the classroom, Ryder has enjoyed playing football for 6 years and basketball and baseball for 8 years. When he is not busy being a three sport athlete, he can be found playing video games. In the future, Ryder hopes to pursue a career in neurobiology or maybe brain surgery. We know that whatever he chooses to do, Ryder will be successful!
Team Bolts: 6th Grade
ELA/ Social Studies:
Ms. Willet’s ELA/Social Studies classes are researching Southern and Eastern African countries to create a project using the Sutori website. The students are learning about the cultures, physical features, government, economy, and history of the countries in this region. Context clues and text evidence continue to be a focus this month. Classes are reading Hoot by Carl Hiaasen for literary elements studies.
In Mr. Baumgardner’s ELA and Social Studies class the students have finished reading, writing, and learning about Mount Everest. A novel titled Peak by Roland Smith helped the students experience the adventure of climbing Mt. Everest. Since then, the students are learning about a young woman named Malala who is inspiring people all over the world. Learning about Malala will drive the ELA and Social Studies skills and standards. Please check the 6th grade homework page to see what is happening in class and to see if there is any homework.
Mr. Crockett's students are wrapping up their Digital Textbook Unit in Social Studies, with focus on current events in their European country.
In ELA, students are finishing their second novel, either Where the Red Fern Grows or Hatchet. A text dependent analysis writing is coming up as a culminating activity for the Civil Rights and Harlem Renaissance Literature unit.
Math
Core 1-
Mrs. Raubenstine and Mrs. Koontz’s Core I Math will be starting out this new year finishing up Unit 1 focusing on Rational Numbers and Operations. Students will be moving on to our Algebra Unit in the upcoming weeks. Our focus will be expressions, simplifying, and solving equations.
Reminder: math homework is assigned each week and it is important that students are continuing to complete their homework as well as check their answers every Friday. Homework should also be organized within their spiral math notebook and all problems should be clearly labeled. Remember--homework can always be turned in for late credit! All homework pages are available on our team homework site as well as on Schoology.
Special Announcement from Mrs. Raubenstine: It is with mixed emotions that I am sharing this information with parents and students. Starting on January 23, I will be taking a professional development sabbatical leave. I will be out of the classroom for the remainder of the school year as I work toward a learning technology certification through McDaniel College. I will be replaced by Ms. Kirsten Ambrose, a former Littlestown student, who I am sure will do a wonderful job in the classroom.
Core 2-
Mrs. Koontz’s Core 2 math class will continue to work through expression, equations, and inequalities as we begin this new year. We will be having a unit test within the upcoming weeks and will be transitioning into our next unit- Ratios, Percents, and Proportional Relationships. The new year is a good time for a fresh start for some, and continued success for others.
Reminder: math homework is assigned each week and it is important that students are continuing to complete their homework as well as check their answers every Friday. Homework should also be organized within their spiral math notebook and all problems should be clearly labeled. Remember--homework can always be turned in for late credit! All homework pages are available on our team homework site as well as on Schoology.
Science:
In science, students will start the new year exploring earthquakes and volcanoes and learning about how weathering changes Earth's surface. There will be a chapter 4 comprehensive test this month, so students should continue to review all vocabulary and material from lessons 1, 2, and 3. To locate helpful review information for the test, students should go to chapter 4, and click on study guide. Here they will find many tools they can use to prepare for the test.
Team Aviators: 7th Grade
LIFE SCIENCE -
Students finished their Chapter 2 Test before the Holiday Break and now sliding through Ch. 3 and Ch. 4 at a pretty fast clip. Please make sure that your student is bringing home their Science Blue/Red Folder to study vocabulary and daily content. Reviewing vocabulary will increase their success with understanding content and making connections. Any student who is struggling with science needs to seek me out during ACE for extra help and after school on Tuesday and Fridays. Happy New Year!
ELA-
Students are wrapping up reading The Giver and Number the Stars. Students have been busy writing, editing, and revising their TDAs. We will continue our strong TDA focus through the end of quarter 2 in addition to completing our independent novel projects. Hope you like a challenge! Some stellar students have taken the challenge to complete more than one independent novel per term. These students are racing to the top of the charts to earn a spot on the Hall of Fame.
History -
Mission Accomplished! Students are saying goodbye to Japan! Students recently examined the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Our focus will now be on the religions of Judaism and Islam. Judaism may seem very familiar to many students because it had a tremendous influence on another religion they may have some knowledge of, Christianity.
Math -
In Unit 3, Proportional Relationships and Percents, students will learn how to analyze, recognize, and represent proportional relationships. The students will solve real-world problems and mathematical problems using percents or ratios. Students will also complete a scale drawing project for this unit.
Team Lightning: 7th and 8th Grades
Science Mr. Decker and Mr. Liberty
7th Grade: Our study of genetics will segue into the foundation of biology, natural selection. Students will be examining the history of life on Earth and the changes life has experienced through this history. Natural selection will provide the basis for our transition into organ systems culminating in our dissection of the frog. This is a memorable moment for all 7th graders.
8th Grade: Students have finished up their study of space exploration and are moving into the study of the sun and the formation of the universe. We will be looking at different theories of the formation of the universe and the scientific evidence that is used to support these theories. Once we have a grasp of the origin of the universe we will look at the planets and how their features maybe a result of the early universe.
Mathematics Mr. Heller and Mr. Liberty
7th and 8th Grade:
With the holidays behind us, we are quickly approaching the "testing season" for math. Before we know it, PSSA time is upon us. Please reinforce the importance of these tests with your student. The results are valuable to teachers in giving us a snapshot of what students have learned. All classes will continue to work diligently through the content.
English Mr. Peglow and Mrs. Trout
7th Grade: (In Mr. Peglow’s Class) As we close out the quarter, students will work on reading, analyzing, and writing poetry while learning about and applying poetic devices in order to better understand how they are used in poems. Also, we will begin looking at the formal outline and how this organizer improves compositional writing. As we move into the third quarter in the second half of January, our focus will turn to reading nonfiction articles that correspond to the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry. We will continue to apply the formal outline to text-dependent analysis writing during this time as well.
(In Mrs. Trout’s Class) We just finished our unit on The Giver with corresponding nonfiction articles. Now we are examining nonfiction text structures which we will use to create brochures about topics from the Farm Show! Then we will transition into poetry by the end of January.
8th Grade: The first half of the month students will continue to work on reading, analyzing, and writing poetry while learning about and applying poetic devices in order to better understand how they are used in poems. As we move into the third quarter our focus will turn to nonfiction reading (articles) that corresponds to our independent novel and composition writing (text dependent analysis). An intense focus on improving our reading strategies will also be a focus of the third quarter.
Social Studies Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Trout
7th Grade Ancient Civilizations:
January, much like the month of December, will be primarily focused on religion. Throughout December and early January students scrutinized the religion of Judaism. Now students will set their sights on the religion of Islam. While Islam is similar to other religions, there are also some vast differences. Upon our completion of examining the religion of Islam, students will take a trip across the pond to Europe. Ancient Greece will be our first stop in Europe.
8th Grade U.S. History:
America’s goal of Manifest Destiny will be the central focus of much of January. Expanding west will have its costs though. America will encounter challenges from several nations upon trying to achieve its goal of settling all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Challenges from the Spanish, British, and Native Americans will create numerous issues for America. Upon reaching the Pacific Ocean, America will then begin the process of industrializing.
Team Sky Pilots: 8th Grade
US History classes will be studying the Industrial Revolution and its effects on the development of the United States. They will then begin to look at sectional differences in the United States, leading up to the American Civil War. Students will work in conjunction with Mrs. Smith’s reading class in projects regarding Frederick Douglass.
Geometry classes are finishing up Chapter 5 and will begin Chapter 6 investigations of triangles and will begin the study of Proofs and Quadrilaterals. Students will find ways to determine whether two triangles are congruent. In the second part of the chapter students will work on several big problems and activities to help them learn how different threads of geometry are connected and to help them assess what they know and what they still need to learn.
Core Connections are working on Chapter 6 Transformations and Similarity. They’ll be using a technology tool to move a shape on a coordinate graph using slides, flips, and turns, and will use integers to describe those moves. The second part of the chapter will introduce similarity and congruence for polygons.
For the past two months students have been solving 1 problem per week in Go Formative. We’ll continue this practice up until PSSA testing. Go Formative allows me to provide real-time feedback in the form of a grade and a written comment. Students can use the problems to track their growth.
In English class students are inventing the future! While students work through the research and process of creating a new invention they are reading nonfiction articles, making annotations, and synthesizing information from multiple articles. Students are completing expository writings throughout their creation process as well as research proposals. Once students have a prototype (we will be looking for donations) they will market their work during our persuasive unit. Let’s see if the students can make it big and get their own commercial!
In Science, we are moving through Chemistry and will be looking at the atom, bonds and reactions. As soon as we complete Chemistry, it’s off the Space! There will be a lot happening in class as well as in school.
The Sky Pilots would like to welcome everyone to 2018! We are now on the backside of the school year. We need your help keeping your student focused at school, reminding them to stay caught up on assignments. Please check the agenda regularly, if necessary, for assignments and notes from teachers. Also, please continue to check your child’s progress by utilizing MMS Parent Portal. The assignments can be found posted on our website: http://www.lasd.k12.pa.us/mams/skypilots/Homework-Page.cfm
A Message from the Guidance Office
Four New Year’s resolutions for middle school students
Your middle schooler started the school year with the best of intentions. But lately, things seem to be off track. He’s missing some assignments. He waits until the last minute to get things done. Sound familiar? Middle schoolers often need a “reboot” in the middle of the school year. Making a few New Year’s resolutions is one way to get your child back on the path to success.
Suggest that your child resolve to:
- Get organized. Let’s face it—middle schoolers are not always organized. Have your child use helpful tools to keep track of his schedule and school assignments. He can use a calendar, sticky notes, to-do lists and an assignment notebook. Help him get into the habit of cleaning out his backpack and school notebooks regularly.
- Set a schedule. By January, many students have abandoned their homework routines. Help your child reestablish a homework time, and then make sure he studies at that time every day. It won’t take long for it to become a habit.
- Give “mono-tasking” a try. Kids claim they are multitasking when they listen to music, chat with friends and try to do their homework all at the same time. But the truth is that their brains can’t really handle all that activity. Encourage your child to focus on one thing at a time.
- Set a new goal. Would he like to raise his English grade? Encourage him to figure out what it will take to reach that goal. When students are clear about the steps they must take to reach a goal, it’s easier to make the choices that will help them achieve it!
Reprinted with permission from the January 2018 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2018 The Parent Institute®, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc.
News from the School Counselor
Middle school students face many unique and diverse challenges that impact academic achievement. As the middle school counselor my role is to support student development and assist students in overcoming obstacles to be successful. During the second semester I will be taking a professional development sabbatical to build skills to meet the ever changing needs of students. Ms. Shannon Webb will be the school counselor during that time. She is familiar with Littlestown through previous work with other counselors in the district. We will be working together to make a smooth transition and continual support for student success.
Dates to Remember
January 15- Act 80 Day, No School for Students
January 22- End of the 2nd Quarter
February 16- Act 80 Day, No School for Students
February 19- President's Day, No School