Amboy Middle School
December 2022
Check out our Amboy Google Drive! You can find pictures, forms, and videos including our Veterans Day assembly.
THE YACOLT/AMBOY GIVING TREE
The Yacolt/Amboy Giving Tree is a local tradition that showcases the generosity of our community by helping our families have a special holiday. If you are experiencing financial hardship and could use some support, you can fill out this Google Form or reach out to Nate Simons, Yacolt Primary Counselor: simons.nathan@battlegroundps.org or Kaitlyn Hagedorn, Amboy Middle School Counselor: hagedorn.kaitlyn@battlegroundps.org. All names will be kept confidential.
Interested in helping with the Giving Tree? Stop by your school office to pick up an ornament. Cash, check, and cash app ($PTOYACOLTAMBOY with a note specifying "Giving Tree Donation") donations are also appreciated.
FAMILY WATCH GROUP
Yacolt and Amboy schools, along with our PTO, have started a new volunteer program. Learn more about the Family Watch Group here. Even though we already had our kick-off event, it is not too late to sign up! Click here for information on applying to volunteer at Battle Ground Public Schools. Once you are cleared to volunteer, use signup.com and find a time that works for you.
AMBOY MIDDLE SCHOOL WINTER SOCIAL
Our Winter Social will be held Friday, December 2, from 2:15 to 3:30. The social will include music and snacks. This should be a fun event for any and all Amboy Eagles! All students who plan on attending will need to return a permission slip and have their own transportation home.
HOLIDAY BAZAAR AT AMBOY MIDDLE SCHOOL!
5TH GRADE FOCUS
Students are expected to check their grades on Skyward at least once a week. Missing assignment sheets (MAS) and No Missing Assignment Sheets (NoMAS) are sent home with students every Friday. Please make sure these are signed and returned to their homeroom teacher each Monday. Students with missing assignments should be completing work at home. If a student is absent from school, they should expect to make up the work on their own time. Parents are encouraged to check Skyward for grades and missing assignments and contact teachers with any questions or concerns.
READING
In December we will be working on learning about the main idea with supporting details from the text. We will use some fun holiday stories and plays to engage students in reading. We will continue to build vocabulary skills, work on grammar, correct usage of commas and capitalization and punctuation. Please encourage students to read chapter books at home. While reading of any kind is best, chapter books help students learn to create a story in their head and how to persevere in reading longer text.
ELA
We have been working on opinion essays. Students are writing about whether they should keep their candy or give it away. This is their first essay of the year and they are enjoying the process.
HISTORY
In December we will be reading about colonization of the Americas in history. Specifically the first settlements of North America like Jamestown and the Plymouth Colony. We will cover vocabulary, informational text, inferences, map skills, and economics.
MATH
In Math we will continue working on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators, common denominators, equivalent fractions, and multiplication/division facts. Please encourage your student to be at school every day as it's tough to miss even one day of math!
6TH GRADE SUMMARY
It's hard to believe that it's already December! Here are some of the things that we'll be working on in December.
SCIENCE
We started our second rotation of science units. Ask your student what they're learning about now. This rotation will end just before Winter Break, and we'll start a new one after break.
HISTORY
In history we are finishing our unit on the characteristics of ancient Chinese civilization. After China we will be exploring ancient Greece.
MATH
In math we're working on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. Please encourage your student to be at school as much as possible. It is tough to miss a day of instruction!
ELA
In ELA students will continue to work on identifying the theme and supporting the theme using evidence from the text. Just before Winter Break, students will have the opportunity to read the novel "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".
REMINDERS
- Make sure Chromebooks are here and charged daily.
- Term 1 missing assignments still need to be completed.
- iReady My Path lessons can be done at home. These are a great way to get to grade level.
7TH GRADE SCOOP
The Advanced Class has finished Unit 3 and will go onto Unit 4 after Thanksgiving. The Regular math classes are halfway through Unit 3 and will finish this unit after Thanksgiving break.
HISTORY
We will begin Chapter 3 where we will be learning about the importance of the Railroad in Washington. We will also study immigration and settlement in the Pacific Northwest. This will continue into January.
ELA
For ELA we will be doing an author's study on Charles Dickens along with some background informational exploration of the Industrial Revolution. This will lead us to reading the adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens and writing a response to literature.
SCIENCE
All of us scientists will use our short time in school during the month of December to learn about the scientific process and start Chemistry. We will be starting Chemistry with a lot of new vocabulary and remembering back to 6th grade and what was learned about the structure of the atom. We wish you all a fantastic holiday season.
Science reminders: Please let me know if you do not receive the grade reports that I send home every Friday. As a reminder, Skyward is the best place to look for an accurate grade for your child. All students should have passwords and should be able to get on Skyward and check their grade.
8TH GRADE UPDATE
In Science students are learning about the impact of humans on natural resources. We will continue our studies through videos, labs, and bookwork. This study also focuses on how humans have harnessed power through wind and solar energy. In December students will be demonstrating their knowledge through the design and engineering process of how to build a wind turbine.
MATH
In Math we are working with linear relationships. Students are learning how to apply the constant of proportionality (slope) and the meaning behind the y intercept to tables, graphs, and equations.
ELA
In ELA we are doing a Courageous Choices unit with a mix of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Students will learn to analyze the text and write paragraphs working on their critical thinking skills: Making a Claim, using text Evidence to support their claim, and then using their Reasoning skills to connect the Evidence with their Claim. This will help them become better writers, thinkers, and speakers.
HISTORY
In History students are learning about our Constitution and Bill of Rights and what their Civic Responsibilities are in a learning Democratic Republic government.
Winter Break is Almost Here!
Which means the next i-Ready Diagnostic assessment is in January the first week they return. If students are bored or if you just want them to stay connected in their education, have them use their Chromebooks to do the i-Ready individual lessons tailored to their needs. This will prepare them better for the Diagnostic assessment. This January i-Ready Diagnostic will determine their placement in math/ELA in high school. Encourage them to take it seriously and not rush through it.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! From your Eighth Grade Team.
Check out some 8th graders during Advisory trying some Challenges: One challenge is a relay race to stack and unstack cups in a pyramid and the other challenge is getting a pencil to bounce into a cup (this one was hard to do).
COMPREHENSIVE SEXUAL HEALTH EDUCATION
Middle School PE courses include instruction in health as well as Comprehensive Sexual Health Education (CSHE). This curriculum will be presented to our Semester 1 PE classes January 4-13. Click here to learn more about how to review the curriculum and the opt-out process. If, after reviewing the curriculum, you would like to opt-out your middle school student(s) from any or all instruction, you will need to complete the online Opt-Out Form for Middle School Sexual Health located in Skyward. A separate form is required for each student, each semester. Students who are opted out of those lessons will be given an alternate, required health assignment. For step-by-step instructions on how to opt-out, click here.
EAGLE'S NEST UPDATE
In the last 30 days, from October 18 to November 18, we have had 88 visitors in the Eagle's Nest (SEL Center). Students requested 81% of these visits. During lunch recess, 62 students have visited the Eagle's Nest to make posters, bracelets, and cards.
Did you know "behavioral scientists have long studied the ideal praise-to-criticism ratio? For students, that ideal ratio is 4:1. In other words, for each bit of negative feedback, there should be a minimum of four positive comments to balance it out." That is a quote from John Maxwell in his article, "How do I Give Positive Reinforcement?" on PBIS Rewards website. We can all use more positive comments.