November 2023
HS Academic Newsletter
PURPOSE OF THIS NEWSLETTER
This newsletter is to provide an insight to what is happening in our High School classes each month. To introduce staff and to provide their background as well in hopes to become more familiar with everyone in our Panther Family!
*Any/All Athletic Information can be found at https://www.mndcty.k12.mo.us/documents/athletics/257158
or on our APP under Athletic Newsletter
Mrs. Shawna Farr- FACS
Foods:
Students will plan a mock up of a “Friendsgiving” feast. They will have to plan everything from where the dinner will take place, everything that will need to be purchased to decorate, and all of the food they would like to be served. In class, I plan to show the students how to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, and sides that could possibly be served at their Thanksgiving dinner.
7th/8th Grade:
We are continuing on with our Child Development unit. Students are learning everything from the prenatal stage to the adolescence stage. There is a fun activity that they will have to design a “babysitting tote” and list different objects they would need to fill their bag with that could help them on their babysitting job.
Housing:
My class reluctantly took down the Fall decor and decorated my room with Christmas decor (even though they all insisted it needed to wait until after Thanksgiving). We are learning about the building process of homes all the way through the interior construction process. They will learn about the roles of contractors and subcontractors, and be able to describe safety features of electrical systems.
Health:
We are continuing our Monday mental health journaling. This has proven to be a positive assignment that allows the students to journal anything that is on their mind. In class, students will design and make a video highlighting the importance of sleep. They will get inspiration from some youtube videos to reference, but will use their imaginations to show how sleep plays a big role in a person’s daily health.
Nutrition and Wellness:
Students will be taking a closer look at a kitchen space. They will learn about major kitchen appliances, ways to save energy in a kitchen, and how to clean and take care of appliances. There is a fun lesson on how to cook with microwaves. This is going to be a great chapter where students will learn how a microwave works, how to prepare food in a microwave oven, and safety tips for using a microwave. Hopefully after this chapter, parents will feel confident allowing their child to use a microwave oven safely.
Child Development:
We are starting a unit on parenting in this class. This chapter covers different parenting styles and how to handle situations where discipline may be needed. We have fun scenarios that the students will have to figure out how the parent should or shouldn’t handle the situation given.
FCCLA:
Members will gather for a Fall Harvest Bash at Mrs. Farr’s house. There will be s’mores, a weiny roast and a hayride. The officers are anxious to plan and serve a breakfast for the school board members before their November meeting. As a chapter, we want to focus on giving back this year, and we hope the school board sees how much we appreciate their support and help towards our chapter every year!
Mrs. Thersea Jordan- HS English Department
FRESHMEN:
READING: We are continuing to look more closely at informational text that supports the theme of their literary piece, Night. (I changed the anchor text). We are beginning to look at mood/tone and author's bias and credibility in various texts
WRITING: We are still working on sentence structure, conventions, and descriptive language in various writings.
SPEAKING/LISTENING: Students will participate in Socratic Seminar throughout the quarter instead of waiting until the end of the text.
SOPHOMORES:
READING: We are still looking more closely at informational text that supports the theme of their literary piece, To Kill a Mockingbird. We are also looking at mood, tone, and author bias and credibility.
WRITING: We are still working on sentence structure and conventions. Also reviewing parts of speech and their function in a sentence.
SPEAKING/LISTENING: Students will participate in Socratic Seminar throughout the quarter instead of waiting until the end to help them have a better understanding of the text throughout.
JUNIORS:
READING: We are continuing to look closely at informational text that supports the theme of their literary piece, A Raisin in the Sun
WRITING: Students will prepare to write another argumentative paper.
PROJECT: Students will work individually on a literary analysis.
SPEAKING/LISTENING: Students will not only lead the Socratic Seminar at the end of the quarter, but participate throughout the quarter as we read the book to gain a better understanding of the text while reading.
SENIORS:
READING: Students will view various texts through the lens of identifying possible themes along with the author's purpose and analyzing different texts from different mediums with the same theme and similar/different purposes.
WRITING: Continuing learning/practicing the process of writing a literary analysis over the texts.
SPEAKING/LISTENING: Students will participate in Socratic Seminar between the different texts and work to synthesize verbally and written. .
Mrs. Katie Dougherty- Physical Education
Both High School Classes - Handball & Badminton
Middle School - Handball & Jump Rope Unit
Elementary - Jump Rope Unit, & Catching / Throwing Unit
Mrs. Payton Boswell- K-12 Art Department
Elementary classes: K- 4 students are finishing up some fall projects including pumpkins, leaves, trees, and turkeys. They will move into winter projects around the second week of November. Many of those projects will include snowy landscapes, winter animals, and snowmen.
Junior high: 5th graders are currently drawing castles that have shading and blending to create a piece with depth. They will be moving on to other winter related projects. 6th graders are learning about art from around the world. They recently learned about Mexican Folk art and will be moving on to Molas which are decorative clothing pieces with bright colors and intricate designs. 7th graders are finishing a project on radial balance and will move on to a large scale self portrait that emphasizes 4 different art styles.
High school: Art design students are working on a student choice project. They were given a lot of freedom to work with materials or study something they were interested in. There is a wide variety of pieces including collage, paintings, and a few sculptures. Visual Design students recently learned about color theory. Students took the order of the rainbow and incorporated it into a drawing. Students were given freedom to create whatever concept they wanted. Once they have completed this they will move on to another project related to color families.
Mrs. Cammy Ungles- HS Science Department
Biology: We will finish learning about Earth's cycling of nutrients through the biotic and abiotic factors. We will then learn more about biodiversity, how humans are a threat to biodiversity, and why preserving biodiversity is so important.
Integrated Science: We will be learning about gravity, velocity, air resistance, free fall, and orbiting objects. Students will be working on a small project this month, making a movie about Newton's Laws.
Chemistry: Students will be learning about the wave and particle models of light, Bohr and quantum mechanical models of the atom, and how to express the electrons in atoms through orbital notations, electron configurations, and electron dot structures.
Human Anatomy: Students will be learning about the Integumentary System and then we will begin the Skeletal System,
Mr. Connor Dignan- Ag Department
Freshmen ag students are finishing up there parliamentary procedure unit where they are learning the basics on being in a meeting. They are also learning about the different Officer positions in the FFA to see if any of them are of interest for their future in the organization. This month they will also explore SAE's along with learn budgeting through the Missouri FFA Recordbook
Sophomores are just starting their plant science unit. They Each have had to teach the topics of Plant science to their peers and are learning the needs of agricultural crops including nutrients, water and soil. We will be moving into the soils unit shortly where they will learn to identify soil characteristics and decide what that soil would be most suited for.
Ag construction students are currently working on individual projects in the shop. One is working on refurbishing furniture for sale and another is working on deer mounts and looking into the possibility of building a duck and or deer blind.
Greenhouse students have just finished up their greenhouse tools unit and will soon be identifying what plants we want to grow in the greenhouse this year. They will have to manage the greenhouse to try to make a profit with hands-on learning. They will order pots, growing media, fertilizer, and plants for the upcoming sale in April/May
Plant Science is currenting learning about growing fruits and vegetables. They are also currently working on a report where they will each make a "new report" over specific categories such as small fruits and tree nuts. They will explore these categories and then present the videos back to the class.
Mr. Chandler Wilson- Social Science Department
This month we will be moving through important topics. In Government we will be closing our discussion of Ancient and Colonial influences on American Government and preparing to discuss the Constitutional Convention and the events that unfolded that led to our Constitution. In World History we will soon begin studying the French Revolution and its impact on Europe and the rest of the world. Sophomore Leadership has had the privilege of having some guest speakers come speak to them about strong leadership, most recently our building principals.
Mrs. Nichole Hux- Business Department
Coding: Students are learning a new coding language called Python. Python coding refers to the process of writing and creating computer programs using the Python language. Python is a high-level, versatile, and easy to learn language that is popular for a wide range of applications, including web development, artificial intelligence, and more. Writing Python code involves using the language's syntax and libraries to instruct a computer to perform specific tasks and solve problems.
Dual Credit Computers and Information Systems: Students are learning how to use Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Excel is valuable for several reasons: data analysis, business operations, efficiency, reporting, data visualization, budgeting, and project management. Excel can significantly improve your productivity, decision making, and data handling capabilities, making it a versatile tool for both personal and professional use.
Personal Finance: Students are exploring the services provided by the banks and credit unions, including the different options and features. Students will learn responsible banking, how to manage accounts, and the importance of keeping records. Students will learn about online banking as well as learn how to write checks and reconcile a bank statement.
FBLA Organization: Members of the Mound City FBLA organization will participate in pumpkin decorating on October 30th. Members will also be discussing the FBLA contest coming up in January.
Mr. Taylor Standerford- HS Math Department
Algebra 1 - We will be working on systems of equations and inequalities. We will learn how to solve these equations and when to use these in situations.
Geometry - We will be discussing transformations of graphs and how this relates to designs and making design plans.
Pre/Calc-Trig - We will be discussing interest rates and how to use exponential equations to figure out monthly payments.
Mr. Jason Tenney- Math/English/Dual Credit
Criminal Justice - learning about Due Process and citizens' rights
Psychology - studying political & social ideas & the way different age groups feel about them
Composition - creating a personal scrapbook with various written essays and visual representations of their life
Stats - will begin Normal Distribution
Mr. Jake Shipman- HS Principal/Athletic Director
Greetings!
Good Afternoon, I hope everyone had a great and safe Halloween. The Shipman family, as everyone can tell from the photo below, had an absolute blast. We had a great turn out of P/T conferences with 56% of our students represented by their parent/guardian. This has been the most we've had since my time here at MCR2 so thank you for showing up and supporting both us and your child for their future. We are going to continue to be very busy all the way to Christmas Break. Mr. Dignan is on National FFA Convention with 8 of our students. Mr. Wilson will be taking our Freshman on County Government Day on November 9th. We are holding a Veteran's Day Flag ceremony for each level in the morning on November 10th, Mrs. Clifton, as always, has done a fantastic job organizing that for our students and community. We have Thanksgiving Break coming up. Ms. Marrant and Mrs. Boswell has began working with our students to prepare them for our Music/Art Program on December 6th. It is a busy time but with all this craziness our students and teachers are still working diligently in the classroom. I encourage everyone to keep the lines of communication open with teachers, if you have questions or concerns. Along with contacting the High School office as well! We are all here for the same reason, our students! Go Panthers!