Holabird STEM
2015-2016 Quarter 1 Newsletter
American Education Week 11/16-11/20
The faculty and staff of the Holabird STEM Program invite you to join us in celebrating American Education Week!
The following dates have been selected for each grade:
Grade 4 & 5 Monday, November 16 (A day)
Grade 6 Tuesday, November 17 (B day)
Grade 7 Wednesday, November 18 (A day)
Grade 8 Thursday, November 29 (B day)
Since it is difficult for our cafeteria to accommodate a large number of visitors for lunch, please try to schedule your visit around your child’s lunch time.
Lunch Schedule
Grade 4 & 5* 12:25pm – 12:55pm
Grade 6 10:05am – 10:35am
Grade 7 10:55am – 11:25pm
Grade 8 11:45am – 12:15pm
Please enter by the front door in order to sign in through RAPTOR and get your visitor’s pass. PTSA information, school information and refreshments will be available to you.
Holabird STEM student ambassadors will be on hand to assist you, as needed.
American Education Week-Special Events
Book Fair:
Please stop by the Middle School Library to see the exciting items they have on display.
Coffee with Counselor: Monday, November 16th, 8:30- 9:15 am
Come join your child’s school counselor for a sip & chat about what the school counseling program offers and resources available to your child.
Magnet Information Session:
If you are still in need of assistance with applying to Baltimore County magnet programs, please see Ms. Telford on Monday, November 16th or Ms. Beckmann on Thursday, November 19th in the Middle School Library.
Naviance:
Attention 7th & 8th grade parents. Naviance is an electronic college and career readiness program that students are using. If you would like to see what your child has been working on thus far or need help logging in, please stop in the Middle School Library during your child’s lunch for assistance.
School Counseling Office
Magnet Schools
During the month of September, 5th and 8th grade students participated in a classroom guidance lesson discussing the requirements for applying to Magnet high schools.
Key points to remember are:
- Applications: You can apply to up to 3 schools –
Online at www.bcps.org/offices/omp
or by mail to
Baltimore County Public Schools
105 W. Chesapeake Avenue
Jefferson Building
Towson, MD 21204
- Magnet Application Deadline: All applications for Magnet schools need to be mailed by the parent to the Office of Magnet School Programs or submitted online on or before November 30th, 2015. If mailing, certified mail is highly recommended and must be postmarked no later than November 30th, 2015.
If you have any questions regarding the application process, please email
Ms. Telford: atelford@bcps.org (5th grade students)
Ms. Beckmann: pbeckmann@bcps.org (8th grade students)
or call (410) 887-7148.
Naviance
All 7th and 8th grade students have been exposed to the Naviance program. Naviance is a computer based College/Career Readiness programs that introduces and address such areas as goal setting, career clusters, interest inventories and so much more. Parents we need your help. Please take an interest in what you child is doing in school. If you would like you log in information, feel free to call the School Counseling office at 410-887-7148. Parent log in information will also be available to American Education Week. Thank you in advance for you support!
Coffee with the Counselor
On Monday, November 16th, 2015 (during American Education Week) the School Counselors will be hosting “Coffee with the Counselor”. This is your opportunity to hear of all the wonderful programs that your child’s School Counselor is doing as well as asking/addressing any questions or concerns that you may have.
Residency
To help us update and maintain accurate records, please notify Ms. Hickey (Guidance Office Secretary) with any home address and/or phone number changes by bringing in a copy of your:
Lease or Deed
3 pieces of current documents or mail
Photo I.D.
Elementary News
Grade 4
In language arts, 4th grade has been reading the book Wonder by RJ Palacio and working to answer the questions "How do our words and actions affect others?" and "When is choosing kindness hard?".
In math, 4th grade learned about place value, addition and subtraction up to 6 digits, and multiplying 2 and 3 digit numbers by 1 number.
Everyone is really looking forward to our first quarter PBIS incentive- the 4th and 5th grade "Fall FestSTEMal" Friday, October 30th!
4th graders working on the i-ready program
4th graders working in small groups
Grade 5
In 5th grade English/Language Arts, students read realistic fiction texts and worked with the literary elements of plot, character, setting, and events.
In 5th grade math, students worked with a multiplication algorithm and participated in the National Aquarium’s Aqua Partners visits.
Middle School News
Grade 6 - #6thgraderocks
Our first Annual Ice Cream Social was held on 9/18 after school. Sixth graders made their own sundaes, played outside in the courtyard, spent time with their friends and 6th grade teachers. Fun time!
SOAR Incentives on October 30th during period 1 included Tech time, Nails, Movie, and Board games!
Sixth graders have started their STEM investigation “What is the Effect of Invasive Species on Our Native Ecosystem?”
Reading classes visited the library for research and to learn digital citizenship skills.
Congratulations to Karter Langman for designing Team Edison’s t-shirt!
Mark your calendar! On November 6th, we will be going on a field trip to the Maryland Science Center.
6th Grade Science with Mrs. Carolan and Mrs. Wenger
Our 6th graders have been learning what it is like to be a scientist. They have been exploring the tools that scientists use in laboratories. They have been collecting data and creating graphs. As the second quarter begins our classes will begin learning about electricity and magnetism.
Grade 7
Team Newton had a busy first quarter and there are more upcoming events. The seventh grade classes have been participating in SOAR incentives which have included pumpkin painting, movie night, courtyard lunches, and much more. The seventh grade also attended the zoo on a field trip. We are currently in the middle of our STEM investigation in which the students are studying ways to help people make healthy decisions.
7th Grade Science with Mrs. Carolan and Ms. Gavin
This quarter our students have been learning how scientists classify organisms. Many 7th graders attended our trip to the zoo where they explored how the zoo organized enclosures and how that relates to the way scientists classify organisms. We have just begun exploring the building blocks of life, CELLS.
Grade 8
Eighth grade students have been busy preparing to make decisions about high school. They have been attending magnet school presentations and field trips to CCBC. The 8th grade attended a trip to the Dundalk/Sollers magnet to see all of the great opportunities. Our next exciting trip will be to Washington D.C. on November 17th.
STEM Investigation
The eighth grade is beginning their investigation into how we impact the quality of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The students have begun analyzing data to determine the factors polluting our watershed including population density and amount of paved surfaces. Once the factors are identified the eighth grade team will work collaboratively to find a working solution to the problem.
Upcoming Events:
Baltimore Community College (Dundalk Campus) Trip
Smithsonian Museums of American History and Natural History-Washington D.C.
Eighth Grade Bowling Trip
Rita's Ice Cream Party
8th Grade Science with Mr. Barth and Mr. Levine
Our classes have been quite busy this quarter working through our Environmental Chemistry and Ecology units! We have been studying chemical building blocks and their interactions while completing many laboratory investigations. We have begun our Ecology unit which begins the high school Environmental Science curriculum. We are very proud of all of our students’ work and are looking forward to a great conclusion to our unit in November!
We would like to remind all of our students that they need to be prepared each day with pens and pencils, glue sticks, and keeping some extra loose-leaf paper for our interactive notebooks in your locker might not be a bad idea, either. Here’s to a great second quarter!
Special Areas
Library
6-8 Library - Mrs. Adams
In the middle school library, students have had a great start to the school year! We have implemented new sign in stations to track individual student use and class use of the library. We have also implemented a self-circulation station for students to use to do their own book checkout. Students are learning digital citizenship skills including citing sources, creative credit, and copyright. In the quarters to come, students will add to these skills, and learn about digital footprint/reputation, cyberbullying, online safety, and more!Students repurposed old books to create decor for the library. They decoupaged book pages to transform an old table and to create new signage.
This year's Black Eyed Susan nominated books have arrived and even more new books are on the way.
Students really enjoyed our "The Dead Tell Their Tales @ the Library" even where they visited during lunch shifts to hear spooky stories read by their teachers and peers!
Save the date! The Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the middle school library during American Education Week, November 16th-20th. Please help us reach our fundraising goal and encourage Holabird to read. Visit the book fair homepage for more details and to purchase from the online fair.
Want to know more? View the full Monthly Library Reports for September & October!
Library Website: holabirdmslibrary.pbworks.com
Follow us on Twitter @hsplibrary
Learning to be Digital Citizens
Library Decor
Scary Stories in the Library
4/5 Library - Mrs. Baker
Dear Parents/Guardians/Friends:
I just wanted to express how much I am looking forward to working with your child this year as he/she makes progress in our learning goals for library media in fourth and fifth grades. I will be striving to create a learning environment in which your child feels safe and comfortable and shares in the joys of reading. Throughout the year I will be sending letters home through your child’s homeroom teacher regarding such issues as overdue books and our special reading programs (such as the upcoming Scholastic Book Fair). Behavioral expectations for your child in the media center include those adopted according to our school-wide PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support) program. Children will be recognized with SOAR tickets when they demonstrate these expectations.
I believe that it is important that we work together as a team so that your child is well prepared and successful throughout the year in library media class. Please make sure that your child completes his assignments and returns his/her books to the library on the day when they are due so that other children may have the opportunity to read and enjoy these materials. Please feel free to contact me either through phone or email if you should have any questions or concerns, or would like to volunteer to help in the elementary media center. My email address is gebaker2@bcps.org and our school phone number is (410) 887-7049. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Wendy Baker
Library Media Specialist
Holabird Stem/Elementary Library
Technology Education
We are in our 3rd year of the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program entitled Gateway to Technology (GTT). This course is an engineering class where students are being exposed to software, electronics and tools that are used in the field of engineering. The classes students are participating in are Design and Modeling (DM), Automation and Robotics (AR), Science and Technology (ST) and Green Architecture (GA). These classes are project based so that students learn about all the features of becoming an engineer while they are designing and building specific projects.
Art Department
Pinwheels for Peace
Holabird Middle School students participated in the 10th annual Pinwheels for Peace initiative on the International Day of Peace, September 21, 2015. Students reflected on what peace means to them and heroes in their lives who they could honor. Students wrote, designed and constructed pinwheels which were assembled into small installations to hang in the hallways. This is the 4th year we have celebrated this international event.Collaborative Art
Art students from Mrs. Sura and Mrs. Peller’s middle school classes created warm and cool yarn weavings on recycled CDs as a part of our Green School Initiative for the 2014-2015 school year. This Fall these individual works of art became a collaborative, permanent, installation at the entry way of Holabird. Merging Science, recycling and artistic concepts; students beautified our environment and learned valuable skills and experiences.
Elementary Art News
Fourth and fifth grade art students have begun to use a modified sketchbook in class. Students have a daily art problem to solve as a starting point to drive creativity and problem solving.
Fall projects have included a variety of mosaic techniques with various materials including crayons and cut paper. We are currently learning about self-portraits (LEGO figures!) and look forward to more creative and collaborative works of art to come.
Music Department
Noteworthy News
Any student who takes music here at Holabird learns how to be an “Ethnomusicologist” in their first quarter. The students are learning that an Ethnomusicologist is someone who studies cultural music and analyzes it. Part of being an Ethnomusicologist is learning how to play instruments. Students in General Music are learning about African, Latin American, and Native American music. Eighth graders are learning how to play the guitar and seventh graders are learning how to play African drums.
Along with becoming an Ethnomusicologist the students learn the Four Purposes of Listening to music. They are: To Identify Musical Elements, To Gain a Cultural or Historical Perspective, To Interpret a Composer’s Message, and for Personal Experience.
Holabird Performing Ensembles
The Holabird Choirs are busy working on their concert music as it is quickly approaching. They are developing skills of tone, blending, posture, harmony, and sight-reading. We use the solfege scale Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do, to learn music and it becomes a large part of their vocabulary in the first quarter. Another important skill that the chorus students are learning is TEAMWORK. They learn how to build teamwork and leadership skills through sectionals. Sectionals are where each section has the opportunity to sing together with their section leader and work on their specific goals.
The Holabird Bands and Orchestras have been practicing new scales and techniques on their instruments to prepare an excellent selection of music for the Winter Concert. The instrumental music students know that performing in a music group is a team effort, and that every student member is important.
All Elementary students did a great job performing in the Fall Elementary Music Concert. Music and Movement showed great dance moves. 4th Grade and 5th Grade Chorus sang and performed beautifully. 5th Grade Orchestra and Band played their instruments with great poise and best effort! You made Holabird STEM Program proud by having the courage and confidence to give a great performance after having two months to prepare. All of the groups will be showing great growth in their musicianship for the Spring Concert on June 1st!
Upcoming Music Events:
- Middle School Choral Concert December 15th 2015 6:00pm at Dundalk High School
(Students arrive at 5:40)
- Middle School Instrumental Concert December 15th 7:30pm at Dundalk High School
(Students arrive at 7:00)
Ethnomusicologist
Sectionals
Research
Music Students have also been researching famous musicians. They created posters to display their new knowledge in the classroom!
FALS Students Enjoying Community Based Outings!
Holabird STEM
Website: http://holabirdms.bcps.org/
Location: 1701 Delvale Avenue, Dundalk, MD, United States
Phone: 410-887-7049
Twitter: @HolabirdSTEM