Howards Grove Middle School
Parent/Guardian Newsletter Vol. VII
At Howards Grove Middle School We Believe In:
Respect
Responsibility
Integrity
Appreciation
Important Events
February 19th, NO SCHOOL, STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY
February 19th, School Board Meeting, 6 PM
February 27th, MS Volleyball at Elkhart Lake, 4 PM
February 29th, MS Volleyball at Howards Grove 4 PM, Wrestling at Oostburg 4 PM
March 1st, MS Musical: Matilda, 7 PM
March 2nd, MS Musical: Matilda, 7 PM
March 3rd, MS Musical: Matilda, 2 PM
March 5th, MS Volleyball at Howards Grove 4 PM, Wrestling at Random Lake 4 PM
March 7th, Parent/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7:30 PM
March 11th, PTO Meeting, 6 PM
March 12th, MS Volleyball at Cedar Grove, 4 PM
March 14th, MS Volleyball at Oostburg, 4 PM
Save The Date!
Principal's Message
Hello Everyone,
There is much to celebrate in this month's parent/family newsletter with many upcoming events and activities! We are well into third quarter and the second trimester for our Encore classes are nearly over. Please take a moment to check Skyward with your student(s) to have a conversation about their progress. Teachers are expected to update their grades weekly on Skyward. As we near the March Parent/Teacher Conferences teachers may reach out for a conference if there are concerns. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to your student's teacher. We are invested in helping each and every student meet their potential in all areas of learning.
Our priority is always student and staff safety. At the end of this month, students and staff will be participating in a safety drill. The Department of Justice requires that each school building demonstrate a successful safety drill each school year. I will be sending home further information about this drill. Staff will begin talking with students about this drill.
A continued friendly reminder to please adhere to our after school pick up protocols. If you are picking up your student at the end of the school day, we ask kindly that you pick students up in the back of the school. Please do not park in the front lot or along Kennedy Street in front of school waiting for your student. That area is for our buses and students who walk. If you would like to pick your student up at or after 3 PM you may do so in our front parking lot. We appreciate your partnership in keeping our students and staff safe.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns please fee free to contact me at ahouston@hgtigers.com or (920) 565-4452.
Thank you,
Angie Houston
Intervention
i-Ready
i-Ready Diagnostic Testing Results:
i-ReadyConnect.com For Families report. District’s Report Code H5W2PF
i-Ready Goal/Week: 2 passed lessons/45 minutes in each subject area(math & reading) Students that have 50 lessons in each subject by the end of the school year have been proven to show growth on diagnostic. Please have your student show you their progress towards this goal(should be at 25 in each right now). Students are allowed to take home chromebooks for this purpose, please check them out through the homeroom teacher. However, you can also help us by making sure they have access to a computer at home to work on lessons if their chromebook is at school.
i-Ready Helpful Links for Families:
Understanding diagnostic results from i-Ready
i-Ready Central Resources | Family Center – Home
i-Ready Domains covered by Diagnostic
Dear 7th & 8th grade families! RE: Scholastic Book Orders
SHOP OUR CLASS PAGE: https://orders.scholastic.com/KWG77
SHOP FLYERS: https://clubs.scholastic.com/all-flyers
Please contact Kerri Eilers: keilers@hgtigers.com
Wisconsin State Forward Exam
Counselor's Corner
Hello HGMS families!
What a busy month it has been! Our 8th grade students have been in full high school planning mode this past month! Each of our students has completed an individual high school planning and course selection meeting. We talked about interest areas, potential career fields, and post high school educational thoughts. After taking all of that into consideration it helped them narrow down classes for their freshman year of high school. In addition, we discussed more about the academic career planning process and how it will look through their high school career and the many opportunities that will become available. With that being said, the 8th grade class also has the opportunity to visit Lakeshore Technical College to learn about the many programs offered, get an introduction to post high school education planning. We will walk through various departments for a first-hand look at what they have to offer.
In our Life Skills classes, students are continuing to learn about emotions and emotion-management. Students have been challenged to reflect on some of their strongest emotions, identifying potential stressors, the strategies they use to handle those emotions, and then reflect on the effectiveness and healthiness of those strategies. Classes have been highly engaged in conversation with each other, sharing experiences and lessons learned, and have helped others to become aware of different strategies they may want to try in the future!
Student Council
As February comes to a close, the Middle School Student Council has been busy planning events. February is American Heart Month, so the student council teamed up with the American Heart Association to promote healthy hearts and help with the fight against heart disease. Every Friday during the month of February, the student council planned various activities to promote an active lifestyle. These activities have been during students’ recess times.
The Middle School Student Council coordinated a lot of different events and activities for the week of Valentine’s Day. Last Tuesday the student council members hid hearts around the school with different heart health facts written on them to help build awareness to the dangers of heart disease. Throughout the week, the student council members also sold Hershey Kisses and sodas for their “Crush for your Crush (or friend)” event. All money raised will be donated to The American Heart Association.The council ended Valentine's celebrations with a Valentine’s "Neon" Dance on Friday night.
In between those events, the council members also volunteered their time and talents at the PTO sponsored Pancakes and Pajamas event. They helped with setup, serving food, painting faces, and even dressing up as some famous book characters. This was a great way to connect with different families and share our love for reading.
All in all what a great way to promote school spirit and healthy hearts this month.
Summer School
Summer School information and registration forms will be available online at the district website (www.hgtigers.org). You can find it in the top right hand corner labeled Summer School 2024. If there are any questions, please contact Angie Houston, Summer School Principal: (920) 565-4452 or ahouston@hgsd.k12.wi.us
March 1 – All summer school course descriptions and schedules available online. Families may begin browsing and planning your child(ren)’s schedule
March 11 – Summer school registration opens online
March 22 – Registration closes
April 1 – Fees for classes will be posted to the student's account
April 15 – All fees need to be paid
Session 1-June 10 – June 28 Summer School classes in session Classes held Monday – Friday 8 am - 12 pm unless otherwise indicated
Session 2-July 29 – August 9 Summer School classes in session Classes held Monday – Friday 8 am - 12 pm unless otherwise indicated
Middle School Summer Musical
Zombies! The Musical!
June 10th-June 28
12:30-3:30 PM
Northview Summer Musical
Cookies! The Musical
July 10-July 26
9 AM to Noon
MATILDA JR.!
Boy's Basketball
The 2023-2024 Howards Grove School District 8th grade boys' basketball team’s season ended February 8th with a win against Random Lake securing the top spot in the conference for the boys with a record of 9 and 3. The team was led by Head Coach Bob Jacques and Assistant Coach Scott Sixel. The team consisted of Owen Johnson, Gavin Kalk, Alex Busse, Aiden House, Braden Sixel, Tyson Kunesh, Reese Kapellen, Owen Harms, Nolan Wilson, Adam Pahmeier, and Carter Pahl. The team's best game was against Kohler where Howards Grove won 63-27. The leading scorer on the season was Nolan Wilson with an average of 7.4 points per game. Also, Tyson Kunesh had the highest-scoring game with 16 points against Cedar Grove.
Article Written by Cooper Schmidt, Braden Sixel, Tyson Kunesh.
PTO
Thank You!
· Family Food Night: Thank you to everyone who joined us at our two February Family Food Nights at the Log Cabin and Knockouts! We appreciate your support of not only the PTO, but of our local businesses as well.
· PJs, Pancakes, & Books: Thank you to all who donned their PJs and joined us for an exciting evening of reading, face painting, and eating a yummy pancake dinner. We had a great turnout and even had a surprise visit from Pete the Cat and the Cat in the Hat!
Save the Date
· Monday, March 4, 2024: Stop by our next Family Food Night at Log Cabin, where 10% of all sales will be donated back to the PTO for ongoing student programming. Join us for great food and another easy night of meal prep!
· Monday, March 11, 2024: Join us for our monthly PTO Meeting at 5:00pm in the Northview Library. Everyone is welcome! Free babysitting is provided if requested within 72 hours of the meeting. Please contact hgpto@yahoo.com for more information.
· March 2024: Family Food Night. More details coming soon!
· Friday, March 15, 2024: Have you “Herd” the good news?! Family Night with the Wisconsin Herd is back on March 15 at 7:00pm, where a portion of all ticket sales will be donated back to the PTO. Here’s what you can expect:
o Special reserved section just for Howards Grove families.
o All children from Howards Grove will be invited to participate in the Jockey High Five Tunnel!
o All families will be invited onto the court post-game for a group photo and will have an opportunity to shoot free throws!
o Five children will be randomly selected to serve as Co-Captains for the game!
Grab your tickets here: https://fevo-enterprise.com/Howardsgrove
8th Grade
ELA
We have been reading and exploring The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Together we have been reading and discussing each chapter, and talking through themes that are in the novel. Students created a timeline that tracks how the theme is progressively shown throughout the novel. Once we get closer to finishing the novel we will watch the movie and compare the differnces between the novel and the movie.
ALGEBRA
Algebra students recently learned all there is to know about factoring polynomials. They’ve factored using the distributive property method, factored binomials using the difference of squares approach, and even factored trinomials using perfect squares. Next up for these students will be a unit on quadratic functions and equations. Here they will learn how to both graph and solve quadratic equations.
MATH
Eighth grade math students have been studying systems of equations. These students are now able to solve systems of equations using graphing, substitution, and elimination methods. Recently, these students identified special circumstances where there may be no solution or even infinitely many. They’ve also taken a closer look at why learning this math is so important as well as how it will apply to their lives. Continue bringing your best every day, eighth graders!
SCIENCE
We are starting to discuss physical and chemical changes and properties. To demonstrate this we have done two major labs. Our first being "Elephant Toothpaste Lab." We took soap, dry yeast, and baking soda and watched the chemical reaction take place. The students seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. The second lab, "Acid Lab", students got to see in real time how acid dissolves and breaks down different items.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We are currently working on our "WWII Radio Project", where students focus on one key battle in WWII. Students then produced a Radio Show where they reported on the chosen key battle and discussed other informational aspects of that time frame, for example; sports, entertainment, and weather. We are looking forward to sharing these projects with you once they're completed.
7th Grade
ELA
In Readers and Writers the seventh graders have just entered into our argument unit. Students tested out their persuasive skills by playing a game called, Snake Oil. The concept of the game is to challenge the students to present and convince the audience to buy their product. This past week, students have been looking at the topic of competitive sports. They have been doing the research in order to understand both postive and negative perspectives. Once research is completed, they debate on the subject by stating a clear claim, reasons, and using evidence to support their side of the argument. Over the next couple of weeks, students will be working on strengthening their arguments and supporting their claims.
For reading, students have been focusing on nonfiction texts and have been working on different skills and strategies to use when reading these texts. Each student selected books on a topic of their choice. Our current focus has been on central ideas, details, and summaries. We have been using these skills to support our work as we read informational texts and articles for our argument unit.
ALGEBRA
We have been studying Linear Equations. We are analyzing equations to determine if they produce lines on the graph. Desmos is a free online graphing calculator that your son/daughter has been learning to operate in the classroom.
The next unit of study is Analyzing Linear Equations using slope and the intercepts of the graph. We will talk about lines that are parallel and perpendicular to each other and discover why that is the case.
Most importantly, this class is gaining confidence in their skill so they can take the foundational Algebra curriculum and use it in their high school Math classes.
MATH
The class is really enjoying simplifying and solving equations. When the students heard that they were learning Algebra, they were very nervous. After much practice, students are solving complex equations well and even smiling!
This week we are adding inequalities instead of an equal sign. This means there are an infinite amount of answers that make the equation true. This is a relatively new Math topic for the students, so we will take our time.
Keep encouraging your child to practice daily work. Daily practice is so important so your child can become confident in the new skills taught.
The 7th Grade Class will be taking the 2024 Forward Exam in April. We are preparing in the Math class for the test by discussing the various kinds of problems they will encounter. I will be assigning some practice problems when class time does not allow for practice. Please have your son/daughter complete these problems.
*On another note, if your son/daughter expresses they are bored at home, iReady is a great Math and Reading program where they can practice their skills. This program is used in the school already, and can be used at home for even more practice.
SCIENCE
In science the students have been growing mustard plants in class to learn about the life cycle and anatomy of plants. We are currently at the point where students are pollinating the flowers on the plants to produce the next generation of seeds. Over the next week we will make scientific observations as the plants begin to die (annual plants) and continue the “circle of life”. Eventually, the students will graph and write conclusions about the growth of the plants based on fruit production, height, color and overall plant health. This data will reveal the genetics of the plants, and we will use this information next year to grow plants with specific plant traits.
SOCIAL STUDIES
In social studies, the students are learning about the dynamics of the American Civil War (started in 1861) including: politics, structure of government, amendments to the constitution, state dynamics, battles, and changes to life in America. The students will be creating reenactments of the Civil War through video by creating depictions of what was happening in America during this time period. These videos will be on display at the Student Showcase on Friday, May 10 from 5-7 PM.
6th Grade
READING
The nonfiction reading unit is coming to an end. The literary nonfiction unit had students reading books, news articles, and watching media they enjoy, and educating them how to make the most of these fascinating times, places, and people. For the success criteria, students can evaluate text features, text structure, author's purpose, main idea with supporting details, as well as vocabulary. Students can also identify interesting facts that they have learned along the way in their reading research. These are just a few of the reading skills students will see on upcoming formal assessments. In the end, students are presenting their findings to the class. Then others in the class will come away with a wealth of knowledge based on other student's research work.
WRITING
We are continuing our research on teen activism. Students are learning how to take notes like a journalist and how to study multiple texts and resources to determine the big idea of a topic. We will also continue our work in Patterns of Power and learn how writers and readers use complex sentences.
MATH
In 6th grade math, students are continuing their work with ratio relationships. They have already used their knowledge to solve real-world problems involving unit rates, circle graphs, and measurement conversions within and between both the customary and metric systems. Students are now moving forward and will continue to use their ratio understanding to find percentages of numbers and solve real-world percentage problems.
SCIENCE
This month 6th grade transitioned from our geology unit to a unit focused on water. Last week students analyzed different biogeochemical cycles. Groups made posters and wrote reports on how their element circulates through the geosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. With that, our class started to focus solely on water. How we use water, where our water is located on our planet and what our global water crisis really entails. Next week students will build a filtration device to help "clean" contaminated water.
SOCIAL STUDIES
6th Grade students are learning about the Three Branches of Government in the USA. They researched and then presented Supreme Court cases involving schools. The goal was to see which amendments were in question and how the justices ruled. Ms. Houston was able to participate and play the role of 'principal' in a skit! Thank you again, Ms. Houston! Currently the grade is working on typing a letter to a representative in government based on an issue identified in class that they would like to see changed. We will then mail these letters and await a response.
5th Grade
READING
We are continuing our study of nonfiction text and learning the ways complex nonfiction gets hard! Students are enjoying our mentor text, When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses, by Rebecca Johnson. We will wrap up Bend 1 of our unit and move on to Bend 2, Applying Knowledge About Nonfiction Reading to Inquiry Projects. Stay tuned for more information!
WRITING
5th Grade Writing Students recently wrapped up composing their final drafts of their nonfiction research paper, including their classroom presentations. They followed nonfiction writing guidelines that were provided for them, it required illustrations and sources in their research paper. Overall, students did a fabulous job researching their topics. Students are excited as we enter the memoir writing unit. This is the kind of writing that Shouts, “This is WHO I AM!” Students are learning that a memoir is a narrative, written from the perspective of the author, about an important part of their life. A memoir is often combined with an autobiography, but there are a few important differences. An autobiography is also written from the author's perspective, but the narrative spans their entire life. Currently students are focused on ways to bring out the big ideas in a story. They are making sure their story starts and ends in a way that shows the big idea/theme.
MATH
In 5th grade math, February = Fractions! Students have been busy learning about finding the least common multiple to help them find common denominators that will help to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. Moving forward they will be learning about improper fractions and mixed numbers and how to add and subtract with mixed numbers. After they master addition and subtraction, students will learn how to multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers as well.
SCIENCE
When people think of animals, most people think only of mammals. This month 5th grade science has been focusing on classification and the animal kingdom. Students learned about the various creatures that make up the 9 phylums of animals. Our three 5th grade classes created a new animal profile book to help people learn about all 9 phylums. Students developed an animal profile which is now laminated and added to our classroom book of creatures with proper classification. With the help of our book... People can think beyond mammals when "thinking" of animals.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Recently 5th Grade has begun studying The Age of Exploration. They are currently researching an assigned explorer and preparing a 'recruitment poster' for why one would want to join that explorer's next expedition. They are also practicing map skills learned earlier in the year with a Daily Geography lesson of 4 questions using a map.
The School District of Howards Grove does not discriminate in the employment of staff on the basis of any characteristic protected under State or Federal law including, but not limited to, race, color, age, sex, creed or religion, handicap or disability, marital status, genetic information, citizenship status, veteran status, military service (as defined in 111.32, Wis. Stats.), sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, arrest record, conviction record, use or non-use of lawful products off the District’s premises during non-working hours, or any other characteristic protected by law in its employment practices. (Board Policy 4122)