SMS Newsletter
November 2020
Election Day-November 3-No School
Just as a reminder, on November 3rd there is no in-person or remote learning that day.
Attendance Policy
All students must complete attendance everyday between the hours of 7:15 am and 3:15 pm. Attendance and work completion is required on a daily basis, Monday thru Friday, whether at school or at home.
You can find the District attendance policy in our Handbook (located in the front of your student’s planner) on pages 4,5, and 6
6th Grade News
Hard to believe that we are in the second quarter already! Time sure flies when you are having fun! Speaking of fun….the Social Studies classes will be studying Life in Ancient Egypt and Pyramids. In Science, the students will be learning how earth’s surface can change through weathering and erosion. Then we will explore the beautiful yet destructive world of rocks & minerals. While in Language arts classes, your student will be working on theme, genres and identifying nonfiction text structures. Learning all about text structure will help them in all their classes. In math, students will be working on solving expressions with an emphasis being placed on order of operations. They will also be working on analyzing word problems.
Instructional Language Arts- Students have been working in the Literature book reading a variety of stories in the fiction unit and learning about story elements, plot structure, and various reading strategies to help them with comprehending the text.
The teachers would like to like to congratulate Faith Loya and Riley Moore as being our Students of the Month! Their hard work and kindness have not gone unnoticed!
7th Grade News
Happy fall! We have now finished our first quarter of school on the A/B schedule. We feel that the start of the school year was a little rocky, but we feel that students are doing better understanding the schedule and expectations that we have for them both in and out of school.
We have enjoyed getting to know that students more and more every time that we see them in class. We are seeing improvements in work completion and turn in. We hope that participation in classes improves, since we feel that the students are feeling for comfortable in school and the crazy schedule.
Every month, we are now going to be choosing two students as the seventh grade students of the month. The Students of the Month for this month are Jeffrey Ashley and Shayla Green!
Parents/guardians, if you haven’t already done so, please accept the invite to Google Classroom. This will allow you to receive summaries on your student in all of his/her classes. Please sit down with your student on a regular basis to look at Google Classroom. You can see the status of the work by going to the “classwork” tab on the top. Then, on the top left, click on the “View Your work. Please keep in mind that Google Classroom will NOT show your student’s grade, so please check Tyler for grades. We are finding that students/parents are NOT checking Tyler regularly, so please make this a habit to check.
We are STILL noticing BIG and HEAVY backpacks and feel that students are bringing more to school than they should. To streamline what students need to bring daily, we have created a list.
Bring daily:
-charged Chromebook -pencils
-small Kleenex packet -red pen and calculator for math
-extra mask -glue sticks
-current note packets for -colored pencils
Math, Science and S.S.
-weekly story for L.A.
Leave at home:
-L.A. binder
-Math workbook
We hope that this helps all of you out with the blended model. We will continue to keep you updated and informed.
8th Grade News
We are so proud of our 8th graders! We made it through the first quarter of Blended Learning, and even though there were definitely some bumps, we got through it! Organization is definitely the key, and I think we are all figuring that out. Our one big roadblock, though, is convincing all of the students that their Remote Days are still school days. By all working together, though, we know that success will follow! Google Classroom is our students’ best organizational tool, but Tyler is still the best way to keep track of missing assignments. Please check Tyler often. You can find what each subject area is up to as you read below…
History: During the 5th hour class, when all of the students have history, we are studying Progressive Reforms from 1877 to 1920. Progressives believed that the efforts of individuals and government could make society better and more fair. Many laws were passed during this time that are still the basis for the more modern ideas of our time. Students can keep track of and complete most assignments on Google Classroom.
Language Arts:
So far this year, we have already completed Unit 1 of the MyPerspectives Literature program. We are also finishing up reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Our focus while reading The Outsiders has been characterization and conflict. We told the students that many of their parents probably remember this novel from their middle school years--“Stay Gold, Ponyboy.” After reading the novel, we will move back into the literature book where we will begin Unit 2--The Holocaust.
Instructional Language Arts:
Instructional LA students have been working hard to improve their writing, they are finishing up sentence structure and moving forward to paragraph writing in their “writing bootcamp”. Students continue to work on assigned passages through readworks.org to enable students to work at their current independent levels, and hopefully moving into our first novel this quarter. We are working on a variety of comprehension skills, sequencing and questioning coming up this quarter.
Math:
We’ve just completed Unit 1 on the Real Number System gaining more number sense. We are now starting Unit 2 - Expressions and Equations. We will be reviewing with integer operations and one-step equations to move up to two-step and multi-step equations. Please check with your student to confirm that they have a working scientific calculator. I do have a picture of a couple on Google Classroom under the 8th Grade Survival Information that can be found at WalMart for $12 or less. Just have your student pull it up if you want to see a picture.
Instructional Math:
As 1st quarter comes to a close, we are finishing up a unit on reviewing basic math skills and problem solving. Heading into 2nd quarter, we will begin a unit on the real number system, including integers and integer operations, and an intro to pre-algebra skills (order of operations, expressions, and equations). A calculator is a vital school supply for math class; please encourage your student to bring one to class. A great option is the Casio fx-115ES plus and can be found on Amazon using this link. At under $20, it is a great investment that your student can use into high school and beyond.
Science:
We have just finished our oceanography unit and students did a great job. We will be moving into a short review of the scientific method before starting a unit on atomic structure, matter, and the periodic table. Please make sure students are staying up to date on their assignments because this subject matter will be a little more challenging than the 1st quarter. Students should check on Google Classroom for any missing work and on Tyler for their grades.
Students of the Month: Our 8th grade Students of the Month are Caroline Gomes and Colten Oakes. These are two hard working students who have great attitudes and are kind to others. They are great role models!
STEM News
November 2020 STEM Newsletter
Welcome 2nd quarter STEM students!
This quarter, 6th grade students in Introduction to Engineering will begin to explore the world of engineering and the engineering design process. Later this quarter, students will put their design skills to the test as they practice the design process in an exciting design challenge.
7th grade students have started working on a digital portfolio for their work this quarter. They will soon be introduced to different types of sketching and technical drawings used by engineers to document and communicate designs. Also this quarter, 7th grade students will also work with an internet based CAD program, called TinkerCAD. They will use this program to explore the possibilities of computer modeling and 3-D printing.
Finally, 8th grade students are beginning to learn a little more about current robotic technology. This month they will explore robot structure as they study mechanisms and how they work.
P.E. News
Hello from the Physical Education department.
Wow, time has really flown by! We have already completed one quarter already in our school year. In classes, our students have begun to build their cardiovascular and endurance levels. Through our fitness curricular activities and exercises, we have already begun to see growth in all of our students. We will continue building their fitnessgram levels through rigorous activities which will require some testing to check and refer to throughout the remainder of the school year to project complete growth.
Additionally, our students have been learning about self esteem and positive mindsets in our SEL program. In the upcoming future, students will dive into becoming more self aware and focus on positive growth, strengths and weaknesses, and goal setting.
During our first quarter, our Physical Education staff has been very proud of the flexibility, patience, and hard work with all of our students and are excited to see our environment build off of these great characteristics. One student who has gone above and beyond all expectations to which needs special recognition, is Jacob Perry. Jacob has improved greatly and his work ethic and participation in class is superb. Keep up the great work Jacob.
Thank you,
Sandwich Middle School Physical Education staff
LRC News
November News from the LRC
November will be a busy month in the LRC. The Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award Program begins. All students have a chance to participate. If they read at least three of the twenty nominated titles, they will be eligible to vote for the state-wide winner. Multiple copies of the books will be available for checkout at destinydiscover.com. This year we even have the books available in eBook form. The program will last for four months. At the end of the program qualifying students will be invited to a voting party held in the LRC. The party will be during Advisory so nobody will miss it. There will be two parties to cover A & B days. Language Arts classes will be coming down to the LRC to find out about how everything works and to hear about the books. More information about Rebecca Caudill is available at www.rcyrba.org
Notes from the Nurse
Flu Season
Flu season is here! Protect yourself and your family this season with an annual flu vaccine for everyone who is 6 months and older. Seasonal flu activity can begin as early as October and last as late as May. Visit www.flu.gov for more information.
Social-emotional Learning Curriculum
Dear Sandwich CUSD #430 Families,
The district is very excited to announce our implementation of social-emotional learning curricula for all students in preschool through 7th grade using Second Step® and Habitudes® in 8th grade!
We want your child to be as successful as possible at school. Success in school is not just about academics. It is also about knowing how to learn and how to get along with others. Second Step® and Habitudes® are research-based curricula that focus on skills for social and academic success, such as emotion management, problem solving, growth mindset, and empathy.
We understand that blended and remote learning has presented us all with new challenges for student learning and well-being. Please know that while your child’s participation in Second Step® and Habitudes® activities is important, the activities will not be graded. We are constantly evaluating the best ways to reach all students with this curriculum, while not placing undue additional burden on families. Please see below for a description of how these curricula will be delivered to different grade-levels.
If you have any questions about the social-emotional curriculum, please do not hesitate to contact your building school social worker or school psychologist for more information (see below for staff names). Thank you for supporting your child in learning the skills that lead to success in school and in life!
All Preschool - 5th Grade
6th and 7th grade students in REMOTE LEARNING ONLY
For the 2020-21 school year, the Second Step® curriculum will be delivered via remote platform (Seesaw or Google Classroom, depending on your child’s grade level). On Seesaw/Google Classroom, weekly lessons will be delivered by a school social worker or school psychologist.
Also via Seesaw/Google Classroom, you and your child will receive simple, fun activities for you and your child to complete together throughout the week to reinforce the lesson. They are a great way for you to understand what your child is learning and for your child to show you what he or she knows! In the upcoming weeks, please watch for information directly from your child’s teacher or the school social worker/psychologist to connect you to Second Step® on Seesaw/Google Classroom.
6th and 7th Grade students in BLENDED LEARNING
For the 2020-21 school year, the Second Step® curriculum will be delivered when your child is attending school in-person during PE class. Your child may receive additional simple activities to complete at home as a way to reinforce the lessons.
All 8th grade students
Students in 8th grade will be receiving a separate curriculum called Habitudes®, which will transition them to high school. For students in Blended learning, Habitudes® will be delivered when they are attending school in-person during PE class. For students in Remote-only learning, Habitudes® will be delivered via Google Classroom by a school social worker.
Staff Members:
Preschool & Kindergarten: Alex Moore, School Social Worker amoore@sandwich430.org
1st & 2nd grade: Kim Teti, School Social Worker kteti@sandwich430.org
3rd grade: Amy Surprenant, School Psychologist asurprenant@sandwich430.org
4th grade: Christine Dewey, School Social Worker cdewey@sandwich430.org
5th grade: Molly McDade, School Psychologist mmcdade@sandwich430.org
6th, 7th, & 8th grades: Sandy Davies, School Social Worker sdavies@sandwich430.org
Erin Pearlman, School Social Worker epearlman@sandwich430.org
Thank you to all that participated in Red Ribbon Week!
About us
Email: smorel@sandwich430.org
Website: www.sandwich430.org
Location: 600 South Wells Street, Sandwich, IL, USA
Phone: 8157862138