Junior High Journal
News and Happenings in the Junior High Department
8th Grade Updates & Reminders 1/2-1/6
- Chromebooks should be charged every night to ensure the battery lasts throughout the day!
- Check Skyward and the homework calendar frequently for missing and current homework assignments, talk to your child about their work.
- Please remember that although you can email your students, absences and early pick-up information must be reported through the office. Please call the Yorkville School office.
Individual Classes
ELA News and Updates
Katie Nicholls katie.nicholls@yorkville.k12.wi.us
This week in ELA, we began exploring the concept of literary criticism and literary analysis. We read a literary criticism that outlined the criteria of the horror genre. Using that criteria, students created categories and categorized the criteria used in the short stories and film clips we analyzed throughout this unit. Students then began to identify the criteria in two specific short stories and picked one of the stories to complete a literary analysis. It’s wonderful to see all the students rested and relaxed after the break. I look forward to the new year ahead of us.
Science News and Updates
Erin Weis erin.weis@yorkville.k12.wi.us
It is great to be back, refreshed and ready to start some new learning! We began the week looking at some of our characteristics and finding out which of our classmates had dominant traits and who had the recessive traits. Students were surprised to find out that some traits were much more common than others. It was very entertaining to watch students try to curl their tongues! You have probably guessed that we are learning about heredity. Students learned about the “Father of Genetics” and how Mendel’s experiments led him to draw conclusions about how traits are passed down from parents to offspring. There is lots of new vocabulary in this chapter that we will be using to predict the traits of offspring.
I am looking forward to a great second half of the year!
Happy New Year!
Mrs. Weis
Social Studies News and Updates
John Johnsen john.johnsen@yorkville.k12.wi.us
This week in 8th grade students completed a portfolio and placed it on their Social Studies webpage. This portfolio showed what the students learned about the legislative branch. We then finished the week by starting our Senate Simulation. Students get placed into one of two fictional political parties and they get to debate, discuss, and pass bills. This is a fun opportunity for students to do a little role playing, while seeing how bills become laws. For this simulation students will have to complete a discussion question at the end of each day. These questions will be graded to determine the score the student receives. Next week, we will finish the simulation and then begin looking at the executive branch and the Presidency. I want to take a minute and thank everyone who has participated in raising money for the “Tiny Home Project”. We have reached our goal of $5,000 to build a tiny home. It was great to see the community reach out and help a great cause. Have a great weekend. Mr. Johnsen
Math News and Updates
Mary Niccolai mary.niccolai@yorkville.k12.wi.us
Intro to Algebra worked with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing rational numbers. We also spent time solving equations with rational numbers. They are all doing a nice job on this review. Next week we will begin graphing linear equations. Please check skyward for updated grades.
Algebra began working on Module 7 this week. This module continues to work with linear equations. We will revisited function notation and arithmetic sequences. They were also introduced to inverse functions. We ended the week with a module 7 vocabulary quiz. Next week we will begin working with graphing inequalities. This will give good reinforcement to graphing linear equations and to solving inequalities. Please check Skyward for updated grades. Have a great weekend.
Please contact me via e-mail if you have any questions or concerns.
Mrs. Niccolai
Spanish News and Updates
Katy Morrow katy.morrow@yorkville.k12.wi.us
We began the new year by focusing on the verb tener (to have) to describe our family members' hair and eye color. We asked each other "what hair and eye color do you have?" and wrote about our own family members. We also strated talking about world news by using the site News in Slow Spanish in order to practice listening to native speakers and to learn more about the world around us, next week we will use the verb tener to describe age, talk about our family members' hobbies and begin our family unit project.
Have a great weekend!
Physical Education & Health News and Updates
Amanda Peterson amanda.peterson@yorkville.k12.wi.us
This week the 8th graders did a little research on secondhand smoke, created a skit that involved being a manager of a restaurant, customer, child, waiter, or waitress. The point of the activity was to address a customer that was smoking in the restuarant,
This week the eighth graders dove right into the Fitnessgram Winter Testing Session. On Wednesday we tested their muscular strength and endurance with the curl up test and their flexibility with the trunk lift, while they were not testing they increased their cardiovascular endurance by playing full court basketball. On Friday, we also tested their muscular strength and endurance with the push-up test, while the students were not testing they participated in Speedball.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs.Peterson
Band News and Updates
Mike Beix
Advanced Band students performed short music compositions using the free music notation website Noteflight.com at their band lessons this week. I was impressed by the creativity of our students!
We were able to raise $225 for our band students at our Culver’s Fundraiser on December 15. Thank you to everyone helped support the band!
For the seventh consecutive year, the Milwaukee Admirals have invited us to perform the Star Spangled Banner before the game at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee on Friday, February 17. The bus will leave Yorkville School at 4:45pm. A ticket order form will be sent home in the coming weeks.
Please check out the band website (tinyurl.com/yorkvilleband) to stay up-to-date with the Yorkville Band!
Choir News and Updates
Carly Kreuscher
carly.kreuscher@yorkville.k12.wi.us
http://yorkvillemusic.weebly.com
This years musical will be Music Man Jr. Auditions will begin this Monday, Jan 9, 2017-Friday Jan 13, 2017. Audition packets are available in the choir room. I have attached to music and choreography the students will need to perform during their audition on my website!!
We continue to work on music for Choral Fest. . Choral Festival is Thursday, February 23, 2017 at 7:00pm.
If you are looking for extra handouts, forms, etc. please check my website. I try to post everything I can so you have access at home!!! http://yorkvillemusic.weebly.com
Here is the link from our Fall Concert on Nov. 15 with Nash Elementary. If you were unable to attend the performance or would like to view it again, here it is…