Creekside Chronicle
April 2020 Newsletter
Administrative Update
This is not the way I thought we would be entering the end of the school year. I have been proud of the positive virtual interactions that students have been having with teachers. I am proud of the feedback from parents about working with us on rolling out our first E-Learning experiences for students. I am also proud of all of the meaningful learning experiences generated by our Creekside staff to academically engage our students. I am proud to work in a district that focuses on kids first. We have focused our decisions and support on those families in need, and we are here to support all of you through this difficult time. We will continue to plan and focus on students through this time, and through all of this unknown. We will be in constant communication.
Middle School E-Learning Plan
We hope that this notice finds you healthy, happy, and excited for school to be starting back up, even if it is on the virtual end.
Families, as we embark on this e-learning journey, we wanted to structure and organize learning content in a way that is easily accessible to both you as parents as well as the students. By now, our students have familiarized themselves with Canvas, but this learning management system may be new to you. To make things more accessible, we have created grade-level documents that contain teacher plans and student assignments.
Each teacher has developed an individual lesson plan that will be open and available to you through this link and through our school website. Please be patient as teachers update and make changes to their plans for the week.
Each teacher’s plan will contain the following criteria:
Learning Target
What do I do?
Where do I turn this in?
Where do I go if I have questions?
Tips for Success
Class Communication/Call In Time
All individual teacher’s plans will be linked to a grade level plan. On this grade level plan, you will be able to see all of your students’ teachers and click on the links to their weekly plans.
As the district’s letter indicates, we will be running on a block schedule so students can focus on a limited number of their classes each day. This allows for more teacher-directed lessons and allows teachers to also be more available to answer questions to support students through the learning process.
During this time, we strongly encourage students to be checking their email and logging into Canvas each day for their specific courses.
The schedule is also listed below for your convenience.
We understand that each and every one of you is dealing with different circumstances and situations during this time. We want to reach out and let you know that we are here to support you. We hope that the lessons provided help prepare your student for the next level and continue to grow as a learner.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the Creekside staff for support.
Pledge Requests
Students, we are also looking for some of you to help us kick off each day of e-learning in a fun way. We would like for some of you to volunteer to do the pledge each morning. If you are interested in participating, submit your video here. The video will be posted on our announcements for the day.
Report Cards
Due to our school closure, report cards have not been mailed. The final grades for 3rd quarter have been updated in eSchool. Follow the images below to view grades.
Make sure you have selected the correct student.
Click the grades icon at the top of your screen.
Click the report card tab.
Under where it says Report Card, select “View Report Card for Reporting Period” and select 3 from the dropdown.
View the final grades in MP3
Spirit Week! March 30-April 3
When we return to learning, here are the spirit days!! Students will be able to locate them on the Homeroom Announcements where beautiful slides show them!
- Monday, March 30th - SUPER HERO DAY in honor of the hospital workers, first responders, grocery employees and all other essential personnel
- Tuesday, March 31st - CRAZY HAIR AND/OR SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY in honor of those hair stylists we miss and the schools we miss
- Wednesday, April 1st - DRESS LIKE AN OLD PERSON in honor of the generation most at risk
- Thursday, April 2nd - JERSEY DAY in honor of all the sports teams that aren’t able to play right now
- Friday, April 3rd - PAJAMA DAY because let’s face it, pajamas are the best for learning at home!
Student Recognition
We would like to continue with our positive student recognition. We will work to develop ways to celebrate students through Student of the Month and Honors Recognition. Information will be forthcoming once return dates have been established.
Young Authors Award Winners
Congratulations to our Young Authors Award Winners. We are proud of your accomplishments.
Congratulations Wrestlers
Congratulations to our IESA State Wrestling Qualifiers.
A Note form the Nurse
6th Grade
E learning
Science has been working on wrapping up the essential question, “ How and why is earth constantly changing?” The students were able to explore earthquakes through a combination of station activities that included gizmos, a shake table, the use of the Mercalli Scale to rate damage and make real world applications. The students then explored volcanoes through videos, many real world examples that they were able to write gists about to understand what volcanoes in the world are explosive, non-explosive, shield, cinder cone and composite. We discussed hotspots and how islands form. We are currently making connections to both volcanoes and earthquakes with the use of Venn Diagrams and also applying all we studied to plate tectonics.
Social studies classes have finished up with Ancient Egypt. Next, we will be taking a closer look at the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. Learning tools for building our skills and knowledge base will be Newsela, Discovery video clips, Inquiry projects, and our Human Heritage Text. Many more interesting lessons and concepts to be discovered.
The math classes began their topics on algebraic thinking. Beginning with exponents, order of operations, and numerical expressions, students transitioned to algebraic expressions. Students began with differentiating between numerical expressions and algebraic expressions before identifying the different parts of an algebraic expression. As we move forward, we will begin discussing how to simplify expressions by applying the distributive property and combining the like terms.
7th Grade
In Mr. Clement’s science class, students will spend time in March and April learning about viruses. It will culminate into a project where students will read/listen to articles in order to deduce where a zombie virus started. Then, they will draw a conclusion about the causes.
In Mrs. Thornton’s advanced literacy class, students are learning about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Although not well known, this tragedy sparked reform in building codes. Students are beginning to investigate more workplace disasters and their effects. They will use their research to write a piece of historical fiction. The photo features Teagan Harvey reading a newspaper from 1905 about the Grover Shoe Factory.
AVID students in 7th grade did a very interesting project about the different types of colleges afterwards they presented it to the classmates and also some teachers and administrators
Dual language Students in 7th grade after finishing their novel analyzed some articles about Kleptomania to compare fiction and non fiction features. We have also started a new unit about poetry that will end with a poetry analysis .
8th Grade
8th Grade Math: Our focus during quarter 3 was on Solving Systems of Equations. Throughout this unit students learned how to:
Write and graph systems of two linear equations in two variables to represent real-world contexts.
Compare the graphs of linear equations in a system to solve problems in real-world contexts.
Identify that the intersection of the graphs of the linear equations is the solution to a system of equations, and verify the solution algebraically by substituting it into both equations.
Match a system of linear equations with one solution, no solution, and infinite solutions to graphs and to real-world contexts.
Solve systems of linear equations algebraically.
CPM: Our focus during most of Quarter 3 was on Exponential Functions. Throughout this unit students learned how to:
Investigate a family of exponential functions and recognize exponential growth when given situations, tables, graphs, or equations, and make connections between these representations.
Extend knowledge of exponents and their properties and learn how to use these properties, along with the algebra skills they already possess, to solve exponential equations.
Introduced to step functions.
Apply exponential functions to real-life situations involving growth and decay.
Find exponential equations that fit given data and learn about fractional exponents.
During e-learning, remember to explore and reflect on your own learning and we are available via email for support.
If your student needs any further practice:
Freckle (Email your teacher so they can add you!)
Student Services
5 Ways to Make the Most of Social Distancing
Still wondering how to make the most of our extra time at home with the kids? Information adapted from an article found in: All Pro Dad has some great ideas for some focused time with your family. A giant list of other ideas can be found at Princess Awesome.com that can be done anytime during the year. Fun for all ages!
Child Mind Institute also has some helpful daily tips to keep us informed as parents in how to keep our homes safe and supportive.
If you have additional questions or concerns about your child’s social emotional learning during this time, please contact one of us via email:
Mrs. Nieman
School Counselor
Ms. Hettermann
School Social Worker
Mrs. Perry
School Psychologist
BAND
I was SO proud of all of my bands on March 11’s concert at WHS! They all performed very challenging music and I loved getting to share their music-making with their families! We’ve all come so far this school year. Please continue to encourage your child to practice while they are home during this break. I have secured FREE premium Smartmusic subscriptions for all of my students! Instructions are on the “Exploring Smartmusic” doc on Canvas. I may be assigning homework from this platform in the near future, so please encourage your child to familiarize themselves with it.
I will continue to share worthwhile musical experiences with my students via Canvas. Remind them to check my Canvas page.
Flyby parent request
Parents, we want to hear from you.
Select our next topic for our Creekside Flyby (Parent Informational Video Series)
Fill out this form to request an information video on a specific topic. https://tinyurl.com/yxtxvheq
Box Tops
Box Tops are going digital! No more clipping, all you need is your phone. Download the ALL-NEW Box Tops app, shop as you normally would, then simply scan your store receipts to find participating products. The app will automatically credit Creekside’s Box Tops earnings online. Printed Box Tops are being phased out and will only be accepted through this fall. If you have any clipped Box Tops, Creekside will accept them only through October 15. Here is a video link that shows how to set up your phone to easily send Creekside money from your grocery receipts. https://www.boxtops4education.com/About\
Creekside Middle School
Francesca Favero, Asst. Principal
David Riesen, Dean of Students
Email: mwheatley@wcusd200.org
Website: woodstockschools.org/creekside
Location: 3201 Hercules Road, Woodstock, IL, USA
Phone: (815)3375200
Facebook: facebook.com/creeksidewoodstock/
Twitter: @CMSFalcons200