Greenfield Middle School Newsletter
Social Media
One of our focuses this year is to develop strong communication ties between school and parents. We will be using various social media channels in order to make this happen. Right now we are on Instagram (greenfield_middle) and on Twitter (@gms_hawks). We will be posting news from the school which may include photos of all the cool things happening here in and outside of the classroom. Our focus is to bring a sense of community between the school and the parents. Our art room also has Instagram to follow at gmsartfocus. Please follow us to stay updated!
8th Grade Gold House
In Gold House we have four main classes: Math, English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. We have two different math classes of Algebra and Regular math. In Algebra we have just finished our Inequalities unit, and we are now starting our Graphing unit. We recently plotted points to make a stain glass window. Everyday, in both Algebra and Regular math, we do a warm-up. Regular math also is in their Graphing unit. In Regular math we are learning about rotations and flips on a graph.
In Science class we started our Motion unit. We learned about speed, distance, and time. Now we are currently learning about velocity and acceleration. We learned all the equations for speed, distance, time, velocity, and acceleration. We practiced those equations in the “Crawling Baby” Lab.
In Language Arts we are currently in our Thrill of Horror unit. We have learned about suspense and how suspense is made. Right now we are working on our Literary Analysis essay about one of the four horror stories we have read. Every Wednesday we work in our writing circle groups where we write about a chosen topic. We are now revising one of our writing circle stories.
For Social Studies in eighth grade we are learning about American history. We just finished our Colonial America unit where we learned about Pilgrims, Puritans, and the Quakers. We did a presentation on a Colonial America topic of our choice. Now we are learning about the Revolutionary War, and we are currently learning about the French and Indian War.
By Jimi Witkowski
8th Grade Green House
At 7:27 this morning, the bell rang and all the Green House students ran to their first related and fine arts classes. I ran down the stairs to band where we practiced for our concert coming up. When 8:17 came around, I packed up and went to Project Lead the Way. We did a hard gel electrophoresis lab that was very exciting. I am excited for tomorrow when we get to see the strands of DNA. I went back to Green House for my core classes at 9:07. During third hour science, we took a quiz and did a written roller coaster lab. Brrrrrr… it must be close to winter with the room colder and the tree lit. Around 10:02, I ran off to Spanish! My brain got pretty full in Spanish while I was trying to memorize 27 -ar verbs! When 10:57 quickly came around, I got up and started the long trek to language arts. While in ELA, we worked on publishing our stories. At 10:52, I went to Hawk Time where I went to my band lesson. I came back and worked on memorizing those 27 verbs in Spanish. Lunch, at 12:21, is a great breaks from verbs where I can talk to my friends. Too quickly, 12:51 came around and I went to Social Studies. We watched a video about Ben Franklin. When the video ended, it was 1:46 already! I went off to math to learn about numbers. We learned about slope and all the ways you can write linear equations. When the long anticipated bell rang at 2:41, I went to my locker to go home after a day of fun and learning.
Lily Smith
7th Grade Blue House
7th Grade Blue House: Reading Books in Social Studies and English
In language arts, we have been doing book clubs. We get to pick out the books that we read for book club from a list of multiple titles. We then work with other students who picked the same book. We have a book club packet where we record the story plot, character details, and other responses to the book. We also have a book club meeting calendar where we record when our meetings are, and what we need to have read. The meetings are run by the groups! We have a ten minute discussion on the book. We share ideas with each other in our group discussions. Recently, we have done a new form of discussion. We did a write around circle in our book club groups were we wrote a paragraph responding to some template questions. Then we passed our papers around and started a writing conversation with our book club books.
We have also read the book Refugee in language arts and social studies. This book tells the story of two different characters who are refugees at different times in history. In language arts, we read about Isabel, a refugee from Cuba during the 1990s and in social studies we read about Josef, a jewish boy who was fleeing from the Nazis in the late 1930s. Both of these stories focused around kids who are the same age as us! This went along with our refugee activities we covered in social studies class. Both of the stories were really interesting to read!
7th Grade Yellow House
Yellow House Newsletter - November 2017
By Julia Counterman & Emilie Harmeyer
In November this year, we were working on lots of stuff! Yellow House students have been very busy! In Social Studies, we read a story from the book Refugee by Alan Gratz. The story we read was about a boy from Aleppo, Syria named Mahmoud. He had become a refugee in 2015 because of a war in Syria.
In ELA, we also read part of Refugee. This story was about a girl named Isabel. She lived in Havana, Cuba in 1994. Isabel was trying to make it to El Norte, or the U.S. We also started book clubs. The books we could choose were: Endangered by Eliot Schrefer, Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff, New Boy by Julian Houston, Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson, and We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen.
In Science, we have been working on projects about Gregor Mendel and his studies in pea plants for the genetics unit. Gregor Mendel is known as the “Father of Genetics”, which is the study of how our traits were passed down from our parents.
In German and Spanish, we have learned the alphabet, numbers, and letters. We are now working on times, and are about to start colors. In general math, we have been working on integers and multiplying, dividing, adding, and subtracting negatives.
In advanced math, we just finished working on the three transformations: translations, reflections, and rotations. We are now starting the unit on similar figures.
In Design & Modeling, we did a unit on multi-view sketches, isometric sketches, and dimensioning. We learned that all of the annotations for the dimensions on a multi-view sketch have to be toward the inside of the paper.
In October, we went on a field trip to a rollerskating rink called Butler Skateland. We left around 11:00, skated for around three hours and got back at 2:30. We had pizza, either when we got to the rink or when we got tired of skating. There was a couple of games the staff had us play if we wanted as well. On October 21st, the whole school had a field trip to the Kalahari. Lots of people in our house got at least 12 orders for the fundraiser and went to the Kalahari. The whole school was eligible, as long as there were 12 orders turned in. We all had so much fun at the Kalahari. Everyone was having so much fun swimming, going on the water slides with their friends, and just having the chance to be there.
7th Grade Skating Field Trip
6th Grade Newsletter
6th Grade Newsletter
December 2017
Orange House and Violet House students have had a productive and exciting first trimester. Now that the first trimester is over, we are all becoming much more comfortable and well adjusted to middle school life. Here are some of the exciting things we’ve done so far:
Leaf Incentive
Our 6th grade teachers in both Orange and Violet House created an incentive to help us remember to bring all of the supplies we needed. During each class, teachers picked two random students. If these randomly selected students came to class on time and with all the supplies they needed, the class earned a leaf. If each house earned a certain number of leaves, we were promised a snack and a movie. Congratulations to all students in 6th grade who qualified for the incentive!
Discovery World Field Trip (Orange House)
This year, students in Orange House will be going on a educational field trip to Discovery World on December 13th. On this trip, students will have the opportunity to explore many different exhibits related to science, technology, and the weather. Students will pick one exhibit and develop of research question related to this topic. We will then research this topic further and develop a presentation to share our findings with our peers. We are excited for this special opportunity and can’t wait to find out more!
Milwaukee Public Museum Field Trip (Violet House)
Students in Violet House also participated in a similar field trip at the Milwaukee Public Museum. At the museum, we explored exhibits on the first and second floors and completed a scavenger hunt. Then each student picked one exhibit to research and explore further. Currently, we are completing postcards in Hawk Time to demonstrate what we have learned in a creative way. This experience has been a valuable and engaging learning opportunity for the students in Violet House.
Students of the Month
Each month, teachers in Orange and Violet House pick students who worked extra hard to follow the Hawk Pride Expectations of being ready, respectful, and responsible. These students demonstrated great effort, kindness, and respect towards their teachers and classmates. Congratulations to the following Students of the Month:
OCTOBER
Orange House
Giancarlo Celi
Brianna Griffin
Faith Koier
Parker Meifert
Hunter O'Neal
Cassandra Olivier
Violet House
Marissa Blawat (math)
Dominic Corso, Jr. (social studies)
Aaliyah Macias (language arts)
Wesley Migacz (computers)
Savannah Schwabe (communication arts)
Emily Vukobrat (science)
NOVEMBER
Orange House
Rachel Blum
Brittney Castillo
Jackie Lam
Paige Lenz
Jasdeep Oberoi
Sukhneet Singh
Violet House
Alyson Czaplewski (language arts)
Donte Drankiewicz (math)
Angelina Esqueda (social studies)
Evelyn Fong (science)
Avery Garcia (computers)
Charles Jones (communication arts)
These are just a few of the many wonderful events and activities that 6th graders in Orange and Violet House have participated in this year. The school year has only just begun, but we’ve already had many fantastic and engaging experiences so far! We’ve adjusted to a new school, made new friends, and learned many new and valuable things. We are all excited to see what else this year has in store for us, and we look forward to reporting on other important events, activities, field trips, and lessons throughout the year!
Computers (6th Grade)
The author Sean Connolly visited!
6th grade Bowling Field Trip!
F.A.C.E
In our 8th Grade F.A.C.E class students are learning the basic skills of hand sewing & machine sewing. They are showing their progress through multiple projects. We were asked to put together a pillow using the sewing machine and using the whip stitch to close it. After we finished our pillows we were able to complete a second hand sewing project of our choice. Many of us chose to sew together a felt Christmas tree ornament. Students really seem to enjoy the sewing unit taught by Mrs.Breneman, she’s always so positive and helpful with students and she keeps the creativity flowing.
By: Asia Millan & Jason Robertus
In our 7th grade F.A.C.E, the students have been working on hand sewing projects. Learning the basic skills of hand sewing. The things they have been working on includes; sewing together a cute monster, a free choice sewing project, and creating their very own shoe idea. We all seem to enjoy the projects. We are able to use our imagination and our unique design skills to put together something great. Students don’t always get to have the choice on what they are making, but in F.A.C.E, we can put our skills to the test, while having a lot of fun along the way. Mrs. Breneman always encourages us as we go further into our projects, and always incorporates creativity into everything. She has taught us so much this year so far and I can’t wait for our next project with her.
By: Carina Bridges
Physical Education
National Junior Honor Society
Dear Greenfield Community,
The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is a service organization that is also fun! On Friday, October 13th, NJHS had a social to get to know the newest members of our organization. It was a big success, and nearly all of the 80 members were present for the games and pizza.
It is almost time for the annual NJHS food drive. In the past, the food drive was called “Holiday Sharing.” This year, the name is “Community Sharing” to represent the ongoing service projects of the National Honor Society. This food drive supports over 50 Greenfield families. Our goal is to collect 6,000 food items overall, with each student contributing at least three items. Please bring nonperishable food items such as canned vegetables, soup, and peanut butter. Donations will be collected in Hawk Time classes. The class with the highest amount of food items collected will receive an incentive. The food drive runs from Tuesday, December 5th until Monday, December 11th. Booker T. Washington said, ‘’Those who are the happiest are those who do the most for others.” NJHS hopes that you will find joy in participating in the Community Sharing food drive. We thank you for any nonperishable food that you donate. If you have any questions feel free to talk to the National Junior Honor Society officers or advisors.
Sincerely,
Kinga Kas and Leah Wasielewski
LMC News!
Battle of the Books Begin
Students, consider joining the Battle of the Books! You’ll get to choose from a list of 20 great books and discuss the books over food with friends during your lunch hour once a week. Bring your lunch to the GMS Library/Media Center on Wednesdays during lunch hours. Please have your parent print, sign and return a permission slip (hard copies also available in the GMS library) to bring to the first meeting. For more info, call the GMS Library at 414-281-3430.
Popular After-School Library Program Grows
We're off to a great start. If your student would like to join on Tuesdays or Thursdays, send your student to the library to pick up a permission slip and schedule (or print from the link). If you have questions, please call the library at 414-281-3430. Thanks!
Family Activity Night
Student Council
Halloween Dance!
From the Counseling Office......
8th Grade Future Planning Conferences
Sign-ups have begun for Future Planning Conferences to be held with your student and their counselor! All 8th Graders will participate in these valuable meetings. They will last 30-45 minutes and will focus on your student’s future planning into high school and beyond. Our hope is that a parent or guardian can be present for each student's meeting. The following links can be used to sign up for an appointment. These conferences will be held through the end of January.
Mr. Langenfeld: (Students A-L) http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d45aaaa2aa2f49-8thgrade1?scrlybrkr=bc30182c
Ms. Randazzo: (Students M-Z) http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080b4faea828a4fc1-8thgrade
If you have questions, feel free to contact the GMS Counseling Office at (414) 281-3321.
High School Registration
The Greenfield High School counselors will be coming to Greenfield Middle School on Friday, February 2nd to have a discussion with all 8th grade students about high school. During this time, the GHS counselors will also be distributing a 9th grade course selection form, which students will bring home to select their courses for next school year. Students will have a couple weeks to return the completed course selection form to the Greenfield Middle School Counseling Office and will then later use the form to register for their 9th grade courses on-line at school.
Greenfield High School Parent/Student Information Night
There will be High School Orientation Night for parents and students at Greenfield High School on Monday, February 5. This event is for all eighth grade students attending Greenfield Middle School as well as all eight grade students attending private/parochial schools. The goal of the program is to learn about all that GHS has to offer. The Orientation Night will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.
Counseling Department News
The school counselors at Greenfield Middle School have begun conducting small groups. The small group topics include: Changing Families, Coping with Grief and Loss, Concern About Others, Managing Strong Emotions, and Stress Management. All students are welcome to participate in a small group, which are facilitated by a school counselor and consist of students from the same grade. Each small group meets four times, occurring once a week for approximately 40 minutes. Students are responsible for making up any class work missed during group time. If you have any questions about small groups, please feel free to contact either Dan Langenfeld (414-281-3323) or Tarah Randazzo (414-281-3324).
Archie, the Therapy Dog
Archie has had a busy first few weeks here at GMS in the Counseling Department. He has been busy getting lots of love and LOTS of treats! He has enjoyed supporting students individually, in small groups and he has even visited some classrooms during Hawk Time. He’s eager to continue to get to know the students, families and staff of Greenfield Middle School! Please feel free to stop by to visit with Archie, he is usually here on Thursdays. He will gladly accept a treat from you and give you lots of love if he’s not busy with a student!
Art Studio
Honors Band
Boys Basketball Schedule
Wrestling Schedule
Cheerleading
HAWKS!
Exhausted. Heavy breathing covered up by loud music and a cheering crowd. We’re all tired but we still have to do the ending pyramid, the cherry on top of our whole routine. If we didn’t impress the judges by now, this is our final chance. Split second decisions can either build us up or break us down. “5..6..7..8..” I yell in my head. The tumblers fly across the mat, back handsprings and back tucks impress the excited crowd. After tumbling comes the pyramid and all of a sudden, it’s time, the big moment! I run to the middle of the blue mat that seems so big now, smiling and waving at the stern judges that sit in front of the mat at a big desk. Our stunt group has the easy part, we only have to do a pop which seemed so hard the first day of practice but we have mastered now. Alex --our flyer-- leaps, aiming for our bases hands and…the nerves get to us and we miss her feet. We panic, but only for a second. There is no time to be discouraged. I remembered my coach's words, “Even if you mess up, keep going and act like it never happened.” That is exactly what we did. Alex jumps in a second time without warning, the same result. I call in the stunt. “Pop 1..2”. It gets up, but a couple counts late.We stayed smiling until we walked off the mat, disappointed.
Before long, we are at our next competition. We are more ready than ever. Hours of “Again!” and “Again!” coming from our coaches have made our confidence high and our spirit higher. It’s a home competition and we have to blow everyone away with our improvement.
We’re squeezed and still, you could hear a pin drop. The roaring music starts. We’ve listened to the track so many times. The counts have been burned in our mind. Stunts, Jumps and flips later, we were at it again, here came the pyramid. I took a deep breath as I ran to the center of the mat. “...5...6...7...8”, here we go! Alex leaps in. Hands shaking, the bases catch her feet and the stunt soars! Alex grabs the hands of the other flyers, linking us all. The loud music fades. “HAWKS!”, we all yell, proud of our performance and hard work. With big smiles, we parade off the mat with our team, our family.
Leila Begin
Coat Drive Ran By A Student
School District of Greenfield Student Handbook
Please make sure to read it and sign the Verification Form (one per student).
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7QvDsd7l8Ameb30ZZ_uPYVza5jsi9YJF9qchopIIQqUQUSQ/viewform
Calendar
December 5th:
After School Library Program
December 5th-11th:
Community Sharing Food Drive
December 6th:
Battle of the Books, during lunch hours
December 7th:
After School Library Program
December 7th:
6th and 7th Grade School Choirs
December 11th:
Art Studio 2:45-4:00
December 13th:
6th Grade Orange House Field Trip to Discovery World
December 13th:
Yoga 3:45-4:30
December 13th:
Battle of the Books, during lunch hours
December 13th:
8th Grade and High School Choir
December 14th:
After School Library Program
December 18th:
Pajama Day
December 18th:
Art Studio 2:45-4:00
December 18th:
6th Grade "Grade Folders" are sent home to be signed and returned
December 18th:
8th Grade and High School Band
December 19th:
Flannel Day
December 19th:
After School Library Program
December 20th:
Holiday Cheer Day
December 20th:
Battle of the Books, during lunch hours
December 20th:
6th, 7th and Jazz Band Concert
December 21st:
Winter Sports Day
December 21st:
After School Library Program
December 22nd:
House Color Day
December 25-January 1st:
Winter Break, No School
January 8th:
Art Studio 2:45-4:00
January 10th:
Yoga 3:45-4:30
January 11th:
Geography Bee Final Round
January 11th:
Ski Club
January 18th:
Ski Club
January 22nd:
Art Studio 2:45-4:00
January 24th:
Yoga 3:45-4:30
January 25th:
Ski Club
January 29th:
Art Studio 2:45-4:00
SAVE THE DATE:
February 2nd:
Winter Dance
March 5th:
Roller Skating @ Incredi-roll
April 20th:
Spring Dance