Junior High Journal
News and Happenings in the Junior High Department
8th Grade Updates & Reminders 10/3-10/7
- Chromebooks should be charged every night to ensure the battery lasts throughout the day!
- Water bottles should be stored in lockers at all time. Students can ask to get a drink if they are thirsty, but with our new Chromebooks, water bottles are not allowed in the classroom.
- 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.
Junior High October Parent/Teacher Conferences
We will welcome all students and families at our November 16 & November 21st conferences to sum up the first trimester.
Wednesday, Oct 12, 2016, 04:30 PM
18621 Washington Avenue, Union Grove, WI, United States
Character Education: Growth Mindset
Individual Classes
ELA News and Updates
Katie Nicholls katie.nicholls@yorkville.k12.wi.us
This week in ELA, students began writing their first essay of the year. The paper is an argumentative essay about a work related issue. Topics range from “Is doing nothing a good use of time?” to “Do social media postings affect future employment opportunities?” Each student picked a topic, developed a claim and found research to support their opinion. Rough drafts are due on Monday. We also began our first novel of the year, No Promises in the Wind. The story is historical fiction and takes place during the peak of the Great Depression. Students are finding that life in 1932 was quite different from today. Ask your student this weekend if they would have liked living during that time period.
Science News and Updates
Erin Weis erin.weis@yorkville.k12.wi.us
In science class, students learned what living organisms need to survive and learned what the five major molecules are that make up the chemical building blocks of life. Students learned why living things need food, water and air and we will go into more details of the chemical reactions that happen in the coming chapters. They took a quiz on the second and final section of the chapter and are preparing for their test on Monday. Students finished out the week changing the lyrics of one of their favorite songs to lyrics that describe one of the topics of our chapter. We continued to talk about test taking strategies and study skills to help students be successful on their assessments. Please check skyward and remind your child to turn in any missing or late work before the assessment is taken.
Enjoy the beautiful Fall weekend!
Mrs. Weis
Social Studies News and Updates
John Johnsen john.johnsen@yorkville.k12.wi.us
This week in Civics we finished Chapter 2 and began working on Chapter 3. The students began looking at state governments and how they led to the Articles of Confederation. We discussed the two positives and many negatives of this first government. Next week we will finish looking at this lesson and then focus our attention at the founding fathers building our current government. We will examine the struggles they went through and how they used compromise to get things accomplished. Have a great weekend. Mr. Johnsen
Math News and Updates
Mary Niccolai mary.niccolai@yorkville.k12.wi.us
Intro to Algebra worked on solving equations with zero or infinite solutions. We also reviewed order of operation and combining like terms. Next week we will begin working of writing and solving equations based. Sometimes writing the equation can be harder than solving the equation. We will spend several days working on this skill. Next up we begin working with real numbers and exponents. Please check skyward for updated grades. Have a great weekend.
Mrs. Niccolai
Algebra wrapped up Unit 1A. We ended the week with a unit review. On Monday they will take a pre test to help prepare for the test, which will happen on Tuesday. We will probably take two days to complete the test. Our next unit will focus on equations and functions. This is an important building block for future units so we will spend some time on modules 4 and 5. Please check skyward for updated grades. Have a great weekend.
Mrs. Niccolai
Spanish News and Updates
Katy Morrow katy.morrow@yorkville.k12.wi.us
¡Hola! We started this week by taking our numbers unit quiz on Schoology, take a look at the final grades on Skyward. This week we began our actividades (activities) and adjetivos (unit). Students learned about twenty-five vocabulary words that describe what they like and don't like to do. Next week we will begin the grammar concepts related to these vocabulary words. Lastly, this Friday was another workday for their Hispanic Heritage Month Portfolio. The entire portfolio will be due October 21st. Their last workday in class will be October 14th.
Physical Education & Health News and Updates
Amanda Peterson amanda.peterson@yorkville.k12.wi.us
This week in health the 8th graders met with me and we discussed how to add, delete, and revise their presentations to make them of higher quality. I looking forward to hearing their presentations on Tuesday of next week.
This week the 8th graders completed their Fitnessgram test with the sit and reach test (flexibility) and the pacer test (cardiovascular endurance). While they were not testing they also had the opportunity to play team handball, basketball/volleyball, and prison. Have a wonderful fall weekend!
Mrs. Peterson
Band News and Updates
Mike Beix
The Advanced Band has begun working on new music for our Winter Concert on December 15.
The band will be performing at the Veterans Day Assembly at Yorkville School on Friday, November 11 at 9:45am.
Don’t forget to check out the band website (tinyurl.com/yorkvilleband) to stay informed with calendar dates, current band news, and helpful online resources.
Choir News and Updates
Carly Kreuscher
carly.kreuscher@yorkville.k12.wi.us
http://yorkvillemusic.weebly.com
The students continue to work on pieces for our upcoming concerts. They continue to make lots of progress! There will be a November performance on Tuesday November 15, 2016 at Union Grove High School, 6:30pm. We will be performing in the Performance Center with Choirs from Nash Elementary in Kenosha.
I have added a “What’s New” page to my website and will be posting a monthly newsletter. Included in the newsletter will be Upcoming Events, Notes from the teacher, What we are learning, songs we are singing, and a “Did you Know” column. Stop by and check it out!!! http://yorkvillemusic.weebly.com
There are still some students with missing handbook slips. The signed portion of the handbook was due Friday Sept 23rd. Let’s try to get the remainder of them in asap!!
Art News and Updates
Mrs. Herman is currently on maternity leave after having her daughter, Audrey Jean, on September 7th! She will be back sometime in December! 8th grade students currently do not have art.