6th Grade News

Believe it or not, the sixth grade students have learned so much in just a few weeks!! They have learned how to work their lockers, change classes, walk up and down the stairs and we will be completing some school safety drills this month. We are proud of the independence that they are gaining. Just a couple reminders….students should all be writing down their assignments in their learning log (planner), so feel free to ask them to look at it. It is a great habit of writing down things that need to be done at night.

Many have asked what advisory is all about, so let us explain. Advisory is a 30 minute period where we have announcements, and is a time for students who were absent to get make-up assignments and those who might have one or two homework questions to be helped by a teacher. It is NOT the time to get all homework done. It may also be a time a teacher pulls a student to give extra directions or help. It does go rather quickly.

Please check Tyler for the most accurate grade. If you are not one to check Tyler weekly, you may want to start getting in that habit. Teachers post grades once a week, so this is a great way to keep an eye on how your student is doing. We have talked to the students about it as they can access it as well. If there is submitted work in Google Classroom it may or may not be graded and in Tyler yet.

Any questions, please feel free to contact us via email or calling 786-2138. We will have a great year in sixth grade! So much fun that some teachers have been here for over 20 years!!

Welcome to 7th grade! We look forward to getting to know your student this year. 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.

Students may want to bring a refillable water bottle with them to school to stay hydrated throughout the day. Please note that only water is allowed in the classrooms. Also, please make sure that your student is bringing the necessary supplies to class each day including their bathroom. It is very important that students charge their Chromebooks every night to be ready for the next school day, but also bring their chargers to school to be on the safe side.

8th Grade Newsletter

Welcome back to school everyone! We are very excited to be back together and learning some new things. Please have your child show you around in each of their Google Classrooms. Also, the students have been told that Tyler is where their grades will be posted. They are not to rely on Google Classroom for their grade averages. Students are encouraged to check into Tyler at least once a day to keep track of their progress. Below, you will find a brief synopsis of what is happening in each of their core classes.

Language Arts: The language arts students are reviewing key skills and concepts that will be utilized throughout the school year. Specifically, the students are studying and applying the elements of plot, characterization, and literary elements to short stories. We will also begin our grammar and writing units, where students will use their reading skills and strategies to write a Literary Analysis Essay.

Instructional Language Arts: Instructional LA students have been working hard with beginning of the year placement tests. Students are assigned passages through readworks.org to enable students to work at their current independent levels. Students started a writing “bootcamp” stressing basic writing skills. Students are working on a variety of comprehension skills, starting with main ideas & details and cause and effect and will move into sequencing skills next. Mid September we will begin our first novel study, The Outsiders bySE Hinton.

Math: In math we are working our way through Chapter 1 on Real Numbers. We’ve already conquered writing fractions as decimals and vice versa, written large and small numbers using exponents, and simplified real number expressions by multiplying and dividing monomials. Now we will be using laws of exponents to find powers of monomials, be writing and evaluating expressions using negative exponents, writing large and small numbers using scientific notation, computing with scientific notation, finding square and cube roots, estimating roots, and comparing mathematical expressions. It is important that all students bring their calculator and math workbooks daily to class as they will be needed.

Instructional Math: In instructional math, we are starting the year by reviewing the basics: calculations, number sense, and functional math that we use in our everyday lives (in the form of the much-loved story problem). Every day, we begin our class with a Math Minute - 10 quick problems that review concepts from previous grades. In the upcoming weeks, we will begin working in our math book, starting with a unit on integers.

Science: We will be reviewing thscientific method, data collection, and graphing to start off the year. After that students will begin a unit on matter and the periodic table. This will help students get ready for our chemistry unit next quarter. Welcome back everyone!

History: Our history book is available online in Google Classroom this year for easy access. We will be starting the year with a short review of map skills and geography concepts and then beginning our first unit on “The Growth of Industry”. This will include topics such as railroads, important inventions, big business, and industrial workers.

We are all in this together! We look forward to working as a team--Students, Parents, Teachers, and Administrators. We got this!

The Sandwich School District needs your help! Please consider joining us as a substitute teacher. Did you know you can make $120 a day as a substitute teacher? You can create a work schedule that fits your availability through the use of our Frontline app. Earn $120 a day and work when you want to. Please click below for more information.

https://dekalbcounty.org/departments/regional-office-of-education/roe-services/educator-licensure/substitute-teachers/

We would like to introduce you to our 22-23 Office Helpers this year! Miss Kayla and Miss Teagan will be the two smiling faces that greet you in the morning. Welcome to the office ladies!

Sandwich Middle School is pleased to offer the Rainbows program. The Rainbows curriculum is designed to assist children and youth who are grieving a death, divorce or any other painful transition in their family within a safe, supportive environment. When something significant happens in a family, the entire family is affected. Death, divorce and loss have a profound effect on the children touched by these experiences. If a parent dies or a divorce occurs, not only do the parents grieve, the children do also. The Rainbows program helps these children put those feelings into words, work through their grief, build a stronger sense of self-esteem, and begin to accept what has taken place in the family. If your child is part of a single parent family, a step-family, has experienced the death of a loved family member, friend or sibling, or is struggling with a painful experience, this will be an opportunity for him/her to share with others what they have gone through in a confidential setting. Through the Rainbows support group, we hope to assist children in expressing and understanding his/her feelings, to feel acceptance for what has happened, and to build their awareness that they are not alone. The Rainbows program will be offered during lunch periods. The group will meet once per week for 12 weeks. If you have any questions and/or are interested in your child(ren) taking part in this group, please call your site facilitator, Erin Pearlman, LCSW, at (815) 786-2138 ext. 23009 or epearlman@sandwich430.org Please leave a message if needed and I will return your call as soon as possible.

September 2nd - SMS Picture Day

September 5th - Labor Day - No School

September 9th - Non-Attendance Day - No School

September 16th - School Improvement - 11:10AM Dismissal

September 20th - School Board Meeting @ SMS Library 7:00Pm