Howards Grove Middle School
December Parent Newsletter, Volume III
Important Dates
5th/6th Grade MS Concert, December 14th, 6:30 PM @ HG Center for the Arts
7th/8th Grade MS Concert, December 14th, 7:30 PM @ HG Center for the Arts
Student Council MS Holiday Movie, December 17th, 3-5 PM
Winter Break, December 24th-January 2nd
Principal's Message
This week has definitely reminded me that the cold Wisconsin winters are upon us. A reminder as the weather gets colder to please have your student(s) bring warm coats, hats, and mittens/gloves. If the weather is below zero with or without wind chill, students will stay inside during recess.
Below are a few pictures of staff out in the community helping others recently. I'm proud of their efforts and willingness to help others in our greater community.
If your student is out with circumstances related to Covid, they are expected to participate via the student virtual grade level plan. We appreciate your cooperation and flexibility as we navigate these uncertain times.
A note from the office: If your student is absent, a gentle reminder to call the office or copy Jeannine (jhalverson@hgsd.k12.wi.us) and/or Lonna (lnear@hgsd.k12.wi.us) into the email sent to the teacher.
As always, please free to contact me at any time with questions, concerns, or ways in which I can be of help to support your student and family.
Best wishes for a Happy Holiday and New Year.
Sincerely,
Angie Houston
Sheboygan County Food Pantry
Sheboygan County Food Pantry
Sheboygan County Food Pantry
HG Piggly Wiggly Bell Ringers
HG Piggly Wiggly Bell Ringers
HG Piggly Wiggly Bell Ringers
Middle School Music Feature
5th - 8th Grade Band
The band room has been a busy place so far this year! In September, the fifth grade students had the opportunity to try out instruments and decide which one they’d like to play. By mid-October, everyone had instruments and was ready to try their first note. Now the students have mastered their first five notes and are looking forward to sharing fun songs with you at our Winter Concert. After a year of mostly small group lessons, the sixth grade band is getting into the rhythm of regular full rehearsals and band music with independent parts. This is allowing for lots of fun in class as we prepare to showcase each section in a very active piece!
Seventh and eighth grade students have begun the year developing a beautiful tone independently and blending within the ensemble. In lessons, we’ve also been covering the basic concepts of intonation for each instrument and listening closely to each other’s sound to play in tune. Solo and Ensemble Festival preparation has begun, with the fun of selecting solos and getting together with friends to form duets and trios. A new addition to the band room is our “Reed Graveyard”, created by Sydney Blaha, which allows the woodwind players to say a final farewell to their old (and sometimes moldy!) reeds.
~~Mrs. Zeuske
5th/6th Grade General Music
Greetings from the Music Room!
We have been working hard preparing the music for our upcoming winter concert! All classes have been learning and practicing their singing skills while in class. Class got exciting this week when we moved to the choir room to practice singing on the risers! This year we have talked about notes on the staff, rhythm, and many other musical concepts. We hope that you will join us at our concert coming up on December 14th to see the result of all our hard work.
Musically,
Mr. Charlie Simon
7th/8th Grade Choir
The 2021-2022 7th and 8th grade Chorus rehearses on Tuesday and Fridays (11:35-12:19). Just as
each student brings their own individuality, so they also bring their own unique vocal tone,
music reading ability and skill. We began the school year with thirty-five different voices and
have now learned to blend to become a more unified choral sound. The choristers continue to
develop choral score reading, and are slowly making strides of improvement. Each chorister
attends a weekly 15-minute small group lesson, where healthy singing is practiced/reinforced.
The Chorus sings a broad range of repertoire, experiencing different cultures, song style and
languages. The Choir is open to all interested 7th and 8th Grade students, and while a great deal of
learning occurs during the brief rehearsal times, a great deal of fun is also experienced. This is
an incredible group of singers!
On December 14th (Tuesday), the Chorus will be taking a field trip to the High School to practice
on stage. All students must turn-in a field trip permission slip in order to attend. If you have
questions regarding the field trip slip, please contact me, Mrs. Joelle Barrett-
jbarrett@hgtigers.com as soon as possible, thank you. The Winter Concert is the evening of
December 14th. This is a required concert for choristers. Students are asked to wear white and black, or a combination thereof.
It is my pleasure to instruct such a wonderful family of singers.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Joelle Barrett
Counselor's Corner
Happy December HGMS families!
Where did 2021 go! As we move into this Holiday season, we spend much of our Life Skills class focusing on self-care and gratitude. We take some time to reflect on ourselves, how we stay mentally and emotionally healthy, and how we can help support others to stay mentally and emotionally healthy. We do this through Mindful Activities as well as activities on gratitude and giving.
This is also a busy time of year for our 8th grade students as we start looking at our high school class registration process already! 8th grade students will meet our high school counselor, attend an evening at the high school to learn about course options, and start working together with me on their freshman year schedules and four-year plans!
Student Council Update
The student council has been continuing to do some great things this fall! After raking leaves, educating the school about diabetes, and hosting a few school dances, the student council is now gearing up for some holiday fun.
We are hosting a food drive/hygiene drive from November 29th - December 17th to help support the Sheboygan County Food Bank. Some fun prizes will be awarded to the winning homerooms as well as some fun for the whole building if we earn our goal! Some teachers may even be taped to the wall!
On December 17th, the student council will be hosting a holiday movie for all 5th-8th grade students from 3:00-5:00. The movie will be Home Alone. The movie will be played in the gym and popcorn will be handed out for free. Students are encouraged to donate two items for our food drive as an admission to the movie.
Lastly, we will also be spreading some holiday cheer around the school in the coming weeks with some delicious treats and festive dress-up days.
8th Grade
November 23rd was an exciting day in eighth grade science…STARLAB day! Stepping into the STARLAB Dome draws everyone into the wonderful world of astronomy. By looking at those distant objects in space, we know so much more today about the origins of the universe, the nature of our galaxy, the composition of our Solar System, and the condition of our home---Earth.
Star Lab is a portable planetarium. Many of you may not know that the Leach family, of Howards Grove, donated it to our district over 25 years ago. Inside this inflatable dome is a cylinder projector able to show us the night sky devoid of any light pollution. Because of this, we can observe our whole galaxy and study the Solar System. STARLAB serves as a great vehicle for exploring different cultures. We can see the sky through the eyes of ancient Egyptians and Greeks, learn the legends of ancient China and Africa, and study tales of Native Americans.
Astronomy is a unique and complex science that encompasses within itself history and literature, mathematics and physics, biology and chemistry, languages and art. It is an important part of our education and an integral part of our lives. Having the STARLAB as a cross-curricular learning tool opens the door for our students to explore well beyond the realm of imagination.
Karen Plocar
8th Grade Science Teacher
7th Grade
Math
We have been dancing to "Integers." We learned how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide them. We also discussed the negative effects of integers (below zero weather, below zero bank account) and the positives of numbers such as traveling above sea level and earning money instead of spending.
We just began our Algebra unit. So exciting!!!! We are becoming "Equation Masters" quickly. Solving one-step and 2-step equations! Students will be writing equations based on word problems in a few days! Math is fun, fun, fun! You would be shocked to know that designers use equations to produce their colorful and patterned products.
The Algebra class began a graphing unit. This may be the first time these students are learning a new Math concept. We not only working through the challenges of the concepts, but how to "study and practice Math" that is new to them.
Math, in general for all 7th graders: Keep encouraging your son/daughter and asking them to show you their home practice. The curriculum is beginning to challenge many students and too many students are not practicing! This is not a good habit to get into.
Social Studies
In 7th grade social studies, the students just finished their second “Wonder Question” presentation: each student chose a different question that piqued their interest, related to American History, and shared their research/knowledge with their classmates. In addition, we are currently learning about the social dynamics of the Civil War era. We have been discussing a lot about the technology of the 1860s, people, war etiquette, abolitionism, wartime politics, and comparing these with modern examples.
Readers Writers
In 7th grade Readers Writers Workshop, we are finishing up our Investigating Characterization Unit and finishing our first class novel, Maniac Magee. Students have learned about different character perspectives and what may happen in life that makes people the way they are. How outside forces influence themselves. We have also discussed that not only does this happen in books, but in real life as well. We have a lot going on in December in class. We will be starting our writing unit and taking a break the week of break to do a readers theater piece on The Christmas Carol. I can’t wait to see the students get out of their comfort zones and do a little acting.
Happy Holidays!!
6th Grade
We are finishing up our physics unit with a study of energy, work, and power. We will take the unit assessment on these items on Friday, December 10th. After that assessment, we will switch back to US History and discuss the United States Constitution and how we formed the government we live under today. As part of our conversation we will spend quite a bit of time analyzing the Bill of Rights and why those 10 amendments were so important in getting this historic document approved. Please encourage your students to discuss what we are doing in class at home with you. It truly reinforces the lessons here at school when they repeat the information again at home. Remember, your student has access to our online textbook for social studies at www.savvasrealize.com.
Readers’ & Writers’ Workshop:
We are just finishing up our Argument Writing Unit by putting the final writing touches on our second literary essay. Students have continued to practice putting their thoughts as a reader into a formal, structured essay all while using their best literary language. After our writing unit, we will be focusing more intently on some reading skills. We will be looking at a variety of short texts from multiple genres all centered around The Great Depression and the American spirit. Please continue to encourage your student to read at home each night for at least 15-20 minutes.
Math:
We finished up our unit on fraction operations and have just entered our unit on decimals. We started out the unit reviewing place values and rounding decimals. We even played a wild game of Place Value Yahtzee! The students had a lot of fun and showed great sportsmanship. We will be applying all operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) to decimals in the coming weeks. In addition, we will talk about how decimals are used with money, and we will even work with selecting items off of a restaurant menu without exceeding our budget. If you happen to be eating at a restaurant or doing some shopping, ask your 6th grader to help estimate the bill. We will wrap up the decimal unit before winter break.
In Block 1 Math, we finished up the fraction unit a little ahead of schedule, so we took a detour and are getting some experience with variable expressions and solving variable equations. We should be finished with this unit mid-December, and then we will be moving into the decimal unit.
5th Grade
ELA
Fifth graders have been working on developing a strong thesis for their information paper about westward expansion. We’re excited to add text features!Social Science
We just wrapped up our first science unit before our Thanksgiving Break. We have shifted gears from science back to social studies. A quick look at ancient humans and how they found their way into North America will start us out. As we investigate, we may become surprised to discover that our Native Americans were very complexed and intelligent with governments that lasted longer than our current one!
Math
We are learning how to divide fractions. Just a reminder that all fifth grade students need earbuds that stay at school in their pencil case. It might make a great stocking stuffer🎄
Howards Grove Middle School
Email: ahouston@hgsd.k12.wi.us
Website: www.hgtigers.com
Location: 507 Kennedy Avenue, Howards Grove, WI, USA
Phone: (920) 565-4450