We are getting closer to the end of the school year. 5th Graders assigned to attend Jardine Middle School next year will be coming to visit in person during the school day on Wednesday, May 10th. A Parent Informational Meeting will be held on Tuesday April 25th 5:30-6:30 in the Jardine Middle School commons. Both of these will provide students and parents the opportunity to hear from our administration and support staff. We are looking forward to a great turnout!

On Tuesday May 2nd, 8th grade students assigned to attend Topeka High and Highland Park will be visiting the high school. On Wednesday, May 3rd, the students assigned to Topeka West will take their visit. If a student does not have an approved transfer at that point, they will be visiting the school in their attendance area. Bus transportation will be provided.

During April and May, Mr. Falk and Ms. Waldy will start working on student schedules for next year. Mr. Falk is the counselor for all 6th graders and 8th graders (last name A-M). Ms. Waldy is the counselor for all 7th graders and 8th graders (last name N-Z). If you have any questions regarding next school year, please contact your student’s counselor for next year.

John Wooden once said, “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

Our spring sports season has started as of March 20th. You must have a physical on file in order to participate and we will follow the KSHSAA guidelines for eligibility. We had a parent zoom meeting on March 22 nd at 5:30pm.

The first Soccer match is March 30th at Topeka West High School. Boys tennis will be April 3rd, varsity at French and JV at Jardine. The first track meet will be April 4th at Hummer Sports Park..

I would like to remind all students that want to participate in athletics that KSHSAA has a rule that you must pass five of your six classes before you can participate. This rule applies to the quarter before the season begins. For example, the boy’s basketball season will be based on the 2 nd quarter grades. The district has an eligibility rule that you must pass all classes in order to play during your season. We run weekly grade checks and if you are failing a class you have until the day of the game to pass that class. This does not mean waiting until 1pm that day of the game to turn in late work. Please be a student first and the rest will take care of its self. KSHSAA also has a rule on physicals, if you want to participate for the 2023-2024 season. You must have a physical on file dated after May 01, 2023.

In regards to the Spring musical - Mrs. Rowe has had musical practice from 3:00- 4:30pm. The musical will be presented on May 4th and 5th .

TEST TAKING TIME

Welcome back from Spring Break Now that we are in the home stretch of the 22/23 school year it is time to take those yearly state assessments. Many students struggle with test taking and a few tips can be discussed at home to help your students feel confident as they begin to take all of the state assessments. West Johnston High School in North Carolina posted some helpful tips on their website.

Pace Yourself

The time limits set for each WorkKeys test give nearly everyone enough time to finish all the questions. However, it is important to pace yourself. Don’t spend too much time on one problem or reading section; go on to the other questions and come back if there is time.

Listen to and read the directions for each test carefully

Before you begin taking one of the state assessments, pay careful attention to the directions. These tests ask for the best answer. It is important to keep this in mind when answering the questions, since it will sometimes be possible to think of responses that could be better than any of those offered or to defend a choice as not entirely wrong. Best-response formats are consistent with the real world, where choosing among less-than-perfect alternatives is routine.

Read each question carefully

It is important that you understand what each question asks. Some questions will require you to go through several steps to find the best answer, while others can be answered more quickly.

Most of the easy questions require you to simply locate a particular item of information. These questions usually have clearly right or wrong answers. However, some of the more difficult questions require you to make generalizations or explanations. For these questions some of the answer choices might seem reasonable, but another answer choice might be better. For these questions you should focus on finding the best answer, not necessarily the right answer.

Answer the easy questions first

The best strategy for taking a test is to answer the easy questions and skip the questions you find difficult. After answering all of the easy questions, go back and try to answer the more difficult questions.

Read the questions before reading the rest of the passage

Reading the questions first can give you a good idea of what information to look for in the passage/graphics, and help you complete the questions more efficiently.

Answer every question

Your score on the assessment will be based on the number of questions that you answer correctly; there is no penalty for guessing. Thus, you should answer every question within the time allowed for each test, even if you have to guess.

Eliminate obviously wrong answer choices

When you return to the more difficult questions, try to use logic to eliminate incorrect answers to a question. Eliminating wrong answer choices may help you better focus on the remaining ones, removing some of the “clutter” from the question. Compare the answer choices to each other and note how they differ. Such differences may provide clues as to what the question requires. Eliminating as many incorrect answers as you can drastically improves your chances of answering the question correctly, even if you randomly guess.

Review your work

If there is time left after you have answered every question on a test, go back and check your work on that test before submitting your answers.

The

BOOK FAIR

Is coming!!

Shop online from April 28-May 7

Materials are delivered directly to your residence.

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/jardinemiddleelementary

And in person May 1-5

Open 7:30am-4:00pm daily

in the Middle School Library

Summer is fast approaching and with fewer Covid restrictions. It is time to get out, exercise, and enjoy the freedom with your family and friends. In our great city of Topeka, there are so many FREE places to go to exercise and spend time making memories.

Jardine Middle School Physical Education Department challenges you to accomplish the entire list this summer!

Checklist of potential activities:

• Walk or bike the trail around Lake Shawnee.

• Rent a paddleboat at Lake Shawnee.

• Walk the grounds of the State Capital building and take a free tour to the top of the dome.

• Walk the gardens and square block around Gage Park.

• Walk the trails and admire the landscape at Warde Meade Park.

• Walk the trails at the Kansas Museum of History.

• Walk the trails at the Governor’s mansion. While there, visit the Kansas River.

• Go to Sk8away.

• Bowl.

• Go fishing.

• Walk or bike the Shunga trail.

• Have a family picnic. Play frisbee.

• Visit a few of the Topeka public swimming pools: Blaisdall pool, Hillcrest Aquatic Center, Midwest health Aquatic Center, Shawnee North Aquatic Center, Garfield Pool, Oakland Pool, and so many more.

• Topeka is home to over 100 parks and green spaces. Visit some parks.

Another fantastic Topeka resource for activites is the Topeka Chamber of Commerce.

https://topekapartnership.com

Hello from Computer Lab! Our 8th graders are still going strong working with a new curriculum with computer sciences and programming. Despite this being our first year, they have been adjusting decently to the increased workload, but they need to continue to persevere for another month while we wrap up the last of the major content. Once we reach end of April to early May, we will switch into projects to finish the year out while reviewing how to use word processing applications like Docs/Word, Sheets/Excel, and Slides/Powerpoint.

6th Grade: Students will be expanding their understanding of area with different figures and solids such as compound and irregular figures, trapezoids, triangles and triangular prisms. After learning about area, students will be taking the math state assessment on April 18th and19th. Following assessments they will be finishing module 5 by learning volume and surface area. Finally, 6th graders will wrap up the year by analyzing data and thinking/reasoning statistically.

7th Grade: We are finishing our Geometry unit and will be starting our final unit Statistics and Probability. In this module, students begin their study of probability, learning how to interpret probabilities and how to compute probabilities in simple settings. They also learn how to estimate probabilities empirically. The concept of probability provides a foundation for the thinking required to make inferential reasoning that is developed in the second half of this module.

Please encourage your child to complete any incomplete work that is in the gradebook (Tyler SIS).

8th Grade: Students will begin Math State assessments in the month of April (4/18 and 4/19) and will have their final MAP assessment for the year (week of May 8th). These assessments will determine student math placements for next year. We highly encourage students to rest and do their best during these times. If they have any questions about things they have learned or misconceptions they may show up to tutoring (Tuesday-Thursday from 3-4:30).

8th Grade math students will finish the year investigating Functions, scatter plots, and geometry.

Functions are similar to linear equations, but now we are including non linear equations and the application of building their own functions from real life scenarios. Next will be creating scatter plots from real life situations and interpreting the data to determine the correlation and/or causation between the two variables.

Geometry will come in two parts. Three dimensional figures and circles. Three dimensional geometry will highlight volume and surface area of cones, pyramids and spheres. With circles, students will be investigating arc lengths and areas of sectors to solve real world problems.

8th Grade Algebra: 8th Grade State Math Assessment (KAP) will be April 18th and 19th. Final MAP assessment for the year will be either the second or third week in May. These assessments will help finalize student math placements for next year. Please encourage students to get plenty or rest, have a good breakfast, and do their best during these times. If they have any questions about things they have learned or misconceptions they may attend after school tutoring on Tuesdays-Thursdays from 3:00-4:30. Algebra students will also take a district semester test covering topics studied during the second semester.

8th Grade Algebra- 3 units left to finish out the school year.

Unit 8 - Geometry

Volume of 3-D shapes- Pyramids, cones and spheres.

Surface area of 3-D shapes- Pyramids, cones and spheres.

Arc length and area of sectors- Circles

Unit 9- Quadratic Functions

Understanding nonlinear relationships between quantities

Unit 10- Statistics

Analyzing one-variable quantitative data to draw conclusions

Analyzing categorical data to draw conclusions

6th Grade Ancient World History: In Ancient World History, we are wrapping up our unit on ancient China. We will then begin a unit of study on ancient Rome. We will see the rise of one of the largest empires of all time. We will be finishing the year up with a study of the Mesoamerican civilizations including the Mayan, Aztec, and the Inca.

7th Grade Kansas History: We are exploring Pioneers, Exodusters. and The Settlement of the Wild West. We will be learning about cowboys, cowtowns, cattle drives and the impact the Railroad had on the shaping of our state. As we end the year, students will learn about the trials and triumphs of Kansans in "The Dirty Thirties." We will examine and analyze the adaptations people made to survive The Dust Bowl.

8th Grade History: It has been a great year in 8th Grade U.S. History. The students have been learning so much about our great country's history. We will be ending the year learning about immigration to the United States and the Industrial Revolution.

6th Grade: For the month of April, Sixth graders will be learning how water cycles through Earth’s systems so that we can describe the effects of energy on water.We are learning how air circulates so that we can

explain how our atmosphere works.We are learning about factors that create weather patterns so that we can make predictions about the

weather.

For the month of May, We are learning about the structures inside of a cell so that we can identify and describe their function. We are learning how cells are organized into body systems so that we can explain specialized body functions. We are learning how organisms are affected by the environment and genetic factors so that we can explain varying success of different organisms.

7th Grade: Our fourth quarter is off to a great start in Geologic Processes and Earth History. Our main focus will be on Weathering, Rock Cycle and Plate Tectonics. We will conclude our school year with Ecology (Food chairs, Food webs) and the Environment (Ecosystems - Biomes).

8th Grade: Our chemistry unit has led us into a natural transition to learn about synthetic materials. We will focus on plastics since that is the most widely used material. Students will find out how it is made, the many uses of it, and the possible places it can end up. This will also introduce us to our next unit about humans impact on the environment. We will look at plastic pollution, fracking (hydraulic fracturing), and the environment. The last 2 weeks we make a major change in topics and go into our human relationship and sexuality unit. You should receive a paper letter and an email informing you of the specific topics being covered.

The Topeka Public Schools, Unified School District No. 501 is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity. No person shall, on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin or ancestry be denied lawful access to any appropriate educational service, program or activity provided by the school district. The Title VI and Title IX compliance coordinator is the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching/Learning/Administration. The Section 504/Title II compliance coordinator is the Coordinator of College and Career Ready Services. For employment, the EEO/AA officer is the General Director of Human Resources. All compliance coordinators may be contacted at 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294, (785) 295-3000. The clerk of the Board of Education has been designated to receive and redirect or handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, regulations and procedures. The clerk may be contacted by calling (785) 295-3045 or by writing to 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294.