J.M.S. NEWS...
MAY 2019
Quotes for the Month of May:
May 6 –“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” – Albert Einstein
May 13- “Attitude is a life thing that makes a big difference.” – Winston Churchill
May 20 –“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
May 27- “Fear grows out of things we think; it lives in our minds. Compassion grows out of things we are, and lives in our hearts.”-Barbara Garrison
Monthly SEL Theme for the Month of May: Attitudes and Values
Attitudes and Values
Attitude, according to Hal Urban, is the most important choice we’ll ever make because it affects everything we do in life. Research done at Harvard and Stanford state that attitude is far more important than intelligence, education, special talents, or luck. The research studies concluded that 80% of our success in life is due to attitude, while the other 20% is due to ability.
As Viktor Frankl said “The greatest discovery of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.”
Classroom News!
Team 6A:
In Social Studies, Team 6A is discovering the legacy behind Ancient Rome as they create their own Google Slides presentation to discuss significant aspects of Rome's achievements. In ELA, students in Team 6A recently completed their novel study on O.T Nelson's "The Girl Who Owned a City," where they worked on a culminating activity, which highlighted essential characters and events of the story. In math students constructed and deconstructed three dimensional shapes to learn about Surface Area and Volume. In Science we’ve begun our exploration of energy both kinetic and potential by creating marble roller coasters. Lastly, we enjoyed our third Kid EdCamp run by and for students. They’re amazing!!!
Team 6B:
Team 6B Scientists have been investigating mass and distance as factors that affect the gravitational attraction between objects. In conjunction with our studies, we calculated our own weights or the weights of various dog breeds on different planets. We then determined how far we could jump if we were able to do so on these different locations. We concluded that we would be very successful on the Moon, but we’d have a tremendous amount of difficulty on Jupiter. We all did quite well (and had a lot of fun) here on Earth!
Team 6C:
Students in Team 6C created tracks with two hills and a loop using foam pipe insulation to test how height affects the Kinetic and Potential Energy of a marble.
Team 6D:
Team 6-D has been studying Athens and Sparta, the two rivals of Ancient Greece. Which was better Sparta or Athens? Students had to decide. Some students felt Sparta was superior to Athens because their army was fierce and protective and received some education and women had more freedom than in other poleis. Others decided that Athenian life was a creative wonderland. As an Athenian, you could get a good education and could pursue any of several kinds of arts or sciences. Also, Athenians could serve in the army or navy but, this only applied to boys, however girls were restricted to other pursuits. Everyone enjoyed and learned from the project and were able to voice their opinions.
Team 6E:
Team 7A:
On Sunday, March 31, Team 7A was represented by four students who competed at the regional level of the National History Day competition at Hofstra University. Olivia Cai and Arabella Balgobind staged a live performance about Marie Curie. Talk about grace under pressure. Both were flawless! Also chosen to compete at Hofstra was Kaitlin Choi. Her website, The Triumph and Tragedy of Charles Lindbergh, was truly impressive not only its sheer volume of research, but also for its use of archives and other primary sources. Finally, Nicholas DeIieri depicted the very moving story of a Nazi resistance movement known as the White Rose in a documentary film. The music, the story, and his excellent narration made for a compelling viewing experience. Nick is new to the district this year, and we are proud to have him!
Congratulations to all of you who represented our team, and our school, so very well. We couldn't be prouder of you! Good luck to all Jericho students moving on to the next level of competition, states, later this month. We'll be rooting for you!
Team 7B:
Team 7B explored our Probability and Statistics unit through various activities and simulations. To understand theoretical probability and experimental probability we played a game involving rolling two dice and finding the sum of the results. One player would win if the resulting sum was even, which includes 6 possibilities. The other player would win if the resulting sum was odd, which includes 5 possibilities. After playing the game analyzing our class data followed by calculating all of possible outcomes, many students were surprised that the game is fair! This was a fun, hands-on approach to understanding probability.
Team 7C:
Team 8A:
Team 8A recently started their dystopian society unit in ELA. Students chose from a list of eight novels and were grouped together in literature circles to discuss and analyze as they read the text. Each of the books on the list are part of a series, so students are encouraged to read the sequels!
Team 8B:
After studying immigration to the US at the turn of the 19th Century, Team 8B social studies classes participated in a "Heritage Day." Students interviewed family members to learn more about who their first ancestor was to come to the United States, as well as where they came from, why they came, and what they thought of America when they arrived. Students then used Google Slides, PowerPoint, Microsoft Sway, Prezi, and exhibit boards to create their projects. On Wednesday, April 10, we celebrated! Volunteers shared their stories and foods from the many different cultures that make up our diverse team.
Team 8C:
8C ELA students celebrated the completion of their book review podcast unit with a wild and crazy listening party in the library computer lab! Students ate cake, listened to original student podcasts compiled on a digital celebration program, updated to-read lists, and checked out books to read over the break. It was a great way to spend the day break!
Dates to Remember...
May 2-Grades 3-8 Math Assessments
May 3-Grades 3-8 Math Assessments
May 3-SEPTA Exec Mtg- District Conference Room- 9:30AM
May 7-MS/HS Evening Guidance Hours 7:00PM-9:00PM
May 8-MS Spring Chorus/Orchestra Concert-7:00PM- MS/HS Auditorium
May 9-MS PTSA Exec Mtg- Faculty Cafeteria- 8:30AM
May 9-MS PTSA Mtg &Principal's Coffee Hour- MS Library- 9:15AM
May 14-MS/HS Evening Guidance Hours 7:00PM-9:00PM
May 16- MS Family Book Talk-9:00AM- MS Library
May 17-Spirit Day & School Store Open
May 17-SEPTA Fundraiser-7:00PM
May 20- District Music & Arts Awards- 7:00PM- MS/HS Auditorium
May 21- Budget Vote & Election- 6:00AM-9:00PM- Ms.HS Gymnasium
May 21- MS Spring Bands Concert- 7:00PM-MS/HS Auditorium
May 21- MS/HS Evening Guidance Hours 7:00PM-9:00PM
May 21-Board of Ed. Meeting- 9:15PM- MS/HS Gymnasium
May 23-Grade 6 Mini Olympics
May 23-Board of Ed. Meeting 7:15PM-MS/HS Auditorium
May 27- Schools Closed
May 29-Gr. 4 & Gr. 8 Science Assessments
May 30-Gr. 4 & Gr. 8 Science Assessments
Tips from the School Nurse
Is the glass half empty or half full?
Winston Churchill once said “a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”.
My father was the most optimistic person I’ve ever known. No matter how bad the situation looked, he’d turn to us and say “well, it could’ve been worse”. I’ve tried to live my life by his example of optimism. Every day I make a conscious decision to choose happiness. There will always be good and bad events in everyone’s life. I refuse to waste my life mourning what I don’t have or what I lost. I choose to celebrate the good in my life and enjoy all that I am lucky enough to experience.
Harvard psychologist, Dan Gilbert refers to “a psychological immune system, that prevents our happiness level from being spiked by external circumstances, good or bad… a healthy psychological immune system allows us to recognize setbacks without collapsing into despondency. Happiness in the end, is a mind-set to be cultivated, not a condition to be imposed.”
We all have the ability to choose an optimistic mind-set. Optimism matters!! As parents, we can lay the foundation for happiness, resilience and success by teaching our children how to think optimistically.
Let’s review some of the steps we as parents can take to foster an optimistic outlook in our children:
· Parents should always Model Optimism. This is the single most important step a parent can take to raise optimistic children.
· Encourage your child to view struggles as a learning opportunity.
· Praise your children often.
· Encourage independence
· Help your child refocus their anger into positive actions
· Practice gratitude
· Start a conversation with your child about happiness.
Next months topic: My final words on the topic of happiness
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Jericho Middle School
Email: dgately@jerichoschools.org
Website: jerichoschools.org
Location: 99 Old Cedar Swamp Road, Jericho, NY, United States
Phone: (516) 203-3600
Twitter: @JerichoMS