Sandwich Middle School Newsletter
November 2018
6th Grade News
Hard to believe that we are in the second quarter already! Time sure flies when you are having fun! Speaking of fun….the Social Studies classes will be learning about Ancient Mesopotamia. Fun fact-we can thank them for starting an irrigation system. In Science, the students will be finishing their earthquake projects, seeing how their structures stand up on the earthquake shake table. Then they will move on to discover the inner workings of volcanoes. While in Language arts classes, your student will be working on theme, genres and identifying nonfiction text structures. Learning all about text structure will help them in all their classes. In math, students will be working on solving expressions with an emphasis being placed on order of operations. They will also be working on analyzing word problems.
In Miss Kawall’s Math classes, students will be focusing on identifying and comparing integers and rational numbers. In Mrs. Strothman’s Language Arts classes the students will be finishing up Figurative Language and begin a novel study of The Adventures of Tom Swayer. The teachers would like to like to recognize Norah Hill and Nate Hill as being our Students of the Month. Their hard work and kindness have not gone unnoticed!
6th Grade Earthquake Project
6th Grade Earthquake Project
6th Grade Earthquake Project
7th Grade News
Parent Teacher conferences will be held on Thursday, November 1st from 12-8 and on November 2nd from 8-12. If you would like a conference, please contact one of your student’s teachers.
In Social Studies, we are exploring the American Revolution in the late 1700s. Along the way, we have been discussing the events and decisions that led to the revolution and meeting the leaders that helped create our nation. In the coming weeks, we will dive head first into the Revolutionary War and the aftermath when America faced an uncertain future. All in all, it should be a really exciting time in Social Studies!
In science, we are continuing with our Chemistry unit. We just finished learning what elements, compounds and mixtures are through varies activities and labs. Now, we will now focus on elements, parts of atoms and the periodic table. This will include several in class activities and an Adopt An Element Project that will also be completed in class with a partner. The assessment will be on Thursday, October 25th.
In the math classes, we are just finishing up our unit on rates, ratios, and proportions. During this unit, the students learned how to find unit rates and prices, convert customary and metric units of measure, proportional and nonproportional relationships, slope, constant rate of change, and direct variation. The next unit we are going to be working on is over percents. During this unit, the students will learn about the percent proportion, the percent equation, percent of change, sales tax, discount, markups and simple interest. After we finish this unit, we will be moving onto expressions and equations.
In the pre-algebra classes, we just finished up our chapter on rational and real numbers. During this chapter, the students learned about rational numbers and how to use the four operations to solve problems involving rational numbers. They also learned how to solve equations and inequalities involving rational numbers and how to find square and cube roots. Next, we moved onto the chapter about ratios and proportions. During this chapter, the students will learn about ratios, rates, unit rates, proportions and how to solve proportions. They will also learn how to graph proportional relationships, how to use complex fractions, and about scale drawings, scale models, and indirect measurement. After we finish up this chapter, we will be moving onto to percents.
The language arts classes are reading the screenplay, Brian’s Song. They will then be jumping into figurative language for second quarter. Students will be practicing recognizing the different types of figurative language as well as creating their very own unique examples. We will also be studying some excellent personal essays.
Students of the month: Jocelyn Vasquez and Aidan Salazar
7th grade Bunsen Burner Lab
7th grade Bunsen Burner Lab
7th grade Bunsen Burner Lab
8th Grade News
We are now well into our second quarter of the school year! Please remember to replenish your student’s supplies. Paper and pencils start running low this time of year. Progress reports will continue to be issued during the second quarter and grades are always available at the Tyler SIS website. Please contact the middle school office (815-786-2138) if you need assistance logging into Tyler SIS. In language arts, the regular classes will be reading The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. We are continuing to work on literary analysis, literary elements, and vocabulary. The AT language arts classes have been piloting a new reading program, My Perspectives. They are working on critical analysis of various genres of literature and informational text. Our science classes will be working hard on our chemistry unit. The American History classes are wrapping up their studies on Progressive Era and moving into a study of World War One. In math, we are still working on unit 2 Expressions and Equations. We just finished up with Equations in One Variable and are now moving on to Equations in Two Variables. Your student should know how solve two-step equations. In Algebra, we are beginning to master the art of graphing.
On Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 9:00 a.m at Sandwich High School, Jarrett Payton will be speaking to our 8th- to 12th-graders. Through his positive message, he hopes to impact the lives of children and adolescents physically, emotionally and psychologically. He will be speaking to our students about passion, motivation, leadership and kindness.
Students of the Month are Emma Wortman and Wyatt Miller. These students have a great attitude in school and are hard workers. We appreciate them!
News from Explore
Speech & Drama Newsletter – New Quarter!
Wow, it is hard to imagine that the second quarter has already begun. Speech & Drama welcomes an entirely new group of students
Speech & Drama I starts the quarter by giving a few quick speeches and then gets into reading the play Arsenic and Old Lace. We will spend time reading the play, watching the movie, comparing the movie and the play, and discussing character. We learn about how plot diagrams work and apply that knowledge to another couple of plays. After that we work on presentations, focusing on how speeches are put together, vocal variety and communicating a message to an audience. This is done with many different types of presentations: presenting a story as a poem, a “Big Mac” speech, and an “I am” poem. If there is time the quarter will conclude with watching Singin’ in the Rain.
Speech & Drama II begins the quarter by reviewing complete sentences and subject/verb agreement. This leads us to a more thorough examination of speech introductions and conclusions. From there we go on to reading a play about a blind woman and how she defends herself against some nasty conmen. The play is called Wait until Dark and the movie stars Audrey Hepburn as Susy. From there everyone in the class moves on to presenting a “How To” speech utilizing a prop. After that we will turn out attention to presenting a dulogue or trilogue (similar to a monologue) and reading a play, Text This, that relates to both our anti-bullying initiative as well as reviewing plot diagrams from last year’s speech class. We will have an “I am” poem along with other speeches in class.
Speech & Drama III begins the quarter introducing a partner and then giving a much more detailed speech about three of our own memories. After that we will by reading Harvey, a wonderful play about a 6’3” invisible rabbit followed by the movie starring Jimmy Stewart. From there the class turns its attention to how to put on a play. We will look at set, costume, lights, sound, and special effects as well as the jobs of a director, house manager, stage manager, and actors. We will go on a field trip to see the backstage workings of a working theatre. Finally, we turn our new knowledge towards a play, The Foreigner, and make a few design choices of our own.
STEM Newsletter
Welcome 2nd quarter STEM students! During the first part of the quarter 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students have been learning how to access their District 430 Google accounts and have begun exploring the variety of ways they can use the tools available to them for their school work.
6th graders in Introduction to Engineering will soon discover the world and work of engineers. They will learn the engineering design process and complete exciting design challenges this month.
After exploring Google’s Apps for Education, 7th grade students will be learning about different types of sketching and technical drawings used by engineers to document and communicate designs. They will be working with an internet based CAD program, called TinkerCAD, as they begin to explore the possibilities of computer modeling.
Finally, 8th grade students will begin learning about current robot technology. This month they will be building mechanisms to better understand how automated systems work. They will later design and build projects which include the mechanism they have studied.
Explore Picks Angel Ramirez as Student of the Month!
The explore team has had the privilege of having Angel Ramirez in class for three years now. We so appreciate his kindness, dedication, and gentle manner in the classroom. Angel is reliable and talented and a pleasure to have in class. Thank you for being one of the best versions of you, Angel Ramirez!
November News from the LRC
Happy TURKEY MONTH! I hope that everyone’s plans for the big day include friends and family and wonderful food. If you are going to be traveling this Thanksgiving remember to pick up a book or two to read on the trip. SMS students know that they can check out extras for the long car ride.
The Rebecca Caudill program has just started. Students were ready on the first day the nominated books could be checked out. The LRC opened at 7:45 and all of the titles went right away but don’t worry SMS readers – you have till February 22nd to read them for the voting party so reserve the books you want to read or see if you can find the titles at another library. More information about the Caudill program is available at rebeccacaudill.org
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and GOBBLE UP SOME GOOD BOOKS