Jonas Clarke Middle
News and Notes February 2017
From the Principal
About that incredible comeback and 5th Superbowl win...I can't help but admire the persistence, resilience and grit of Tom Brady and the Patriots. There are connections here that are essential for our students to understand.
As a middle school principal, one of my greatest challenges is figuring out how students can experience academic, social and emotional success through hard work, persistence, mistakes and yes, even failure. Learning is a process that requires trying something, reflecting on what went wrong, and trying again. Tom Brady has consistently shown us that success happens when we don't give up. Having a growth mindset is believing that you can do it and learning from the process. We may not have it YET, but we will. The Patriots never gave up and they definitely understood the power of YET. In Tom Brady's own words, "That's why you play until the end." This is a message that I want all of our students to take to heart and carry with them throughout their own journey.
Clarke Travels the World!
Planning for our upcoming Clarke trips is in full swing. Our annual 7th and 8th grade Clarke ski trip is coming up right after February break and the skiing conditions couldn't be better right now! Each year, thanks to the dedication of many Clarke staff we take over 150 students to Sunday River to hit the slopes for two full days. This annual Clarke tradition is an amazing experience for all. In addition to skiing, students have the opportunity to swim, dance and hang out with friends.
Plans for our 8th grade Spanish trip to Malaga, Spain are also underway. Thirty two 8th graders and four chaperones will leave for this ten day language immersion adventure on March 22nd. Students will have an opportunity to visit many places in southern Spain and practice their language skills as they stay with local families. A similar trip to beautiful Quebec in June is also in the works for 8th grade students taking French. Bon Voyage!
We are excited to once again offer an 8th grade class trip to Washington DC at the end of April. We have approximately 90% of the 8th grade class signed up to go which is incredible! Students should be talking about rooming arrangements now and getting their form in to the main office asap. Stay tuned for more information to be given to 8th graders via their Google Classroom and thank you for all of your support of these fantastic opportunities for our students.
Construction Corner
Work continues on the roof as well and last week the roof underwent some testing. In the near future, work will begin on the exterior facade. We have begun planning how the interior renovations and and exterior site work will be done over the summer with the goal of completion by the end of August for school to open! This summer there will be no public access to the site or the building.
News From the Clarke PTO
Are you a parent of an 8th grader? This year the Clarke PTO and Diamond PTA have teamed up to offer two parent led sessions on the transition to LHS. Come hear from parents who have been through this at one of two different forums.
Monday February 13th : 9:00am – 10:30am Cary Memorial Library
Wednesday February 15th : 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM LHS Science Lecture Hall
Visit the Clarke PTO website for all PTO news and updates!
The Gift of Failure
Jessica Lahey, New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure is coming to Lexington! Don't miss out on this opportunity to hear from her and engage in this important discussion on Tuesday March 21, 2017 at 7:00PM at Estabrook.
What’s the best way to motivate students to own their education, learn deeply and durably, and develop resilience? Research has shown that the key to all these things is motivation that comes from within. Jessica Lahey, best selling author summarizes the current research on autonomy supportive parenting and teaching, competence, rewards, praise, and failure and explains how parents and educators can give students the support and encouragement they need in order to stay motivated over the long term.
This talk is open to the entire Lexington community. Adults and high-school-aged children are welcome and encouraged to attend. Attending this event is FREE, however attendees are asked to register to ensure space. More Info Register Here
World Language Week at Clarke
This year Clarke is proud to bring back our World Language Week celebration March 13th – 17th. There are so many exciting events and opportunities to explore during this week and we’d like to invite you to participate. Across the country, schools will feature activities that highlight language diversity. To kick off this exciting week of events, we will be hosting our own third annual “World Language Film Festival” and all students at Clarke are invited to produce their own original short film (1-3 minutes).
In addition to the film festival Clarke will host a potluck dinner on Thursday March 16th at 6:00 PM, host a variety of WIN offerings dedicated to celebrating World Language Week, During this week Clarke students will also enjoy some lunchtime entertainment sponsored by the Clarke PTO that you won’t want to miss! There will also be daily trivia and prizes to enjoy.
Thanks to our entire World Language Department for creating, implementing and hosting all of these wonderful celebratory ideas. We look forward to welcoming you to Clarke to help us celebrate!
For more details visit the World Language Week website or talk to your World Language teacher at Clarke.
Oh the DRAMA... Clarke Drama!
The Wizard of Oz!
Clarke’s drama program presented The Wizard of Oz on January 26-28 to very enthusiastic crowds. With a cast of 42, a tech crew of 30 and 11 high school assistants, the company started working in October with the crew creating over 100 costumes, set pieces and props for the show and the cast learning the songs, dances and lines. Congratulations to the cast and crew for a great production!
Last spring, Saoirse Loftus-Reid, an LHS filmmaker, contacted the drama program to see if she could document the process of creating the Clarke production of The Jungle Book. She attended auditions, every rehearsal, tech sessions, shows at Clarke, the Middle School Drama festival, the Cary performance in July and then traveled with the company to Japan when they performed at the World Festival of Children's Theatre. She got all of the successes and challenges on tape and has created a documentary about the process.
Spring Play Auditions
Auditions for the spring play, Still Life With Iris, will be on Tuesday, 2/28, from 3-4:30 in room 104. Still Life With Iris is an adventure/fantasy play where a young girl, Iris, from the island of Nocturno, finds herself away from home. During the play, we see Iris’ struggle to find her way home as she encounters many friends along the way.
This production will be presented at the Massachusetts Middle School Drama festival on the weekend of April 29/30 and at Clarke at the beginning of May.
There is no need to prepare anything for the audition, but information about the show and the rehearsal schedule can be found on the drama webpage:
The Jungle Book Documentary
The entire Jungle Book company and their families attended the premiere of the documentary on February 1st. There is one public showing on Saturday, 2/11, at LexMedia in a mini film festival showcasing the work of local filmmakers. This will be the only public showing because the documentary is being sent to several film festivals: Cannes, Chicago International Film Festival, the Emmys, a festival in the UK and others. Festival guidelines prohibit extensive public showings of the documentary prior to the submission of the film.
If you are interested in seeing the documentary, the showing starts at 2:00 on Saturday, 2/11, at LexMedia. The director and Alyson Brown will be there to answer questions.
Drama and Math?
Drama students submit videos into the MathCounts Video Challenge
This year, Ms. Brown and Mr. Frost have worked to combine math and drama into one really cool activity: the MathCounts Video Challenge. The Math Video Challenge is a national program that challenges students to develop their math, communication and technology skills in a collaborative video project. Students started working with Ms. Brown during WIN blocks in the fall to choose questions and collaborate on how they would present the solutions in a video. Mr. Frost made sure that the math component of the presentation was correct and then the filming started! The students are currently finishing their videos, which will be sent to MathCounts where they will be open to public voting. Following that, the top videos are sent to the national challenge where they are judged by a panel of experts. Best of luck to the video challenge participants!
Rubbish to Runway comes to Clarke!
The drama program is working in collaboration with Long Way Home, an organization that builds sustainable schools in poor communities around the world, to create a Rubbish to Runway showcase at Clarke. Students have been working with Ms. Brown during WIN blocks to create garments using recycled materials such as bubble wrap, soda cans, chip bags and many more unconventional materials. On May 19th, the designers and models will present their work in a runway show at Clarke.
All money raised from this event will be donated to Long Way Home to help children around the world have the opportunity to go to school!
Upcoming Dates
8th to 9th Transition Parent Forums | February 13
9:00AM Cary Library
8th to 9th Transition Parent Forums | February 15
7:00 PM LHS Science Lecture Hall
PTO Meeting | February 16
1088 Mass Ave - Social time 7:00 / meeting begins at 7:30PM
Vacation Week | February 20 - 24
Monday February 20 Holiday | offices and school closed
Clarke Ski Trip | March 3 - 5
Clarke PTO Meeting | March 9
8:45AM Clarke Cafeteria
World Language Week | March 13 - 17
The Gift of Failure Author, Jessica Lahey | March 21
7:00PM Estabrook School Register Here
Early Release Day | March 23
Dismissal at 11:45AM
News from the 7th Grade
Team Adventurer
In Science, Adventurer students continue to explore and discover. After learning about hydrothermal vent ecosystems, students celebrated Ms. Sheild's 10th anniversary of her dive in the Alvin submarine with a dive of their own! With their flashlights in hula hoop submarines, student scientists explored the sea floor in the dark, simulating the 1977 discovery of hydrothermal vents. To launch the genetics unit, students learned the complexities of DNA by making a 3D model of its structure. The understanding of the function of DNA was enhanced when they used Lego models to replicate the molecule and code for a protein. The genetics unit is in full force with Punnett square solving and hands-on activities like the creation of Crazy Creatures! This unit ties into the study of our next topic, evolution. Do you remember where Darwin found much of his evidence? Ask an Adventurer student to find out. Journey on!
In math class, we are "Moving Straight Ahead" with our group work! Students are exploring properties of linear relationships by constructing tables, graphs, and equations. Students are able to identify rate of change and the y-intercept and can make decisions about linear relationships in all forms. Ask your child about their Explain Everything Homework Project! Students are demonstrating what they know using a fun interactive application! After we finish this unit, there will be a placement exam in March. More information about placement will be communicated later in the spring.
In geography class our little Adventurers are finishing Africa and will soon be moving on to the Middle East. How timely! In the middle of our nation's heated debate about the region and it's people, we will be studying the social, political and resource issues that are so important to the nations of the Middle East.
In English, Adventurer students recently finished writing literary analysis essays. These argumentative essays rely on the text as evidence. Each student wrote individual arguments proving his or her chosen biggest community flaw from The Giver. Currently, we are delving in to reading nonfiction closely, looking at reliable sources, credible evidence, and author word choice that may lead to bias. Our goal is to be informed, thoughtful citizens. so we can draw our own conclusion about the world at large.
Team Enterprise
In math class, we are "Moving Straight Ahead" with our group work! Students are exploring properties of linear relationships by constructing tables, graphs, and equations. Students are able to identify rate of change and the y-intercept and can make decisions about linear relationships in all forms. Ask your child about their Explain Everything Homework Project! Students are demonstrating what they know using a fun interactive application! After we finish this unit, there will be a placement exam in March. More information about placement will be communicated later in the spring.
In Science, Enterprise students have been exploring the world of genetics. Students learned the intricacies of DNA by building 3-D DNA models. Students shared each of their models with others and are on display in the classroom! We investigated the structure of DNA and DNA replication with a hands-on Lego activity. Through our genetics unit, students discovered how to use Punnett Squares to predict possible outcomes of offspring and used their knowledge of genotypes and phenotypes in the creation of Crazy Creatures! This unit ties into our next topic of evolution!
In World Geography we are wrapping things up with the Africa unit. One of the highlights in this unit has been examining the physical landscape of several countries on the continent of Africa. Another engaging part of the unit is exploring the lives of adolescents in societies other than our own. Students immediately recognize similarities and are quite insightful when observing differences in experiences. The next region we will be studying is the Middle East.
Team Endeavor
Our genetics unit is off to a great start. Students have used Lego models to learn about the structure and function of DNA( see picture). They have also begun to learn about how genes interact to make an organism “look” the way it “looks”. Using punnet squares, students have been able to predict the phenotypes and genotypes of the offspring as well as predict parental genotypes. We are starting to use a very fun, interactive genetics simulation called Geniverse in which students must investigate the genetics of dragon like creatures by completing a series of challenges set up to guide their understanding. We love Genetics!
In Endeavor World Geography, we are currently studying Africa. In addition to studying the political, physical, and human geography of the region, we are excited to read the novel “Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park and examine the documentary “A Desert Odyssey”, which target the learning standard of exploring the role of adolescents in other parts of the world. When we return from vacation, we will continue our studies in the upcoming units including: Southwest Asia (Middle East), East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Australia/Oceania.
In math class, we are "Moving Straight Ahead" with our group work (see picture)! Students are exploring properties of linear relationships by constructing tables, graphs, and equations. Students are able to identify rate of change and the y-intercept and can make decisions about linear relationships in all forms. Ask your child about their Explain Everything Homework Project, demonstrating what they know using a fun interactive application! After we finish this unit, there will be a placement exam in March. More information about placement will be communicated later in the spring.
In English class, students are exploring non-fiction texts and evaluating them for credibility and bias. We use strategies such as our Information Station Cartesian Plane to map sources, and 5WH, PIE and APE strategies to dig into our text. Ask your child to show you the 5WH, PIE and APE to excavate vogue dance. Warning: This is some serious vogueing and may require putting on some Madonna tunes from the 90s.
Team Explorer
We cannot believe it is already 3rd quarter. Time really does fly when you are having fun and learning! Here is a breakdown of the exciting concepts we are studying in each class:
In Explorer science, students are learning about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Students simulated the process of natural selection by participating in an activity called "Bird Beak Buffet." In this activity, they had to forage for different types of food using different tools, which simulated bird beaks. Students are also conducting research on the evolution of a specific organism and presenting their research project on Monday February 13th, and Tuesday February 14th. Be sure to ask your child how their organism has changed over time!
How do we become informed citizens when sifting through the variety of news sources provided by 21st century media? This is the question that we are attempting to answer in Explorer English. When reading nonfiction, students will learn how to find facts and how to weed out opinion. These skills will come in handy for our next unit, Writing Nonfiction, where students will write their own persuasive research essay.
In Explorer world geography we are currently learning about Africa. We have established our knowledge of the countries of Northern and Southern Africa, the physical geography, and the climate. Now we are moving on to a project in which students will be looking more closely into individual countries, and working on their research and presentation skills. Our next region will be Southwest Asia!
In Explorer math class, we are "Moving Straight Ahead" exploring properties of linear relationships by constructing tables, graphs, and equations. Students are able to identify rate of change and the y-intercept and can make decisions about linear relationships in all forms. Ask your child about their Explain Everything Homework Project! Students are demonstrating what they know using a fun interactive application! After we finish this unit, there will be a placement exam in March. More information about placement will be communicated later in the spring.