September 2018 Newsletter
Please keep checking Google Classroom & Aspen!
English-
English: It has been a great start to the year!! The Bystander or The Revealers, summer reading, has come to a close with the “Stand Together Against Bullying” Project. The kids have done an excellent job on their collages, tests, and packets. We’ve also spent a lot of time on grammar and writing, which will continue into October.
Let the creative juices flow! Mid to late October, we will also be diving into some of the spooky stories and poems of Edgar Allen Poe to get ready for Halloween!
Please continue to check Google Classroom and the planner for homework updates. Please feel free to email me maiellojones@wbridgewater.com.
Please make sure you and your child are checking Aspen to see their grades. If you have questions about Aspen, please email John Collins at jcollins@wbridgewater.com.
Reading-
So far, so good. I think most of us are getting the hang of 7th grade!
In class, we are currently reviewing three very important reading strategies that can be applied to all classes. Please ask your student to share them with you.
In class, we have been reading a short story by Gary Soto that is ever so appropriately titled, “Seventh Grade.” Students will incorporate the reading strategies and focus on comprehension. We will also compare the similarities between the story and a poem by Soto titled, "Oranges" as well as a memoir by Soto titled, "The Jacket".
Please remind your student to have a pleasure reading book for class, as well as a charged Chromebook. Also, keep checking Google Classroom for updates.
Keep reading! It’s good food for the brain. :)
Any questions please email me at atheriault@wbridgewater.comScience-
We have gotten off to an excellent start in science class -the students have been learning all about mechanical and chemical weathering, as well as erosion. This has been a very timely topic with the current weather patterns that we have seen this month across the US. We will be able to see some of these processes at work soon when we begin our Weathering and Erosion Lab exercise - a hands-on activity that uses dirt, sand, pebbles, and other materials to show the students how weathering and erosion works.
In October, we will begin our discussion of earthquakes and volcanoes, as well as thinking about soil formation and conservation and renewable and non-renewable resources.
Please check ASPEN and Google Classroom for grades and all other announcements/updates that are science related! We just began our first weekly research assignment, so be on the lookout for those, and try to read over student answers before they submit!
I am always available for any of your questions/concerns! Please email me: jparenteau@wbridgewater.comSocial Studies-
We have had a wonderful time reviewing Geography and completing the first chapter in our social studies book on The Beginnings of Human Society. We have traveled back in time to learn about the Iceman, turned ourselves into archaeologists for a class and made a life-size timeline with clothespins and a clothesline!
In store for October is a unit on The Fertile Crescent where we will learn about the development of writing in Mesopotamia as well as creating our own accounts of what happened in early civilizations. We will be looking at maps, interpreting timelines and discussing primary and secondary sources within this time period. Homework and assignments will be posted on Google Classroom every class so please keep an eye on that! Email me if you ever have any questions! jmartin@wbridgewater.comMath-
It’s test time! Our first test will be the last week of September. I’m anticipating the grades to be a little lower than you would like, but this tends to happen each year. The grades usually begin to go up as the year progresses, but the first test shows many of the students that they need some extra help. We use an online program called Edulastic. Students can see their scores and look at the tests anytime after the tests have been graded. Mrs. Perrault, the 7th grade math tutor, is available after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and during Powerblock on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Feel free to email her anytime at kperrault@wbridgewater.com.
The IXL and TenMarks online assignments began this week. The assignments will be posted on Google Classroom on Mondays and will be due the following Sunday. The students will be assigned both IXL and TenMarks each week. IXL is a little easier and the students need to get a 70 to receive full credit. TenMarks assignments will be a little more difficult, and students will only need to complete these assignments.
I will continue to post assignments on Google Classroom. If you have any questions, please contact me any time: mhyde@wbridgewater.com.Student Government-
Guidance-
Any questions or concerns about your students start to the year, please contact Amy Wilder awilder@wbridgewater.com, 508-894-1220 ext 1310.
Here is a helpful suggestion for starting the year from School Counselor, Dr. Sharon Sevier author of the blog, Guiding our children through school transitions.
Set a time and a place for homework, and stay on top of grades. Don’t wait for the teachers to contact you; you can also contact them.
Most middle schools today have an online student management system that allows parents to see their child’s progress. You can check grades, as well as attendance. I’d suggest making it a weekly event, maybe during homework time, that you sit down with your child and review what’s online in the student management system. Teachers have well over 100 students they are dealing with on a daily basis. Parents, generally, have only a couple of students they are in charge of. Parents need to stay on top of their child’s grades, and they need to contact teachers when they have questions/concerns. There is no excuse for a parent to say “I didn’t know” when so much information is readily available.
Have a specified time and place for homework each school night. Don’t accept, “I don’t have any homework.” If there is no homework, they can always review what was taught that day or they can read. You must be firm and let your child know that the homework time and place are in cement--no negotiation. When they are finished with their homework, ask to see it. I wouldn’t suggest reviewing it, but check it for completion. They have to know that you take this seriously, and you are going to be checking.
If I may, I’d like to beg and plead with you about the place for homework. Please don’t send your kids off to their rooms, armed with technology, to do homework. Have them do homework in a central place in your home where your presence is apparent. NO cell phones during homework time. They will take things much more seriously if you put some strong parameters on homework completion. They make think you are the spawn of Satan for taking their cell phone but, trust me, they’ll live through it and their work will be better quality.
Other News...
Our “Superhero" PB names have been chosen. They are:
A-J’s Avengers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Theriault's
Martin’s Marvels
Parenteau’s ParenTHORs
Hyde’s HYDEians of the Galaxy
1/2 Day
Wednesday, Sep 26, 2018, 11:00 AM
West Bridgewater Middle-Senior High School, West Center Street, West Bridgewater, MA, USA
Progress Reports
Friday, Sep 28, 2018, 02:00 PM
West Bridgewater Middle-Senior High School, West Center Street, West Bridgewater, MA, USA
No School
Monday, Oct 8, 2018, 12:00 AM
Your house!
Tshirt and Class Dues are Due
Order forms will be coming tomorrow!
WBMSHS Student dues are being collected this October. Dues are 10 dollars per student. Dues help with the cost of school activities and help ease the cost of events now and in the class of 2024 future school careers. Dues can be paid in cash or by check and given to your student’s powerblock teacher. They are due by October 19th.
Exciting news! The 7th grade Powerblocks will be getting t-shirts made this year. Students have the chance to get their design on the shirt by submitting it to their powerblock teachers. We would love for each student to have an opportunity to get one. T-shirts come in adult sizes small and up. Shirts are 10 dollars and are also due on October 19th. No shirts will be available for purchase past this deadline.
If you wish, you can make your check payable to WBMSHS for $20 to pay for both. If you have any concerns or questions, please email Jaimee Martin Jmartin@wbridgewater.com
Thank you!
Middle School Advisors Jaimee Martin & Amy Wilder and the 7th Grade Team