September Middle School Newsletter
Welcome Back!
English 7-
7th Grade English: It’s been a great start to the year!! The Bystander or The Revealers, summer reading, has come to a close with the “Character Locker” Project. The kids have done an excellent job on it and their packets. We’ve also spent some of the time on grammar and writing, which will continue into October. Let the creative juices flow! In 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 updates. Please make sure you are checking Aspen to see your child’s grades. If you have questions about Aspen, please email John Collins at jcollins@wbridgewater.com. Please feel free to email either Mrs. AJ or Ms. O’Bryan at any time as well at maiellojones@wbridgewater.com or lobryan@wbridgewater.com .
English 8-
8th Grade English: We’ve been bridging the time gap between the 1970s and today comparing the Outsiders novel to our new novel Long Way Down. The students really seem to be getting into this novel even though it really is a long poem! :) We’ve also spent a lot of time on boosting our writing and adding to our grammar folders from last year. This will continue as the year progresses.
In October, we will unearth Frankenstein and his monster, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and jump into a few other spooky stories along the way.
Please continue to check Google Classroom updates. Please make sure you are checking Aspen to see your child’s grades. If you have questions about Aspen, please email John Collins at jcollins@wbridgewater.com. Please feel free to email either Mrs. AJ or Ms. O’Bryan at any time as well at maiellojones@wbridgewater.com or lobryan@wbridgewater.com .Reading-
Reading - Welcome to grade 7! Over the next few classes students will be taking a reading comprehension assessment practice. This will not count as a grade but rather an indicator of what areas of reading comprehension I need to focus on. We will then read a short story titled, Seventh Grade by Gary Soto. We will work on vocabulary and main ideas of the story.
Please email me with any questions at atheriault@wbridgewater.com. Please continue to check Google Classroom. Thanks!Math 7-
7th grade Math Math, everyone’s favorite! Well, maybe not. Welcome to 7th grade. Math is always a tough class for 7th graders, but we want to do our best to make sure everything goes well for this year. For now, there will not be any homework for the first month of school before the 1st test. Of course, students can always work at home if they want, but it will not be required at this point unless they decide to do nothing in class. Class will be a little different to other classes because we offer a lot of choices each day. The students are not required to do everything on the Choice Board. Some start with the basics and end with the required work. Some start with the required work, and then go back or move on to higher level problems. All assignments will be available on Google Classroom.
Our first test will be, at the earliest, the second week of October. It will cover integers (positive and negative numbers), and the blue worksheet will give you a good idea on what will be on the test. Our tests are always online, and you can login anytime on the app Edulastic and look at their tests or practice tests. The login for Edulastic is the student’s school Google login.
We know this is a unique year, but we want to make sure your students get the education they deserve. Feel free to email us anytime!
Gina Romano Mike Hyde
Math 8-
8th grade Math We both feel we were cheated out of time with your students last year. It was cut short, and we’re really happy to have them in class again. We both are available for help., Students shouldn’t feel bad if they have Mr. Hyde, and they want to get help from Mrs. Romano (or the other way around). For now, there will not be any homework for the first month of school before the 1st test. Of course, students can always work at home if they want, but it will not be required at this point unless they decide to do nothing in class. The class will be a little different from other classes because we offer a lot of choices each day. The students are not required to do everything on the Choice Board. Some start with the basics and end with the required work. Some start with the required work, and then go back or move on to higher-level problems. All assignments will be available on Google Classroom.
Our first test will be, at the earliest, the second week of October. The test will cover equations, angles, and scientific notation. Our tests are always online, and you can login anytime on the app Edulastic and look at their tests or practice tests. The login for Edulastic is the student’s school Google login.
Feel free to email us anytime!.
Gina Romano Mike Hyde
gromano@wbridgewater.com mhyde@wbridgewater.comSocial Studies 7-
7th Grade Social Studies: Welcome to Social studies! We will be learning all about Ancient Civilizations this year! Students will have access to the online text in Google Classroom. If you ever need help, feel free to ask Ms. Martin or Mr. Despier! We started September with a quick geography review and headed into Chapter 1: Prehistory! We looked at the Iceman and learned about archeology! Get ready to go into the past and have fun learning history! Check Google Classroom for all updates to the class! We look forward to a great year of learning social studies!
Matthew Despier: Jaimee Martin
Mdespier@wbridgewater.com jmartin@wbridgewater.comCivics 8-
8th Grade Social Studies/Civics: Welcome to Civics! It is an election year so we will be living through a historic time! We will be looking at how our government was started, the history of our government and how civics works in this country! We will become informed citizens! We started the month off learning about The Mayflower Compact, early influences of our government and more. Once we complete the early influences we will be following the online text throughout the year, you will be getting a username and password to access it. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us! We are looking forward to a great year of social studies!
Matthew Despier: Jaimee Martin
Mdespier@wbridgewater.com jmartin@wbridgewater.comScience 7-
Science- Grade 7: We have gotten off to an excellent start in science class -the students have been starting to learn all about mechanical and chemical weathering, and we will soon be starting 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!
I am always available for any of your questions/concerns! Please email me: jparenteau@wbridgewater.com
Or Mrs. Warnock: swarnock@wbridgewater.com
Science 8-
8th Grade Science: So far our year has gone really well! Students seem to be proficient with their use of technology which is a huge help for the year. Please make sure each day that students are attending class with a charged device and a set of headphones. We are currently studying astronomy, space and solar systems, and seasons. This unit is full of interesting information on the planets in our solar system!
Each day, please be sure to check google classroom for the agenda and classroom materials. If you have any questions, please email either
Mrs. Warnock: swarnock@wbridgewater.com
or
Mrs. Parenteau: jparenteau@wbridgewater.comFrench 8-
Spanish 8-
Guidance-
This year is definitely a strange one, but overall the opening has gone great. It was wonderful to see all the kids and how they have grown over the quarantine period and summer. We are all under stress due to the changes that were necessary to keep schools safe. Self care is important for yourself and your middle schooler. Please remember to take time to unwind.
On another note! It is that time of year for our 8th graders who may be considering attending other high schools. If your 8th grader is interested in applying to SE, the application can be done at any time and is completely online (https://www.sersd.org/). Please check the Southeastern Website for information on how they will be handling open houses and tours.
If you are considering private high school for your student, simply send in the transcript request portion of the application and we will send along everything they require.
For any questions, concerns or to submit transcript request contact me, Ms. Wilder at awilder@wbridgewater.com, 508-894-1220 ext 1310