Meeting in the Middle
February 2017
Dear Parents/Guardians:
The LCS Board of Education has officially approved the annual 8th grade Washington D.C.for the fall of 2017. Thanks to Mrs. Julie Peake for organizing this event that is such a rich experience for our eighth grade students. If you have not seen the information and your 7th grade child is interested in attending next year's trip, please ask him/her for information. You may also contact the main office at 810-591-0711 with any questions you may have.
This is the time of the year that eighth graders’ imminent move to the high school becomes more real! Students in EDP classes continue to work high school schedules, and all students will soon be making high school course selections. Typically the high school orientation for eighth grade students is held in March. When we have the date confirmed, we will communicate.
We are trying to keep parents more informed of up-coming events at LMS. For current information, please refer to the Calendar tab on the LCS Web site and look under the Middle School link. One fun, annual event that is coming up is our Career Fair which will be held on March 29th. If you are interested in being a presenter for our career fair, contact Heather Pennell at hpennell@lindenschools.org!
This year, our school has been selected to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This is an annual assessment administered across the country to a random sampling of students in which the results will provide our nation with it's national report card. These scores are used to compare the education level of our students to students in other countries. This year, fifty eighth grade students have been selected to represent Linden Middle School. If you child was selected to participate, a letter was sent home in January. If you did not receive a letter, your child will not be part of the assessment.
Again, this spring, all students will participate in Michigan's required assessment, M-STEP. Our eighth graders will begin their testing the day we return from spring break (April 10th) and will end testing on Friday, April 28th. Seventh and sixth graders will test during the window of May 1st and May 26th. Next month, a more detailed calendar with testing dates/times will be posted. During the testing window, attendance is extremely important, and we ask parents to schedule appointments after lunch or the school day.
I want to continue to thank our families and community for the support you give our school district! Please continue to communicate with teachers regarding your child's classroom progress.
Sincerely,
Julie Brown
Talented Talons (Beckman, Mazza, Thorin)
Save the Date: Tuesday, March 28th Imagination Station Field Trip
The Talented Talons will be traveling to Imagination Station, a hands-on science museum, and we will need at least 15 parent chaperones. This is traditionally a favored field trip for 6th graders, and we can guarantee a fun learning experience for all. More information will follow this notice, but we wanted to give parents an early warning in case they were interested in volunteering to be chaperones and need to make arrangements for fitting us into their busy schedules.
Language Arts News: The students in Ms. Mazza's language arts classes are reading fantasy stories and inferring meaning of unknown words using context clues and verifying those meanings using the dictionary. They have also shared children's fantasy stories to discuss the literary elements of fantasy.
Math News: We’ve just completed part one of a number sense unit on fractions and decimals. We’re moving on to integers. As always, current math grades can be seen via Digits math program. Grades are transferred to ParentVue as we complete each topic.
Science News: Welcome to Mrs. Valdez who is taking over for Mrs. Thorin while she is on maternity leavel! We are working on a big project to find out what material is best for minimizing thermal energy transfer. Thank you for helping with supplies!
Winged Warriors (Adams, Baldridge, Cook, Kimball)
In Social Studies, we are visiting our neighbor to the north--Canada. We will be taking a break from our text and using a resource called TCI. Instead of the book, your child will be using a reading packet of information. The children will be learning about the major land-forms, rivers, and lakes. They will be learning about Canada’s climate, wildlife, and natural resources. They will understand how diverse the regions of Canada are. Finally, they will learn about Canada as a partner in trade and friend of the United States.
Math classes just finished up Topic 7 on decimal computation. Students worked on decimal computation as well as converting between decimals and fractions and ordering them from least to greatest. After decimals, we will be looking at integers. Students will be working with negative numbers for the first time and see how they are used in real world situations as well as how to graph on a coordinate plane with negative numbers in ordered pairs. Students will also learn how to find the sum and difference of integers.
In Language Arts, students are continuing their study of fantasy fiction by creating their own imaginary creatures and describing their characteristics. Students are independently reading a fantasy novel of their own choosing. They will begin presenting their Book Talks in February. Next, students will read and analyze the fiction elements of the novel Tuck Everlasting, summarize the plot, and create an alternate ending to the story.
In Science, we have just completed the Thermal Energy Transfer Water Bottle Investigation. We will be taking that data and writing a Claim, Evidence, Research paper. This will be an assessment grade, so look for the rough draft to come home soon. As always, everything in Science can be re-done! Please encourage your student to take advantage of that opportunity.
Regal Eagles (Coleman, Schultz, Smith)
Language Arts
In Language Arts, we are in the middle of reading the Agatha Christie mystery novel, And Then There Were None. Students are taking on the roles of detectives as we read this novel, trying to solve the mystery of the classic whodunit. Students are using reading skills and strategies that we have used throughout the year: identifying context clues, making inferences, and deductive reasoning.
Following the novel, the students will be comparing the written story to the movie version. The two versions are vastly different, and we will be discussing what changes the screenwriter/director made, and why they may have chosen to make these changes when transferring the story on to the screen.
As we head into the 3rd quarter, we will be focusing on informational non-fiction. We will be exploring the wreck of the Titanic, as well as creating our own informational writing piece.
Science
In science, we finished learning about cell organelles, or the “mini-organs” within the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. Students did an excellent job on their cell analogy posters, and they had a great time building their own edible plant and animal cell. Thank you to everyone for donating items for the edible cells.
Next, students will be learning about the levels of organization in multi-cellular organisms. Students will understand that cells are organized into tissues, tissues into organs, organs into systems, and systems into an organism. Students will be creating a presentation on an organ system to share with the class that will show their understanding of the levels of organization.
Please continue to monitor your child’s progress on ParentVue/StudentVue. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Social Studies
Our recent unit in social studies focuses on Ancient Egypt. Students have learned why the pharaohs were able to accomplish their achievements. They were the king, general, and religious leader, all combined. We learned about four main pharaohs and the mummy project of King Tut. Next, we will be learning about the daily life of the ancient Egyptians.
Remember, students have access to almost all their assignments online, and their textbooks are online through teachtci.com.
Soaring Eagles (Boyer, Marton, Strong)
It’s hard to believe the second semester is here already. In Language Arts, students will be working on their writing skill and researching a city they would like to visit in the future. This might be great dinner table conversation! In Math, students are finishing up work with rational numbers and will be moving into simplifying expressions and solving equations. Please check your child’s Digits account for updated math grades and assignments. In Social Studies, the students will be visiting each region of Africa and learning about each culture and history.
We will be taking our second field trip of the year on March 31. Students will be traveling to Flint to visit Sloan Museum’s Titanic Exhibit and the Longway Planetarium. Please watch for permission slips in February.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Updated grades are available on StudentVue and ParentVue. If you do not know your child’s log-in information, please contact the main office at 591-0711.
8th Grade Newsletter
Eighth graders are off to a great start in 2017! We are ready to begin the third quarter! It is important to keep checking your student’s progress on ParentVue! (Synergy). Also, teachers are posting homework assignments with due dates and upcoming tests/quizzes on ParentVue to keep you informed. If you still cannot access your account, please call the office. It is also important to keep checking your student’s Digits math account. This will help you check for missing assignments!
We have been experiencing true Michigan winter weather. One day it is below zero, and the next into the 40”s! That means students need to be prepared to go outside after lunch! They need coats, hats, gloves, and all winter accessories with them at lunch every day.
Mr. Gotham will have a guest teacher for a couple of weeks, and we hope he will not be under the weather for long. Speaking of weather, 8th grade Science will start learning about atmosphere and then breeze into weather after finishing their unit on stars and galaxies. From there, the prevailing winds will take students on to climate. Ask your student about these awesome topics!
Language Arts has been focusing on biographies. Students will read Anne Frank and many short biographies such as Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and many more. They will choose a biography of a famous person they would like to study. Projects and writing papers will be a part of this quarter’s grade.
For planning purposes, we would like to inform parents of 8th grade students of the annual class trip to Cedar Point on June 7th. The cost will be around $87. Hopefully this gives parents enough time to save for the trip!
January Writer of the Month
As part of the Writer of the Month program, each month students will be honored for completing an exceptional piece of writing. These selections will be on display in the Media Center. The Writers of the Month for January are:
Megan Bradley
Isabella Cheng
Loie Palmiter
McKenna Mahakian
Kasy Shadduck
Brooke Durkac
Alyson Kelly
Olivia Burke
Jack Fries