Fulton Middle School Explo Classes
Team FMS: Together, We Can! - October 26, 2015
Welcome to our EXPLO Team Newsletter!
ART
7th grade students are creating "Ultimate Paisley Patterns". They first learned some of the history of the paisley pattern, then used french curves to create their own version of paisley patterns, emphasizing shapes, patterns, and color. Once the marker designs were complete, students then cut out french curve shapes from construction paper which they covered in shapes, patterns, and color which were then overlapped over the marker designs. The last step will be to add designs, colors, and patterns to the background - completing their very complex and colorful creations.
8th grade students began their Op Art projects this week. Op Art comes from the word, optical, and Op Art looks as though it's moving. Students practiced various ideas and once approved, they lightly drew their lines on white paper, using drawing tools to make them more precise, which enhances the illusion of movement. Most students are now completing this project using black Sharpie markers.
Ms. Glynn and Ms. Neudecker
7th grade band also gave an awesome performance at Fine Arts night. We are excited to pass out new concert music and get going. In this class we are also going to dive more into scales to help students understand the theory behind what they are playing. We have also started rhythm sheets. Everyday there is a four measure rhythm on the board, students are to copy down the rhythm and then write in the counting. We go over them in class and we help the students through them, be sure to ask your student if they have turned in their weekly rhythm sheet! Mark your calendars for the next concert which will take place on Monday, December 14!
8th grade band has had many performances already this year and I am extremely proud of what they have accomplished in a short time. We are kicking off Red Ribbon Week with a some pep band tunes, so make sure you student in practicing and staying "TUNED UP" (very funny I know). 8th grade band is going to be pulling out new chorales to begin sight reading in warm-up times, as well as going more in depth in the major key signatures that we will see. All of this will help the students to be prepared for high school band. the 8th grade band is also doing rhythm sheets weekly, the rhythm sheets are the same as 7th grade band (see description above). Please make sure you ask your student if they are turning them in! Mark your calendars for our next concert, Monday, December 14!
7th and 8th grade Wire Choir will be finishing up reading tablature, and moving on to some complex chords of the simple chords that we have already learned. We will be working on
7th grade Arts Alive has just finished up a unit on Mexican culture. This class will finish out the term by learning about Chinese culture and what kinds of music they listen to, what is their art like, what do their buildings look like and what do they eat.
As always, if you ever have any questions please feel free to contact Ms. Glynn or Ms. Neudecker at sglynn@fulton58.org or kneudecker@fulton58.org. Thank you for your continued support!
Ms. Lehman and Dr. Moebes
The Hornet Singers did a great job at our first performance on the year. The Fall Fine Arts Night on October 20th was an overall success! The growth since the beginning of the year has been amazing and it was a privilege to help them showcase their hard work! A big thank you to Mrs. Sayler for accompanying and making us sound great!
Now...onto Christmas music!
8th grade Arts Alive has completed their study of orchestral instruments and are now putting that knowledge to work. We've been picking pieces apart and discovering the various instruments heard as well as matching what we hear with what we see in various video clips. The students are learning about style, mood, instrumentation, rhythm, and so much more through these in-depth comparisons...and they are ROCKING IT!
Harmony Hornets is in full swing and doing well! Posture and proper breathing have been big focuses thus far in rehearsals and the students are catching on nicely. With once a week Tuesday rehearsals, it's impressive that we've almost completely made it through one song already and our first concert isn't until December. We began two new pieces with great excitement at our last rehearsal and can't wait for more time together! Dr. Moebes and I are proud of their hard work!
If you ever have any questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact me at llehman@fulton58.org.
Hornet Pride Choir (7th grade) would like to thank everyone who supported FMS music by attending the Fall concert! We were happy to see smiling faces in the audience on Tuesday night! Dr. Moebes is still collecting money for choir shirts as well. Many thanks to our accompanist, Mrs. Saylor, for helping us along in this process! We are now turning our focus to some music fundamentals, and beginning preparations for our next concert.
6th grade Arts Alive will begin presenting their individual projects on Monday, October 26th! Students have selected a musician or musical group to research. They are able to choose their preferred method of sharing what they have learned with the class. The choices are: write a 3-page paper, create a slide presentation, or create a visual representation. We will continue to work on these projects for 1 more week before they share what they've learned.
For our music theory skill, we are continuing our work on treble clef note reading!
Our singing skill study has involved singing in Latin, and singing in 3-part rounds!
Please feel free to contact me any time! bmoebes@fulton58.org.
Mrs. Bailey
6th Grade Keyboarding
7th Grade Kahoot Champ!
8th Grade Keyboarding
Coach Youse and Coach Windmiller
6th Grade has finished up their Health Triangle and Hygiene Units and will move on to Nutrition. Our first Nutrition topics will include nutrients and food labels.
Click here for more 6th Grade Health Information
Please feel free to email me at awindmiller@fulton58.org if you have any questions or concerns.
8th Grade is continuing our unit on Healthy Relationships by covering topics such as diversity in relationships, refusal skills, healthy communication and available community resources for societal problems such as domestic violence, abuse and harassment.
Please feel free to contact me at myouse@fulton58.org if you have any questions or concerns. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @healthyfms and sign up for text reminders by texting @youse(child's hour and day) to 81010. So if your child has health on B days during 7th hour text @youse7b to the number 81010.
Coach Masek, Coach Windmiller, Coach Youse
7th and 8th graders will begin running the pacer once every two weeks
6th graders will begin running the pacer once per week
The pacer will be performed to help students build up their cardiorespiratory endurance and meet our Health and Skill Related Fitness Standard of "Interpreting fitness assessments and determining what needs improvement".
They will track their progress throughout the year to help reach their Fitnessgram goal
@fmspe
Mrs. Schenewerk
Chromebooks have become a major tool in learning at FMS. Please help your student be prepared for class by reminding him/her to charge their chromebook at night and bring it to school each and every day.
The safe handling of chromebooks is also very important. The PBIS video below was created to remind students of the proper way to handle chromebooks while at school. Sadly, the "bad way" that is demonstrated by staff, are exaggerated examples of things we have seen in our school. Help your student keep their chromebook safe at home by finding a safe location to charge and store the chromebook. A chromebook left on the floor is an accident waiting to happen!
As always, please feel free to contact me at tschenewerk@fulton58.org with questions or concerns.