Ellsworth MS Newsletter
Here's what's happening in MS this week!
December 2, 2019
Dear parents,
The annual Giving Tree is located in the gym lobby for the holiday season. If you can donate a baby or toddler item, just return the item to the tree before December 18 to be donated to the Moms & Tots Center.
ENGLISH
6th Grade: We started “The City of Ember” this past week and worked on the reading strategy of prediction using words, pictures and prior knowledge. This week we will be working visualization and the vocabulary test will be Friday. Students will also get new spelling words on Monday.
7th Grade: This week we will delve into “The Giver” by making predictions and connections with the text. Students have the vocabulary test on Friday and new spelling words will be given tomorrow, Monday.
8th Grade: Welcome back from break! We have three weeks remaining in the semester. Exams will take place on December 19 and 20. Before exams, I would like to try to finish chapters 7 and 8 in our grammar book so we will focus on grammar a lot in the next two weeks.
SOCIAL STUDIES
6th Grade: We have been studying about the Incas. There will be a quiz over the Incan terms posted in Google Classroom. Students will also be having an exam for social studies prior to Christmas break. The exam for 6th grade Social Studies will be on Friday December 20th. It will be over vocabulary we have learned this fall, longitude and latitude, identifying places on a world map, and the early civilizations of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca.
7th Grade: We have been studying about the Incas. There will be a quiz over the Incan terms posted in Google Classroom. Students will also be having an exam for social studies prior to Christmas break. The exam for 7th grade Social Studies will be on Thursday December 19th. It will be over vocabulary we have learned this fall, longitude and latitude, identifying places on a world map, and the early civilizations of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca.
MATH
6th Grade: 6th graders took a quiz last week on fractions and this week we turn our focus to dividing multi digit numbers. iReady time resumes to 45 minutes this week. Any quiz corrections or retakes need to happen this week.
7th Grade: 7th traders took a quiz last Tuesday and this week we focus to ratios involving complex fractions. iReady time resumes to 45 minutes this week. Any quiz corrections or retakes need to happen this week.
8th Grade: 8th graders took a quiz last Monday and this week we begin to analyze functions. iReady time resumes to 45 minutes this week. Any quiz corrections or retakes need to happen this week.
SCIENCE
6th Grade: Students have been working on a research project/presentation on an ecosystem or invasive species of their choice. It is due on Monday December 2nd at the end of class. We will be sharing them this week and doing some review for an upcoming test on ecosystems and biodiversity.
7th Grade: There will be a 7th grade Final Exam on December 20th that will cover the material we have learned so far this semester. It will count as 20% of their overall grade. Please help students by reminding them of this. Currently, we are studying chemical reactions and what happens to the atoms during them.
8th Grade: There will be an 8th grade Final Exam on December 20th that will cover the material we have learned so far this semester. It will count as 20% of their overall grade. Please help students by reminding them of this. Currently, we are studying chemical reactions and what happens to the atoms during them.
ART
6th Grade: We are working on colored pencil blending and mixing project which will hopefully also show some texture and depth. If things go well we will also be glazing our Gargoyle or Grotesques at the end of the week.
PE
7th Grade: Invasion games (basketball) and striking and fielding games will be the main focus of instruction this week. Students will also enter 3 more days of health related physical fitness performance (skip rope, front plank, push-ups, and sit-ups). We are looking for growth and improvement, not comparison to other classmates.
Once again, please encourage your student to remain active. Teenagers need 60 minutes of aerobic activity 7 days per week and 20 minutes of muscular endurance/muscular strength activities 3 days per week. (Think full body movement that elevates the heart rate for intervals of at least 10 minutes at a time totaling 60 minutes per day.)
SINCERELY,
The Middle School Team
8th English: Amanda Terryberry aterryberry@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
6th and 7th English Michele Hinkle mhinkle@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
6th Sci, 6-7th SS: Sue Goslee sgoslee@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
6-8 Math: Erica Stuck estuck@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
7-8th Science: Clayton Faivor cfaivor@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
8th SS: Laurie Yost lyost@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
Art: Kurt Zimmerle kzimmerle@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
Music: Ashley Ford aford@ellsworth.k12.mi.us
PE: Mark Drenth mdrenth@ellsworth.k12.mi.us