September's 7th Grade Newsletter
Time is flying by....
Important!
English-
We’ve also spent a lot of time on grammar and writing, which will continue into October. Let the creative juices flow! Please continue to check Google Classroom and the planner for homework updates. Email me with any questions at maiellojones@wbridgewater.com!
Math-
It’s test time! Our first test will be the first week of October. 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. 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 assignments will begin soon. The assignment will be posted on Google Classroom on Mondays and will be due the following Sunday. The students will be assigned 2 topics and will need to complete 15 questions in each section. These assignments count 20% of the student’s grade, and they will be graded on effort. At some point, they will be graded on percent correct, but the students will be given notice when this changes.
I will continue to post assignments on Google Classroom. If you have any questions, please contact me any time: mhyde@wbridgewater.com.Science-
We have gotten off to an excellent start in science class - digging deep through the layers of Earth in order to understand how plate tectonics work. We have been able to see some of these concepts in real life by doing our “Tectonic Plate Snacks” Lab Activity - using frosting, graham crackers, and fruit roll-ups to demonstrate convergent, divergent, and transform-fault boundaries.
In October we will begin our discussion of weathering and erosion and figure out how Earth is shaped by physical and chemical agents.
Please be on the look out for any and all Science Fair Materials! You will start to see guidelines, due dates, and assignments coming home. It is extremely important that your student stays current on his/her project timeline. The question, hypothesis, materials, and procedure portions of the project will be due to me first - so keep checking in with your 7th grader!
Thank you to everyone who was able to donate supplies for our classroom experiments! It has been an amazing help to have the materials so readily available!
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 night so please keep an eye on that! Email me if you ever have any questions! jmartin@wbridgewater.comReading-
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 in all classes. Please ask your student to share them with you.
Next up? A short story by Gary Soto that is ever so appropriately titled, “Seventh Grade.” Students will incorporate the reading strategies and focus on comprehension.
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.com
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.Student Government-
Other News-
Our “Disney” Homeroom names have been chosen. They are:
A-J’s Goofy Ducks
Incredible Theriault's
Martin’s Frozen Crew
Parenteau Pixies and Pirates
Hyde-ing Nemos
Our next Homeroom Challenge will be on Tuesday, Oct. 31st. It is our annual Pumpkin Carving Contest. Rules and regulation for that contest will be sent home soon.