Ellsworth MS Newsletter
Here's what's happening in MS this week!
September 23, 2019
Dear parents,
Middle School Student Council election will be held on Thursday, September 26th. Students who’ve turned in their application to be on the ballot to Mrs. Goslee may hang campaign posters Monday. All posters must be removed by the end of the day on Thursday. Good luck!
ENGLISH
6th Grade: We have just taken our first spelling test and I’m happy to report that every student passed their list. We have different lists for different levels, so it was a bit tricky giving the test this morning but I believe everything went well. Next week students start concentrating their writing on a personal narrative. Currently, I am setting the due date for the piece for Wednesday, Oct. 2nd and it may change depending on our progress in class. Students are graded on participation mostly but they will have four to five published (meaning typed) pieces throughout the year.
THE NEXT SPELLING TEST FOR BOTH 6TH AND 7TH WILL BE OCT. 4TH. A NEW LIST WILL BE SENT HOME THIS COMING MONDAY SEPTEMBER 23RD.
7th Grade: We have just taken our first spelling test and I’m happy to report that every student passed their list. We have different lists for different levels, so it was a bit tricky giving the test this morning but I believe everything went well. Next week students start concentrating their writing on a memoir. Currently, I am setting the due date for the piece for Wednesday, Oct. 2nd and it may change depending on our progress in class. Students are graded on participation mostly but they will have four to five published (meaning typed) pieces throughout the year.
8th Grade: We are finishing our study of the Trojan War and will move on to the Odyssey soon. Last week we covered fragments, run-ons, and parallel structure and this week we will cover denotation, connotation, and revising wordy sentences. Students have chosen a topic for their My Michigan Hero essay and we will be working on those in the coming weeks.
SOCIAL STUDIES
6th Grade: We have been practicing using longitude and latitude to locate places on earth. We will be continuing our practice this week to prepare for a quiz on Friday, Sept 27th. Students also have the opportunity to do an extra credit research presentation on any place on earth. It needs to include the location using longitude and latitude, a map, a description of the place, interesting facts, and 3 sources. It’s due Thursday, Sept 26th.
7th Grade: We have been practicing using longitude and latitude to locate places on earth. We will be continuing our practice this week to prepare for a quiz on Friday, Sept 27th. Students also have the opportunity to do an extra credit research presentation on any place on earth. It needs to include the location using longitude and latitude, a map, a description of the place, interesting facts, and 3 sources. It’s due Thursday, Sept 26th.
8th Grade: In U.S. History we have been looking at the 13 colonies as they gear up for war against England. We have talked about some of the discontent that the colonists have begun to have and how the French and Indian War played into that. Early on this coming week, we will talk about the causes of the revolution and how the colonists just got tired of England telling them what to do and their taxation antics. We will be having a quiz on Friday, September 27th.
MATH
6th Grade: 6th graders have a quiz Monday on lesson 1 which is ratios. They have also been using iReady math and need to spend 45 minutes online during the week practicing their skills. Most have finished in class or during seminar. Keep up the great work!
7th Grade: 7th graders had a quiz Friday on adding positive and negative integers. Please check power school for results. They have also been using iReady math and need to spend 45 minutes online during the week practicing their skills. Most have finished in class or during seminar. Keep up the great work!
8th Grade: 8th graders have a quiz Monday on lesson 1 which covers the rules of exponents. They have also been using iReady math and need to spend 45 minutes online during the week practicing their skills. Most have finished in class or during seminar. Keep up the great work!
SCIENCE
6th Grade: We have been practicing our observation skills and exploring some general science topics through ScienceWorld Magazine. Students may access the ScienceWorld site (scienceworld.scholastic.com) using the student code: steprock9. There are videos accompanying issues going back a few years and a Science Trivia game too. Check it out!
7th Grade: We had our scientific investigation quiz on Wednesday. Students are able to correct the quiz and retake it next week if they are not happy with their grade. We have started our new unit on Waves.
8th Grade: We had our scientific investigation quiz on Wednesday. Students are able to correct the quiz and retake it next week if they are not happy with their grade. We have started our new unit on Waves.
ART
8th Grade will be finishing their celebrity portraits and then venturing into the world of color.
MUSIC
6th grade reached number 10 in the book this week. Middle school band has a few pieces to work on for the fall concert. All students should now be taking their instruments home and practicing. Remember, practice sheets are due on Friday with a parent signature.
PE
6th grade PE students will begin a striking and fielding unit this week. Warm-up activities will focus on developing/improving cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscular endurance and muscular strength. Please encourage an active lifestyle with at least 60 minutes of aerobic activity each 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