Pike Road Bulletin
The Month of October
Welcome to Pike Road School's All New Newsletter for the Parents of 7/8 Community
What's Happening Now?
General Information
On every other Thursday, the seven and eight community have their "POP" Day. This is otherwise named "Pursue our Passions Day". It gives the students an opportunity to take a break from the regular school day and just- as the title implies- pursue their passion! We encourage parents to volunteer their time to help with teaching students about a passion of yours. Even coming down to just monitor the halls or classes during POP Day is a big help!
The Dress Code Modification Team has created and sent out a survey for teachers, parents, and students. So, make sure you check your email and fill that out. Thank you!
Student Government
President: Colby Mills and MaKayla Culpepper
8th Grade Vice President: Caden Lockett
7th Grade Vice President: Morgan Palmer, Jeremiah Frazier, Kahlen Eversole, Bryant Deaton
Secretary: Jack Coley and Jonathan Smith
Treasurer: Kennedy Jones (Eric Kim was a candidate, but he was absent this day.)
They presented their speeches then were given questions by Mr. Ray Hawthorne to answer. They then took in questions from the audience. The election was Friday the 16th and the winners are as follows:
President: Colby Mills
8th Grade Vice President: Caden Lockett
7th Grade Vice President: Jeremiah Frazier
Secretary: Jack Coley
Treasurer: Kennedy Jones
FreshGrade
Have several children at PRS? How to add multiple portfolios.
We will assess students based on their knowledge and performance of skills within the Alabama CCRS standards through various methods and activities. We will then provide a level of achievement towards meeting skills within the standard. Students will upload their best work as artifacts to showcase their learning.
We can add other resources, commentary, or request more information, or just simply say great job through commenting. You and your learner have the ability to comment as well.
If you have a question about the level of achievement your student has, please email us, or be specific in which lead learner you are addressing.
Thanks!
Meanwhile, in Mrs. Harp's classroom...
In Physical Science students explored the states of matter and looked at how energy affects molecular motion. Last week, students did a lab investigation where they made observations of various substances and identified their chemical and physical properties. Currently, students are analyzing the patterns within the Periodic Table and are learning how to find the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons based on the atomic number and atomic mass listed on the table. They will continue to use the periodic table to explore specific elements and use the information to discover how chemical compounds are made.
In Mrs. Rice's classroom...
In Mrs. Rice's Room, learners are becoming masters of Ancient Rome, Active and Passive Voice, and Argumentative writing. Learners are also preparing for the Health Fair behind hosted by Community 7-8 on November 9th! More information will be coming soon!
Community 7-8 will be done reading Wonder by R. J. Palacio by November 4th. The next read will be... LEARNER CHOICE! So, all learners should be thinking about what he or she wants to read next. Mrs. Rice will send out some lists of suggestions based on what is popular.
One of Mrs. Rice's favorite quotes from the novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio is “I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.” Parents, read with your children at home and find a quote that speaks to you. If anyone needs to contact Mrs. Rice, please email her at carolyn.rice@pikeroadschools.org
In Mr. VanEgmond's Class
Last week...
Mr. VanEgmond's math family just finished enjoying the recipes we converted using fractions. Overall this was enjoyable and meaningful for all of us. We hope to share some of the best dishes at our PRS Health Fair on November 9. This year we have also explored making scale drawings using proportions and analyzed health statistics of our community. All learners are keeping up with a Personal Health Portfolio that includes data they collected during PE. Coming up we will be more intentional about representing real-life situations with variable expressions. Applications will include business and health plans, among other things. Some learners working on PreAlgebra standards will focus more on the real-life situations that involve large and small numbers with exponents (i.e. distances in space).
Currently...
Community 7 Math is moving ahead with writing and simplifying variable expressions. We have created and shared videos with each other that show how this works. We have also compared the process to "collecting like shoes" with our footwear from home. You can check these products out in your child's Freshgrade portfolio. Soon we will be exploring the distributive property and those working on PreAlgebra standards will begin unpacking specific properties of exponents.
In Mrs. Crowe's Class...
Biology: We are currently studying macromolecules. We have looked at the structures and functions of the macromolecules, and are now testing food to find lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. We will next look closer at DNA & RNA and how they make proteins. We will study the important people and events in the discovery of DNA.
Life Science: We are currently studying the cell. We just finished a 2 week unit called Battle for Planet Earth in which we helped save our planet from aliens. As scientists, learners had to identify the alien cell as either prokaryotic or eukaryotic as well as plant or animal. We are now creating analogies to help teach the cell to others. We are comparing the cell to more commonly known systems in order to do this. We will next move into how cells reproduce and the major events that led to the discovery of cells.
In Mrs. Austin's Classroom...
In Mr. Hutsler's Class...
Robotics Team Goes to BEST Competition
A group of Community 7 students got to experience the world of competitive Robotics. The students who went were Kyra Dees, Marissa Hall, Jude Daehn, Brant Deaton, and Valen Lang. The group went to the BEST competition at Auburn University. Middle Schools and High Schools from all over Central Alabama competed to determine which school would win the trophy. Schools had to put together a booth to present their ideas about using robots in the field of Mining. Further schools had to compile a notebook with all the details about their business plan, the advertising campaign, and the construction and performance of the robot built for the competition. The best part was the actual robotics competition. While students originally though the robots might fight each other, they were surprised to discover that the robots had to perform a variety of challenging tasks that would reflect the skills needed to work in an actual mine. The robotics competition was won by Southside High School out of Selma, and the overall competition was won by Wetumpka High School. The Pike Road students were excited about the possibilities of building their own robot an competing next year.
In Mr. Hutsler’s classroom, students have been exploring exponents and applying them in Scientific Notation. Students have been building up their skills to apply Scientific Notation in their Physical Science, Life Science and Biology classes. The Geometry class has been busy on their Selling Geometry project. The purpose of the project is to help students understand the benefits of Geometry and get students excited about taking the course.
Coming Up...
Pep Rally
Friday, Nov 6, 2015, 02:00 PM
Pike Road School Gym
Basketball Game (MSG)
Friday, Nov 6, 2015, 05:00 PM
Pike Road School, Avenue of Learning, Pike Road, AL, United States
Basketball Game (MSB)
Friday, Nov 6, 2015, 06:15 PM
Pike Road School, Avenue of Learning, Pike Road, AL, United States
Health Fair
Monday, Nov 9, 2015, 05:30 PM
Pike Road School Gym
About us...
Website: www.pikeroadschools.org
Location: 500 Avenue of Learning, Pike Road, AL, United States
Phone: (334) 495-4113