SAUK PRAIRIE MIDDLE SCHOOL
MIDDLE LEVEL NEWS - MARCH 2021
Click on the link above for details.
Phone: 643-5580 before 8:00am (24-hour line)
Email: msattendance@saukprairieschools.org
Skyward: App or website login
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SCHOOL NURSE
JUST A REMINDER! WE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING ANY RESULTS FROM THE RAPID ANTIGEN TESTING THAT IS BEING CONDUCTED AT THE UW CAMPUSES. WE WILL ONLY ACCEPT PCR TESTS DONE AT CLINIC SITES OR OTHER HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND THE FREE SITES OFFERED BY SAUK COUNTY OR ALLIANT.
Below are just my continued reminders. As always, please reach out with any questions as I understand this can be very confusing at times and I am happy to help! The school district along with Public Health strongly encourage, even if the symptoms seem very mild, to still get tested.
If your student OR any household contacts is ill with symptoms on the COVID list or has had a close contact to a positive individual:
1. Stay home or go home when symptoms start, stay out until a negative test or quarantine is over. Make sure that all school age siblings stay home as well until results are back.
2 .Inform the attendance secretary of symptoms and plans for test/quarantine
3. Call the school nurse about testing, quarantine, a household person with symptoms, or if your student had close contact with a covid positive person.
While out of school if ill or waiting for test results/quarantining:
1. Inform the school nurse of quarantine dates/test results, call again if dates change due to new positive cases or symptoms.
2. Email teachers to keep up on school work
3. Contact counselor if further need to coordinate school work/concern about academics
4. Arrange test results be sent to school nurse
On Return to in person classes:
1. Make sure test results have been sent to school nurse
2 Student should check in at the office to make sure information is up to date and student is cleared to attend
If you have any questions, please contact Laura Cody(school nurse) at 608-643-5555
From the Principal's Desk
Here we are--Mr. Harter’s favorite month! And it will continue to be my favorite month even though it will now always be the month that COVID-19 put a whole new set of challenges in front of us. Now, a year later, I am able to look back with a sense of pride in how we rose to those challenges together.
The great news is that COVID-19 case numbers continue to decline. We are making plans to return to full in-person instruction sometime this spring based on the most current recommendations and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We will continue to offer a full virtual option. Please watch for communication over the next few weeks regarding this shift in our model. We are excited to have all of our kids back together in school!
Parent/teacher communication is critical to student success in middle school. Some of you may have had a conference with your child’s teachers recently. However, if you didn’t, it’s not too late! If you are struggling at home with your child and worried about things at school, please contact the teacher, your child’s counselor, or an administrator. Our staff is committed to your child’s success in middle school, socially and academically, and we need to know when you are concerned so we can help!
Our state testing, the Wisconsin Forward Exam, is coming up fast! We plan to start testing the week before spring break. All students in grades 6, 7, and 8 will take Math and English Language Arts/Reading exams. Grade 8 will take Science and Social Studies exams as well. The test has been shortened this year and will be taken over just a couple of days. The exam is taken on the computer (please make sure your child has inexpensive earbud headphones) and incorporates a variety of tasks including multiple choice, short answer, and short essay questions. If you have questions about the exam, don’t hesitate to contact me at 608 643-5552.
Thank you, as always, for your commitment to Sauk Prairie Middle School. While this has been “the weirdest school year ever,” these last three months of the school year are going to be exciting! Call or visit me any time to chat about how we can work together to finish strong here at SPMS.
What is happening in 7th Grade Core Classes?
Social Studies:
ELA: Students will work in survival book groups, expanding their definition of what it means to survive through reading their selected novel, writing and talking about it, and watching short videos on a variety of survival topics. In addition to studying the theme of survival, this unit will also focus on characterization: major and minor characters, perspectives, inner thinking, and other authorial technique. After completing a short survival project, we will do a whirlwind review/preparation for the Forward Exam, which 7th graders will take upon their return from spring break. Finally, we will continue to work on sentence variety, using all 4 sentence types: simple, compound (FANBOYS), complex (WUBBA) and compound-complex (FANBOYS + WUBBA).
Science: In March, 7th graders will be wrapping up a long science unit studying cell biology and the basics of genetics. We'll integrate our science and social studies curriculum with a project examining The Geography of Bacteria & Viruses. After Spring Break, we'll return to social studies learning about human geography and culture.
What is happening in 8th Grade Core Classes?
8th Grade Math & SM1:
Math 8: Students started Unit 4, Geometry, at the beginning of March. In this lesson we will start with angle relationships and then move on to discovering the Pythagorean Theorem and using it to find the side lengths of right triangles and distances on the coordinate plane. We will also be investigating congruent and similar figures as well as reviewing volume and surface area of cones, cylinders, and spheres. March also brings some statistical analysis of the NCAA Basketball tournament, and, of course, a celebration of Pi Day!
SM1 will be working working on exponential growth and exponential decay. Studies of biological populations, from bacteria and amoebas to mammals, often show exponential patterns of growth. The populations increase over time at an increasing rate of growth. Graphs of the data curve upward. This same pattern of growth is seen when money is invested in accounts paying compound interest. In other situations, quantities decline as time passes, at a decreasing rate-like medicine in your blood-stream. Students will learn to recognize and represent exponential growth and decay in tables, graphs, words and symbols.
Social Studies: Students have been learning about the aftereffects of the Revolutionary War and the struggles to become a nation. From the Articles of Confederation to writing and debating a new US Constitution, students are learning about the process of finalizing and amending the Constitution. Our focus on the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of government will lead us into discovering the major events that took place during the first 13 presidencies in our country. Students will be creating a President Project where they will learn important information about one of these presidents and the impact this president made on the United States. They will learn about these presidents through participating in a "Gallery Walk" (a way of presenting their project to their classmates).
Team White-Social Studies & Science: Students are back in the science classroom identifying minerals by their unique properties. Students also have learned about their birthstones and other important minerals. We will be researching uses of minerals and how and where they are mined. Students are also busy in the lab making the 3 different types of rocks with crayon shavings. They use heat, pressure and melting to create 3 very different crayon rocks. These students will be in the science lab until the end of this second trimester in mid March. On Monday, March 15, team white students will go back to studying social studies where they will pick up where they left off, with the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence
ELA: Teams Red & White- Dateline Earth March 2021 re: English Grade 8
March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb. This idiom is the opposite of Middle School where the eighth graders came in like lambs and go out like lions.
In English class we are practicing research skills and preparing to write a position paper. The students will build on the analysis skills developed during the last writing unit while researching and writing on a specific position. We will also be working on reading standards. Listed below are a few of the reading standards the students will be practicing while reading during March. This will provide foundational reading skills for the Forward Exam in Late March and early April. Have a great March 2021. It is the only one you get.
p.s. Dr. Seuss was born in March. Go read four or five of his books. Read them out loud to someone else to experience the full power of Dr. Seuss.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
In Team Black's ELA classes, students have chosen a type of natural disaster to investigate. They are learning about print and online resources that they can use both in school and at home. Mrs. Judge, our Librarian, has helped by finding and teaching us how to use these resources.
The first step in this project is to research how the disaster type happens. Students will become an expert on the science behind their chosen disaster. Eventually, students will research a specific event that occurred within their disaster type. They will learn the history and impact of the event, plus connect how that event led to the creation of new technology and/or engineering practices. For example, students researching a hurricane may choose to learn about Hurricane Katrina, and how the failure of the levee system made this terrible disaster even worse. Since that event, scientists and engineers have worked with land management professionals to figure out how to improve the levee system, while also adjusting waterways to handle the excessive force and flooding from future hurricanes.
After they've learned the scientific and historical aspects of that disastrous event, they will share their knowledge with a final project. Students will have several choices for how to convey their knowledge and expertise to their classmates. Some examples of these projects may be a video, a hands-on lesson they create for the class, a children's book, a game, etc.
Science:
FEBRUARY MIDDLE LEVEL LEADER
Carmynn Meyer is the Sauk Prairie Optimist Club’s Middle Level Leader for February. She is an eighth grader and the daughter of Tom Meyer and Andrea Sohl. She was nominated by her Spanish teacher.
Her teacher, Ms.Wynn, shared why Carmrynn was selected: “Despite a difficult year full of obstacles and challenges, this month's middle level leader, Carmynn Meyer, has showcased her ability to overcome any adversity. Her perseverance and determination proves that she is a wonderful leader and role model, both in and out of the classroom. In class, Carmynn always jumps at the chance to participate, sharing her diverse opinions while encouraging her peers to partake in discussion. In a small group setting, her leadership skills shine through, helping other students understand the task at hand, answering questions they may have, and ensuring they all complete the necessary work. Outside the classroom, she acts as a role model for younger and older students alike. She practices social distancing at recess and the hallways, keeping our school safe and healthy. Carmynn’s exemplary actions in our Sauk Prairie Middle School community make her a perfect choice for this month's Middle Level Leader.
At the Middle School, Carmynn is an active member of the Chess Club. Her hobbies include painting and woodworking. She has also enjoyed playing football and hopes to continue that in High School this fall.
Carmynn hopes to attend a college somewhere out west and participate in an ROTC program. She would then pursue a career in the armed forces.
February Good Citizens, Role Models & Leaders
Amara Hubbard / Evan Dischler / Levi Shadewald
Evelyn Bahe / Kaylee Brown / Caleb Breunig
7th Grade Role Models:
Drew Thiede / Alayna Robertson / Leah Allen
Boden Breunig / Cayden Hermsdorf / Evelyn Sprecher
8th Grade Leaders:
Marin Alisch / Casey Brickl / Lauren Uselman / Ava Flannagan
BUILDERS CLUB
Students who are in school on those days are able to join me in the cafeteria, but there is also a virtual option.
Here are links for students to join us virtually.
4K ENROLLMENT FOR 2021-22 SCHOOL YEAR
UNPAID FEE STATEMENTS
Payments for food service or district fees can be made through the e-Funds site. In order to create an account in eFunds, you will need to know your Family ID number and each of your children’s Student ID numbers. If you do not know these numbers, please contact your child’s school or the District Office for assistance. Also, there are no longer transaction fees when paying student fees or adding money to lunch accounts through our e-Funds site. There are several helpful guides on the SPSD website that provide step-by-step instructions for creating an e-Funds account, using e-Funds or making a payment. The link to those guides is here. Thank you for using e-Funds and streamlining the payment process!
SPMS YEARBOOK
Link to the form:
Students can also pick up an order form in the office.Checks should be made payable to SPMS Yearbook.