October 2023
HS Academic Newsletter
PURPOSE OF THIS NEWSLETTER
This newsletter is to provide an insight to what is happening in our High School classes each month. To introduce staff and to provide their background as well in hopes to become more familiar with everyone in our Panther Family!
*Any/All Athletic Information can be found at https://www.mndcty.k12.mo.us/documents/athletics/257158
or on our APP under Athletic Newsletter
Mrs. Shawna Farr- FACS
Foods:
We will learn how to make strawberry preserves and learn how to jar and freeze them. We have planned and presented a mock Halloween party already, this month we will enjoy making fun Halloween treats.
7th/8th grade FACS:
We have touched a lot on family dynamics, friendships and how to maintain a healthy friendship while being sure to keep healthy boundaries for yourself. Both classes have done an exceptional job with the many break out activities we have done to build self esteem and also to make goals. 7th grade will be making Kraft macaroni and cheese AND homemade macaroni and cheese and voting on their favorite. 8th grade will start in on a child development lesson.
Housing:
We are using the floorplanner website to design different rooms in a house. We will plan a walk through of a new home being built that happens to belong to one of our teacher’s in the building. We hope to learn a lot through this the home building process.
Health:
This month we will have “mental health Monday journaling”. This will give each student the opportunity to clear their heads and journal anything that might be a burden or something they would just like documented for later.
9th grade FACS:
Nutrition is still the main focus of this month. We will dive deeper into looking at labels to find the best nutritional value for our bodies. We will bring some healthy ideas to the kitchens and learn how to make a healthy snack instead of caving for the processed non nutritional snacks.
Child Development:
This month we will start learning about babies and toddlers. We will continue to observe and start working with the Kindergarten classroom as well.
FCCLA:
On Oct 10tg, members will help run the pumpkin musical chairs game for the Title 1 Family Fun Night. All 37 members will attend the Fall Regional meeting on October 11th. That evening, we will host the Powder Puff football game and Buff volleyball game. We ask that you please bring a canned food or non perishable food item for your admittance.
Mrs. Thersea Jordan- HS English Department
FRESHMEN:
READING: We are looking more closely at informational text that supports the theme of their literary piece, The Hunger Games.
WRITING: We will spend some time in sentence structure and conventions as students work to prepare their narratives for the final phase of the writing process, publishing.
PROJECT: Students will complete their Characterization Projects.
SPEAKING/LISTENING: Students will participate in Socratic Seminar.
NEXT: Begin prep work for our Quarter 2 text, The Best of O'Henry.
SOPHOMORES:
READING: We are looking more closely at informational text that supports the theme of their literary piece, Of Mice and Men.
WRITING: We will revisit sentence structure and conventions as students work to prepare their persuasive papers for the final phase of the writing process, publishing.
PROJECT: Students will complete their CER (Claim, Evidence, Reason) Characterization Projects.
SPEAKING/LISTENING: Students will participate in Socratic Seminar.
NEXT: Begin prep work for our Quarter 2 text, To Kill a Mockingbird.
JUNIORS:
READING: We are looking more closely at informational text that supports the theme of their literary piece, The Call of the Wild.
WRITING: Students will prepare to publish their argumentative papers.
PROJECT: Students will collaborate on a literary analysis project.
SPEAKING/LISTENING: Students completed their argumentative presentations. They will spend the rest of the quarter participating in the next phase of Socratic Seminar and also prepare to share their literary analysis projects.
NEXT: Begin prep work for our Quarter 2 text, A Raisin in the Sun.
SENIORS:
READING: Students finished their quarter one text, Nickel and Dimed. We are identifying possible themes along with the author's purpose and analyzing different texts from different mediums with the same theme and similar/different purposes.
WRITING: Collaborate on writing a literary analysis over the texts.
PROJECT: Students finished their "Hannah Project."
SPEAKING/LISTENING: Students will participate in Socratic Seminar.
NEXT: Begin our Quarter 2 Unit: Seven Main Themes in Literature.
Mrs. Katie Dougherty- Physical Education
Elementary - Fundamental locomotor skill activities
5th & 6th Grade - Finishing up volleyball unit, then will begin flag football unit
7th & 8th Grade - 4 Square & Pin Blast
9th Grade - 3 Ball & Pin Blast
Lifetime Sports - Pickleball
Mrs. Payton Boswell- K-12 Art Department
Kindergarten: My Kindergarteners are learning about color families! We did a small project with the primary colors and stamps last week. This week will mark the beginning of secondary colors with a project about pumpkins.
First grade: First grade will be learning about scarecrows and their origins. We will create a drawing of a scarecrow in a field. Students will use geometric shapes to make the details in the faces of their scarecrows.
Second grade: Second graders are learning about different lines and how you can use them in art. They are making a collage project with an apple as the subject matter. They just finished creating plaid backgrounds for the project.
Third grade: Third graders are getting ready to start a project on positive and negative space. They will take what they learn and use it to create Jack-O-Lanterns.
Fourth grade: Fourth graders just learned about form and how you can draw objects and add value to make them look 3-D. The finished pieces they make will include drawings of 3-D objects stacked on one another.
Fifth grade: Fifth graders just learned about 1- point perspective. They will take the information they learned and apply it to a project that includes creating a fall scene with a field. Students will try to make some objects small and others large to create the illusion of space.
Sixth grade: Sixth graders are learning about the origins of totem poles. They are creating a drawing of a single totem pole that represent them. They can include animals, objects, and other things that they feel represent who they are.
Seventh grade: Seventh graders recently learned about the differences between graffiti art and commissioned street art. They will be creating a sculpture out of popsicle sticks and foam that looks like a wooden fence. On the fence they will create their own "tag" or name.
Art Design: Art design students will be moving into collage work. Students will be creating a piece that represents them in the present, the future, and the past. They will use a variety of materials and techniques to create a piece that highlights how they perceive themselves.
Visual Design: Visual Design students are moving into a project based on the Bauhaus art movement which lasted from 1919 to 1933. They will create an asymmetrical piece that incorporates geometric shapes, similar to works created by the Bauhaus.
Mrs. Cammy Ungles- HS Science Department
Biology: Students will be learning about ecology and ecosystems. We will focus on how biomes and aquatic ecosystems are defined and learn about the major biomes and categories of freshwater and marine ecosystems. Students will also be presenting their first quarter projects, which included research on a specific biome.
Integrated Science: Students will begin October working on dimensional analysis. We will continue working on manipulating equations before plugging in numbers, and paying special attention to the mathematical units. We will then be learning about elements, compounds, and mixtures.
Chemistry: Students will be reviewing the importance of dimensional analysis. We will be learning about the scientific contributions of Crooke, Millikan, Democritus, JJ Thompson, Rutherford, Mosley and Dalton. We will then learn about Dalton's Atomic Theory and subatomic particles, isotopes, and radioactive atoms.
Human Anatomy: We will be learning about body tissues and how they are classified. Students will learn to identify tissues based on their function, shape, and location. We will start with epithelial tissues and then connective, muscle and nervous tissues.
Mr. Connor Dignan- Ag Department
Ag Science 1 Is currently championing the FFA Creed as it is a National Tradition for all freshmen Agricultural Education Students. This is helping them to improve on speech memorization along with honing in on their public speaking skills
Ag Science 2 is learning about the importance of parliamentary procedure and how to apply it to professional and organizational meetings. During this unit they will also gain the ability to debate topics in a non-bias and professional way
Greenhouse is working on model greenhouses. This unit teaches them to identify different styles of greenhouses along with having them problem solve as to what the best table layout as well as which heating and cooling systems would be best for their style of greenhouse.
Plant Science students are currently working on a project to learn how to identify 89 different agronomy plants that are common in Missouri. They will learn to identify these plants along with the seeds in this unit.
Ag Construction Students are learning about concrete. They will learn to frame out concrete, mix concrete, along with pouring the concrete to create a curb in the ag lot.
Mr. Chandler Wilson- Social Science Department
This month in government we are continuing to learn principles that are foundational to government and democracy in our country by studying historical examples of various governments. Students are building connections between historical governments and modern ideas. In World History, we just finished discussing the events and impacts of the Renaissance as well as the Protestant Reformation. We will now begin looking at the Age of Exploration and how each of these three shifts set Western Civilization on its modern course. Current Events is learning how to examine news sources, their validity, and the different types of information presented. Finally, the Sophomore Leadership class has been learning qualities of effective leadership and getting to implement some of said qualities on Panther Pride Fridays. During this time, groups of Sophomores go interact with students in the middle school, elementary, and preschool. It has been incredibly exciting to see the connections that are being made between the building levels in our school.
Mrs. Nichole Hux- Business Department
Big Things Are Happening in the Business Department
Computer Programming: Students are learning the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) programming language. Students are working on how to write HTML codes. They have been working on a tutorial teaching them how to design a website using the HTML language. By the time they have reached the end of this tutorial, they will be able to construct a series of linked web pages for any subject that includes formatted text, pictures, and hypertext links to other web pages on the Internet. After completing the tutorial, student will design their own website using HTML coding language.
Dual Credit Computers and Information Systems: Students have been working on several projects using Microsoft Word. Students are also learning how to explore the web’s role in their daily lives and developing an understanding of what searching the web truly means.
Personal Finance: Students are learning the importance of saving and investing. Students are learning reasons why they should save money for emergencies, large purchases, and wealth building. They are learning how to invest their money and how investing can impact their future. They are learning key terms such as accrued interest, compound growth, compound interest, inflation, and interest rates.
Mass Media: Students of the Mass Media team have been busy working on various projects. Two weeks ago, students went to local businesses and sold yearbook ads. It was a great success. We would like to thank all businesses who supported our yearbook. Students have been working together to come up with the theme and the layout for this year’s yearbook.
FBLA News: FBLA Officers met to plan monthly events. The first event coming up in October will be Pumpkin Decorating. Members will also celebrate National FBLA Day on October 19th.
Mr. Taylor Standerford- HS Math Department
Algebra 1 - We will be going over what functions and relations are and the difference between them. At the end of October we will be starting on systems of equations.
Geometry - We will be discussing parallel and perpendicular lines and how that can help us solve problems. Along with that we will be parallel lines cut by a transversal and the relationships that are made with angles.
Pre-Calc/Trig - We will be learning about our 12 basic functions, their graphs, and how those graphs are transformed to make every other graph.
Mr. Jason Tenney- Math/English/Dual Credit
Criminal Justice - types of crimes, reasons crime occurs, & policing
Psychology - language, cognitive, & emotional development in youth, including theories by Piaget, Freud, Erikson, & Kohlberg
Statistics - probability, counting principles, & normal distribution
Composition - Personal Narratives & Process essays; different punctuation & proper use
English Presentations - work on thesis writing, subject-verb agreement, & passive voice; Process Essay
Mr. Ryan Osburn- Modern American History
Modern American history. Native American frontier and the second Industrial Revolution
Mr. Jake Shipman- HS Principal/Athletic Director
Greetings!
I hope everyone had a great September. We were very busy during last month and will continue to have many moving parts through October, as well. It is very important that communication stays a priority for all of us. I have instructed teachers to begin reaching out to Parents for our Parent/Teacher conferences on October 26th 1:30-7pm. Parents should attend or reach out to teachers individually through email or phone call. We will also have students’ 1st quarter grade cards and EOC scores from last year ready for to pick up in the HS office during P/T conferences. I have been through all classrooms multiple times and feel very good about what our teachers and students are accomplishing so far. Grade checks are every two weeks and students have been taking advantage of the extra time to get help from teachers. If your child would like help on homework we have tutoring every Wednesday from 3-4 pm in the library. Please reach out to the office if you would like to see this happen for your child. Seniors please continue to check google classroom for updated scholarship list. Parents you can see all of this information by having your child sign into their senior google classroom account. We have a Community Blood Drive scheduled for October 18th 2-6 pm. NHS Induction will be held on October 25th at 7 pm in the Multipurpose Building. With the weather changing, more of our students are not feeling well. Nurse Brandy White does a fantastic job of taking care of our students. The procedure if your child is sick follows as your child sees the school nurse, the nurse decides whether the child should be sent home, the nurse will contact the office and our secretary will call home. I ask for your help in making sure your child is seen by our nurse before calling in to get them out. We do understand sickness happens, we just want to follow the correct procedures in place before sending them home. I'm excited to see what October will bring for all of us. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I will also be around during Parent/Teacher conferences. I encourage any parents who would like to sit down and meet with me to discuss any issues or concerns. Please contact me by email to schedule a time at jake.shipman@mndcty.org. I look forward to seeing everyone in our building in a couple weeks! We are all here for one thing, our students! Go Panthers!