TCA Times
Wayne Central Middle School Newsletter
JANUARY 2019
Dear Middle School Families,
Happy 2019!! We welcome you back and hope you were able to relax and spend time celebrating the Holidays with your family and friends. Let's hope this year is a great one for all.
Please note, at the very bottom of this newsletter is a flyer with information on tryouts for the upcoming Middle School play Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. All 5th-8th graders are eligible to participate.
Sincerely,
Holly Armitage 5th & 6th Grade Principal
Derek DeMass 7th & 8th Grade Principal
School Procedures
Holly Armitage is the 5th/6th grade Principal
Derek DeMass is the 7th/8th grade Principal
The phone number is: 315-524-1080.
The nurse's phone # is 315-524-1084
Morning drop-off: 7:15am (no earlier please)
5th Grade Pick Up at the end of the day:
If parents choose to pick up their 5th grader they can be signed out at the south door (side door) at 2:15pm. There will be a sign-out table at the door.
Band, chorus and all clubs are after school. There will be sports study hall and late buses to accommodate these students.
Visiting School: Please buzz at the main door to get in. If you need to go into the building you will need to have your license scanned in order to get a badge printed to wear in the building.
OFFICE HOURS & STUDENT DROP OFF
- Just a reminder: Students may not be dropped off at school prior to 7:15am.
- The office closes at 4:00pm, so there will be no access to the building after 4:00pm.
January's Calendar of Events
1/1: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
1/2: School Resumes1/3: 6:00PM Friends of Music Meeting in MS Library
1/10: 7:00PM BOE Meeting in DO Conference Room
1/21: SCHOOL CLOSED FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY
1/24: 7:00PM BOE Meeting in DO Conference Room
5th & 6th Grade Eagle Pride Awards from November
5th Grade Academic Awards:
Liam Keeney
Jaden Marrero
Sydney Howard
Reese Amborski
Nathanael Szymanski
Kaylee Randall
Tessa Foster
Carter Doody
Daniel Featherly
Ella Hollebrandt
Cora Flannery
Matthew Huber
5th Grade Character Award: Caring and Compassion:
Patrick Reynolds
Caelen Crane
Anthony Gonzalez
Lorna Bendschneider
Vivienne Girvin
Lila Reken
Daylin Seymour
Ethan Smith
Adam Glidden
6th Grade Academic Awards:
Olivia Colvin
Aidan Le Strange
Jenna Holihan
James Sutton
Austin Marlin
Gabriella Tyma
Chloe Rexroad
Logan DuVall-Swartzenberg
Iliana Surowiec
Wesley Wagner
6th Grade Character Awards: Caring and Compassion:
Jacob Smith
Derek Cregin
Araya Olszowy
Julia Rice
Nadia Pasnak
Evan Fosdick
Anella Frank
Aiden Tobin
YEARBOOKS: 2018-2019
Order your Yearbook today!
The 2018-2019 Thomas C Armstrong Middle School Yearbook is now on sale.
Visit www.jostens.com
$25.00 plus tax...all sales are online only!
Attention All TCA Students and Parents!
Yearbooks are now on sale. To purchase a yearbook head to www.jostens.com and find Thomas C Armstrong Middle School as your school and select a yearbook for $25.00 plus tax. Head to the cart, and with help and permission from your parent/guardian, pay using credit card. Remember all sales are pre-sale only, and must be purchased online. This means, if you want to make sure you get a book, you must order online. Books will be passed out mid-June 2019, but they will not be available for purchase at that time.
The deadline for purchasing a yearbook is March 1, 2019.
Please direct any questions to Mrs. Feola at afeola@wayecsd.org
Counselors Corner
Reflections on the 7th and 8th graders Holiday Sharing with the 2nd graders: As you enjoy the pictures form our last day of school before the holiday break, we want you to know how amazing your children are and how they can really step up and make a difference for others. Here are some of the comments that were shared after the 2nd graders enjoyed their time with our 7th and 8th graders together; reading stories, making crafts, playing games, doing coding, singing songs, being serenaded with carols, and so much more.
From: Mrs. Tatro: On behalf of WP, we would like to thank you for planning wonderful activities for our second grade students! I really enjoyed seeing our kids interacting with one another as I stopped into the classrooms. It was awesome to see how both age groups were touched in positive yet different ways through this experience.
From TCA staff:
· It was wonderful to see such patience and care from the middle schoolers as they spent time with the 2nd graders.
· I was amazed how engaged the 7th and 8th graders were... whether they were helping with the activities in the classroom, caroling through the building or playing holiday tunes on their instruments... it really gave them an opportunity to shine!!! … 3 of our 7/8 grade young men choose to read aloud to the second graders while they were waiting for their turn to make an ornament.... these 3 young men did such a great job... reading with great expression and asking questions as they read... they said that they would love to be able to read aloud to WP kids more often.....
· I worked with two groups of kids, and it was such a rewarding experience. I LOVED seeing those little second graders, and our 7th and 8th graders did such a great job working with them. I heard several teachers say that there were kids that stood out that you wouldn't have necessarily expected to, and how amazing it was to see that.
Happy New Year! We look forward to continue empowering and inspiring your children to be the best that they can be every day in the new year!
Mr. Corleto, Ms. Peters, and Mrs. Palmer your TCA School Counselors
W.E. CARE 12/21/18
READ TO RIDE: 2019 (5th Grade)
The Darien Lake Read to Ride program rewards your 5th grade son/daughter with a one-day free ticket to Darien Lake in July or August, 2019 for students who meet the following criteria:
Complete 7 hours of recreational reading between January 1st and February 28th, 2019.
The tracking sheet is due to Mrs. Waring no later than Friday, March 1st, 2019. No late entries will be accepted due to Darien Lake’s Rules and Procedures.
- Forms will be sent home through your son/daughter's ELA teacher.
5TH GRADE NEWS
ELA
Mrs. Herendeen/Mrs. Welch: We have continued to read stories/articles involving animals and nature. This has led us to do some animal research, where we chose a wild animal and looked up information regarding the animal’s range, habitat, etc. We have also continued to work on skills such as characterization, homophones and more complex sentences. It is difficult to believe that we are coming up to the mid-point of the school year already!!
After the break, we will be starting an author study of books by Roald Dahl! Also, with the mid-point of the year upon us, please know that as 5th grade teachers, our expectations will be even higher for our students. The students will need to be even more responsible for themselves and take more ownership for their work and behavior.
Mrs. Welch continued: We will be starting a new guided reading unit after the break featuring survival stories. Please continue to check your child’s agenda to help them stay organized with homework!
5th graders in Mrs. Dysart’s ELA class are continuing with the unit of “Wild Encounters” in the Journeys series. So far, we’ve read a variety of genre including informational text, historical fiction, and narrative nonfiction. Students have also learned a variety of skills. They’ve learned cause and effect, understanding characters along with visualization, and author’s purpose. We are continuing to use RASSC (Restate, Answer, Support Evidence with Explanation, Support Evidence with Explanation, and Conclusion) in our paragraph writing as well.
Since cold and flu season has already started, we are out of tissues. Please send in a box with you child. It will be greatly appreciated!
Math
We just finished up our multiplying and dividing fractions unit. The kids are doing well but continue to struggle with multi-step word problems. Key wording and using their strategies are crucial! In January, we will begin Unit 4 which focuses on multiplying decimals. Hopefully the kids will have a better understanding of decimals now that they already have a base from Unit 2.
Science
5th grade science classes are very busy! Mrs. Martin finished Robotics with her class and they are now learning about experiments with variables and writing lab reports. In January, they will also learn about microscopes and plant and animal cells in Unit 2. Mr. Liseno’s class is working on the Infection Detection unit after finishing up with microscopes and plant and animal cells. Ms. Becker’s class finished Unit 2 and students will be researching and presenting a Google slide show about the scientists (Van Leeuwenhoek, Hooke, Brown, Schleiden and Schwann) and their contributions which led to the development of cell theory.
Social Studies:
For the first time ever, 5th graders at Wayne Central participated in the National Geographic Geography Bee. The qualifying round is over, and some of our students may advance to the preliminary round this month!
In our classes, we continue to explore U.S. geography. We are learning about the pre-Columbian era, which differs greatly from life in the western hemisphere after the arrival of Europeans. We will compare and contrast different native groups and examine how they used available resources to survive. Our U.S. history thread continues as we study events in U.S. history that shaped our country and affected the native peoples. We learned more about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the impact it had on Americans during WWII. We continue to look at current events that impact the world we live in now. Hopefully your kids are coming home and furthering these discussions with you.
6TH GRADE NEWS
Can you believe it, January is here! Time is flying and the 6th graders are working with some very interesting topics, strategies, and ideas. Please read more to find out! Remember to check your student’s agenda, the homework hotline, and Schooltool to stay current with their studies. Since cold and flu season has already started, we are low on tissues. Please consider sending in a box with you child. It will be greatly appreciated!
Science: Students finished the energy unit by using Project Lead the Way “Magic of Electron” snap kits. They applied their knowledge of electricity to create a variety of circuits using our Project Lead the way Kits. They had explore time with the kits to build their own electrical circuits to fly helicopters and activate horns.
Do some stargazing: January is all about Astronomy.
Social Studies
For the first time ever, 6th graders at Wayne Central participated in the National Geographic Geography Bee. The qualifying round is over, and some of our students have advanced to the preliminary round this month! In our classes, we have wrapped up our study of prehistoric people, and now dive headlong into the first river civilizations. Students will explore the earliest civilization of Mesopotamia first, and then discover Egypt. We continue to look at current events that impact the world we live in now. Hopefully your kids are coming home and furthering these discussions with you.
ELA
6th graders in ELA are continuing the unit on Fears and Phobias in the Collections series. So far, we’ve read a variety of genre including non-fiction with scientific information, a magazine article, and poetry. Students have learned a variety of skills. They’ve learned how to analyze structure, how to cite evidence, and they’ve analyzed language. We are continuing to use RASSC (Restate, Answer, Support Evidence with Explanation, Support Evidence with Explanation, and Conclusion) in our writing as well.
We are now reading the novel Bud, Not Buddy which takes place in 1936 which occurs during the tail end of the Great Depression. It’s about a ten-year old boy whose mother has died. He doesn’t know who his father is, but she leaves him a clue on an old flyer that advertised a famous band known as the Dusky Devastators of the Depression. Bud thinks that the flyer will lead him to his father, so he sets out to solve the mystery.
Math
We will be wrapping up our topic of “Equations and Inequalities” shortly after break. Then in January we will begin our 5th topic, “Understand and Use Rate and Ratio”. Here’s a breakdown of some of the concepts this unit covers.
7TH GRADE NEWS
ELA
ELA 7 students continue to study, analyze and read text deeply both in their independent reading project and in our full class read of the book Touching Spirit Bear. We are looking closely at the literary devices of Setting, Conflict, Theme, Symbolism, Foreshadow and Irony. Please ask your child about their independent book and also about what is unfolding with Cole Matthews, the troubled teenager who is the protagonist of Touching Spirit Bear.
Math
Students are getting close to completing their unit on Percents, with many real world examples. The next unit they will be learning about is Algebraic Expressions, which is abstract and can be very difficult for some students to understand how it relates to their lives, but I hope to help them find value in the pattern recognition and how expressions can be used to solve problems.
Math 7 Accelerated
Students wrapped up their unit on Percents just before the holidays. We briefly started some review topics in our next unit on Expressions. Students also participated in hour of code on CARE day Friday 12/21.
Science
Regular Life Science (VanOrman)- Students in Life Science have completed their exploration of the body systems that allow us to move and coordinate and control what occurs in their body. For the next unit, students will become experts who work at the Centers for Disease and Prevention and learn about the disease that has been found in the news lately, which has been causing polio-like symptoms. Students will become experts in pathology and the immune system as they follow current events related to this mysterious illness.
Accelerated 7th Grade Science
In Mr. Bastian’s Class we are studying chemical and physical properties and changes in matter. After learning about properties we will use that knowledge to study elements, compounds, solutions and mixtures. Finally we will problem solve how to effectively separate mixtures.
German
Students just finished their first Brother Grimm story. We weave in looking at grammar patterns and also key vocabulary terms. The next story will be “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. Students are soon finishing the unit on time telling. After that it is on to a weather unit.
Health
In seventh grade Health we have just started our nutrient presentations. The students have research one of the six essential nutrients with their assigned group and they will be presenting the information to the class. The class will be taking notes on a study guide that will be used to review from before the unit test. We will also be discussing ingredients in food, fast food and RDA, energy drinks and the dangers on your health and the benefits of including exercise with your healthy daily diet.
8TH GRADE NEWS
ELA:
Students are reading To Kill a Mockingbird! In class, we acted out how a plot diagram functions and students are creating board game pieces based on literary devices. Students have to create 24 question cards and explain the significance of each card. Then, students will actually create a board game and use the cards as pieces! We are working on multiple choice question practice for the novel, as we did our major essay last month.
Physical Science:
Students in Mrs. Becker’s classes have been studying Phases of Matter such as solids, liquids, gases, and plasma. Ask your child about what we learned while performing the Dry Ice lab (sublimation), the Ice Cream Lab (solidification), and the Phase Change lab (melting and boiling). Next we will be exploring Physical Properties and Chemical Properties of matter, and classifying matter into elements, compounds, and mixtures. We start January distinguishing between Physical and Chemical Changes, and learning how to separate mixtures using laboratory techniques of sieving, filtration, distillation, decanting, evaporation, and centrifuging. We will make rock candy and homemade glue in the labs. Later in January students will be investigating Dissolving and Solubility. Please continue to check SchoolTool weekly to stay on top of your child’s progress. The Midterm exam in January is 10% of the students grade, and is an opportunity for students to prepare for the higher-stakes tests that science students take in 9th grade.
Living Environment:
In Regents Living Environment Honors we are studying the transport of materials in the body and within the cells. We will be concentrating on passive transport which includes diffusion and osmosis and active transport which includes endocytosis and exocytosis. Finally we will be studying two very important chemical reactions in living things, cellular respiration and photosynthesis. Midterm Exam coming up at the end of January is 12% of the overall year grade.
Math 8:
There will be a math midterm during the week of January 21st. The midterm will consist of 10 questions from previously taught units. Students will have 90 minutes to complete the midterm. When students finish their math midterm they will work on their January STAR assessment.
All class information can be viewed on the class website: https://sites.google.com/waynecsd.org/wcsdmath8. Please contact me for any questions.
Algebra
Mr. Heinsler's and Mr. LaBarge's Algebra classes are currently in a unit called Functions. When students return from the holidays, they will continue on with the unit as well as begin preparing for mid-term exams. The mid-term exam will occur during the week of January 22-25.
PTO News
The final delivery of Spirit Wear came in this week and was sent home with your child. Thank you to all that participated!!
Our next meeting is Monday, January 14th at 6pm. Wayne Middle School PTO is excited to team up with Power to the Parent’s Hidden in Plain Sight. We will have an interactive bedroom set up to mimic a typical teen's room. The room provides parents with clues to help them determine whether their child might be experimenting with or using drugs or alcohol. Room décor, hidden compartments and items to conceal use are located throughout the room.
We will also have time for informative conversation and questions.
This event will be in place of our bi-monthly PTO meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to hear from experts in this area.
This is an issue we ALL need to be educated on. Let's make it a full house :)
The planning is still in the works for our February Fun Night!! Stay tuned for more information on this “sure to be awesome” event to come together for fun during the long winter months!
We would like to give a huge CONGRATULATIONS to 5th grader Joey Schoene! He collected 88 toys and other gift items for a Special Santa program at Hillside Family of Agencies. Super job on your service project Joey!
After School Clubs
5th and 6th Grade Clubs and the Advisors:
Art Club: Mrs. Feola
Games Club: Mrs. Bristol
Lego League: Mrs. Uerz
History Club: Mrs Waring
Intramurals: Mrs. Quick/Mr. Luke
7th and 8th Grade:
Newspaper: Mr. Smith
Yearbook: Mrs. Feola
Games Club: Mrs. Dempsey & Ms. McCollister
Art Club: Mrs. Feola
TSA (technology student association): Mr. Gauthier & Mr. Powers
Skateboard: Mr. Gauthier
Science Olympiad: Mrs. Sozio
Intramurals: Mrs. Doyle
Student Council: Mrs. Mateo & Mrs. Mangos
National Junior Honor Society: Mrs. Kittleson & Ms. Peters
Grades 5-8:
Musical: Mr. Allen & Mr. Kittleson
Ski Club: Mr. LaBarge
Media Club: Mrs. Brewer
CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG AUDITIONS
All questions can be directed to Mr. Kittleson (MS) @ akittleson@waynecsd.org or Mr. Allen (WP) @ mallen@waynecsd.org.
TC Armstrong Middle School
Email: ddemass@waynecsd.org
Website: http://wayne.k12.ny.us/Middle.cfm?subpage=83211
Location: 6076 Ontario Center Road, Ontario, NY, United States
Phone: (315) 524-1080
Twitter: @WayneCentralMS