Dear Upper Elementary/Middle School Parents:
While Mother Nature delivered a recent snowfall, this weekend spring is just around the corner. Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 10; school will be closed from March 14-22. Teachers and administrators will attend the AMS conference in Orlando from the 14th-17th. Thank you for your financial support. It is greatly appreciated. Spring break is during the week of March 18-22; Good Friday is on March 29. During the remaining four weeks of this grading period, students will be working to strengthen the following skills in preparation for the SAT.
- Group A & C: Reading: Students are reading Black Beauty by Anna Sewell and/or a biography of their choice. They may access a free copy of Black Beauty at Amazon Kindle or read the book.
- Students have reviewed the Elements of Literature. During the week of March 25, students will begin to incorporate literature elements into their individual/group presentation.
- 4th Language: Write a dialog, summarize story, identify story elements, write haiku poetry.
- 4th Math: Fractions, decimals, measurement and graphs, Geometry: Area & Perimeter, translations, IXL practice, Saxon lessons.
- 5th Language: Write with details, respond to literature, comprehend inferences
- 5th Math: Long division, equivalent fractions, volume, algebra, IXL practice, Saxon lessons
- 6th Language: Respond to literature , use descriptive language in writing, identify themes, analyze characters, evaluate oral presentation, read informational text; writing project
- 7th Language: Interview Questions for Career Day Project.
- 6th/7th - History/Geography – Students are studying the Great War-World War I.
- Community Service TBD after Spring Break .
All grading rubrics and assessments are based on points per assignment/project, i.e., 25/25 points=100%; 9/10=90%; 14/15=93% to provide a quantitative as well as a qualitative evaluation.
I look forward to seeing you on Saturday, March 9 at the International Pot-luck luncheon from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. It is a wonderful opportunity to share our culinary heritage. I wish you and your family a restful Spring Break.
Mrs. Helena Hess, Director
Group B students are working diligently in math, reading and language, progressing through the grade level curriculum. In Math we are wrapping up measurement and have begun graphing in addition to problem solving, operations review and geometry. Our genre focus in Reading is on American tall tales in conjunction with our study in history of Westward Expansion. In addition we will be starting poetry and drama as well as continuing work on skills and vocabulary development.
JA BizTown is upon us! Our JA BizTown Onsite Simulation Visit will take place on April 26th as an all-day event. The students have begun preparing for their visit by working with the curriculum in the classroom. They are studying the concepts of citizenship, economics, teamwork, free enterprise and personal financial and civic responsibility. They are training to be citizens of JA BizTown for a day by developing an understanding of community, practicing personal banking skills, and preparing to run a small business. We will need several Parent Volunteers to serve as guides to the students at JA BizTown. If you are able to participate in this event, please choose a Volunteer Training date, sign the Volunteer Letter (coming home in your child’s blue folder today) and return the bottom portion to me at your earliest convenience.
JA Biz Town Volunteer Training Dates: 4/18/13 10:00 am-1:00 p.m. 4/25/13 4:00 -7:00 p.m.
Thank you for your support of this exciting experience!
Mrs. Gay
Level 4 Science
Fourth level science students will complete studying the Animal and the Plant Kingdom using the Albanesi phylum classification materials. They will use the BrainPop software program to help classify vertebrates and invertebrates. Students will begin studying the periodic table and answer questions dealing with atoms and electron configurations.
Level 5 Science and Middle School Science
Fifth, sixth, and seventh level science students will continue using the physics workshop laboratory equipment to learn about acceleration and velocity as it relates to mass and incline angle. They will complete lever and pulley studies as well as determine the acceleration due to gravity. Students will predict and measure the acceleration of a car traveling down a ramp using different angles. Students will use the Explore Learning software to conduct experiments dealing with balancing chemical equations and understanding covalent bonding. Physical and chemical science relationships will be studied using vernier sensors.
Middle School Mathematics
Middle school math students will be studying linear and quadratic functions using Albanesi mathematics cards and Explore Learning. Introductory algebraic concepts will be introduced dealing with binomial products and factoring trinomials. Howe Two software will be used to add and subtract trinomials, multiply binomials, and factor trinomials.
Dr. Herman Jackson
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