thanks to all students and parents for your participation in this year’s student-led conferences. we hope you found them worthwhile. Please return your “homework” AsAP!
FREEDOM FOCUS
NEWS FROM TEAM freedom
curtis corner middle school
ISSUE #2: Q2 into Q3-winter 2010
IS IT US OR IS TIME FLYING? As we pass the mid-point of the year and begin Q3, this is the perfect time for an academic “check-up” with your child. As you’ve probably noticed, expectations and class rigor kick up a few notches after the “honeymoon” period of Q1. Add in the holidays, what have been epidemic absences, the “comfort factor”, and oh yeah, those winter doldrums, and you may have noticed a slight drop in grades on this report card. However, if your child’s report card reflects a more serious drop or less than his/her best effort, changes in habits may be needed. Though there is no hard rule, in general, a typical 7th grader should have ~60-75 minutes about five nights a week (not counting reading for pleasure!). This may mean limiting TV,
computer (ESPECIALLY FACEBOOK!), X-Box, and cell phone usage. Students who are not prepared for class have a difficult time engaging, and miss out on opportunities to practice and improve their skills; this puts them at a disadvantage as the content gets more challenging and sets them up for deficits in future years. If you have concerns about your child’s grades, don’t hesitate to contact Linda McCormack, our guidance counselor, or any of our teachers.
-----------------------------------Class Catch-up-----------------------------
Liz Ferguson (Language Arts) What makes a “classic”? Why do certain works of literature endure through generations? These are the big questions we will be exploring for Q3 as students select a classic for independent reading, design a new cover, and defend its importance in essays and speeches. Though we have had a great time writing both personal and fictional
narratives (memoirs and mystery stories) for the first half of the year, our focus for this Q will be on the 5 paragraph thesis essay. After two Literature Circles, we will be taking a break and reading Lois Lowry’s now classic science fiction novel, The Giver as a whole class. I encourage parents to read this unforgettable, ageless book and discuss it with your child. Grammar notes will be back in full swing after winter break as we finish up the parts of speech and review with “Gramm-aerobics”, a workout for the brain and body! Thanks to all Freedom families and friends who participated in recent “Mystery Broadcasts”. Students enjoyed this opportunity to share their writing and flex their dramatic chops—as always, I am in awe at the talent and enthusiasm of our young writers. Equally impressive are the many students who exceeded and met this Q’s independent reading standards, a definite increase from Q1. Your child received a
mid-year progress report that must be completed and returned with a parent signature by Friday, Feb 5. Thanks for your continued support and encouragement—it makes all the difference in your child’s success. More class information, including homework assignments, can be viewed at our team website on ccskschools.net (“English/Language Arts”, NOT “Homework”) Also, please check out your child’s monthly “The Big Picture” calendar; it should be taped into planners and is a great help with time management.
Gerik Girard (Social Studies) The Declarations are written and signed. It’s now time for war….the study of the Revolutionary War that is. In Social Studies we have just completed our culminating activity for the Independence simulation. The students rewrote the Declaration of Independence in their own words. The final copies show solid understanding of what the Founding Fathers were expressing in the document. The students should be proud of their persistence and hard work on such a high level assignment. We are now ready to take a look at some of the highlights and lowlights during the Revolutionary War. We will finish February with
government and the Constitution. We now have a new nation and it needs some order. We will cover the challenges that the country faced and the process that took place when instituting our government. We hope the study of government will create a buzz about the possibility of a Washington, D. C. trip next spring…stay tuned.
Kate Canfield (Math) As quarter two came to an end the students finished their project on equations, and inequalities. The students on Team Freedom did an outstanding job with their children’s math book. The creative storylines, characters, and illustrations were amazing.
Hope you are looking forward to a treat at Student Led Conferences on February 2nd; students will be sharing their books with you at this time. As quarter three begins we will be starting a geometry unit where we will be looking at special angles, triangles, theorems, and the coordinate plane. Students are reminded that extra help is offered on Tuesday afternoons in room 516. If attending extra help does not fit into your schedule, and you need extra help or practice please utilize the website; classzone.com.
JoAnn Basel (Science) In science this quarter we witnessed the life cycle of two organisms: the Wisconsin Fast Plant and the Cabbage White Butterfly. Students planted seeds, made qualitative and quantitative observations of the plant’s growth and cross pollinated the plants during the flowering stage. The culminating event was the harvesting of the plant seed pods that the students will plant in the spring. With the Cabbage White butterfly, they were able to watch the voracious eating habits of the caterpillar right before they entered into the chrysalis stage. Daily the
students came into class running over to the butterfly boxes to see how many had emerged overnight. The students watched the mating behavior of the butterflies, leading to the laying of new eggs, starting the cycle all over again. The Science Fair projects completed quarter 2. I am proud of the students and the effort that they put forth on these projects. Quarter 3 brings the topic of genetics. Students construct a model of a DNA double helix molecule, carry out virtual labs on cloning and DNA fingerprinting and create an alien using Punnett squares and probability. Students will also write a persuasive essay either supporting or opposing cloning. Again, student binders will be checked at the end of the quarter. Organization and neatness is the focus.
Jen Blessing(Resource/Math & Language Arts Co-teacher; Teaching Assistant, Sharon Smith)~ In Learning Center we have been striving to stay organized and ~to meet goals and objectives as outlined in our Individual Education Plans. ~We have also completed mini pre-teaching and re-teaching lessons on concepts from our core classes as needed. In Resource we continue to work in the Visualizing and Verbalizing
reading program to improve our comprehension skills. ~We have been~practicing picture summaries, word summaries and finding the main idea. ~We have~also~completed various comprehension activities while reading the novel The Outsiders ~by S.E. Hinton.
Dave Pope (Health) ~I will teach a variety of topics ranging from communication and goal setting to body systems and disease prevention. ~Your child will also learn about the four components of health and how to enhance each. ~This curriculum will provide students with the skills and awareness to improve
their overall health.
The Rest of Our Team…
Helen Racine (Reading)
Linda McCormack (Guidance)
Learning Centers (Period 1 Block) Thanks to all families who have contributed to our Freedom team “breakfast birthday celebrations”. We have our next one coming up on Friday, February 12, so if you can contribute something, thanks in advance! Learning Centers these past few weeks have been focused on preparing for Student Led Conferences. We are considering a few new ideas for upcoming weeks. Right now, students are using Learning Center for silent reading, catch-up/clean-up, teacher read-aloud, games and advisory-type activities, with a team get-together on Fridays when space is available. We look forward to the warmer weather when we
can get outside again!
- -----------------------Important News/Upcoming Events-----------------
Q2 Report Cards should be with this newsletter. Please sign and return by the specified date. Mid-quarter progress reports will also be sent home for all students the week of March 8th. In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns, please contact any of us or our guidance department.
Team Homework Club/After-School Help is available from ~2-3 PM every Monday with Mrs. Ferguson and Tuesday with Miss Canfield for now. Additionally, our school library is open after school daily. This is a great opportunity for students to get some or all of their homework done. Less to bring home, more family time!
CCMS Drama Club has begun rehearsals for our April production of the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, with a cast of 50-60. If your child is participating, he/she should have brought home a schedule and contract and gone over it with you. Note rehearsal times will be longer beginning this week. Also, we need lots of help with set-painting on Saturday March 6 and 13. Contact me if you think you
can spend an hour or two. Students who help may use this time for National Junior Honor Society service hours. Costume loans and donations are also greatly appreciated. We are looking for fashions from the “Roaring 20’s”.
THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS NEWSLETTER!
HOPE IT WAS INFORMATIVE!
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