Parent-Teacher Conferences are around the corner! 

Tuesday, February 24 & Thursday, February 26, 2026

• 3:45 -4:45 pm: Collaboration between teachers & families by phone to learn about your students' progress at Irving. 

• 4:45-6:45 pm: Drop in conferences to to learn about your students progress at Irving

• Elective/ACES & PE/Health teachers: Conferences in the cafeteria

• 6th Grade teachers: Conferences in the library

• 7th grade teachers: Conferences on the 2nd floor 

• 8th grade teachers: Conferences on the 3rd floor

This week we wrapped up our conversation about the Kingdom of Mali and Mansa Musa. Our driving question throughout this unit was “Did Mansa Musa care more about God or gold?”. The reality is that he cared about both, but he utilized them strategically as a way to build up the renown of his empire, particularly the city of Timbuktu. We will wrap up this unit by completing  our first DCA of the semester. As long as students were actively engaged with our learning, they should be well-prepared for this assessment.

Our 7th graders have officially hit their stride in the Greasers' world, having wrapped up the opening chapters of The Outsiders and launched into detailed character analyses. Students are currently busy identifying the core traits that define their chosen characters in these early stages of the story. Looking ahead to next week, we’ll be diving into the heart of the novel to track how these characters evolve under pressure, hunting for specific evidence of growth and transformation. To help navigate these shifts, we will be introducing the concept of Canon Events—pivotal, unavoidable moments that shape a character's destiny. By identifying these turning points, students will gain a deeper understanding of why the characters choose their paths and how these universal narrative beats help us connect more deeply with everything we read.

Math 7: In Chapter 6, we will use strategies to compare expressions, solve inequalities and represent them on a number line, and use algebra tiles to solve equations. We will also describe single variable equations as having one solution, no solutions, or infinitely many solutions.

Math 7D: We’re continuing to work on the slope-intercept form of a linear equation. We’ve been navigating through tile patterns, tables and graphs to identify a rule and applying it to each concept. Students will complete the test at the beginning of next week.

We started the unit by asking the question, “How do things inside our bodies work together to make us feel the way we do”. We started by investigating what is wrong with M’Kenna. We analyzed symptoms and developed models to determine what is causing M’Kenna’s symptoms. We then explored how molecules move through tissue using dialysis tubing, what is in our faeces using data collected from M’Kenna and just finished exploring what is happening inside our mouths when we eat. To determine what happens students learned about saliva and how amylase can break apart complex carbohydrates into glucose. Over the next few days we will determine what is happening to other molecules in the small intestine, determine what is causing M’Kenna’s symptoms and determine how M’Kenna’s body is causing her to feel the way she does.

Upcoming Quiz: Friday February 6th

Students just finished Unit 1 about how to build confidence in ourselves and others to  help us feel more comfortable taking risks.  The students did a great job interviewing partners randomly chosen and presenting a paragraph about their partner to the class using the microphone and the podium.  On Monday of this week, we celebrated the end of Unit 1 by learning how to play Scrabble.   

We have just started Unit 2 with the essential question:  What shapes messages we send and receive?  Students will learn about the communication model, nonverbal communication, internal and external interference, the differences between hearing, listening, and active listening, and filters.  The students have a HOT PINK piece of paper with the test items on it they should be studying to prepare for our test late next week- probably Thursday, February 5 or Friday, February 6th. 

Just today (Friday, January 30, 2026), I spoke to the students about feedback from teachers regarding their learning.  Students have received two learning activities back on paper with written comments and two digital learning activities on Google Classroom with written comments.   They should use the feedback to correct their assignments, improve their learning, and raise their grades.  Mid-quarter grades will be due next week, and parent/teacher/student conferences will be on Tuesday, February 24th from 4:45-6:45 and Thursday, February 26th from 4:45-6:45.  I hope to see you there!

As always, please contact me with any questions, concerns or other feedback you have.  The school number is 402.436.1214 and my school email is skroenk@lps.org

World Language students are now in their second unit of the quarter.  In the Spanish unit, we focused on the alphabet, animals, calendar, colors and numbers.  In the French unit, we are focusing on fashion, numbers, the calendar and clothing.  Students will be able to write a sentence about a piece of clothing that they are wearing and include the color.

Current Unit: We are currently working on our Radial Symmetry Unit where students looked at art around the world to find examples of radial symmetry. We also looked at contemporary artists Kristen Farr, Gabriel Schama and Shona Wilson who create modern radial designs in their work. Students then focused on shape and line to create their own radial designs which will be painted in acrylic paint this month. 

Looking Ahead:  

Up next, students will start their clay unit focusing on Pop Art! Stay tuned. :)

Students finished their unit on Google Docs earlier this week and are currently working on assignments for the Google Slides unit, where they have been doing a mini research project on a state and putting their information into a google slides presentation. Next week, they will be doing research on famous person and presenting their information to the class in a Google Slides presentation. 

Rewards Plus: We are starting a unit on The Father of Microbiology: Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek.  While learning about his history and connection to microbiology we will be practicing many reading and writing skills including fluency, comprehension, sentence structure and writing, spelling and paragraph structure.  

Rewards Secondary: We are finishing Unit 5 and will be testing on Friday.  Unit 5 included many reading, writing and phonics activities.  For our next unit, we will be talking and reading about a story of refugee children named Aluel and Gabriel.  Sentence writing, structure, fluency and comprehension will be the skill focus for this unit. 

***Please remind your child to read at home, practice fluency and practice spelling words***