May 15, 2026 NEWSLETTER

Monday, May 18:

• Irving Talent Show in the auditorium at 5:00 pm

  • All students that attend the talent show to cheer on their classmates must be with a responsible adult. 

Tuesday, May 19: 

• Chromebook Check In

  • Please make sure to bring your chromebook, charger and chromebook bag to school. 

Wednesday, May 20: 

• Kona Ice End of the Year School Celebration sponsored by IPTSO

• Locker Clean Out

  • After locker cleanout, students will not have access to lockers. 

  • On Thursday, students will only be allowed to bring materials needed for class (notebook, pen/pencil), a water bottle and cold lunch. Permanent markers, like sharpies, are not allowed at school. 

  • All other materials brought to school will be labeled and stored in an office conference room for students to collect at the end of the day. 

  • If students bring a phone to school on Thursday, we will still follow LPS cell phone & electronic device expectations. Phones will be expected to be off from 8:00 am -3:00 pm. Students with phones will be required to store their phones in designated storage areas in each of their classrooms throughout the school day. We will follow the guidelines outlined by the district if students struggle to meet these expectations. 

Thursday, May 21: Last day of the 2025-2026 School Year! 

• Pre-ordered yearbooks will be distributed in 1st period classes

  • There are a limited number of extra yearbooks available for purchase, while supplies last. 

  • Students may bring $30 cash or check to the office starting at 7:53 am to purchase a yearbook and they will be delivered to first period classrooms along with the pre-ordered yearbooks. 

• 8th Grade Continuation Assembly in the auditorium at 1:45 pm

  • Please contact the Irving office if your 8th grade student will have more than 2 adults attending the continuation assembly. Seats are limited. 

As the school year comes to a close, I want to thank all of our families for your support, encouragement, and partnership throughout the year. Middle school is a time of tremendous growth, and it has been wonderful to see our students learn, mature, build friendships, and overcome challenges along the way.

I am incredibly proud of the progress our students have made this year—both academically and personally. From showing kindness to others, to developing confidence, responsibility, and resilience, our students have accomplished so much to be proud of.

Thank you for sharing your amazing students with us each day. Your support at home makes a meaningful difference and helps our school community thrive.

I hope all of our students and families have a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable summer filled with fun, rest, and time together. We are already looking forward to another great year ahead!

Have a wonderful summer!

Mr. G

We have completed our final DCA of the year where the students learned about the interactions between Spanish conquistadors and what happened during their interactions with different native groups. Currently the students are learning about Christopher Columbus. The capstone project with our new unit is designed to challenge students to think about the impact Christopher Columbus’ voyages had on the world both positively and negatively. How history should view Columbus is a heated topic and we’re challenging students to hear various historical perspectives on his legacy and allow them to formulate their own opinion. The final assignment will be a poster where students present both sides of the argument as to whether or not Columbus should be considered a hero or a villain. 

As the school year draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to share a few parting thoughts as your children move on to their next chapter.

First and foremost, I have genuinely enjoyed getting to know each and every one of my students. Their energy, unique perspectives, and evolving voices have made our classroom a vibrant and inspiring place to be. Although we have had serious work to accomplish, I hope everyone was able to experience some fun in the process.

More importantly, I hope students have gained a deeper appreciation for the power of reading. Beyond the assignments, I hope they’ve discovered how stories can offer empathy, a window into new worlds, and a better understanding of ourselves and the people around us.

Furthermore, we’ve worked hard this year on the foundations of analytical thinking. Whether we were deconstructing a poem or debating a character’s motives, I have watched them grow in their ability to look beneath the surface and question the "why" and "how" of the world around them. I believe they are well on their way down a path of critical thinking that will serve them far beyond the walls of an English classroom.

Thank you for your support and partnership throughout the year. I wish you and yours a wonderful, restful summer.

Math 7: In the last chapter of the school year, students collected,  analyzed, described and compared data, as well as designed surveys to collect representative data to draw conclusions. We started the final test yesterday. Thank you for supporting your student(s) in their educational journey and have a wonderful summer!

Math 7D: In the last chapter of the school year, students found the cube root of a number and then used this knowledge to find the surface area and volume of various 3D figures. We started the final test yesterday. Thank you for supporting your student(s) in their educational journey and have a wonderful summer!

Information:

We are wrapping up our school year with an endangered ecosystem research project. Due Tuesday, students are working in groups to create visuals that bring awareness to the impact human activities can have on our environment.  Looking forward to a great last week of school and wishing everyone a wonderful summer!

We have been exploring how palm oil is hurting Orangutans in Indonesia. We have determined that replacing palm oil with a substitute oil is not going to help as the other oils use more space than palm oil. This is bad because the plantations are hurting the Orangutans by removing their habitat through deforestation. We are now looking at the human side of palm oil, the farmers and consumers. We will begin by looking at how palm oil benefits the farmers and if it is possible to help the Orangutans and farmers at the same time.

Wow! I am so grateful for the students I have this quarter in Contemporary Communication.  They have been so attentive, participating with great ideas and questions, kind to each other and me, and generally just really focused on learning.   We’re still working on Unit 3, with the essential question:  “What does performance poetry allow us to reveal about important issues?” Students did a great job performing a poem they chose from a book and memorized, so now they are writing their own original slam poems about  topics they feel passionate about.  We’re currently reviewing and adding poetic devices like rhyme, metaphor, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia, repetition, and personification.   Students will memorize these poems and practice the following delivery skills:  eye contact, inflection (voice tone and volume matching the mood of the poem), gestures and movement, facial expressions, pronunciation, poise, rate, and volume.    Students can be practicing the poem aloud at home and working to memorize it.   We will deliver the poems at the beginning of next week. 

I hope you all have a safe summer with lots of rest and fun.   Don’t forget to read!  

Sincerely, 

Ms. Kroenke

Students are enjoying learning about German culture.  We are exploring food and life as a kid living in Germany.  In our final two units, we will learn about Japanese and Chinese culture, focusing on holidays and traditions.

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. 

Reading Rewards Plus- We just finished a unit on Oil Spills incorporating a variety of the reading and writing strategies and skills that we have learned throughout the school year.  Students are testing today and also completing a writing assessment for the end of the year.  They also did their last fluency assessment using the same fluency they did at the beginning of the year, so they could see the growth they have made.  Next week, we will be finishing assessments and reviewing all of the skills we have learned throughout the year.  Thank you for all you do and please encourage your child to read throughout the summer!

Reading Rewards Secondary- We just finished our last unit on Aluel and Gabriel, the refugees from Sudan where we reviewed many of the reading and writing skills and strategies we have learned throughout the year.  We will be taking a writing assessment on Monday.  They also did their last fluency assessment using the same fluency they did at the beginning of the year, so they could see the growth they have made.  Next week, we will be finishing assessments and reviewing all of the skills we have learned throughout the year.  Thank you for all you do and please encourage your child to read throughout the summer!