We’re off to a really great start! This week we started our transition into the curriculum by exploring with the students what Social Studies actually is and hopefully help them recognize that there is much within this realm that allows us to gain a lot of insight into how the world works. We have gone over things like History, Geography, Civics, and Economics–all things that are going to be showing up in our learning this year. Next week we'll be introducing the students to historical thinking skills. These will be extremely important lessons to lay the foundation for our year as these skills will be the tools that we will continually be using as we dive deep into our lessons and inquiries. 

The 5 historical thinking skills:

1. sourcing

2. contextualization

3. multiple perspectives

4. corroboration

5. close reading

Where We've Been: MAP Testing and Introducing Notice & Note

This past week, our students were focused on two key areas: demonstrating their progress and building new reading skills. We began the week with MAP testing to help us understand each student's current strengths. Afterward, we introduced the Notice & Note Signposts, a powerful set of reading strategies that help students dig deeper into a story.

What's Coming Up Next Week: Plotting Our Way to Understanding

Next week, we will continue exploring the Notice & Note Signposts and begin working with plot charts. Learning to identify these signposts and mapping out a story's plot will provide students with the necessary tools to explore how personal narratives are constructed. This foundational work is crucial as students will be writing their own personal narratives in the coming weeks.

Math 7: Students are working together in teams to solve problems that involve decimals, percentages and fractions with unlike denominators. We will also review how to find the perimeter and area of a variety of polygons. The Chapter 1 Test will take place on Friday, September 5th.

Math 7D: In this unit, students have been introduced to the big ideas of probability, algebra, integers and proportional relationships. The main goal of this chapter is to focus on teams, collaboration, building classroom community and setting the stage for the kind of thinking and learning students will do throughout the school year. The Unit A Test will take place on Friday, September 5th.

Upcoming: Math MAP testing is Sept 8-10

We have been working hard on establishing classroom norms and reviewing science safety! Starting Monday August 25th we will begin our first curriculum unit. Please see the link below for more information about our Plate Tectonics and Rock Cycling unit. 

Plate tectonics and Rock Cycling

Here is how you can help your student be successful in science:

-Remind them to charge their chromebook every night. We use digital notebooks and it is        important that their device is charged and ready to use. 

-If students are absent,  remind them  to  email myself or Miss Carter for anything they will have missed.

-If they have a missing assignment in the gradebook, encourage them to complete it! They can hand it in until the end of the quarter! 

-Help promote studying for test and quizzes. Our digital notebooks, flash cards, and online  review games  are great tools to use to prepare for assessments!

Students in the Contemporary Communication class just finished their first unit, where they practiced greeting and introducing people, using open-ended and probing questions to interview people, writing strong paragraphs about their partners, and then introducing their partner to the class using a microphone.  They did a GREAT JOB, and I am proud of them. 

Next up, in Unit 2, we’ll be exploring “What shapes the messages we send and receive?” This unit teaches students a model for communication to help them understand that not all communication goes smoothly, and more importantly, WHY and what they can do about it.  They’ll learn about nonverbal communication, filters, and interference.  There will be a test near Friday, September 12.  We will be brainstorming ways to study in class. Flashcards (digital or paper) are encouraged as well as self-testing and explaining the model to someone who is not in class or familiar with the communication model.  Students will be ready for families to ask them about the communication model starting next Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

• In art class we have been busy going over classroom expectations and procedures. 

• We are learning the classroom space and where materials are stored.

• We also discussed symbolism and wrote down objects that personally     represent us. 

  1. Students chose 1 symbol to create using found objects in a 40 min task party.

  2. Students will use those 5 symbols to decorate their sketchbook covers.

7th Grade students in art class are creating painted Mandalas!

• Students have learned about the art history of Mandalas and how this art form can be found all around the world.

• We talked about radial symmetry and how this can be found in nature.

• We have been busy creating our own radial symmetry design using a compass, ruler and pencil.

• Next week 7th grade will paint their sketched-out design using tints and shades to create a 3D effect using a color scheme.

We have been taking time to get to know each other, classroom expectations and procedures to make for a successful year! 

In both Rewards Plus and Secondary we are completing beginning of the year assessments to see where we are at in our reading and writing skills.  The beginning of the year assessments are a great way to look back mid year and end of the year to see how much growth has happened!  

***Reading MAP testing will be happening next week (August 25-27) during English classes*** Get lots of sleep and eat a good breakfast!

The orchestra is off to a wonderful start this year and sounds fantastic. With a big group, we start slow to focus on routine and structure in the classroom so that rehearsals can run smoothly. Students have grown on this front each day this week. Thank you for all the effort. 

Practice Cards: 

Students are expected to practice 60 or more minutes each week and record it on their blue practice card. Each week, the card will be due on Tuesday. Ideally, students will turn it in Monday, but it gives them a chance to forget, and bring it the next day if necessary. Practice can be on any music the student wishes to play, as long as they are accomplishing class assignments. That could include the music from class, music from private lessons (the actual lesson time does not count), music from other books/online, playing by ear, or playing along with recordings of music they like.