September 18, 2020

Team Announcements

Can you believe that we're already into week 4? The kids are working hard in their classes. Please take a look at the class summaries below to see what your kids have been up to.

MAP Testing

Students started MAP testing this week. They are testing with their Independent Reading class, but testing during the 2:00-3:00 time slot.

• Thursday, September 17 from 2:00-3:00 - Math MAP

• Friday, September 18 from 2:00-3:00 - Math MAP

• Tuesday, September 22 from 2:00-3:00 - Reading MAP

• Wednesday, September 23 from 2:00-3:00 - Reading MAP

• Thursday, September 24 from 2:00-3:00 - Reading MAP

Picture Day

• Picture Day for Grizzell Middle School RLA students will be September 24 in the GMS Library between 4:00-6:00 PM.

• Picture Day for Karrer Middle School RLA students will be September 30 between 4:00-6:00 PM. All students who wish to appear in the yearbook must be present during picture day.

Flu Shots for Dublin Students

Free flu shots will be available to students this school year. You can view the schedule and required forms at this link. RLA students may go to any school for their flu shots. Families may take all students to one building. Be sure to complete the first form and return it 48 hours before the day of the shot to the school building where you want to get the flu shot. The second form needs to be completed and taken with you on the day of the flu shot.

Language Arts

Ms. Jones

Our optional Summer Reading Book Discussion schedule had been adjusted to accommodate MAP testing in the 2:00 time window. Please, find the adjusted schedule here : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cj99RNmQbM088wPiH-RB-iC3nMOxAyJOUu8Y8o8wEg8/edit?usp=sharing

Class periods 1, 2 & 5 have met to discuss Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings. The classes that met rated the book from 3.5 to a 7.5 on a 10 point scale for an average of 5.95. Students liked the themes of doing the right things even when it's hard and not dwelling on the past. They felt let down by the predictability of the book and thought the author missed out on opportunities for packing action into scenes that dragged for them.

Now that we have our Writer's Notebooks set up, students enjoyed free writing this week. We will be using student writing to begin to review parts of speech to move us toward the goal of learning about varying sentence types. For reading we are citing textual evidence to support our answers, analyzing how story elements interact and practicing strategies to determine or clarify unknown meanings of words.

Mrs. Spenthoff

In reading, we have been continuing to practice various reading responses (major plot events were introduced this week). We have been using this practice in connection to our read aloud text, Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj. The plot and events have been shocking; providing for some strong opinions and discussions in class. Next week, we will continue with our read aloud and reading responses and will finish the book within the next two weeks.

In early October, we will begin our next book, which students need a copy of. They need their own copy because we will be writing in the book as part of many different LA standards. The book, The Adventures of Ulysses by Bernard Evslin, is available on Amazon Prime and is $8.99. Please make sure students have this exact same cover on their copy to ensure it's the correct edition. Students need to have these in hand by October 5. I'm including a picture of the cover below for reference.

In writing, we are focusing more on various writing territories. This week, we were introduced to our heart map writing (writing about something that is important to you) and our "I" territory writing (writing about a nonfiction topic of interest). Students have been busily writing away! We will cover one more free write topic next week before transitioning into a different type of writing assignment.

Next week, we will also begin some word study work. We will learn about commonly misspelled words and commonly confused words. It will surely be a busy week filled with learning!

Science

Ms. Luetje

This has been a FUN week in science class! In our study of sound, kids created some amazing instruments, then applied what they've been learning. Students applied the concept of wavelength/frequency to their instrument's change in pitch, and applied the concept of amplitude to their instrument's change in volume. We even had the class vote on several categories for students to earn "Badges"... and secure bragging rights! We have another fun-filled week of our WAVES unit next week.

Mrs. Massey

We have been doing a deep dive on sound waves! We have learned how amplitude, frequency, and pitch all work together to make the sounds we hear. We debated the use of "Teen Repellant" which is a very high frequency tone that only people under 25 can hear, which is being used to keep teenagers out of parks at night. Students shared their thoughts about this sonic deterrence through Flipgrid. We've also looked at how the medium affects the speed of sound. Elephants use different air temperatures to project their low frequency sounds even farther! Next week we will spend more time in the electromagnetic spectrum, learning about light waves.

Social Studies

Mr. Dunham

This week in History we finished our review of the ancient civilizations and had a quiz Thursday. Friday we present our current events and discuss what aspect of our civilization it shows. Looking forward to next week when we jump into our new material with Greece!

Miss Ziesenheim

This week, we wrapped up our refresher on the skills of a historian and dove into exploring leadership. I loved watching the video posts of students describing whether or not they are a leader and what words they would use to describe leaders. We ended our week with the understanding that we are all leaders at some point. In celebration of Constitution Day, we learned about the Electoral College and how it works - we conducted a simulation where the students voted for the national dessert. Next week, we will explore perspectives and perception with regard to geography as we shift into new material with Ancient Greece!

Math

Mr. Gorgias

We completed our 2nd assessment in Schoology this week over Adding/Subtracting/Multiplying/Dividing Rational Numbers and Integers. We are starting a new unit on Fractional Rates and Proportionality. Please remind students to complete homework on time and work in Mathia for 90 min/wk.

Mrs. Yang

Click the link to view my daily agenda. Mrs. Yang - Math 7 Daily Agenda

Mrs. Bailey

To see what's happening in Algebra, click HERE to view the daily agenda.

Mrs. Neader

Click HERE to visit Mrs. Neader's class site.

Related Arts

Mrs. Brown, Art

This week we will be adding our dots for the Pointilism project. Turn on some of your favorite music and relax while adding your dots of color!

Ms. Cover, Art

The next unit in art will be focused on Mixed Media and Sculpture. Students will be using repurposed and natural materials to create their functional work of art. Keep collecting materials.

Ms. Thornton, Music

We have had a lot of fun this week learning about the music of Brazil. We used found instruments to play and perform the Afoxe. Next week, we will continue our drumming and learn music from other parts of the world!

Ms. Reyes, Music

We had fun continuing to work on playing the rumba and improvising with percussion instruments found at home and exploring folk songs and cultural heritage through folk music. We will continue working on improvising in rumba "conversations" next week as well as starting some basic music theory. We will have another open mic day on Friday for students who would like to share.