The Glen Hills Band, Drumline, and the Bucks

Happy Thursday! It's been an eventful week here at Glen Hills Middle School. From the Solar Eclipse on Monday to Forward Testing on Wednesday and Thursday. However, Tuesday was a special night for some of our Glen Hills band members and Drum line. Though the performance was before the game, their musical notes helped warm up the Bucks players and the Celtics players. The excitement throughout the Fiserv Forum continued during the game as our performers had a chance to watch the Buck capture their first win in the month of April. The Bucks just needed the All-Stars to grace the building so they could get back to winning ways. Special thanks to all the parents, staff members, and Ms. Miracle for cheering on our students and giving them the confidence to display their musical talents.

Have a great weekend,

Anna Young and Willie Williams

Directions For Parent Portal Set Up For Infinite Campus

Link Here For The School Calendar

Reminder For Students & Caregivers

Please come in to see our Lost and Found. Claim your belongings by the end of the day Monday, April 15, 2024. Items will be moved on after.

Dear 8th Grade Parents,

Nicolet warmly invites you to the Third Parent 101 session! The Parent 101 meetings are to help 8th-grade families transition into high school. There are 3 Sessions in the Nicolet Parent 101 Series.

Missed out on previous sessions? No worries, please refer to the Nicolet Parent 101 Page to review previous sessions.

The third session will be hosted on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024 at 6 pm in the Nicolet Library. The third session is intended for parents & guardians. It will cover Parent Organizations, Student Resources, Athletics, and more!

Please reach out to Alexis Terry, alexis.terry@nicolet.us, 414 351-7522 for general questions.

8th Grade

Written by: Ms. Hopps (8th Grade ELA Teacher)

Hello 8th Grade Caregivers! Here are some updates from our 8th Grade teachers.

In English class students wrote and submitted their first of two position papers. In their first paper they argued whether kids should be allowed to play violent games such as laser tag or video games. Now, they are exploring a second topic. The class topic asks the question should child soldiers be forgiven for their crimes? Students are learning to use evidence to support their thinking and to be open to both sides of an argument before coming to a conclusion!

In Science class our 8th graders took the lead to teach the rest of the grades about the solar eclipse! Students created presentations that they shared with younger grades on the day of the eclipse. This was an exciting opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning and show why they are the leaders here at GHMS.

In Social Studies students are learning about westward expansion. They are learning how to use primary sources and note taking to critically think about questions of movement and displacement in the American West.

In Accelerated Math students are working with quadratic equations. In general math students are working with the pythagorean theorem and irrational numbers.

8th graders are swiftly moving towards the end of the year. 8th graders will have multiple opportunities to celebrate their accomplishments through the end of the year. Keep an eye out for communication from our 8th grade team about the specifics of the different events your child will be able to participate in.

7th Grade

Written by: Ms. Birmingham (7th Grade Social Studies Teacher)

In social studies, the 7th grade scholars are wrapping up our unit in South & Central (Latin) America! The students have spent weeks learning about the human geography, physical features, languages, and history of the many cultures belonging to Latin America that dates before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. This week, scholars are spending time in class analyzing important Document Based Questions that relate to our essential essay question: How did the North American Free Trade Agreement Impact Mexico? Next week, scholars will finalize their rough drafts of their essay’s and turn their final drafts in by April 16th and April 17th @ 11:59 PM.

Feel free to scan Ms. Birmingham’s Weekly Overview Agenda to keep up with weekly assignments!

In accelerated math, the 7th grade scholars just finished their most recent unit on functions. The next learning objective and focus will be on exponents at the beginning of next week.

The 7th-grade science students started a new unit on matter cycling and photosynthesis. Students are working towards answering the essential question of "Where does food come from and where does it go next? We watched videos of food being extracted from plants and are continuing to review nutrition labels for the plant foods we eat. Scholars will determine that all plants have some food molecules and have started to develop models to try to explain this and develop a Driving Question Board to guide future investigations.

In 7th grade math, the 7th grade scholars (Kenwood) are finishing up on expressions and equations. The next goal is to start to work on the last section of our unit on inequalities . 7th grade (Wesson) math is spending time this week reviewing material for forward testing. The test is this Wednesday and Thursday. Once testing is completed students will be graphing inequalities on a number line.

In ELA this week, the 7th grade scholars are working on their Literary Essays and next week, they will be jumping into our Tapping the Power of Nonfiction book club unit! The students will get to choose Nonfiction Narrative books and work with groups to create final projects toward the end of the trimester. More details on that to come soon. We are extremely proud of how hard they worked on their Forward Exams last week!

6th Grade

Written by: Grace S. and Janiyah B. (6th Grade Students) and Mr. Pfaffl (6th Grade Math Teacher)

In Math class, we’ve been reviewing for the Forward! We just finished up a unit on Equations and Expressions, and have spent the past week or so doing a geometry review.

In ELA, last week we did Forward testing. This week we’re doing literary essays.

In SS, we’re learning about Ancient China. Daoism is “just going with the way” or living in ease.

In Science, we’ve been working on how to write scientifically. We talked about making a claim, evidence, and reasoning and how to structure a scientific argument. We’ve also been talking about rocks, erosion, and preparing for the Eclipse. See the pictures we took!

In Art class, we’ve been working with clay! We’re making pots and we made sugar skulls.

Check out our eclipse pictures from this past Monday HERE.

5th Grade

Written by: Ms. Rias (5th Grade Teacher)

In math class we are finishing our unit on graphing, geometry and volume. Our next unit will be on multiplying and dividing fraction!

In ELA students have just begun their fantasy units for reading and for writing. Students will spend time reading a fantasy novel as well as creating a fantasy story of their own!

Students spent time learning about the eclipse and it was awesome to have the 8th graders come in and teach our 5th graders on it!

4th Grade

Written by: Ms. Cefalu (4th Grade Teacher)

In science classes, students studied why eclipses occur and why this one was so special. The 8th grade students did a wonderful job working with and teaching the 4th grade students more about the eclipse. Here are some photos of 4th graders enjoying the eclipse on Monday afternoon. Thanks to those parent volunteers who helped out!

This week, we are wrapping up Forward testing so please make sure that your child is getting plenty of rest and has a good breakfast.

World Language

Written by: Whitney Wege (Spanish Teacher)

¡Feliz primavera! Happy Spring!

Each grade level (6th-8th) is well underway in their last unit of the 2023-2024 school year. Sixth and seventh grade classes are finishing the school year learning and practicing the most important foundational skill, verb conjugation. The mastery of regular present tense verb conjugation is vital to the ongoing success of Spanish language use and development. Sixth grade students will start their conjugation learning during our “School Life” unit, while seventh grade scholars will extend their verb conjugation skills during our “House” unit. Eighth grade students will warp up their time at Glen Hills with the forever popular “Food” unit. Heads up to eighth grade families, your scholars will be completing a mock final exam closer to the end of May. This mock exam will be the closest comparison we can provide to a Spanish 1 final semester exam. This will provide your soon-to-be high school scholars with a taste of the high school final exam realities and demands.

Reminders: Please bring a charged Chromebook every day!

Updates From the Music Department

Written by: Ms. Miracle (Band)

Congratulations to our Band and Drumline members that performed at the Milwaukee Bucks game last night. While we faced our share of challenges (late arrival downtown, tight timeline, metal detectors, shared bass drum mallets, etc.) we put on an extremely entertaining 12-minute show!

While we had much more music to share, our performance was energetic and engaging. Way to represent Glen HIlls in the best light possible. Shoutout to all the Glen HIlls families and staff that were able to attend and support us including our fearless chaperones Ms. Herkowski, Mr. Grabowski, and Mrs. Young. We will continue to work with Mrs. Young, Principal Young, and Associate Principal Williams on their Simon Says skills so they can bring home a big check next time around!

Ms. Miracle & Mr. Watson could not be more proud of everything our musicians brought to the arena last night!!

Throughout this past school year, our 4th grade students have completed 9 weeks of music instruction in Band, Choir, Orchestra, and General Music. Our goal is to provide high quality instruction in all 4 of the music offerings at Glen Hills so our 4th graders can get to know more about each specific content area and get to know our music staff.

In 5th grade, we ask scholars to select the one music course that they are most interested in studying during the 5th-8th grades. Band includes study of the Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Baritone, Tuba or Percussion. Choir includes study of the voice for anyone interested in singing. Orchestra includes study of the Violin, Viola, Cello or Bass. General Music is a non-performance class that offers a wide range of vocal and instrumental activities.

On Thursday, April 11th, our 4th grade scholars will be taking their first steps in registering for a music course for the 2024-2025 school year. Please reach out with any questions you may have to any of our staff as you carefully consider which music course is best for your child.

Ms. Cheryl Miracle - Band

Mrs. Lauren Smrz-Heal - Choir

Mrs. Elizabeth Day - Orchestra

To Be Announced - General Music

Physical Education

Written by: Gus Kauffman, EJ Higgins, & Laura Sanders (PE Teachers)

Hello Glen Hills Families,

We are wrapping up our second units for the trimester. There will be new units starting next week. Please note that some of the units are OUTDOOR units, so students may want to bring a hoodie or long pants especially if they have class in the morning. We also recommend that morning class students bring an extra pair of socks as the dew on the grass can get shoes and socks wet. Please help to remind your students to bring their PE clothes and shoes to class.

The next units will be :

Higgins: Floor Hockey all grade levels

Kaufmann: Softball all grade levels OUTSIDE UNIT

Sanders: 4-6 Track and field OUTSIDE UNIT / 7-8 Team handball

Athletics & Activities

Written by: Gus Kauffman (Glen Hills Athletic Director)

Boys and Girls Track:

Track practice has begun this week. We practice from 4 - 5 after school Monday - Thursday. The first Track meet is April 18th at University School at 4 PM. For more dates view the schedule below.

Future City & Updates From Talent Development

Written by: Mrs. Murali (Talent Development Teacher) and Mr. Pfaffl (6th and 7th Math Teacher)

Our 8th-grade scholars had a chance to visit the 4th and 5th-grade classrooms on Monday to share their eclipse activities. The student leaders spoke with the teachers about their activity. Our 8th-grade scholars created informational videos, Kahoot games, skits, poster boards, board games, bingo and art activities, and safety videos to educate younger students about Eclipse. Thanks to their teacher, Michelle Young for empowering students! Thanks to our 4th and 5th-grade teams for your flexibility and allowing our scholars to showcase their creativity and leadership. Our scholars are amazing!

Throughout the eclipse, scholars asked questions and were curious about the sky and how everything works. It was awesome to see everyone come together to give our students this awesome opportunity, and one that we won't get for another 20 years!

Thank you also for being flexible. Most of us stayed outside a little longer than originally planned, and I greatly appreciate your understanding and willingness to let our scholars experience a 91% Eclipse.

This year’s Summer Academy will take place between June 24-July 25, 2024.This (5) week program will take place four days a week, Monday-Thursday from 8:30AM-12:00PM. Please note, students will not be in attendance on July 4th. If you are interested in this year’s SA program, it is free for in-district students and the registration process will occur between May 1-15, 2024.

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