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WE DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY!
Museum Updates
Museum Updates
Our museum is getting ready for the Open House Showcase on Friday October 4 from 5:30-6:30 pm! We have had 5 build days in September plus additional afternoons putting final touches on the museum!
We are so excited to highlight some amazing National Parks to Hall County 5th graders who will be able to come through our museum on their field trips! Our field trips run from Oct 2 through Nov 1. A copy of the presentation schedule can be found here.
Math Corner
Math Corner
In Enhanced Algebra, we have been learning about parallel and perpendicular lines. In Geometry, we are looking at transformations of figures- reflections, translations, and rotations!
English Corner
English Corner
In Ninth Grade Lit, students have been busy writing an essay and reading mythology. We have been following Odysseus' travels through the mythological Mediterranean world as we have read The Odyssey. They are chronicling this epic through Travel Guides to give travelers advice from the hero's perspective. On the writing side of class, students were writing a literary analysis paper using the framework of the Hero's Journey to compare two separate works in their Book-Film Comparison.
Ga. Studies Corner
Ga. Studies Corner
In Georgia Studies, we have been focusing on European Exploration and Colonization. Students completed excellent projects over this time period to show the differences between the Trustee and Royal Periods. We will be moving into the American Revolution in October.
HS Physical Science Corner
HS Physical Science Corner
September was all about Motion and Force! We had exploration stations, card sorts, etc. And we had our first of four Socratic Discussions - about the implications of "journeying into the unknown" with deep sea and deep space.
September ended with our first differentiated culminating activities. Some students worked on a portfolio through engaging activities that involved Gizmos labs, Kesler Stations and a Bill Nye Video. Other students worked on an enrichment project building model rockets! And then we began Unit 3: Energy and Heat. Coming up - the initial test for Unit 3 will be October 10. At that point, students will be divided into groups either working on the portfolio or the Egg Drop enrichment project. The final test will then be Oct 22.
At home, students should be discussing these concepts of energy and heat to enhance their understanding - adding the vocabulary terms learned in class to everyday activities like how energy gets into our homes and transforms into different types of energy, finding cooking supplies based on specific heat capacity, different ways that heat transfers, etc. Discussing their learning with friends and family and finding every day examples at home can really help solidify the concepts! When cooking, ask your student which material of pan/pot would be best for that cooking application? Each unit students are writing about these personal applications in their on their blog site.
Pictured above and below: Students learned about the concept Newton's Laws, Free Fall, how simple machines affect work and mechanical advantage. They did a variety of exploration stations, card sorts, etc. Above you can see a level with different fulcrum points to show the force-distance tradeoff! Below you can see Newton's 2nd Law (F=ma) in action on the rolling boards!
The Socratic Discussion about "Should we Journey into the Unknown?" was awesome! In the light of recent events with SpaceX attempting to rescue astronauts at the ISS, the submersible Titan implosion last summer, etc. these are very real issues that they will be dealing with in their lifetime! I'm so glad we got to start these conversations that I hope will only continue at home. The Q2 Socratic Discussion will be "the waves around us" and debating whether or not all these radio/microwaves producing communication with our cell phones, ear buds, other wireless devices are actually causing us harm in our daily lives.
During our culminating activity - some students were enriching their knowledge by building model rockets and reflecting on all of the applications with force and motion, while others were working on Gizmos labs and Kesler stations to practice and strength their understanding of Unit 2 concepts.
Extra Curricular
Extra Curricular
Middle school is about so much more than just school work! Students are involved in so many extra curricular activities that help enrich their lives and the school. To the right are some of our students at a recent football game. We have many 8th graders as cheerleaders for South Hall this year! And pictured below are some of our 8th grade DVA students at our first academic team meet vs. Davis (which we won!).
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Enrichment
Enrichment
Enrichments are underway! On Tuesdays and Thursdays students get to enjoy exploring a subject in addition to what they learn in their classes. Pictured here is our engineering enrichment where they have been designing, building and testing catapults (with ping pong balls!) using the Engineering Design Method. We should be ready for the final launch in early October! Next project is Roller Coasters!
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