Hall Middle School Teacher Newsletters 2025-26

February 27, 2026

Science

In Geology students have been exploring the dynamic process of plate tectonics and how Earth's surface has been shaped over millions of years. They’ve been making connections between the movement of tectonic plates and the convection currents they studied last year in the 6th grade weather and thermal energy units. By understanding how heat from the Earth's core drives the movement of these plates (top image), students are gaining insight into phenomena like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain formation. It’s been exciting to see them apply their knowledge from previous lessons to better understand the ever-changing Earth beneath our feet! See what your child knows:

How do volcanoes form? Describe the plate boundaries involved?
Tsunami's are the effect after an earthquake or similar in the water. How do they happen?
Describe the temporal or spacial scale in terms of volcanoes, sea level rise or erosion (bottom image).

Even as the trimester ends we will continue on with Geology and these next 2 weeks we will look at earth's processed like sea level rise along the Pacific Ocean's west coast, erosion around the world and use historical data to make predictions about future natural hazard events. So much to learn!

Spanish 1

In Spanish, we are moving from learning about food and sharing our healthy lifestyles to talking about our town. The vocabulary includes some of the most popular places we can visit in town, as well as phrases and expressions that help us navigate when we travel and need to ask for directions or get to a specific place.

Every time we begin a new chapter, we spend a whole week doing extensive vocabulary practice and repetition. At home, you will see your child practicing our target words online. In class, we use those words to create phrases and sentences that eventually allow us to communicate with others.

In 7th grade, we do not expect students to communicate fluently yet. However, we are building the foundation needed to become proficient in advanced skills such as speaking, listening comprehension, and written communication.

Math 7

Hello Math 7 Families!

This week we completed the first lesson and quiz in our Geometry Unit. The students worked very hard on preparing for the Quiz with completing the Quiz Study Guide I prepared for them. Many of the students created index cards to help them study for the Quiz...awesome effort!

The next Geometry area of study will include Angle Relationships & the study of Triangles and Circles.

I am truly enjoying working with your kiddos. They are all making great progress! -Ms. Koch

Pre-Algebra

Hello Pre-Algebra Families!

We are deep into our Geometry Unit. We are learning all the Geometry basics including all types of lines, congruency, angles and more. We had our first Geometry Quiz last Wednesday. The students worked very hard on preparing for the Quiz by completing the Quiz Study Guide I prepared for them. Many students went above and beyond by creating index study cards!

The next Geometry area of study will include Angle Relationships & the study of Triangles and Circles. We will be using rulers and protractors to help understand the concepts.

I am truly enjoying working with your kiddos. They are all making great progress! -Ms. Koch

PE 7

PE with Mr Rembrandt: We completed our singles tournament in classes earlier this week, and are now practicing our doubles skills in preparation for a doubles tournament. We will have one more week of our Ping Pong unit and then we will be moving out to the field for our Soccer and Field Games unit.

Corbolotti: 7th graders did a great job during our acrosport unit. Students worked in small groups to create balanced structures that required communication, trust, core strength, and flexibility. Coming up next, we’ll begin our badminton unit, where students will focus on grip, serving, rallying, positioning, and basic strategy. Badminton is a fast-paced activity that builds coordination and reaction time.

7th Grade Medieval and Early Modern World History

Chapter 5 Tests went very well and ALL students were able to add points to their initial score with a short quiz on the last section, 5.4 The Ming Dynasty. Ask your learner how they did! Moving on to 6.2 next week.

What different groups were there in Japanese society? In Japanese Society, students will learn about the social structure of ancient Japan and the importance of social classes. They will also learn about the important achievements of the Japanese culture during this time. Essential Question: What effects did power and social class have on Japanese feudal society?
What role might Korea’s location have played in its relationship with other East Asian cultures, such as China and Japan? In Korea’s Geography and Society, you will learn about the location and geography of Korea. You will also learn how Korea’s location influenced its culture and the exchange of ideas between China, Korea, and Japan. Essential Question: How did physical location impact life in ancient Korea?

Intermediate Band

We're having an enjoyable time playing "Sway" a latin big band piece. Just about finished with it, maybe the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Our next piece will be Vince Guaraldis "Linus and Lucy." Excited to hear our progress and hopeful that trimester 3 will be filled with better focus and effort than what I've seen in the first two trimesters.

Language Arts

CAASPP Practice and i-Ready

As we get closer to the end of the year, students will take several CAASPP practice exams. Data from these practice tests and from the i-Ready diagnostic provide important insights about priority areas for instruction to ensure they are close to meeting the Grade 7 language arts standards. Continuing to use i-Ready at home supports each student in addressing their specific reading comprehension and vocabulary needs. Please encourage them to keep reading and using i-Ready!

Unit Focus:

Writing to Inform -- Epidemics

We have been exploring the concept of "social contagion" and using the concept of biological epidemics as an analogy to help us explore how behaviors, emotions, and ideas can spread.

We read and watched an episode of the classic television show, The Twilight Zone! (Yep! That show you watched in reruns when you were their age, probably!) Ask them about how it related to the idea of "social contagion!"

Students will be conducting some independent research on social and medical epidemics and writing an informative essay that will become the basis of their podcast, the final performance task for this unit.

As we start working on developing our podcasts, I encourage you to find podcasts to listen to with your teens. This is a great way for them to start thinking about different features that podcasters use to engage their listeners. "This Teenage LIfe" might be a good one to check out!

ART

In our recent Grid Self-Portrait Project, students learned how artists use careful planning and measurement to create accurate drawings. Using the grid method, students divided both a printed photo and a blank sheet of paper into evenly spaced 1-inch sections, then carefully redrew their self-portrait one square at a time. This step-by-step process strengthened observation skills, patience, and attention to detail while building confidence in drawing. By working in pencil and refining their lines, students practiced perseverance and craftsmanship. This project aligned with the California Department of Education Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Standards, supporting the development of foundational drawing techniques, spatial awareness, and creative expression. Later, students will apply this same grid method to enlarge images as they continue building their artistic skills.

STEM

STEM/IDEA: Students are making SKIMMERS this week and competing next week to see who can design the most accurate low flyer. The goal is make a skimmer that can fly straight and aerodynamically stay "stuck" to the ground. Students need to use their skills of using a blueprint with dimensions and be able to accurately measure and be precise, the more precise, the better the final product! Before making the real-world product students will be ramping up their game on Tinkercad using alignment and grouping features to make a CAD design.

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