News

Congratulations to the 6th Academic Team for earning 2nd place in the Regional Quiz Bowl at ESU3! Way to go Adi, Anuj, Carter, & Haamiz!

Congrats to the 8th grade Team A: Eshaan, Nathan, Shiv, and Abhi for earning 1st place at the MPS Academic Quiz Bowl

8th Rat Dissection Lab

Science Standards addressed:

Share information, procedures, results, and conclusions with appropriate audiences.
Students will investigate and describe the structure and function of living organisms.
Use anatomical features of an organism to infer similarities among other organisms
Identify the organs and functions of the major systems of the human body and describe ways that these systems interact with each other.

7th Extreme Math Day Competition

I'm so proud of the kids for their fast thinking at the Extreme Math Day Competition! I appreciate that they have such great character and always try their best.

Eshaan earned 1st place for the Individual Sprint Round with a perfect score!

Shiv earned 3rd place in the Sprint Round

Matthew Z. and Nathan L. tied for fifth in the Sprint Round

Eshaan and Shiv earned 1st place in the Leap Frog Round

Lila and Callie earned 3rd place in the Leap Frog Round

Karyssa, Libby, Jessica M., and Sarah S. earned 3rd place in the Team Round

Libby, Lila, and Callie were crowned Queens of Topography

Excellent job representing Kiewit!

8th Robotics @UNO/PKI- Advanced Programming with P-Robots

Robotic technology is being used extensively in different fields such as transportation, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing and national defense and security. Students are learning and using robotics to engage in various science technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities, and pursue careers in STEM-related fields.

In this workshop, students will learned advanced programming techniques and projects with the P-ROBOTS (Programming Robot Suite) platform. Students were given a quick overview of how to program P-ROBOTS using C programming language. After that, students completed hands-on projects with P-ROBOTS on the following topics: mixing light colors, animations with LEDs, controlling motion of a wheeled robot to follow different patterns, building an electronic fire alarm system and robot-music.

Organized by: CMANTIC Robotics Lab Peter Kiewit Institute University of Nebraska at Omaha

Thank you Mr. Dasgupta!

6th grade Academic Team placed 4th in the Regional Quiz Bowl at ESU3!- Congrats Adithi, Arpun, Grace, and Jerry!

7th/8th Academic MPS Quiz Bowl - Nov. 20-

Congrats to Team A- Andra, Eben, Kristine & Noah for earning 2nd place!

8th Mock Trial at Creighton Law Nov. 16-17

On the first day of the seminar, students watched trials and Mr. Dan Fischer from Koley Jessen Law Firm taught students about the steps of a trial and about a career in law. Students learned legal terms, the steps of a trial, and prepared with teams for the mock trials.

On the second day, Mr. Fischer worked with the students as they prepared their cases for the mock trial. The day concluded with the six mock trials where the students participated as attorneys, witnesses, and jurors at Creighton Law School.

6th Genetics Seminar - Nov. 15

Many of the characteristics that define who you are as an individual, like the color or your eyes and the shape of your nose, are passed down to you from your parents. These characteristics are called inherited traits and transmission of these traits from generation to generation is called heredity.

Students investigated genetically-transmitted traits (the inability to taste certain chemicals) and calculated the frequency of the recessive gene, the dominant gene, and the genotypes within a population. We used the Hardy-Weinberg Principle to calculate allele frequencies.

Hardy-Weinberg Principle p² + 2pq + q² = 1

8th Genetics Seminar - Nov. 10

This seminar was for students with a high interest in pre-med, veterinary science, and genetics in particular. The seminar led students in an investigation of human genetics, inheritance of blood types, and color blindness.

Dr. Soochin Cho, professor of Molecular and Evolutionary Genomics at Creighton University, gave a fabulous presentation on genetics and the impact on medicine and the medical field. Dr. Cho examines contemporary issues in genetics in his college classes. Topics include, but are not limited to molecular and genetic aspects of autoimmune disease, aging, behavior, cancer, development, genomics,the science of heredity and variation, basic principles of Mendelian genetics, molecular genetics, and human genetics.

Blood Type Lab

Dr. Cho- Thank you for being our expert!

Rose Theater Performance & Post Show Workshop: Van Gogh & Me

After a colorful and sometimes challenging creative career, the weary artist Vincent van Gogh (creator of such iconic works as “The Starry Night” and “Sunflowers” paintings), finds himself retreating to an out-of-the-way French town Auvers-Sur-Oise. While the citizens and tourists of the tiny town are not sure what to make of the strange man and his unusual painting style, a young and curious girl named Adeline strikes up a gentle, even fragile friendship with the mysterious and misunderstood painter. Based on actual events, this moody atmospheric story of the power of art and simple friendship will give you a new appreciation of the artist and his beautiful post-impressionistic works.

Post Show Acting Workshop-This hands-on workshop explored the characters, plot, and themes from the show. Students also toured the sets and viewed the costume and make-up designs from the show.

8th Medical Seminar at Clarkson College on Wed., Nov. 1

Students highly interested in health care professions visited Clarkson College.

Activities included classroom and interactive stations to learn more about the following fields:

Nursing
Physical therapy
Radiology
Medical careers

6th, 7th, & 8th Celebrate Creativity Seminar on Oct. 26-27

Designed so they can create their own experience, students participated in professionally led workshops of their choice, a tour of the Joslyn Art Museum, and a live concert experience with the Omaha Symphony Chamber Orchestra.

7th Engineering Seminar

Theodore Von Karman, an aerospace engineer, put it nicely when he said, "Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was."

Students learned how forces, materials, loads and shapes can impact the stability of engineering and how the engineering process works.
We had three building rotations where students engaged in engineering activities using higher-level math and thinking skills.

-A Rube Goldberg Machine Contest

- Strong arms contest

- A tall tower that withstands weight

6th Engineering Seminar

Students:

Learned about careers in engineering.
Learned how forces, materials, loads and shapes can impact the stability of engineering and engineering vocabulary.
Explored the fun and creative sides of engineering by designing and competing in teams while building the tallest tower, a well-engineered car, and a structure which has height and can hold weight.
Viewed “Engineering Oops” and Successes.
Thought critically & problem solved!

8th Engineering Seminar

Students learned about the aspects of mechanical, civil, and design engineering. Students also learned about the Engineering design process, the impact of loads and forces, and explored the fun and creative sides of engineering by designing and competing in teams while building.

Tallest Freestanding Tower with Time Constraints
Mechanical Engineering- Robot Arm
Free-standing Structure - team build that must fit a student under it
Tower of Power
Math Challenge: Exchanging places
Engineering Disasters

7th Animal Field Studies at the HD Zoo

We learned about these areas during our Field Studies:

Behavioral Studies: Students charted the activities of the gorillas & orangutans in their habitat and then created an ethogram -analyzing the data.
Learned about the diet of zoo animals, their food pyramids, and the cost to feed them.
Found animals in the desert dome using the three different types of coloration in camouflage. Analyzed why the animals use that specific type of camouflage and how it helps them.
Took a behind the scenes tour of the jungle and learn from a geneticist and nutritionist.
Viewed an educational IMAX show on sharks.

Congratulations to the KMS Spelling Bee Qualifiers!

Congratulations to the following students for their success on the written spelling bee and good luck to them at the Oral Bee!

Noah C. , Pranavi A., Eshaan G., Eben S., Caelan Y., Akhil G., Ben K., Sam W., Collin H., Matthew R.

They have qualified to participate in the Millard District Oral Spelling Bee. This will be held at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, October 26, at the Don Stroh Administration Building at 5606 S. 147th Street.

The District champion qualifies for the Midwest Spelling Bee sponsored by the Omaha World Herald. This bee will include providing a definition for the word.

What to up your spelling skills? Check out these resources :

www.myspellit.com

http://www.orgsites.com/tx/dmsspellingbee/_pgg1.php3

http://www.aaaspell.com/spelling/8

http://www.esldesk.com/spelling/100-words.htm

Kiewit Spelling Bee on Tuesday, September 19

If you would like to participate in the Kiewit Spelling Bee, please complete the Google Form posted on the Kiewit website by Tuesday, September 12 to sign up for the test.(before school, homeroom, after school) If you cannot make it on Tuesday, September 19 see Mrs. Guthrie to arrange a time.

All Kiewit Middle Schools students are welcome to participate in the building written spelling bee. The top scoring students will then advance to the Millard District Oral Spelling Bee at DSAC on Thursday, October 26th at 3:45.

The winner of the Millard Oral Bee will advance to represent Millard at the Omaha World Herald Midwest Spelling Bee

Put the date in your planner! Please bring a pencil with you to the test.

The test will be given in the HAL room, 401.

6th Wildlife Biodiversities Seminar at the Wildlife Safari Park on Friday, September 8-

Students explored similarities and differences of animal and plant life of prairie, woodland, and aquatic biomes at Henry Doorly Zoo's Wildlife Safari Park located just west of the Platte River and south of Mahoney State Park. Carrie Nunez, Education teacher at the Henry Doorly Zoo gave a presentation on the wildlife of the park, and an educational guide through the park. Students dissected owl pellets, and we will also learned about and saw an owl up close from a caretaker. Students also did a sweep of the prairie to analyze plant life and the impact the animals have on the prairie.

8th Conservation Seminar at Wildlife Safari Park on Friday, August 25

Students explored Frog Lake and The Wolf Woods by collecting amphibian samples and recording data. Scientists have determined a decline and disappearance of some frogs species due to a disease caused by a Chytrid fungus. Students completed macroinvertebrate sampling to determine the health of the wetland areas. The data will be analyzed and students predicted the outcomes. Samplings will be sent into the Park’s labs for further testing. Data derived from aquatic samples provide valuable information on the biological and physical condition of the wetlands, which along with habitat and fish community data permits a comprehensive assessment of the inhabitant’s health.

Frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians are going extinct. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that at least one-third of known amphibian species are threatened with extinction, a rate higher than that for any birds or mammals. We learned about the conservation efforts of the Wildlife Safari Park and Henry Doorly Zoo.

Complete HAL Seminar Form in Google Classroom

I invited students through school email to join the HAL Google Classroom. Students must complete the HAL Interest Survey Form in the HAL Google Classroom to be invited to attend a seminar. (Complete ASAP- events will start right away! Please complete by Monday, August 21.) The classroom has a guide posted with full descriptions of the seminars and events.

The middle-level HAL program features District seminars at each grade level. The seminars are planned and coordinated by the HAL Facilitators from the Millard middle schools. Seminars take place at various locations and attendance is limited. Shortly before the date of a seminar, I will send an invite/permission form and a parent email to students who have indicated a high interest in that seminar. If there are more applicants than space allows, I will do a drawing to see who will attend. In the interest of equity, I will keep track of attendance. Students participating in the seminar will receive a reminder about attending the seminar, and parents will be emailed the reminder too. Kiewit’s HAL program also offers additional planned events. Seminar dates are posted on the HAL and Kiewit websites.

Academic Talent Identification Programs

(More information under Links-Academic Talent Identification Programs)

Students identified as academically talented may be invited to participate in an academic talent search program that includes taking the ACT or SAT.

Many of these programs offer a one-step registration option that combines registering for the academic talent search program with registering for the ACT. In some instances, additional test centers have been established that are available only for students participating in the academic talent search program. Talent search participants are advised to follow the instructions they receive from their respective program to register for the ACT. This may require registering directly with the talent search program rather than using ACT online registration or an ACT registration packet.

For details about specific academic talent search programs, visit the websites under Links.

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