Any student interested in art with a visual/spatial strength should consider signing up for this art mini-seminar hosted by artist Julie Fjell! Julie Fjell is an artist, designer and freelance art teacher. She has taught high school and middle school art, developed and taught art camps for kids, created an art club in her children’s elementary school and taught adult art classes. Julie has a business selling her pottery, hand stamped metal jewelry and illustration works.

During this Level 1  seminar on March 31st periods 6-7, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students learn how to make digital art on the iPad using Procreate and design a bold Personal Badge Mini Poster that shows off you. You’ll play with brushes, layers, color, and text while creating a finished piece you can use as a sticker, wallpaper, or share online. No experience needed — just bring your creativity and have fun.

I am asking any student interested to complete this Google Form  by March 10th. There are only 24 spots available. Anyone who indicates an interest in this seminar will be notified via email by March 17th whether or not he/she will be participating in this mini-seminar. 

On January 9, students from Russell competed against other Millard middle schools int he Extreme Math competition at ESU 3. Several RMS students placed in individual and team events.

Click here to see images of the 8th grade math competition.

There is an opportunity for students who love to write! 

The Omaha Public Library’s Virginia Frank Memorial Writing Contest allows students to “...submit an original work of fiction under 750 words that features a character from a book they have read on their own and enjoyed. Stories can expand on the original story's plot or take the characters on a new adventure, there are no limitations!” (“Virginia Frank”). 

Students interested should join the Virginia Frank Google Classroom with the code: gx3yyro. This Google Classroom has resources posted and information about optional writing support dates I will host in January and February. Entries for this contest are due by February 19.

On October 8, 14, and 15, 7th and 8th grade HAL students developed and executed a coding lesson with 5th grade students from Ackerman, Rohwer, Upchurch, and Willowdale. Students had the ability to compete for one of several awards: Best Overall, Dance Captain, Pop Star, The Artist, and Daredevil. Mr. Christiansen also printed several fidgets for students who participated.

Click here to see students in action:

• Engineering Mentors

Students who participate in Battle of the Books will read all 15 books on the list and attend all meetings on the calendar. This is a commitment due to the team, competition format.

• Meeting Calendar

• Battle of the Books Information and Commitment Expectations

If you are interested in joining Battle of the Books, please email Amanda Taylor at aetaylor@mpsomaha.org. Mrs. Taylor will send you to the Google Classroom code to access materials needed for this competition throughout the year.

On October 15th, students selected their own experience and participated in workshops of their choice.  Workshops included topics in various forms of art, music, and theater.  The Celebrate Creativity experience ended with a live concert with the Omaha Symphony. 

Click here to see students in action:

• 6th and 7th Celebrate Creativity

Three Russell students participated in the district, oral bee: Autumn Fallon (8th), Finley Johnson (6th), and Devin Yager (6th).

Autumn placed 4th in the competition! Congrats to all who participated!

On May 5th, 8th grade students participated in the Battle of the Books district competition. RMS students, Mina Adler, Charlotte Borg, Ishika Kumar, and Eliana Pierre, placed 4th.

On May 19th, 6th grade students competed. Nam Tran, MJ Jones, Maya Blossom, and Holly Hirsch (pictured left) placed 2nd!

Email Mrs. Taylor at aetaylor@mpsomaha.org if you want to see the list for next year's competition.

Click here to see images from the BOTB competition:

• Battle of the Books

On May 15, current and future SNL students visited UNL's College of Journalism to learn more about sports media and broadcasting. Students filmed "Unlimited Sports" where they served in roles such as anchor, reporter, camera operator, sound technician, graphics coordinator, and more! After lunch, students were given a tour of Husker Vision at Memorial Stadium.

Click here to see images from the UNL College of Journalism seminar:

• 7-8 College of Journalism

On April 16th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students played with shapes and shadows using Sharpies. Students beautiful modern paintings in bright hues are included in the folder below.

Click here to see images from the art seminar with Julie Fjell:

• 6-8 Art

6th grade students competed in the district Extreme Math competition on March 7th. Several students earned ribbons, including:

• Pictured Left: Oliver Bergt, Jackson May, Marty Si, and Maddox Sukup (1st-Team Round) 

• Darick Nguyen (2nd- Sprint Round)

• Jack Swanson (3rd- Sprint Round)

• Nam Tran, Harry Hudson, and Jack Swanson (3rd- Team Round)

• Harry Hudson and Jackson May (4th- Sprint Round)

• Darick Nguyen and Jacob Tynan (5th- Leap Frog)

• Carly Powell and Maya Blossom (5th- Leap Frog)

• Nam Tran (6th- Sprint Round)

Click here to see images from the 6th Extreme Math competition:

• 6th Extreme Math

7th grade students competed in the district Extreme Math competition on February 28. Naman Moondra placed 4th in the individual competition while several teams placed, including:

• Jack Bottlinger and Albert Gwon

• Finn Covi, Fletcher LaBorde, and Jackson Sanne

• Silas Hon and Naman Moondra

Click here to see images from the 7th Extreme Math competition:

• 7th Extreme Math

8th grade students competed in the district Extreme Math competition on February 21. Asher Boucher placed 6th in the individual competition. Calder Adams, Taylor Simonds, and Eric Huang placed 4 in a team competition, too.

Click here to see images from the 8th Extreme Math competition:

• 8th Extreme Math

6th grade students competed in the district quiz bowl competition on December 11th and March 28th. Russell's Quiz Bowl season is over. Ms. O'Neal sent an email to parents/competitors about an end-of-the year celebration.

Click here to see images from our 6th grade Quiz Bowl competition:

• 6th Quiz Bowl

7th and 8th grade students interested in engineering and mentoring created a coding experience for Russell feeder schools using Luma robots.

Click here to see image from our partnership with Ackerman, Rohwer, and Willowdale.

• Engineering Mentors

7th and 8th grade students competed in the district quiz bowl competition on November 1st and March 21st. Russell's Quiz Bowl season is over. Ms. O'Neal sent an email to parents/competitors about an end-of-the year celebration.

Click here to see images from our 7th and 8th grade Quiz Bowl competition:

• 7/8 Quiz Bowl

On October 29 at the Joslyn Art Museum, students explored creative endeavors, including acting, juggling, analyzing current exhibits, and creating various works of art.

Click here to see images from our 6th and 7th grade Celebrate Creativity seminar:

• 6/7 Celebrate Creativity

Please complete the HAL interest survey sent to your Millard email by August 23rd. Parents, see each seminar description for each grade level at the links below:

• 6th Grade Seminar/Mini-Seminar Descriptions 

• 7th Grade Seminar/Mini-Seminar Descriptions

• 8th Grade Seminar/Mini-Seminar Descriptions

• Link to Seminar Level Descriptions 

Students interested in engineering and wanted to mentor elementary students coding Luma robots participated in a morning of coding at Rohwer Elementary on March 29.

Students from Willowdale and Ackerman will visit RMS on May 15th for a similar experience!

Click here for some images of this partnership!

During this 6th-8th grade Level 1 mini-seminar on Tuesday, August 29th during periods 4-7, students will explore various Adobe extensions and capture various images/videos to create a persuasive video RMS students can use to collect donations for Russell’s Color Run on September 29th. Students will be expected to create a video (one minute or shorter in length) that will be due by September 8th with opportunities to work with Mrs. Taylor and peers before school on August 31st and September 7th starting at 7:15am. 

Only students interested need to complete this Google Form  by Thursday, August 24th. There are limited spots available. If more than than the allotted number of students are interested, I will provide additional opportunities with dates/times TBD. Anyone who completes the Google Form will be notified via email by Friday, August 25th whether they will be participating in this mini-seminar. 

Each year, the Omaha Public Library provides an opportunity for creative writing through their Virginia Frank Writing Contest. This contest is open to 5th-8th graders, and the submission deadline is February 24th. Students verified in reading and enjoy writing creatively should consider this opportunity! 

Congratulations to 8th grader Kai McMahon and 7th Grader Ceci Elgert! Kai placed 2nd in the 8th grade division while Ceci placed 3rd in 7th. We are proud of all our timberwolf writers who decided to submit their original works of fiction!

If you are a student who has a strength or interest in math, this is a club for you to join!

The club meets most Mondays after school from 3:00-3:45PM in room 231, Mrs. Reinsch's room. If you are unable to attend these dates, there are resources you can access at home or during GSP to prepare for the school competition in January (if you choose to compete).

Checkout the MathCounts website for tools like minis and the Online Trainer (students under 13 need parent permission for this site).

If you are interested in interacting in any of the ways shared above, please complete this Google Form with the specific ways you intend to participate in MathCounts. 

When a student completes 10 or more questions in MathCounts curriculum, he/she will have time on Dreambox reduced or the number of problems on an assignment reduced. When you complete the required MathCounts items, complete this Google Form by Friday weekly.

Congratulations to 8th grader Addie Gardner who is the RMS district qualifier!

Addie will participate in the District Oral Bee to be held on Tuesday, November 15 from 3:30-5:30PM at the Don Stroh Administrative Center (DSAC).