Jo li e t P u b li c S c h o o ls - D i s t ri c t 8 6
GOMPERS JUNIOR HIGH
Volum e 1 , Is sue 6
Marc h, 20 14
MESSAGE FROM JFK
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
JFK Message
1
Language Arts
2
Math
3
Science
4
Social Science
5
P.E./F.A.
6-7
Upcoming Events
8
Every Child
Every Chance
Every Day
JOLIET GRADE SCHOOL BAND 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
This year’s Children for Peace musical celebration will honor the 100th
Gompers Administration
anniversary of the Joliet Grade School Band on April 16, 2014. More
Mrs. Constance Russell
— Principal
than 400 District 86 students will perform at the Rialto Square
Mr. Tony Villagomez
— Asst. Principal
Mrs. Narishea Parham
— 6th Grade Advisor
Mr. Sam Tharnish
— 7th Grade Advisor
Mr. Christopher Suffecool
—8th Grade Advisor
Office Staff
Mrs. Williams
Ms. Vollmer
Ms. Bibian
Ms. Hagner
Theatre at 7:00 p.m. A student art exhibit will be on display in the
rotunda prior to the show. Tickets are $3.00 each and will be available through the Rialto Box Office, 102 N. Chicago Street.
P age 2
Gompers Junior High
L A N G UA G E A R T S
8 T H6th
G R A grader
DE
Conratulations to
Magdelena Silva!
Magdelena’s Young Author story, Nunu the Clown, has
During the month of March, the 8th
been
chosen Arts
to be
read will
at the
Joliet Family Reading
grade Language
teachers
be working
Night on
Mayextension
14, 2009.
through
various
activities to supplement our Holocaust unit. We will be focusing
on utilizing the nonfiction text structures and,
of course, Accelerated Reader.
7TH GRADE
In Mrs. Bowen, Mr. Blouzdis, Mrs. Montowski, and Mrs. Matejcak’s Language Arts
classes, students will build their understanding of fiction and nonfiction paired passages,
study a variety of genres, and practice the Extended Response writing format. Students are
required to read independently in class and at home in order to meet their AR goals. Please
encourage your child to read daily for a minimum of thirty minutes. In Ms. Tregler’s
Language Arts, students are learning strategies from the close reading book, Notice and Note.
Students will be taking ISAT March 5-14. Please make sure your child is well-rested, eats
breakfast, and arrives to school on time each day.
6TH GRADE
In Language Arts classes, we are wrapping up our
study of informational text and preparing for ISAT.
Students will practice the close reading of paired passages
and answering text-dependent questions. We plan on
applying all the reading strategies we've learned this year to
do our best on the test! After ISAT, language arts classes
will move on to a biography project that will continue
until spring break.
P age 3
Gompers Junior High
MATH
8 T H6th
G R A grader
DE
Conratulations to
Magdelena Silva!
th Grade Mathematics
In the month
of March,
the 8story,
Magdelena’s
Young
Author
Nunu the Clown, has
classes
will be covering
Linear
Equations.
been chosen
to be Systems
read atofthe
Joliet
FamilyThis
Reading
includes
the
strategies
used
to
find
solutions
to
those
sysNight on May 14, 2009.
tems as well as real-world applications of systems. Classes
will also be reviewing all of the concepts and skills which
were covered throughout the school year as we complete our
final preparations for the Illinois Standard Achievement Test
(ISAT).
7TH GRADE
In Math class with Mr. Poch, Mrs. Reed, Mrs.
Matsko and Mrs. Chavers the students will continue
working on expressions and equations. Throughout
this unit, students are using algeblocks to represent
expressions and equations. They will continue using
algeblocks in their 8th grade year. The summative
exam for Expressions will be on Friday, January 24.
6TH GRADE
This month we are working on Unit 4
Expressions. The focus for this unit is on
exponents, writing expressions using variables
and various operations, and finding the greatest
common factor for two whole numbers. We are
using a variety of manipulatives, such as
Algeblocks, Color Tiles, and snap cubes, in our
classrooms to help make real world connections
the math concepts.
to
P age 4
Gompers Junior High
SCIENCE
8 T H6th
G R A grader
DE
Conratulations to
Magdelena Silva!
In ScienceYoung
studentsAuthor
will continue
studying
Therehas
will be
Magdelena’s
story,
Nunuecology.
the Clown,
hands on activities and projects to better understand how living things
been chosen to be read at the Joliet Family Reading
interact with each other and their environment. Students will also be
Night
on May 14, 2009.
completing enrichment activities for the ecology unit during the week of
ISAT
7TH GRADE
In Science: Mrs. Woodall, Mr. Freidag, and Mr. Darin, would like to thank all of the
students that presented at the District Science Fair held on January 25, 2014 at Dirksen Junior
High School. We appreciate the time they spent preparing the projects and giving up a portion of
their Saturday to present them. Also, thank you to the parents for providing transportation as well
as support throughout the entire process.
In other science news, students will be completing a unit on Weather and Climate. The
focus will be on learning the basics about the atmosphere and why we have weather. In addition,
students will learn about a variety of instruments used to track the weather and how to make
simple weather predictions. One goal will be for students to create their own mini-forecast at the
end of the unit. We will also discuss specific types of catastrophic weather including tornadoes
and hurricanes. Finally, we will do a brief overview of climate and what impacts climate locally
and globally.
6TH GRADE
This month the 6th grade students will be working
with magnets and the idea of electricity. Students will
learn about the opposite poles of a magnet, how electric
circuits work and different forms of energy.
P age 5
Gompers Junior High
SOCIAL SCIENCE
8 T H6th
G R A grader
DE
Conratulations to
As March begins,
the social studies team
will focus
Magdelena
Silva!
on completing our study of World War II. After the ISAT
Magdelena’s Young Author story, Nunu the Clown, has
testing is completed, students will begin to examine the
been
chosen to be read at the Joliet Family Reading
social changes that occured during the 20th Century inNight
onCivil
MayRights
14, 2009.
cluding the
Movement.
7TH GRADE
In Social Science with Mr. Blaeser, Mr. Freidag, and Mrs.
Huntowski, classes will be note-taking and completing their
booklets in preparation for the U.S. Constitution test. In addition,
students will use map skills to learn about North American
geography.
6TH GRADE
Your student will be exploring the realms of ancient India and China during February
and March. They will be learning about the landforms and features of the geography of the
land. We will also touch on the culture of the countries and their unique and refreshing
contrast.
P age 6
Gompers Junior High
FINE/PRACTICAL ARTS
M U S I C D E P A R Tto
M E N6th
T FUN
DRAISER UPDATE
Conratulations
grader
The annual Music Parents Association Pasta Dinner Fundraiser was held on Thursday,
Silva!weather on January 28th. Despite this
February 20th afterMagdelena
being canceled due to inclement
change
in date, the
pasta dinner
wasstory,
a great Nunu
success.the
Parents
andhas
community member from all
Magdelena’s
Young
Author
Clown,
four quadrants attended this event to enjoy dinner as well as some live entertainment from the
been
chosen
be readandatchoir
the students.
Joliet Family
Reading
junior high
band,to
orchestra,
Many also
participated in the silent auction for
Night
on Maydonated
14, 2009.
some wonderful
packages.
From now until the end of the school year, the band, orchestra, and choir students will
be selling discount cards for the MPA annual spring fundraiser. The discount card provides
reusable discounts for businesses around Joliet. The cost of the cards is $10 each. If you
would like to support the Music Department by purchasing a discount card, please see any
band, orchestra, or choir student or contact the Music Department directors at (815) 727-5276
ext. 221. Thank you for your support!
Gompers Junior High
P age 7
MATH LAB
In Ms. Sullivan's Math Lab, the Sixth and Seventh Grade classes will be in either a Center;
a group of students sharpening their math skills, or on computers to practice their math facts.
In Eighth Grade, the students will be working on a Math Number Sense Poster project.
They are to choose any appropriate topic to research numeral facts, make a graph of their findings, and compare the statistics they have found with other examples.
ART
The 6th-8th Grade Art students are now in the middle of 4th Term. Don’t forget parents,
you can look up all their assignments on SISK12. 6th Graders in art are working on their
“Plaster Mask” assignments. They are in the drawing stage of creating their acrylic painted plaster gauze mask.
7th Graders in art are working on their “Batik” assignment. They are creating a wax and
dyed symmetrical design, sewing around all their shapes using the backstitch, and stuffing and resewing their bigger shapes.
8th Graders are working on their “Clay Monsters”. The students create clay monsters using pattern, adding clay, and subtracting clay. After the clay is fired they will be using different
glazes to paint the clay monster.
Ask your art students how they’re doing on their art assignment. I’m still collecting some of the art student’s work
from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd term to show at the “Children for Peace”
show coming up in April at the Rialto.
P age 8
Gompers Junior High
FINE/PRACTICAL ARTS—CON’T
Conratulations to 6th grader
CHARACTER EDUCATION
Magdelena Silva!
6th grade
Magdelena’s
Young
Author
Nunu the
Clown,written
has by Paul Langan and Ben
Sixth grade students
are reading
the story,
novel, Brothers
in Arms,
Alirez. chosen
It focusestoonbe
theread
emotions
andJoliet
decisions
made Reading
by the main character, Martin after his
been
at the
Family
brother
We will
on the effects of characters’ decisions and how these characters
Night dies.
on May
14,focus
2009.
develop and change.
7th grade
Seventh grade students are reading Jackie’s Nine: Jackie Robinson’s Values to Live By, written
by Sharon Robinson. The nine values include: courage, determination, teamwork, persistence,
integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment and excellence. Each chapter is dedicated to a value
and includes a scene from the author’s life, a story from Jackie Robinson’s life and a passage
about an important hero.
8th grade
Eighth grade students are reading We Beat the Street, written by Drs. Sampson Davis, George
Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt, with the help of Sharon Draper. This is an inspiring story of how
three young boys made a promise to each other to become successful people. We will focus
on the journey these boys take, the challenges they face and the decisions they make in order
to help one another succeed.
LITERACY LAB
Now in the middle of the 4th rotation, we are just closing down Common Theme. Sixth and seventh grade students
closed this skill by creating posters of some common themes
that appeared in life. 8th grade students completed campaign
rally posters regarding a recent judicial matter. The next section
will be on close reading. In literacy lab, we use mysteries to
practice this skill. Students will examine the suspects, analyze
the evidence and determine the perpetrator using their
“detective” skills (close reading). After ISAT, we will look at the
elements of a literary argument. We explore how to build a
strong position using evidence from the text. In addition, we
examine the alternative position (concession) and build our case
for the stronger side.
G o m pe r s J u n i o r H i g h
P age 97
PHY SICAL EDUCATION /HEALTH
P H Y S I C A L E D U C A T I O N / H E A L T H / P. E . H E A L T H L A B
Olympic hockey may be over, but our Physical Education classes are still
enthusiastically involved with our own floor hockey games. This activity has historically proven
to be a favorite unit with our students. Our annual " Shoot for a Cure " fundraiser has kicked
off with an in-class basketball shooting competition that raised over $900 so far. Our students
competed in a spot shooting contest for the chance to play in our student-faculty basketball
game taking place at an assembly for the cause on March 21st. We hope to double our
donation during an action packed afternoon on that date. Plenty of fun, entertainment and
prizes will be enjoyed.........all for a great cause! Thanks to Ms. Colstock for running our
fundraiser. Looking ahead to our roller skating unit ......dates are set! We will be skating
beginning April 10. More details to come.
In Health, the students will learn ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Units will include
First--Aide, CPR, Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco, Decision Making, Nutrition, Goal Setting,
Body Systems and several other health related topics. Again the students will be evaluated on
class participation, journal writing, class assignments, quizzes and test. If we can motivate
students to take care of their bodies and live healthy lives we will definitely see more
productive individuals.
PE/Health lab this month will be based on the premise that healthy students and
teachers live better. The activities the students will be participating in are designed to help
students develop healthy behaviors and lifestyles so that they can reach their highest ability to
learn. It introduces the topics of conflict resolution, physical activity; hygiene and sanitation;
and injury and violence prevention.
PPage
age1 09
Gompers Junior High
UPCOMING EVENTS
March
3rd — No School - Casimir Pulaski Day
5th to 14th — ISAT Testing
21st — 3rd Quarter Ends
24th to 28th — Spring Break