JANUARY NEWSLETTER
Volume 15; Issue 3
Central Middle School
January 2012
IS IT A COLD OR THE FLU?
Do you know the difference between a cold and the flu? The symptoms and treatment vary. Use the chart below to help
determine if you have the flu or just a cold.
Signs and Symptoms
Influenza
Cold
Fever
Usually present
Rare
Aches
Usual, often severe
Slight
Chills
Fairly common
Uncommon
Tiredness
Moderate to severe
Mild
Symptom onset
Symptoms can appear within 3
to 6 hours
Symptoms appear gradually
Coughing
Dry, unproductive cough
Hacking, productive cough
Sneezing
Uncommon
Common
Stuffy nose
Uncommon
Common
Sore throat
Uncommon
Common
Chest discomfort
Often severe
Mild to moderate
Headache
Common
Uncommon
Stop the spread of germs by taking everyday precautions:
1. Cover nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing and sneezing, or cough into the elbow of your arm
2. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth (germs spread this way)
3. Stay home at least 24 hours after a fever is gone (fever should be absent without the use of Tylenol, Etc.)
4. Good frequent hand washing is the best preventive action.
5. Get a flu vaccination if you haven’t all ready. The Center for Disease Control recommends vaccinations for everyone
6 months of age and older.
Reading at Central Middle School
The reading cadre at Central has been busy promoting this
year’s reading theme - Free to Read. On January 25, students and staff are encouraged to Feel Free to Read in Pajamas. Students and staff may wear appropriate pajamas
and slippers for the day and at the end of the day everyone
will enjoy a book, a doughnut and milk, while being comfortable in pajamas.
6th GRADE NEWS
Thanks
Thank you to all the sixth grade parents and guardians for sending an
edible treat for our end-of-thesemester activity. A special thanks
to those who sent extra treats. The
students really enjoyed playing the
Sparkle review spelling game. Each
student ended up with a treat. It was
a fun and educational way to end the
first semester.
Intramurals
The sixth grade homerooms participate in intramurals one day each
week during homeroom time. Homerooms have friendly competitions with
other homerooms. Students have
already played Dodgeball and Colony
Ball and we are currently playing volleyball. This is a great opportunity for
students to interact with their classmates and teachers and get some
exercise at the same time.
Reading News
The reading class of Mrs. LarsonWalgren and Mrs. Hampton have just
finished working on the stories in Unit
Page 2
Five, “Justice for All,” in the sixth
grade literature textbooks. Students
have learned how characters are affected and changed by injustices they
have experienced in their lives and
how characters’ surroundings help
shape their life circumstances. Time
was also spent working on setting,
plot, conflict, theme, and point of
view for each story.
Mrs. Sturm’s reading classes have
just finished reading Tuck Everlasting,
a novel by Natalie Babbit. The students worked on figurative language,
the use of symbolism, and other reading skills while reading this wellwritten and thought-provoking novel. At the end of the unit time was
spent creating projects to represent
the novel.
We hope your child is spending time
reading each day outside of
class. The development of strong
reading skills will reap many future
benefits. Nothing beats curling up in
a comfortable chair with a great
book. We appreciate your support at
home. Don’t hesitate to contact your
child’s reading teacher for any reason.
Math News
The students have been working hard
on mastering their objectives and
earning incentives for Accelerated
Math. Again, Accelerated Math is a
wonderful program that enhances
many math skills and test-taking
strategies. It is so important that
your favorite sixth grader should work
on Accelerated Math each evening.
Science News
The science fair will be here before
we know it! Students have been given applications to complete if they
intend on submitting a project. The
science fair is scheduled for March
30, but it’s always a good idea to
start early. More details will be given
out in science classes.
Volume 15; Issue 3
More 6th Grade News
Language News
The classrooms of Ms Lilienthal, Mrs.
Negus, Mrs. Lawson-Walgren, and
Mrs. Hampton continue to be busy
writing. Students have enjoyed getting to know a sixth grader from West
Middle School through the pen pal
letter process. Students continue to
learn spelling rules to improve
spelling and are currently working on
spelling words that are often confused.
In January and February students will
be researching a topic of their choice
and writing a research paper about
their findings. Time will be spent
teaching students how to take notes,
how to summarize information, and
how to write an introduction and conclusion. The five step writing process
will also be followed with this research paper.
Social Studies News
On February 14 and 15, the social
studies classes will be going to JA
BizTown, a unique experiential education program operated by JA of the
Heartland. This on-site visit is one of
the concluding activities to the curriculum, which encompasses important
elements of community and economy, work readiness, financial literacy,
and business management. Please
note your child is attending only one
day; a note was sent home with your
child indicating his/her date.
While visiting JA BizTown, each student will become a Town Citizen and
assume a job in one of the Town businesses.
Students will experience
economics first-hand by producing
and/or selling products, receiving a
paycheck, working as a member of a
business team, repaying a business
loan, shopping, and managing a personal bank account.
7th GRADE NEWS
A Look Into Non-Fiction
The seventh graders in Mrs. Paul’s and Mrs. Caffery’s Literacy classes are heading in a new
direction for third quarter – non-fiction reading. Students were instructed to read a non-fiction book
of their choice for third quarter and do a short Non-Fiction book report over the book. Topics ranged
from Michael Jackson to Bigfoot!
They also learned about the parts of a non-fiction book like the Table of Contents, Index, Glossary, etc. Students then created a “Who Am I?” powerpoint using these non-fiction conventions.
Students used pictures from home and asked parents about their heritage to put the power point
together. These powerpoints were then shared with their class. The students did an amazing job!
We learned a lot about our awesome students!
We are also starting to read stories from our Literature anthology Collection 2 also titled,
“Who Am I?” The majority of the stories in this collection are non-fiction and more specifically – autobiographies. Story titles include: “Homesick”, “Barrio Boy”, “Names/Nombres” to name a few.
This collection offers some multicultural ties as well because many of the stories are about people
who immigrated from other countries. We hope the students enjoy this change of pace in reading
non-fiction!
JANUARY NEWSLETTER
Page 3
7th GRADE g2 NEWS
Mystery Solved!
On Monday, December 19th, students, their families, and community members gathered at Muscatine City Hall for the
7th grade g2 exhibition titled “History’s Mystery.” The students did an absolutely amazing job presenting!
Students were presented with the true-life mystery: Who killed Moctezuma II? Moctezuma was an Aztec leader that was
found dead. To this day, no one knows exactly how he was killed. Students were presented with six possible suspects.
They worked diligently for about six weeks, solving this crime, and bringing his murderer to justice!
The investigation began with learning background knowledge about the Aztecs and the Spanish. Once students had a
chance to research and gain a better understanding of the relationship between the two groups, they were introduced
to the crime scene. The crime scene was a recreation of Moctezuma’s chambers. Students were able to observe and
sift through evidence such as broken pottery, ink, blood, fingerprints, footprints, etc. Back in their science classroom,
they learned about chromatography, handwriting analysis, and how to conduct a fingerprint lab.
After gathering physical and historical evidence, the students were asked to prosecute or defend one of the six suspects
in a court of law. They worked together in teams of four to present their arguments and persuade the jury to see their
point of view. Their families and community members acted as the jury. In the end, jury members were asked to take
out their cell phones and vote for the team that presented the most convincing case.
Also on display during the exhibition, were the students’ recreations of Aztec art. In Math, students compared, ordered,
added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided integers. They used ordered pairs to graph points on a coordinate plane. These points eventually revealed a beautiful Aztec design. Finally, they were vibrantly colored and hung to be admired by
all.
We are looking forward to our second semester activities and projects! Stay tuned!
PAGE 4
8th GRADE g2 NEWS
It’s been a great first semester for our 8th grade g2 students. After partaking in their first exhibition night, the students began working on their second round of projects.
In Math and Language, they completed a project entitled “Oh! The Places You’ll Go”. During this project they researched and gathered information related to planning their lives in fifteen years. In Math, they completed a monthly budget, based on their potential salary. They then figured taxes, purchased a house, and bought a car. In Language, they researched potential future careers, determined a salary, found a college to attend, compiled a resume, and applied for potential jobs.
Following the completion of their portfolios, they attended a Career Fair. The Career Fair was a great success! The
students had the opportunity to speak with professionals from our community. They prepared interview questions and
practiced professionalism.
They exemplified these actions for the event. We would like to thank the participants that were able to come speak with
our students. They had a wonderful experience learning the ins and outs of various careers.
In addition the students are working on a project in Social Studies, Science, and Math entitled: “Westward HOrribles Video Project.” The idea for this project is borrowed from an award winning children’s television series based on the
popular Terry Deary book series, Horrible Histories, which airs on the Children’s British Broadcasting Company (CBBC)
Each class will produce a 30-minute video regarding the Westward Expansion of the United States. Within
each class, student groups will produce short sketches about the various groups that moved west and of those who were
displaced. There will be a total of four half hour videos presented at a Film Festival on Thursday, February 23, 2012 from 5
p.m. until 8:00 p.m. After viewing each video, the audience will have the opportunity to address a student panel about their
work. (Note to parents of 8th grade g2 students: students will be required to only attend half of the event, depending upon
when their class’ video is shown.)
The students have begun 3rd quarter and are excited to get rolling on a new round of projects. We have begun a
project in Science and Language entitled, “Masters of Disasters: Weather of Not?” During this project the students will be
creating and testing experiments that represent various weather elements in Science. In Language, they will be writing a
Big Children’s Story Book related to weather. Finally, they will create weather maps and produce a live weather report. These exhibits will be set up in a Children’s Museum during conferences. More information will be sent soon. We
look forward to seeing you there.
8th g2 Team
PAGE 5
Library News
Book Clubs have been busy this year, not only singing and dancing in the talent show along with the librarians from Musser,
but we have been reading and talking about some great books including Small Steps and Stolen Children both by Peg
Kehret, Becoming Naomi Leon by Pamela Munoz Ryan, The Schwa Was Here by Neal Schusterman, and now The One Left
Behind by Willo Davis Roberts.
International Club has electronic pen pals in Selvazzano Dentro which is near Padua in Italy. We are using Edmodo to write
back and forth. International club will learn some Italian from our pen pals and some Chinese from the MHS Chinese class
students who will come to Central on the 23rd.
All readers are encouraged to participate in the Teen Reading Challenge sponsored by the Quad City area libraries. During
the month of January, students should keep track of the number of minutes that they read and the title of the book. Readers can earn prizes and parties at the public libraries. Visit Musser today for more information.
Students are encouraged to use the Iowa AEA’s online databases at home and at school. These databases are authoritative, reliable, free, and ad-free. Check out some great resources such as Brittanica, Culture Grams, I Clipart, and more. The
Teen Health and Wellness database is an excellent resource for students and their parents. Check out this site for good
self-help information and resources on a variety of topics that affect adolescents from diseases and nutrition, to grief and
online safety. All Central Middle School students have the same username and password (available in the library). However, in Brittanica, students can create their own workspace to organize research and keep notes.
PAGE 6
BAND AND ORCHESTRA UPDATES
It's great to be a Charger!
The second fundraiser, will begin on February 16th and sell mainly chocolate items. We are grateful to have the opportunity to raise money to supplement our annual budget for the yearly repair of these instruments. In this way everyone can get
a chance to play an instrument.
The following students have taken on the challenge of auditioning for the annual SEIBA Honorband Festival:
Gabrielle Hartman on bassoon, Andy Townsend on trombone, Melissa Burzlaff on clarinet, Noah Lussman on trombone,
Erin Oppel on trumpet, Mollie Juehring on alto sax and Jessica Gray on flute.
Members of this group have agreed to memorize scales up to four sharps and flats, the chromatic scale, and at least one
prepared piece from the Rubank Advanced Mehod Book. All are taking extra lessons from outside the school building to
help prepare for this audition. Of the list above Gabby Hartman and Melissa Burzlaff were selected to play in this event.
Melissa studies privately with Michelle Bovencamp and Gabby at the bassoon studio at the Unversity of Iowa. Both girls will
now perform with talented students from other schools on January 21st. at Iowa City West High School. Anyone interested
in watching this concert can contact Mr. Rickard, the CMS band director for more information. Jessica Gray made it to the
second round of auditions by receiving a recall.
Great job at SEIBA CMS!
The following students have been selected by nomination to perform in the second annual Young Musician’s Honorband,
Feb. 25th, at College Community (formally Cedar Rapids Prairie High School) in Cedar Rapids. This honorband is special as
it is geared more towards younger middle schoolers (4-7 grades) that would normally be passed over for an older more
experienced student. It is a valuable opportunity for younger students to get honorband experience!
Gabby Hartman (7th Grade Bassoon) Melissa Burzlaff (7th Grade Clarinet) Erin Oppel (7th Grade Trumpet)
Kayleigh Bolick (7th Grade Trumpet) Joe Morrison (6th Grade Alto Sax)
ORCHESTRA
Congrats to all orchestra students on a wonderful performance in December. Way to go!
We are beginning to start on music for our next concert which is Friday March 2nd at 7:00pm in the MHS Gym. This is our
all city concert. Students may wear their orchestra shirt, or wear black on bottom and white on top.
Rock Orchestra will have rehearsals on Jan 21st, Feb 10th, Feb 24th at 7:40am.
Middle School Orchestra Solo & Ensemble will be on March 31st. Please look for more info to come on this.
Also be looking for more information to come on our annual Casey's Card Fundraiser. Students will be getting this information soon.
CMS HAS TALENT
Here are some pictures from the talent show that was held by SLG before the winter break.
Hannah Burroughs
Joe Morrison
Bryant Kraus
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Continued next page
Central Middle School
Central Middle School
901 Cedar Street
Muscatine, IA 52761
Phone: 563-263-7784
MISSION STATEMENT
Central Middle School provides opportunities and experiences, which inspire each child to
reach his/her potential.
VISION STATEMENT
The Muscatine Community School District will provide a safe, nurturing environment where
academic excellence is expected and diversity is recognized as a strength. We will meet individual needs while developing independent learners who are also successful team players.
We will embrace innovative practices that are research-based and promote high levels of student learning. Technology rich classrooms will enhance active learning and excitement. Interior and exterior walls will become seamless as learners and the community collaborate. Our
students will achieve positive social skills, which promote respect and responsibility to self,
family and community, resulting in positive self esteem. School community partnerships will
prepare and challenge each individual to become goal-oriented, lifelong learner in an everchanging global society.
WE ARE ON THE WEB
http;//www.muscatine.k12.ia.us/sites/cms.ht;http;//www.muscatine.k12.ia.us/sites/cms.htm
SLG NEWS
The Talent Show
The Annual CMS Talent Show was held December 22nd. We’d like to thank our three judges, Penny Jones, Ben
Rivera, and ‘Taco’ Tom Hendricks, for volunteering their time to help out. We couldn’t have done it without
you! Congratulations to our top three winners!
1st Place-BRYANT KRAUS - singing “I want you back”
2nd Place-JOE BARTLING, NATHAN THIESSE, and SCOTT ALBEE in there band The Salutes
3rd Place-MOLLIE JUEHRING - singing and playing the piano for “Someone like you.”
Great job to everyone who participated in the talent show. The event was a huge success!
Box Tops
Congratulations to Mrs. Larson-Walgren’s homeroom for winning the box top drive competition! As a whole
school, we collected over $550! Thank you to everyone who brought them in. Keep clipping and saving those box tops
because it really does add up!
Grant Nollette; Randy Openshaw:
Jonathon Solt
Mrs. Brown; Evelyn Perez; Alyssa Scholz
Scott Allbee; Joe Bartling; Nate Thiesse
PAGE 8 ; Volume 15 issue 3