1
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015
A LEGACY OF ACHIEVEMENT,
A COMMITMENT TO THE FUTURE.
Nordonia Middle School
73 Leonard Avenue
Dear Nordonia Middle School Parents,
Northfield, OH 44067
Office:
330-467-0584
We have made it through full month and I must say it has flown by.
Looking at the grades I can see that our students are excelling just as we
expected them to. We are working to continue to push all of our students
and challenge them in the classroom. The students have stepped up to the
challenge and are working extremely hard. We are all very proud of them
as you should be too.
Attendance Line:
330-908-6160
Fax:
330-468-6719
Our 1:1 chrome book initiative is off to a great start. The kids are using
the chrome books daily and are truly enjoying it. The teachers have gone
above and beyond and have found a number of different ways to utilize
these great tools in the classroom. I get so excited every time I walk into
the classrooms and look at the students engaged in class and using these
awesome devices. Thank you so much for your continued support in this
initiative. The support you have given has been invaluable.
http://twitter.com/NMS_Principal
Website: www.nordoniaschools.org
Athletic Department:
330-908-6614
Athletic Website:
www.nordoniamiddleschoolathletics.com
Ryan Durr, Principal
Shon Smith, Associate Principal
Theresa Bonick 7 & 8 Gr Counselor
Danielle Ricchino, 7 & 8 Gr Counselor
As we approach the winter season I want to ask that you speak with your
children about their attire for school. With us transitioning from the air
conditioning to the heat it will take us a little time to get the temperature regulated in the school. We
have begun this process but it will take us a week or so to get this just right. Please have your child to
keep a sweater or a long sleeve shirt in their locker just in case they find a classroom too cold or too
hot as we make these changes. Also, please remind them that jackets and coats should be worn to
school and from school as we never know what the weather outside will do throughout the day and we
don’t want any of them to get sick.
Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank you again for everything you are doing for this great
school and this great district. The teachers and I are very grateful that we have involved and supportive parents to work with. As always, if I can be of assistance to you in any way please do not hesitate
to contact me.
Go Knight!
Ryan Durr, Principal
2
EDUCATION & LEADERSHIP
FUTURE
LEADERS
Inviting 6th thru 12 grade students to attend a club kickoff meeting to be held at 6:00pm to 8:00pm on Thursday October 15th
at Nordonia Hills YMCA. We will have a bonfire, roast marshmallows and explain what teen leadership is all about.
What is Teen Leaders?
…A club governed by teens to promote leadership skills through
service projects, social activities and fun! Meets 1x per month at
YMCA in addition to special events/outings. Fee is $10 month.
Contact Derek Mercer at [email protected] for additional
information.
NORDONIA HILLS YMCA
8761 SHEPARD ROAD
MACEDONIA, OHIO
330-467-8366
3
*YOU MUST PROVIDE YOUR OWN TRANSPORTATION.
Date:
Time:
NMS & HS
Ski
&
Snowboard Club
*Our Club is handling all 2015/2016 program
signups online at: www.bmbw.com/signup.html
Click the “Club Login” link then log in.
Login: nordoniams
Password: member
Register by Nov. 19 to receive Club Cards to ski
and board over winter break
*We will be skiing and boarding Monday nights at
Brandywine Ski Resort. You may go to either
resort after February 8 on Mondays
330.467.0584 (NMS) or cell
330.858.8862
*Contact person: Patti Belli @
4
Counselors’ Column
Theresa Bonick
Danielle Ricchino
Part time Middle School Counselor
Full time Middle School Counselor
(330) 908-6609
[email protected]
(330) 908-6608
[email protected]
Welcome back Nordonia Middle School!! We hope this finds you settling into the school
year smoothly. Here at the middle school, we have a brand new counseling staff. Mrs. West retired in June and Mrs. Huml is now the full time counselor at Lee Eaton; our district’s intermediate building. Ms. Danielle Ricchino comes to us from Mayfield School district as the middle
school’s full time school counselor. Mrs. Theresa Bonick joins the middle school staff as their
part time counselor. She will be in the building on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Ms. Ricchino will deal primarily with the 7th grade caseload of students while Mrs. Bonick will be working
with the 8th grade on the days she is in the building.
We have been trying to get all new student’s Progress Book accounts set up. Please
check that your child has an established account. If they still do not, please encourage them to
come to either Ms. Ricchino or Mrs. Bonick for assistance in setting their account up. Teachers
require students to have these accounts and utilize them frequently. Also, if your child’s finger
prints are not working in the cafeteria to access their accounts to purchase lunch or extras,
please contact Ms. Ricchino or Mrs. Bonick regarding this.
New student groups will meet this week for all students that are new to our district this
school year. The groups will take place during student’s lunch period and meet in Rm. 131A
(one of the Art Rooms). During our time together we will discuss how their transitions have
been to the middle school, help with any difficulties they have encountered along the way and
answer any questions they may have. If your child is new to our district, they will be attending
the meeting on the day their grade level is designated to meet. Be sure to ask them how it
went!
That’s it for now! Should you have any questions, comments or concerns, do feel free to
contact either one of us. We will be happy to help you out. Have a great rest of September!
5
PARENT MENTOR PrOGRAM
About the Nordonia
Hills Parent Mentor
Program
Ohio Parent Mentor projects are funded through grants
from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). A Parent Mentor is
the parent of a child with a disability employed to help school districts and families by providing
training, support, and information
services. Kitty Boylan is the parent mentor for the Nordonia
School District. You can reach the
parent mentor office by phone at
330-908-6219 or email at [email protected]
or visit the parent mentor page on
the district web site at:
www.nordoniaschools.org/
ParentMentor.aspx
Some services provided
by the parent mentor include
guiding parents through the special education process including
rights and responsibilities, listening
and providing support to families
and staff, providing information
and resources, attending IEP and
other meetings when requested and
conducting information sessions and
workshops. Parents of typical students are welcome to contact the
parent mentor office with questions
or concerns.
The parent mentor project
also provides a resource library for
parents and staff. There is a collection of books in each building office
that are waiting to be borrowed!
For a complete book list contact the
parent mentor office or visit the
parent mentor page on the district
web site under pupil services.
FOOD SERVICES AT THE
STATEWIDE TESTING
Replacing the OAAs this year is
the state’s PARCC assessments.
Students are preparing for these
new online assessments. Seventh graders will take tests in the
subjects of language arts and
math and eighth graders will
take tests in language arts, math,
and science. Each subject will
consist of two parts; a performance based part taken in Feb/
March and then an end of the
year part taken in May. These
two parts will be put together to
give students an overall assessment score.
Clip box tops and earn cash
for your school!
It’s easy to find Box Tops. In fact
you may have some in your
home right now. Clip Box Tops
from hundreds of your favorite
products. Each coupon is worth
10 cents for your school and
that adds up fast! A collection
box is located in the main office.
MIDDLE
SCHOOL
LUNCH $3.00
A la carte is available at lunch
BREAKFAST $2.00
Checks brought in to pay student
lunch fees will not longer be accepted. Cash and online payments
are acceptable. The website to make
online payments is
www.myschoolaccount.com.
There is
a small fee to use this system.
No lunch charges will be permitted.
____________________________________
Our newsletter can be found on
the Middle School page at the
District’s website. If you do not
have access to the web, paper
copies are available in the main
office.
__________________________
NMS Recycles
Please recycle paper and cardboard in receptacles near baseball
field. Send in
empty ink cartridges to be recycled. Drop-off
receptacle is located in the office.
6
A WORD FROM OUR BOOKKEEPER
WHAT IS JTI?
Junior Teen Institute (JTI) is a
drug, alcohol, tobacco, and violence
prevention youth group at the middle
school level. Middle school students who are interested in drug
prevention and community service
projects are welcome at anytime.
There is open enrollment all year
round. Meetings are held in Room
A110 at the Middle School from 2:453:45pm every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of
the month. If you have questions regarding this group, you can contact
the group’s facilitator, Dr. Deb
Wallace, at 330-908-6020 or email at
[email protected]. If
your student has a question, Dr. Deb
is in the Guidance Department at the
Middle School every Tuesday.
JTI Schedule 2015-16
Oct. 13
27
Nov. 10
13 mini lock in @ hs
Nov. 17 Untraditional Thnanksgiving
Dec. 8
Jan. 12
DON’T FORGET TO ORDER YOUR GIFT CARDS. Orders are taken each week throughout the school
year .
A family purchases gift cards through the Gift Card
program and redeems these gift cards when doing
their daily purchases of groceries, gas, clothing, etc.
Build up credits to be applied once a year by the
school towards the student’s class trip fees or school
fees . .
If you have questions, contact the bookkeeper at
330-908-6604 or email at
[email protected].
ORDERS DUE EACH WEEK BY TUESDAYAT 12:00 PM.
PICKUP THE FOLLOWING THURSDAY7:30-9 AM & 1-3 PM
An Academic Consumable Fee will be charged for each student.
If you are financially unable to pay student fees for this current
school year, you must show in writing, proof of one of the following: qualification of free or reduced lunch program; welfare
case load number; AFDC number or income verification which
meets government guidelines. Waiver forms are available in the
Main Office. Regular academic fees should be paid in full at the
time of notification. Partial payments and a payment plan can
be arranged with the bookkeeper. Payments will be applied
against any previous outstanding balance. If no payment is
made, records will not be released. Any accumulative balances
will remain open each year until graduation time. For your convenience, an online payment service is available to pay all school
fees at www.spsezpaynordonia.com. Please make checks payable to: NHCS. If you have any questions, please contact the
26
Feb. 9
23
Mar. 8
22
Apr. 12
GIFT CARD PROGRAM
DATES TO REMEMBER
27 retreat
26

May 10 Game Night at HS
24 Last Meeting



Oct 21 Choral Concert @

HS 7pm

Oct 28 Fall Band Concert
@ HS 7pm
Oct 29 Ice Cream Social
6 to 8 pm in cafeteria-free
picture packet uncut if returning
Oct. 26-30 Book Fair and
Spirit Week
Nov 5 Picture Retakes-return

Nov 5 and 12 EVENING
CONFERENCES 4-7pm
Nov 12 Otis Spunkenmyer
Cookie Sale. Order pick up
3-6 in gym
7
SCHOOL DRESS CODE
Nordonia Middle School students are expected to
suggestive, lewd or obscene. If a student is unsure
dress in a neat, clean and modest manner that en-
about the appropriateness of the outfit, it should
hances a positive school image. Any apparel that
not be worn to school. Parental cooperation
violates health and safety codes is prohibited. Cloth-
regarding appropriate dress and grooming is great-
ing should not be worn with messages or graphics
ly appreciated.
that promote or suggest profanity, gang affiliation,
violence, substance abuse, or is considered to be
The Following Restrictions Apply To Student Dress:

Hats/head coverings- Upon entering the building, students are expected to remove all head coverings.
Acceptable- barrettes, clips, scrunchies, headbands
Unacceptable- hats, bandannas, sweat bands, scarves, hoods

Shoes- Students must wear shoes at all times.
Acceptable- tennis shoes, hard-soled shoes, sandals
Unacceptable- slippers


When purchasing school clothes
please remember
the dress code.
Tops- All tops must be long enough to tuck in. Tops must not be revealing
cleavage or midriff ) . Sleeves must cover the shoulder, and armholes may not
expose one's side or underwear. Outerwear ( jackets and coats ) must be
stored in the locker upon arrival to school.
Administration reserves the right to
determine the appropriateness of appear-
Acceptable- T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, blouses, polo/dress shirts
ance. Students who
Unacceptable- tank tops, spaghetti straps, mesh or sheer shirts, undershirts,
muscle shirts
are in violation of the
Bottoms- Pants, shorts or skirts must be secure above or at waist level. Shorts
and skirts must be at least fingertip length, including slits.
Acceptable- jeans, ( with no holes or tears ) casual or dress slacks, shorts,
sweatpants, skirts

Unacceptable- pajamas, boxers, spandex, thin knit or sheer bottoms, pants
with words or graphics on the backside, jeans with holes or tears.

Other/Misc.- Jewelry is not to be worn during physical education classes or
when participating in after-school athletics. Any dress or grooming that has a
distracting influence or is a possible safety hazard is not permitted.
Unacceptable- chains, spiked jewelry, face or body piercings, exposed tat-
toos, jewelry that is unsafe ( l arge or sharp ) , sunglasses.
Book bags, backpacks and carryalls may not be carried during the regular
school day and must be stored in student lockers. No water bottles or drink
containers may be carried into the school building.
school dress code will
be issued clothes to
wear for that day.
Clothing must be
returned to school the
next day properly
laundered. Habitual
violations of the dress
code may result in
disciplinary action.
8
Encore
In Mrs. Allen’s seventh and eighth grade art classes
Mrs. Allen’s seventh and eighth grade art classes have been busy creating different forms of artwork so
far this semester. Students at both grade levels have completed poster designs illustrating a safety rule. Seventh grade students created a drawing of their name using different objects to create the letters and reflect
their individual personalities. Along those lines, eighth grade students created a word illustration using the
object of the word to create the letters. Both grade levels also created prints using a print block and stamp
that they designed and carved themselves. Students will continue to create different forms of art throughout
the rest of the semester. All art assignments will be stored in the art room until the end of the first semester,
for display purposes. In January all artwork will be sent home with the student. At that time please take a moment to look at all that your child created this year. This semester is flying by, we still have many more art projects to create in a short amount of time!
Espanola with Signora Wolf
In 7th Grade Exploratory Spanish, students have been learning how to have simple conversations in
Spanish. They have learned greetings and expressions of courtesy, emotions, numbers 0-2000, colors, days of
the week, months, seasons, the alphabet, classroom vocabulary, useful expressions, question words, and personal questions. Currently students are creating Spanish autobiographies!
In Spanish I Honors, students can already converse in Spanish to ask and answer questions that identify their name, emotions, age, phone number, email address, birthday, and where they are from. They recently
finished making their own cartoon strips and have been describing celebrities to practice verb conjugations
and adjective agreement.
In Spanish 1, students have been learning about clothing and are excitedly preparing to walk the runway! They have just created awesome, detailed scripts describing the costumes they will wear in our fashion
show next week.
Physical Education with Mrs. Covin and Mr. Spellman
P.E. classes have been taking advantage of the beautiful fall weather by playing soccer, softball,
team handball and football outside. Team size is minimized for maximum class participation.
Choir with Mrs. Bozic
7th and 8th grade choir is off to a great start! We have been working on building our sight-singing
skills, learning how to sing in Latin, understanding the importance of our voice as an instrument, and
preparing for our first concert OCTOBER 21! The students have been working so hard in preparation
for our upcoming performance. We will be auditioning for solos soon, which is always an exciting
time. KnightRhythum is also in full swing. We are working one two pieces for the Winter Arts Festival
so make sure you don’t miss it! I’m looking forward to a wonderful year! Please come see us on
OCTOBER 21, 7:00 pm @ NHS.
9
What’s happening in Health Class…
What’s happening in Mrs. Canitano’s 7th Grade Health Class…
The students started the year off by creating “Who Am I” posters in health class. These posters
shared information about the students and decorated the room. Your child has two health workbooks
for class that we will be covering throughout the semester. The first two chapters included an overview
of what health is and decision making skills and goal setting. The students practiced decision making
skills by going through the decision making process of a real or pretend decision.
We are fortunate to have Mrs. Shields from a charity called Melanoma Education Initiative, come
and speak to the students about melanoma education. Ask your son/daughter what they learned from
the presentation!
Currently, we are covering the physical activity unit. This unit focuses on the benefits and barriers to physical activity, creating a realistic fitness plan and fitness log, checking their pulse and getting
physically active. The students are in a friendly competition to see which class can log the most physical
activity minutes....be looking for your son or daughters fitness log to sign. Each student completed a variety of fitness tests to assess their personal fitness level. Ask your son or daughter how they did!
Next, the students will complete the nutrition unit.
What’s happening in Mrs. Canitano’s 8th Grade Healthy Lifestyle Choices Class…
The first unit in healthy lifestyle choices is nutrition, which is a large unit that covers a variety of
topics and skills. The students further investigate nutrition topics including: My Plate recommendations, serving sizes, how to read a food label, sugar, energy drinks, fast food, vegetarian diet, organic
foods, BMI, body image and eating disorders. The students used www.choosemyplate.gov to analyze
their diets, created healthy meal plans and were a nutrition detective to compare and contrast foods.
The next unit is physical activity.
Notes of Interest from the Band
Congratulations to the 8th grade band for surviving the soggiest 8th grade band night ever with the HS Marching Band on September 11th!!! What troopers they were and they sounded great too!
Our next performance will include all the middle school bands. Come see the 7 th grade band, 8th grade band
and 8th grade jazz on Wednesday, October 28th at 7:00 PM in the HS Auditorium. See the handbook for concert
attire guidelines and make sure clothes from last year still fit! I know some of them have grown a ton since last
May!!
The Middle School bands are up and running on Charms this year. Anything sent or emailed home will also be
available on Charms at www.charmsoffice.com . The school code is Nordoniabands and the password is your
child’s ID number. The next time you log on, it might prompt you to change your password if you haven’t done
so already.
Students should be turning their practice time sheet EVERY MONDAY so I can check them. There are several
students who have yet to turn in even one time sheet! Please help your child find a system that works best so
they are setting themselves up for success in the band program.
As always, if you need to contact me, don’t hesitate to email or phone me anytime!
See you October 28th!
Mary Schrembeck
[email protected]
330-908-6657
10
Team Vortex is off to a Thrilling start this school year. We would like to thank all of you who came to Curriculum Night. As
teachers, we really appreciate the parental support. Please remember to check Progress Book frequently to stay apprised of
your learners’ homework assignments, any missing work, and grades. E-mail us with any questions or concerns. Progress Book
letters were sent home so you should be able to access your learners’ assignments and grades.
Congratulations to Kara Freyhauf who came up with the winning design for our team shirts this year!
Nordonia is proud to couple with Twinsburg in a grant opportunity to incorporate STEM based activities in our classes. Therefore, the science and math people will be receiving training for several days of professional development. We are excited
about this great opportunity!
We also had a busy week combining sprit week and red ribbon week. The students totally enjoyed the contests and dressing up
in a themed way. Another contest was the famous “Penny Wars” to raise money for leukemia/lymphoma research. Team Vortex
came in third place, but combined with the other teams earned $1070 for the cause. Also, our team created a “Wall of Honor”
for family members who have served our country. On November 25 th, there will be a fund raiser Faculty vs. Student flag football game immediately after school. Please come and support our school!
Also, if you have not joined PTSA, we would really appreciate the support. They help fund many things to benefit our students.
We also appreciate donations of facial tissues for our team.
In Mrs. Tylicki’s science classes, students have been honing up their inquiry skills. We have been exploring nature and making
observations and inferences in class. Also, they have learned that a good quality of scientists is to be skeptical so that we
question and want to learn more. We now know how inferences are formed and how bias can skew scientific data. Students
learned about lab safety and following directions. The Vortex scientists are also learning how to write up formal lab reports
and present their data in a useable format. We have whirled into our text, Environmental Science, and began our study of the
world’s biomes and the indigenous flora and fauna that inhabit them. This culminated in a biome research group project. The
presentations were wonderful!
In Miss Genet and Mr. Wallace’s math classes, students began the year exploring ratios and proportions in the unit Comparing
and Scaling, they started the second quarter with our second unit Stretching and Shrinking. Students are currently using proportions to solve complex problems and determine whether figures are similar in dimension.
Accelerated Math began the year exploring integers. Our Accentuate the Negative unit encourages students to apply strategies to real life situations involving positive and negative numbers. Our Accelerated class has been working very hard on our
advanced course work!
In Mrs. Zehner’s World History class we just finished up our study of the ancient Greeks with the very successful Greek Symposium! A big thanks to all the students and parents for the food donations. In my opinion it was the best group activity I
have ever been a part of, what a fun day!
In the month of November we will begin our study of the Ancient Romans. We will hopefully make these ancient people and
their lives come to life through a variety and activities, movies and mini projects. I am looking forward to a great couple of
months! Once of my favorite civilizations of the year.
The plot thickens in Language Arts, as we familiarize ourselves with the classic plot elements of exposition, preliminary situation, initial incident, rising action, climax, falling action, conclusion, and denouement.
In the weeks ahead, discussion also encompasses characterization and literary devices writers use to draw us readers into
their works.
“A Christmas Carol: Scrooge & Marley,” an adaptation of Dickens’s classic tale, begins soon. The field trip to Playhouse Square
takes place Dec. 4.
11
Team GateKeeper
Math – Mrs. Bailey:
The Math classes are beginning to work with rational numbers and operations with
positive and negative numbers. We will also be using the distributive property and factoring expressions. Students are not using a calculator through this unit. They will be learning and applying rules to solve problems.
All students have been given a username and password for IXL.com. This is a wonderful website for students to practice current and previous skills that they may need reinforcement on. It can also be used as an enrichment piece for students who want a challenge. I strongly recommend they be using it nearly every night.
Please continue to check Progress Book and Google Classroom for homework and
assignments.
World History – Mrs. Donze:
In Mrs. Donze’s World History classes, we will start off the year reviewing concepts
from previous years. These concepts include latitude and longitude, characteristics of a
civilization, the H.E.L.P. Model and timelines. We will then make our way to ancient
Greece, the birthplace of democracy. We will study the culture, the land, the people and
the government. In class, we will use a variety of student centered learning techniques to
make ancient Greece come alive. Grab your togas and let’s learn!
Language Arts – Mrs. Jordan
Language Arts has had a busy start to the school year. After finishing all the hard
work our students did over the summer on their book talks and research, we began activating some of their previous knowledge on story elements using the book I Survived the
Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001. Students enjoyed the book and completed a writing project where they investigated a victim of 9/11 and wrote a tribute to that person.
These will be forwarded to the FDNY and 9/11 Museum in New York City. Gatekeeper students were also treated to a speaker who gave a firefighter's perspective on September
11th with an interactive portion that was memorable. Next, we will do Rudyard Kipling's
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and reinforce story elements, figurative language and decoding unknown
words in text using context clues.
Science – Mr. Edgar
Mr. Edgar's science classes are learning how organisms are connected to one another and to their environment and we will discuss the way the environment is organized.
We will be involved in analyzing the flow of energy and the recycling of nutrients within an
ecosystem.
12
TEAM VIPER
In Mrs. Berardinelli’s 7th grade science class, students are beginning their study
of the environment and how it is organized. They have learned that non-living factors
in an environment can have a significant impact on those that are living. We will move
into symbiotic relationships with some fun activities next. In the 8th grade, we have
begun the study of motion and its components. We did a fun lab with Hot Wheels determining speed. We will move on to friction next. Please make sure your student is
staying organized throughout the year!
7th Grade Language Arts has been hard at work studying literary devices. Soon
we will be moving to young adult favorites, such as "Rikki Tikki Tavi" and "The Outsiders." We will learning a lot over the next couple months, including literary elements,
theme, figurative language, context clues, and using textual evidence to support our
claims. Students have been honing their writing skills by completing responses to
“Articles of the Week.” 8th Grade Language Arts will have a very busy first quarter.
Students learned to enhance their writing with figurative language by creating “I Am”
Poems. We will be studying theme with Langston Hughes’ short story, “Thank You
Ma’am” as well as tone, mood, and suspense with works from Edgar Allan Poe. Students have worked hard to create both fiction and non-fiction writing pieces in response to “Articles of the Week.”
In Mr. Rudowsky’s 7th grade social studies classes, we will be studying Ancient
Greece! In 8th we will be studying early colonization!
The 7th grade math class has started a new book called Accentuate the Negative. They will be building an understanding of positive and negative numbers. This
unit will be using situations that will use add, subtract, multiply, and divide these numbers with The 8th graders in math have been working on exponents. They have been
learning how to write numbers with an exponent and then learning the rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing these numbers with the same base. The
classes have then taken these rules and are now applying them to writing numbers in
Scientific Notation while performing all of these operations without a calculator. They
also consider the order of operations and selected properties.
In Mr. Simonetta’s class, students have been working on writing with details,
which include headings, sub headings, claims, citations, and clarifications. The students recently have read and written topics that covered Labor Day, 9/11, and debatable issues. They had to then present their essay to the class through a Powerpoint. Throughout the semester, the class will continue to strengthen their writing and
incorporate 21st century learning through videos, collaboration, and presentations.
13
TEAM CYCLONE
Math In math classes, students have been using multitude of technology resources to complete a unit on Properties of Exponents and Scientific Notation. Each resource then gets
posted on either Google Classroom or on the 8th grade math website (http://
knightsmath8.weebly.com). Please become familiar with your child’s Google Classroom
page and the above website to stay involved. You can get extra help, extra homework pages (not guaranteed), and video tutorials.
Algebra students have been doing a great job with their new program called College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM). Students work with their “teams” to solve classwork problems
and each have a role in order to accomplish their task. Grades will consist of homework,
participation quizzes, team quizzes, and individual quizzes.
Science The beginning of the year has been fun. We have been discussing the basics of science. Students learned that there is no scientific method. Instead there are many different
methods. Students have been performing various experiments and incorporating an organized method of investigation to answer questions. Forces and Motion is our next topic of
study. Check out the Google Classroom and mrmatlack.com for assignments and updates.
English Language Arts Students in English Language Arts class started off the beginning of
the year analyzing the summer reading assignments. First, students demonstrated presentation skills with the summer reading book talk presentations. Then, students composed a detailed writing response about their summer research topic. After that, students have spent
several weeks focusing on the skills of making inferences and citing evidence from texts including articles and short stories. At the end of September, students will begin reading a
novel and participate in daily group discussions in literature circles. Keep up the great work!
Social Studies In Mr. Shank’s Social Studies class, we will examine North American exploration, English colonization, and the buildup to the American Revolution. Please look for a
handout detailing the Colonial Flag Project that is on the horizon! Don’t forget- Visit
mrshank.com for classroom news, lesson plan, homework assignments, binder list, and other important materials.
14
thunder
Social
Kruse
Studies
with
Miss
At the beginning of May,
Team Thunder’s Social Studies clas-
Team Thunder 2015-16 September Newsletter
Students in English Language Arts class will start the year sharing their summer book talks to kickstart independent reading at Nordonia Middle School. Students will build on their reading and writing skills through
weekly articles from Scholastic Scope. We will then move into our unit titled “Facing Adversity” by reading related novels, articles, and writing our own personal narrative essays!
8th Grade Math
We have been working to expand student’s knowledge of positive integer exponents and prove the Laws of Exponents for any integer exponent. Next, students will work with numbers in the form of an integer multiplied
by a power of 10 to express how many times as much one is than the other. This leads into an explanation of
scientific notation and continued work performing operations on numbers written in this form. As we continue
working on number sense, we will convert both terminating and repeating decimals to fractions and fractions
back to decimals. The number sense foundation will be beneficial as we then move onto to exploring the Pythagorean Theorem.
8th Grade Algebra
We are off to a great start in Algebra as we have already completed Chapter 1. As we move to Chapter 2, will
focus on the starting value and growth of linear functions. We will look for connections between the multiple
representations of linear functions: table, graph, equation, and situation. In this chapter, we will come to a
deeper understanding of slope than in previous courses, and we will explore the idea of slope as a rate of
change. We will take a break in order to cover some remaining 8th grade standards. In the next section, we will
look at how to make predictions about future events from existing data using trend lines and equations. Students will learn about the concept of association that helps describe the relationship between two pieces of data.
In Mr. Myers Science Class, we are beginning our Physical Science portion of the year, in which we have just
begun our discussion on the laws of motion. Students we will be investigating the properties of motion, determining if objects are in motion, measuring acceleration and velocity. Throughout all units, we will be completing various hands on activities and labs, watching informative videos and spending some time in the computer
lab.
Social Studies classes started the year with our unit on European Exploration. We will focus on the political,
religious, and economic aspects of European exploration, and then focus in on England’s empire; the 13 Original Colonies. We will discuss early representative government and the conflict among colonial powers for control of North America. Students will enhance their knowledge by creating their own Colonial Flag, this will be
due at the end of September/early October. We will move on to the American Revolution unit in October. Students will be able to identify and explain the sources of conflict that led to the war, and the impact this war
had on all that were involved. We will have a unit Test at the end of October. Students will be assessed
throughout these units on class participation, homework, projects and quizzes as well.
In Mrs. Shotwell’s math class, we have started working with exponents and scientific notation. Some of the
concepts will be review and some of them will be new! IXL and Khan Academy are both good sites for practice. Please check the website and Google Classroom for homework assignments and handouts.
In language arts, we are starting to explore figurative language! This week, students are creating "I Am" poems, which will allow students to dig deeper and use their creativity to create a piece that is unique....just like
them!