Middle School News
Community Learning
One of the greatest challenges of a modern
democracy like ours is to hold together a
populace with different political perspectives,
faiths, and ethnic backgrounds while
celebrating the principle of diversity. Our
middle school students are fortunate to have
classmates from a diversity of backgrounds
as the photo below illustrates.
Week of February 27, 2017
Science
Science class has been preoccupied with
preparations for the school science fair in
March. This year, students’ projects are not
restricted to ecology themes, although many
students hope to take their projects to the
Eco-Science Fair in April. Science fair topics
this year range from plant growth to energy
usage to drinking water contaminants to
placebo effect to kinesiology to geology and
many more. Come see our science projects
for yourself on Friday, March 10.
Discovery Math
Students at all middle school grade levels
have been confronting challenging math
concepts and difficult problem situations in
preparation for ISTEP testing. Sometimes the
Taken during a recent middle school field trip
to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, this photo
symbolizes the variety of ethnicities that
make up our school and enrich our learning
experience.
the challenges take weeks to resolve or
sometimes understanding occurs much
faster. Seventh grader Marcela RosalesHarms (above) displays her class’s epic
Discovery Math (continued)
struggle against the problem of converting a
repeating decimal into a fraction. Who would
have thought that the innocent-looking
25
fraction, 28 , converts to the mammoth non-
terminating decimal 0.89285714285714…?
After covering entire notebook pages and
the whiteboard with numbers, the seventhgraders emerged victorious (below).
Germany Trip
The 7th and 8th graders are excited about our
upcoming trip! Many have been using their
independent study time to study German
through duolingo-a free language program.
You can also access Rosetta Stone for free
(contact us for details).
We will be having a parent meeting about the
trip the week of 3/6. Keep your eyes and ears
open!
Things to Remember
Open House: Saturday, March 4, 11-1.
Skating Party: Wednesday, March 8, 5:30 –
8.
Family Organization Social, Thursday, March
18.
Spring Break: March 20 –31. NO SCHOOL.
Writing Workshop
The final drafts of fiction stories are due on
March 6. We will be having a reading the
following week. Keep your eyes open for an
invitation!
The students have really enjoyed this unit
and we have some really great stories. We
will finish out this quarter's writing workshop
by practicing composing thoughtful answers
to prompts.
Reading Workshop
We are finishing up our historical fiction unit
this week. We will begin our classic literature
book clubs next week. The students will
choose from one of several books to read
with a small group of other students. If
anyone is interested in volunteering to
facilitate a book club, please let Ms. Mary
know. We have reading workshop in the
afternoons on the following schedule:
Monday and Wednesday: 2:25-3:15
Thursday: 1:20-2:00
Friday: 1:20-2:15
*PE is on Wednesdays. Please have your
child dressed appropriately.
*Hot lunch is served on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays. Please send a
plate and a baggie for your child.