Sunday, March 26, 2017

Weekly Update #26

Team Updates



Wingmaster Presentation:  Thanks to a grant from our PTO, Badger students will get to see a live raptor presentation on Wednesday.  Jim Parks from Wingmasters will bring in birds of prey that he has rescued to teach us about them and their role in our ecosystem.  We are looking forward to it!

March Reading Madness: Last Friday we participated in our third school-wide "DEAR" event.  Many students wore t-shirts that included words and famous quotations, but hats off to Claire H. who wore a shirt with 90,000 words and a fantastic image created by words!  In English class, students will be creating school-wide reflections of what makes our team so unique.  These note cards will be combined with other teams and displayed around our school!  Next Friday, March 31st, celebrates reading at the beach! Students will create "Word Art" in Literacy class! 

Reading Challenge: Thank you to all students who have submitted their reading challenges to Mrs. McGuire!  Just a friendly reminder all 500 minutes are due by May 31st.  Don't forget to get your signatures!  Happy reading!


Class Updates



Social Studies: A lot was accomplished in Social Studies this week! We learned quite a bit about Charlemagne and completed our Mastery Assessment on the Early Middle Ages on Friday. This week we will discuss the Magna Carta and the Crusades—two very different topics!

Science:  Students did really well on the Genetics Test!  Nice job studying everyone!  Next week will be investigating reproductive strategies of both plants and animals.  Students will be working on constructing a model to explain at the cellular level how sexual reproduction yields genetically diverse offspring.

Literacy: Amazing!  Students have completed ten units of Latin roots, which means that they've learned more than 130 roots already!  AMAZING!  This is a great time to go through all of your flash cards to be sure that you're not missing any sets!  Monday we'll begin Unit 11, and we'll do some close reading about famous pacifists!  If you were absent on Friday, you should plan to stay on Monday to make up the final test of Trimester 2!  Study today!  Work on your Omnictionary projects and Manitowoc students, it's time to look at your Titan notes!  

English: Last week Badger students read chapters 16-20 in The Giver and boy was it suspenseful!  This week, we will be finishing the book and reviewing our six new skills.  We are also working on our March Reading Madness activity, which includes creating reflections of what makes our team so unique.  These note cards will be displayed around the building with the other five teams!  Can't wait to see the finished products!

Math: Last week we quizzed on circles and are ready to move on to surface area.  This week we will be covering surface area of rectangular prisms and cylinders.  Get ready we have a quiz on Friday and a your Go Figures are due.  It's going to be a busy week!

School Updates

Report Cards: Grades closed March 23rd!  Report cards should be coming out next week.

Food Pantry: The school is collecting the following items: pasta, canned sauces, peanut butter, cereal, canned fruits and vegetables (or any other non-perishable items). Donation bins are located in the main office and guidance. Please consider making a regular donation to support our community

Monday, March 20, 2017

Weekly Update #25



Team Updates


March Reading Madness: Last Friday we participated in our second school-wide "DEAR" event.  Students earned the privilege of wearing pajamas if they read for the full 50 minutes during advisory.   In English class, students created Mad Libs as part of our DEAR event.  Next Friday, March 24th, is "read-a-shirt" day.  Students are encouraged to wear t-shirts that include words and quotes!

Reading Challenge: Thank you to all students who have submitted their reading challenges to Mrs. McGuire!  Just a friendly reminder all 500 minutes are due by May 31st.  Don't forget to get your signatures!  Happy reading!


Class Updates



Social Studies: 

Science:  The Genetics Test will be on Monday!  Students have a study packet that we went over in class to use for studying.  Good Luck!  Next week we will start to figure out the differences between asexual and sexual reproduction.  Students will begin to construct models to show how individuals can be genetically different as a result of sexual reproduction.

Literacy: Latin Unit 10 test is Friday of this week - so everyone should be working diligently to learn the material.  Remember that Quizlet helps you to learn the vocabulary as well as the roots! Students should be working on their Omnictionary projects by editing their existing slides, as well as working on new slides.  This week we'll be analyzing cartoons! Additionally, this will be the last opportunity to make up any tests or other work before grades close!

English: Students will be reading chapters 16-20 this week in The Giver and will be preparing for another mastery assessment on contextual vocabulary words.  Students will also learn new skills and concepts for these five chapters during class.  Mrs. McGuire will be staying after throughout the week in order for students to make up missing work before grades close.  Be sure to take advantage!

Math: Friday we finished up our Proportions unit.  It wasn't an easy one!   This week we will be moving on to Geometry and starting with circles, there will be a quiz next Friday.  Be sure to work on your Go Figure for this month, they are due March 31st.

School Updates

Report Cards: Grades close March 23rd!  Make sure you are up to date with all of your work.

Food Pantry: The school is collecting the following items: pasta, canned sauces, peanut butter, cereal, canned fruits and vegetables (or any other non-perishable items). Donation bins are located in the main office and guidance. Please consider making a regular donation to support our community

Friday, March 10, 2017

Weekly Update #24

Check out some of our favorite hats from today's DEAR activity!!

Team Updates

Exemplary Badger: Congratulations to Joe Lfor being selected as our Exemplary Badger for the week following vacation! To be selected as the Exemplary Badger means that the recognized student is upholding all of the high standards to which the Badger students agreed at the beginning of the year! It means that their behavior is respectful; that they are responsible for their work and their grades; that they are kind!

March Reading Madness: Today was our first "Drop Everything And Read" event.  Students earned the privilege of wearing a fun hat if they read for the full 50 minutes in advisory.  In English class, students created unique poetry pages as part of our DEAR event, which will eventually get displayed at our spring celebration of learning.  Our school will be participating in "DEAR" each Friday morning for the month of March.  Next Friday, March 17th, is pajama day!

Reading Challenge: Students were given paperwork in English class to promote a school-wide reading challenge.  Students will need to independently read 500 minutes from now until May 31st in order to earn a free ticket to the Silver Knights baseball field trip in June.  Please note: a signature is required for each ten-minute increment of reading time.  Unfortunately, if this paperwork is lost, students will need to start over!  Congrats to Sophie E., Claire H., Brynn M., Lina N., and Emma C. for already submitting their reading challenges!


Class Updates


Social Studies: Welcome to the Middle Ages! This week we started our unit on Medieval Europe. This unit is one of my favorites as Medieval Times prove to be such an interesting era. We spent this entire week setting the table for what's to come. This upcoming week we will focus in on the early part of the Middle Ages along with researching the Vikings. Have a great weekend!

Science:  Students will receive a review packet on Monday for the test on Friday.  It will be due on Thursday.  There should be a lot of studying going on next week as we finish our Genetics Unit.

Literacy: Unit 9 is complete!  Unit 10 begins Monday - and the test will be on March 24th.  Students should be working on their Omnictionary projects at home, and Manitowoc students should be researching their Titans!  Do you believe it's snowing again? I'm ready for sandals!

English: This week we tackled similes and metaphors within The Giver.  Students practiced writing their own similes and metaphors, and they determined underlying meanings when given similes and metaphors.  Next week, students will have a reading quiz on The Giver and are encouraged to review chapter 1-10 skills this weekend!  Students should also go onto Quizlet to review section three vocabulary words!

Math: This week we will be testing on our proportions unit! Be sure to study and get all the practice work done.  We just need to finish up with slope before moving on.  Last week students were given their Go Figure for the month.  This month they will have to calculate different options for fundraisers and determine the best pick. They are due March 31st.  

School Updates

Report Cards: Grades close March 23rd!  Make sure you are up to date with all of your work.

Food Pantry: The school is collecting the following items: pasta, canned sauces, peanut butter, cereal, canned fruits and vegetables (or any other non-perishable items). Donation bins are located in the main office and guidance. Please consider making a regular donation to support our community

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Weekly Update #23

Team Updates


Exemplary Badger: Congratulations to Rachael B. for being selected as our Exemplary Badger for the week following vacation! To be selected as the Exemplary Badger means that the recognized student is upholding all of the high standards to which the Badger students agreed at the beginning of the year! It means that their behavior is respectful; that they are responsible for their work and their grades; that they are kind!


Reading Challenge: Students were given paperwork this week in English class to promote a school-wide reading challenge.  Students will need to independently read 500 minutes from now until May 31st in order to earn a free ticket to the Silver Knights baseball field trip in June.  Please note: a signature is required for each ten-minute increment of reading time.  Unfortunately, if this paperwork is lost, students will need to start over!  Congrats to Sophie E. who has already reached 490 minutes!  Wow!!

School will resume on Monday, March 6, 2017. We hope everyone had a relaxing vacation!

Class Updates


Social Studies: As we come back from break, we'll start a brand new unit: The Middle Ages. This will prove to be one of the most interesting topics that we've studied this year as we'll talk about castles, kings, plagues, and the social structures of the Medieval World. Fun times ahead!

Science:  We made babies in science class this week!  This is a great activity for learning the basic concepts of genetics.  All of the babies will be displayed in the hallway for the Celebration of Learning.  Next week we will use this as a foundation to learn how to predict the outcome of a cross and make Punnet Squares.  Genetics is always a fun topic for us!

Literacy: I hope everyone had a great vacation and that you are ready to get to work on Monday morning!  We began Unit 9 of the Latin roots before vacation, so we'll finish that unit and have the test this week. We will continue sharing Omnictionary first drafts!  Manitowoc will begin their Titan projects in earnest this week, and all students will spend time investigating how they learn, with a focus on the concept of growth mindset!  

English: Another five chapters were read this week in The Giver!  The plot is thickening and the suspense is building!  Over vacation, students are expected to study section two vocabulary words (either on Quizlet or using their vocabulary charts), as well as complete some of the chapter 6-10 work.  This work should be in their class binders.

Math: Back to proportions! We will be discussing how slope, direct variation and, the constant of proportionality. There will a test coming up to wrap up proportions in the next couple weeks.  Be sure to study ratios, rate, and unit rate. 

School Updates



Food Pantry: The school is collecting the following items: pasta, canned sauces, peanut butter, cereal, canned fruits and vegetables (or any other non-perishable items). Donation bins are located in the main office and guidance. Please consider making a regular donation to support our community