Team Update: Week of November 13th

Please help our Pennichuck community!

Beginning on Monday, November 13, we will be collecting food items to help to stock our school food pantry. Seventh graders are asked to collect non-perishable lunch items such as peanut butter, jam, soup, cans of tuna, mac and cheese, canned fruit, or other luncheon foods. Students are encouraged to bring items to their advisories, where the PMS student council will collect and tally the items. Sixth graders bring breakfast items, and eighth graders bring dinner items.  The grade which collects the most items will win a coveted prize: open lunch with friends!  In this season of giving, let's support our students and families who are in need. 

  

Team Update: 

Grade Book:  Students should be checking the portal once a week.  We are here after school for retakes or extra help!  It's the student's responsibility to maintain a passing grade. Grades close for the Trimester on November 27th!

Class Updates:

Social Studies: In just three days we will able to discuss the aftermath of the Greco-Persian Wars and take an in-depth look at what democracy really looked in Athens. Ask your child what the difference between a lottery and an election is! We will shift gears next week and explore why Sparta and Athens went to war.

Science:   Next week we will conduct our last investigation and create our final model to explain "Why are bones hard?"  Everyone is very excited to figure out this phenomenon.   Click HERE to see pictures from science class!  We will also start a new unit next week.  Stay tuned.....

Literacy: Corn in ice cream?  Corn in eggs?  How can this be?  Arctic Flounder DNA in our tomatoes?  Crazy and amazing, but these are all facts.  We're reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and we've been watching some very informative video clips produced by Nourish, an educational initiative for teachers. Your children will certainly be sharing some of this dialogue with you! Next week we'll continue taking guided Cornell style notes through the book, and prepare to watch the movie Fresh before Thanksgiving!    

English:  We focused in on our grammar skills this week and worked with adjectives and adverbs. Those pesky adjectives gave us a tough time early on in the semester, but now we are beginning to master them. The November independent reading project was introduced this week and it will be due on November 21st, so start reading those books! Next week we will begin our unit on classic literature and begin to explore the world of Charles Dickens in the timeless classic, A Christmas Carol.

Math: We are still working through integers!  This week we will keep adding and subtracting integers on number lines and without number lines.  If you are stuck, stay after for help or check out the Google Classroom.  It's important that you understand how to add and subtract to move forward.  We have a quiz on Wednesday, Nov 15th on adding and subtracting integers.  Sigma has continued to learn about adding and subtracting with fractions and decimals, we have a test Wednesday, Nov 15th.  Students should be half way through their Go Figure this week.  If any students want me to edit/correct their rough draft please have it in by the end of this week. 

Team Update: Week of November 6th

School News:

Remember that there is no school for students on Tuesday, November 7th, as it is Election Day and many of our city's schools are used as polling locations.  Additionally, there is no school on Friday, November 10th, as we celebrate Veteran's Day, and honor all those who have served, and are serving today.  

Team Update: 

Grade Book:  Students should be checking the portal once a week.  We are here after school for retakes or extra help!  It's the student's responsibility to maintain a passing grade. Grades close for the Trimester on November 27th!

Class Updates:

Social Studies: Despite not having school on Monday, we accomplished a lot in Social Studies this week. Students were able to finish writing their Greek myths and self-assessed those on Wednesday. Ask your child how they did! I was very impressed with the creativity while reading these myths! On Friday the students conducted their second mapping assessment of the year as they mapped the Persian Empire. Check the gradebook to see how they scored. Have a nice weekend!

Science:  In science this week students made figured out how cells are put together to make tissues and how tissues are put together to make organs.  Check out some pictures of our work this week on my science blog!  Click HERE to see pictures from science class!  Next week we hope to figure out the final pieces to the puzzle, "Why are bones hard?"

Literacy: It was a busy week in Literacy!  We had fun watching the Atlas Obscura projects, learning about hidden gems from around the world.  It was fantastic hearing kids using the vocabulary they're learning in Science, in a project for Literacy!  We also discussed the importance of reflecting upon what we learned to have a better understanding of ourselves as learners! Latin root unit 4 test on Monday - so everyone should be studying all of their resources, and using Quizlet! We'll begin practicing note taking from a text next week as we dive into The Omnivore's Dilemma!

English:  This week in English class we wrapped up our exploration of Greek mytholoy and discovered that we are still culturally connected to these ancient myths in many ways. Next we will begin our unit on A Christmas Carol. The next independent reading project will be coming soon, so get ready!

Math: Thursday's quiz was a success!  We continued to play the integer game to help kids learn how to add and subtract integers. Next week we will be continuing with subtracting integers. November's Go Figure went home on Friday.  It's due Thursday, November 30th.