Weekly Update: January 14th

Book Orders!! New orders went home this week in English and are due back on Wednesday, January 16th!  If you'd rather place an order online, please click here and follow the book club instructions.

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Last week we started our new unit on the Roman Republic. This week students researched and discovered a war that used war elephants--this war is known as the Punic Wars. We spent the majority of the week on this topic as it is one of the major conflicts that the Roman Republic was involved in. Students were assessed on this topic on Friday.

Science:  This week in science class we have been very busy figuring out the differences between DNA, chromosomes and genes.  How do we get our genes is the question we are ending the week with.  Students are in the middle of a flower dissection that will lead them to answer this question next week.  Check out pictures of our flower dissection on the science blog!

Literacy:   In addition to beginning Latin root unit 7 this week, and receiving the Google Classroom assignment for their Historical Fiction project, we began to discuss human rights and social injustice.  This begins a unit in which students will learn about how brave Americans have fought to correct social injustices in our country.  Next week we will take a close look at how the work of thousands of children from Alabama helped to change history!  And on Friday, Latin 7 Mastery Test!  

English: This week we concluded our character change unit with A Christmas Carol and students had an opportunity to work on their January independent reading projects during class.  Together we discussed the various ways Scrooge changed his character throughout the text and how people, in general, change their ways for the better.  Next week we'll be in the library all week with Ms. Sand, working on an interactive character change project.

Math: Last week we started working in inequalities to wrap up our equations unit.  Students will receive a study guide on Monday to start preparing for their test on Wednesday, January 16th.  After we are going to start our geometry unit with circles.

Weekly Update: January 7th

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Happy New Year! We returned from break starting a brand new topic: The Roman Republic. We spent this week learning about Rome's geography and how a republic works. We will move deeper into Rome's rich history next week.

Science:  We've started off the new year with a new phenomenon:  Why do I look the way I do?  Students have shared a lot of questions that they have about their own traits.  They have figured out that traits are inherited, environmental or both.  Next week we will continue investigating our questions and look at chromosomes and DNA.

Literacy:     Happy New Year!  Students finished their wonderfully narrated Atlas Obscura projects just before vacation, and we've enjoyed watching one another's videos.  Kudos to everyone!  Students were given the opportunity to work on Omnictionary projects this week, as we had chrome books in the class.  Monday we will begin Latin Unit 7.  The test will be next week!

English: Welcome back! Despite the shortened week, students stayed busy in class!  We visited the library and students chose historical fiction novels for their new project this month.  Students will be creating timelines, writing letters to an author, and providing summaries of their novel and historical event.  Furthermore, students will use these novels for a project in their literacy class as well.  Students should be reading a total of one hour this weekend.

Math: Last week students learned about two-step equations.  Students were taught the traditional way we solve equations while linking back to the tape diagram model students learned in the last module.  Students will have a quiz on Tuesday, January 8th.  Be sure to study!

Weekly Update: Week of December 10th.

Report Cards:  Grades are closed!!! Report cards are going home on Tuesday.

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

OUR FIELD TRIP IS THIS WEEK!!  This is just a reminder we will be traveling to The Palace Theatre on Wednesday, December 12th to experience a live adaptation of A Christmas Carol.  Students are reminded to dress appropriately.  We can't wait!


Class Updates: 

Social Studies: We spent this past week researching and discussing Ancient Greek culture which included reading Greek fables, learning about Greek drama, and even learning about the original Olympic Games. Students took a test on Thursday in which they read The Boy Who Cried Wolf and answered a few questions about it. We will start the topic of philosophy on Monday!

Science:  We are so close to answering our phenomenon question.  Students have figured out how our digestive system works and are starting to understand the role of diffusion in our bodies.  Next week we will continue our investigations.  Ask your students this week about what we are doing with cucumbers, onions and celery.

Literacy:     If your student has not yet completed the Atlas Obscura recording, he or she should plan to stay after school in the computer lab with me and Mrs. Kauffman on Monday for assistance!  Latin Unit 6 is under way, and the test is scheduled for Friday, December 14th.  

English:  Students chose their December independent reading projects this week and will be creating playlists for the books they have chosen.  Songs must be school-appropriate and should relate directly to the book's plot, theme, or characters.  An example has been posted to Google Classroom. Just a reminder, students should be reading 30 minutes each night!

We have also begun reading A Christmas Carol in class and are in the middle of chapter two, which is when Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past.  Check out the giant web we created in class about Scrooge's character!

Math: This week we are going to continue working on combining like terms and review the distributive property.  Students will have a quiz on Thursday, December 13th.  

Weekly Update: December 3rd

Report Cards: The end of the trimester is quickly approaching.  Grades close Monday, December 3rd.  Students, please check the grade book and ensure your work is submitted. 

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

Holiday Book Orders: Mrs. McGuire is collecting book orders next week to ensure they arrive in time for the holiday break!  Parents and guardians, if you would like to order books "secretly" for your student as a gift, please email me and we can make this happen!  Book orders are due no later than Wednesday, December 5th! 

SPIRIT WEEK is this week!!!  Students are encouraged to participate to show their school spirit!!  ALL OUTFITS MUST BE SCHOOL APPROPRIATE!

Monday: Advisory Day - dress similarly with your advisory
Tuesday: Vine Day - work with your advisory to create a six-word positive saying 
Wednesday: Character Day - dress up like your favorite character
Thursday: Pajama Day - wear your comfiest PJs
Friday: Color Wars - grade 7 is BLUE!

Food Drive: Grade 7 donations should be LUNCH items only.  Please bring in donations to advisory.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Students question stormed about the Peloponnesian War on Monday, tied it all together Tuesday, prepared for an assessment on Wednesday, and then were assessed on the last three major topics that we've studied on Thursday. Please review that assessment with your child as grades are closing soon! Friday we spent class catching students up and allowing other students to go deeper into various topics. We will start Greek culture on Monday!

Science:  If you ate A LOT of carrots..... Would you turn orange?  There has been a lot of disagreement among the badger students.  Many think they will, many think they won't.  This week we will follow the carrot through the digestive system to figure out if it is even possible.  Check out the science blog here.

Literacy: It's been an exciting week in the computer lab with Mrs. Kauffman, learning fantastic, new technology tools!  The kids completed the research of their Atlas Obscura, and learned the best way to write their narration script notes. The most exciting moments were when they actually used either the headset microphone, or the fancy Snowball microphone to record the narration of their slide shows.  I'm incredibly proud of their hard work, but mostly of their desire to improve, and produce the best possible finished product.  The final submissions are due by Monday evening.  I suspect there will be many kids staying after school on Monday!  

English:  We started our character change unit this week!  It was an exciting week learning new background information relating to our unit.  Students also spent time in the library choosing their new December IRP books and working on contextual vocabulary.  Next week, we will begin reading A Christmas Carol.  We will focus primarily on the character change in which Scrooge shows throughout the novel.

Math: We are wrapping up our mini unit on writing and solving equations this week.  Students will be tested on Thursday.  Study guide will go out on Monday. 

Weekly Update: November 19th

Report Cards: The end of the trimester is quickly approaching.  Grades close November 30th.  Students, please check the grade book and ensure your work is submitted. You only have a few weeks left!

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

Field Trip: Information went home this week with students regarding our upcoming field trip.  On Wednesday, December 12th, our team will be traveling to The Palace Theatre in Manchester to see a live performance of A Christmas Carol.  Permission slips and payment are due to Mrs. McGuire by Tuesday, November 20th!   Thank you to all students who have brought in their paperwork already!  We also appreciate the extra donations that have been made!  

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Students did a great job this week researching the Persian Wars. Students discovered the main themes behind the wars and ultimately why the Persian invasion of Greece failed. We will be starting a new topic on Monday! 

Science:  We'll have our quiz on Tuesday.  Study the Levels of Life.  There are links to the Quizlet from the google classroom to study or you can study from your notes. 

Literacy: Students had a great week in the library with our amazing librarian, Mrs. Sand. They began the Atlas Obscura project from Google Classroom, went shopping in the Chrome Store for an extension for building bibliographic citations, and learned lots of new tech tricks.  Because of our unexpected snow day, we missed our day in the computer lab with Mrs. Kauffman to learn the narration tool for the projects, so schedules have been adjusted.  The Latin 5 test will be pushed to Tuesday, so that students will have time in The Mansion to work on projects with Chrome Books.  Students should check Google Classroom for announcements about a new due date for the project.  It's been pushed into Trimester Two!

English:  We continued working on grammar this week, focusing mostly on subjects, predicates, fragments, and different types of sentences.  The quiz originally scheduled for Tuesday, November 20th will be pushed back due to the snow day.  Please be aware that the November independent reading project deadline is quickly approaching.  Students should be nearly finished reading their books and moving onto the interview component.  An example has been posted on Google Classroom.

Math: Due to the snow day on Friday, our test on Multiplying and Dividing Rational Numbers will be on Monday, November 19th.  Be sure to look over the study guides!  We will be starting our Expressions and Equations unit when we get back from Thanksgiving break.

Weekly Update: November 12th

Reminder: There is no school on Monday, November 12th in observance of Veteran's Day. View our Pennichuck Band as they march in the parade downtown!

Report Cards: The end of the trimester is quickly approaching.  Grades close November 30th.  Students, please check the grade book and ensure your work is submitted. You only have a few weeks left!

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: This week we took a break from researching and discussing Persia and the Ancient Greeks and learned a little bit about Greek Mythology. Students spent the majority of the week writing their own Greek myth. This was due on Friday. Ask your child about it! Next week we will begin to answer the question: How did the Greeks successfully prevent a Persian invasion?

Science:  We finished our unit and answered our question..... Why are bones hard?  Ask your students to explain it to you.  Next week we will introduce our new phenomenon.  

Literacy: It will be a very busy, short week ahead!  Students will finish Latin Root 5 independently,  and prepare for the test on Monday, November 19th, while spending the week in the Library with Mrs. Sand and me, and in the computer lab with Mrs. Kauffman, learning some wonderful tech tools!  Students will begin their Atlas Obscura projects, using all the cool, new tools they learned!  

Meanwhile, to build upon our Growth Mindset Passport theme, ask your students about the Famous Failure stories on the Badger Board!  

English:  We shifted gears a bit this week and reviewed grammar exercises, specifically those relating to subjects, predicates, and fragments.  Next week we will continue practicing and expanding upon these skills.  Additionally, students should be reading 30 minutes per night for their November independent reading projects.  Ask them what they have to do this month on their projects! 

Math:  Last week we learned how to convert a fraction into a decimal. Students learned that decimals either terminate or repeat.  This week we will be reviewing multiplying and dividing fractions and decimals with negative numbers. The unit test will be Friday, November 16th, study guides will go home early this week.  Check the Google Class for extra help.

Weekly Update: November 5th

Parent/Teacher Conferences: Our second and final round of conferences will be taking place this week on Thursday, November 8th from 4-7:30 PM.  Please use the link below to sign up for a conference if you haven't already done so.

Parent Conference Sign Up Link

Team Donations: Our team supply of tissues and hand sanitizer seems to be dwindling, especially as we approach flu season.  If you would like to donate these items, please send them to school with your child.  Thank you to the families who have donated supplies thus far!  We are most appreciative!

Class Updates: 

Social Studies: Students learned a lot about Ancient Greece's major rival: The Persian Empire. We did a lot of investigation and researching in class this week and capped it off by graphing the populations of Persia, Athens, and Sparta. Next week we will take a step back and focus on Greek Mythology. Students will spend a few days in class reading Greek myths and ultimately will create their own myth!

Science:  Check out students learning about cell membranes on our science blog.  Ask your student why we used bubble membranes to figure out what cell membranes are like.  Students will have a quick quiz on Monday on the 6 organelles that we've learned.  Quizlet will help them study.  We will put all of our investigations together next week and be able to answer our question, "Why are bones hard?"  This means we'll have our final test at the end of the week.

Literacy: Latin root Unit 4 is a wrap!  I'm quite pleased that students are finding that when they study the material, they do well on the tests!  We are continuing to read The Omnivore's Dilemma, and are discovering that we are all eating a great deal of corn and we don't even know it!  

English:  Students submitted their first independent reading project this week!!  There are still a few missing; please check to see whether your student turned it in!  Students visited the library on Friday and chose a new book for their next IRP, which is due on November 30th.  Be sure to ask what book they chose!  All project requirements can be found on their orange handout.  Lastly, students will have a quiz on Call of the Klondike and The Cremation of Sam McGee on Monday, November 5th.  Vocabulary words can be found on my Quizlet page!

Thank you for all the book orders that came in this week!  Orders were placed and should arrive within 7-10 days.  

Math:  Fri