Science: Mr. Phil Nerboso
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Our budding scientists are digging deep into what makes up all the matter in the known universe. Our investigations will lead us to understandings about elements, atoms, and molecules. We are focusing on the idea that unique properties like color, odor, hardness, and emission spectrum help us identify and distinguish one substance from another. We will gather evidence through various investigations to support the claim that elements have different properties because they are made up of different types of atoms. Ask your child to describe some of the properties we have investigated. Please encourage your student to seek help before or after school for any necessary clarification.
Social Studies: Ms. Gisel Saillant
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Our social studies scholars finished their Early Humans unit with an investigation on the biological basis of race and its social impacts. Ask your student, “Is there a biological basis to race? “What are stereotypes and how can they impact people?” Be on the lookout for our second social studies newsletter in your email. This month, students are beginning their third unit on ancient Mesopotamia and we’ll investigate the following questions: “What does it take to have a civilization? Are laws necessary? Should we question text? How do we know what text to believe?”
ELA: Dan Tobin, aka Mr. Tobin
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We just completed the first formal essay of middle school, connecting the theme of a classic myth to
The Lightning Thief, starring Percy Jackson. That story follows the framework of The Hero’s Journey, and now we’re looking more closely at the structure. Students will plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish their own Hero’s Journey stories. Along the way we’ll focus on sentence structures, a few grammar basics, and what constitutes good writing overall.
Math: Ms. Alexandra Spencer
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During the month of February we will be moving onto new content, but will not be leaving percents behind! Students will be showing off what they learned in Unit 3 through their next unit project--creating a dream catalog. This is an opportunity for students to get creative with math, ask your student what they decide to include in their project! It will be completed mainly during class time but students may need to work on some of it outside school. The tentative due date is February 9th. Our next unit will be Geometry – students will engage in hands-on activities to understand area, surface area, and volume of a variety of shapes.