Health
Justin McNulty |
[email protected]
6th Grade: Students will begin their new unit, “Healthsmart; Mental and Emotional Health”. Students will be learning about what Mental Health consists of such as feelings, stress, dealing with stress and healthy ways to express their feelings.
7th Grade: Students will begin their new unit “Let’s Get Real”, a conflict resolution program. They begin the unit by watching a documentary about School Bullying and they will assess their experiences compared to the experiences of the students in the video. We will be discussing the “isms” such as racism, ageism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ableism and anti-semitism.
8th Grade: Students will begin their sexual education unit, “Get Real”. If parents choose to opt out their child from this unit, they need to do so in writing. I will be emailing the curriculum home after the Thanksgiving Break.
PE
Students in all grades are working well under the guidance of our long term sub, Mr. Elia, who will be with us through this week. Mr. Chris Moore, our new 7th-8th grade PE teacher, will start full time on Monday, December 3rd. He will continue the units Mr. O had started students on.
Spanish
Mr. Paras |
[email protected]
6th grade: In grade 6 we will be wrapping up our unit on classroom objects. Students will be finishing their projects on their dream classrooms and writing a paragraph about their classrooms in Spanish. Once this is completed, we will be moving to the differences between definite and indefinite articles. Students will be learning that nouns in Spanish can be masculine or feminine. We will learn how to tell if a noun is masculine or feminine. Then we will move on to the masculine feminine forms of the articles. We will the work on recognizing if nouns are singular or plural. We will work on putting masculine/feminine, singular/plural articles with the nouns. Students will then be moving on to numbers. We will work on the numbers from 0-100. Students will be doing basic math problems and explaining them using the numbers in Spanish. We will also be playing games using the numbers in Spanish. In class, we will be making a flyer for goods or groceries and students will write the prices of all the items in Spanish.
7th grade: In class, students will be finishing their work on their projects where they create their own dream schedule and write about what goes on in their classes, what they like about their class and a description of their teachers. They will continue to work and review the conjugations of “AR” verbs in the present tense. Students will create sentences and then correct other students work. They will then present their finding to the class. In class, we will play games using the conjugations of verbs and also ask and answer questions using the correct form of verbs. Students will then have to write a paragraph about various topics using verbs in the correct tense. Students will then learn a little about México and its geography. Language learners will then be asked to do some research on a topic related to México and then present back to the class. Once this is completed, students will move on to locating things in the classroom and describing where they are. Students will have to learn prepositions to do this. In class, we will work on writing about the locations of certain objects. We will also describe where something is and then see if other students in the class can guess the object.
8th grade: In class, we will be finishing our family photo albums. We will also be completing our work on family parties and going over the use of possessive adjectives. Students can review if they used the possessive adjectives correctly in their family album’s. Language learners will then do some reading of short paragraphs then have to answer questions about the readings that they do. Next we will be reviewing some adjectives of description that we used last year in order to describe people we see at a restaurant. In class, we will also describe people physically. Students will see pictures and write physical descriptions of the people. During Spanish will then learn vocabulary of things in a restaurant such as fork, napkin, waiter, etc. Once we go over the objects in a restaurant, language learners will be working on creating a menu in Spanish. They will have to find dishes from a country they choose. Students will have a few different sections from a menu to fill out. Once they fill out these sections, they will have to pick the foods from the country they chose and describe them to others.
French & Spanish
Mr. Pischner |
[email protected]
6th, French: Students will continue working with our T’es Branché textbook by navigating our “Métro” stations circuits, where students rotate through a series of tasks involving listening, reading, writing, and speaking. We also dedicate stations for reflection/goal setting and vocabulary/grammar games. The overall experience attends to students’ needs for autonomy, choice, social interaction, and fun! Learning Targets aim for improving proficiency with: (1) introducing oneself and others; (2) responding to introductions; (3) saying one’s name; (4) recognizing common first names from French-speaking countries, and (5) discussing locations where French is spoken in North America and who makes up the French-speaking population. Also, students will practice some new routines for handing in task sheets (we call them “itinéraires” to go with our Métro circuit theme). Last, we will rehearse using a newly-configured “Break Space” that has some visual prompts and tools to help refocus, as needed.
7th, French: Students will continue working with our T’es Branché textbook by navigating our “Métro” stations circuits, where students rotate through a series of tasks involving listening, reading, writing, and speaking. We also dedicate stations for reflection/goal setting and vocabulary/grammar games. The overall experience attends to students’ needs for autonomy, choice, social interaction, and fun! Learning Targets aim for improving proficiency with: (1) asking how things are going; (2) telling how “I” am; and (3) using expressions for goodbye. While students have had exposure to these targets in previous years, I am finding that the students will benefit from a systematic reinforcement attending to the four skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Our overall goal is to make sure our foundation is strong before we build higher. Also, students will practice some new routines for handing in task sheets (we call them “itinéraires” to go with our Métro circuit theme). Last, we will rehearse using a newly-configured “Break Space” that has some visual prompts and tools to help refocus, as needed.
8th, French: Students will continue working with our T’es Branché textbook by navigating our “Métro” stations circuits, where students rotate through a series of tasks involving listening, reading, writing, and speaking. We also dedicate stations for reflection/goal setting and vocabulary/grammar games. The overall experience attends to students’ needs for autonomy, choice, social interaction, and fun! Learning Targets aim for improving proficiency with: (1) asking how things are going; (2) telling how “I” am; and (3) using expressions for goodbye. While students have had exposure to these targets in previous years, I am finding that the students will benefit from a systematic reinforcement attending to the four skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Our overall goal is to make sure our foundation is strong before we build higher. Also, students will practice some new routines for handing in task sheets (we call them “itinéraires” to go with our Métro circuit theme). Last, we will rehearse using a newly-configured “Break Space” that has some visual prompts and tools to help refocus, as needed.
8th, Spanish: Having been completed some introductory activities to introduce the students to our textbook, Realidades, we will forge ahead by working within a circuit of rotating stations involving listening, reading, writing, and speaking. We also dedicate stations for reflection/goal setting and vocabulary/grammar games. The overall experience attends to students’ needs for autonomy, choice, social interaction, and fun! Learning Targets aim for improving proficiency with: (1) Greeting people at different times of the day; (2) Introducing yourself and others; (3) Responding to classroom directions; (4) Telling time; (5) Identifying parts of the body. While students have had exposure to these targets in previous years, I am finding that the students will benefit from a systematic reinforcement attending to the four skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Our overall goal is to make sure our foundation is strong before we build higher. Also, students will practice some new routines for handing in station task sheets. Last, we will rehearse using a newly-configured “Break Space” that has some visual prompts and tools to help refocus, as needed.
Band
Mr. Wroge |
[email protected]
6th, 7th & 8th Grade Band: We continue our work on Music Literacy, Posture, Breath Support, Ensemble Playing, Teamwork, Dynamics, Expanding our Knowledge of Key Signatures, and Playing in Multiple Time Signatures. We now have two concert pieces, “Concordium” and “We’re On A Mission To Rock”, and “My Shot” for 7th and 8th graders. In addition to our concert music we have begun our two measure improvising unit using our knowledge of the Bb blues. Learning how to improvise in the blues can help kids build musical knowledge of a popular American art form (The Blues), increase confidence, and foster creativity.
String Orchestra
Brittany Phillips |
[email protected]
The 6th Grade Orchestra has mastered D major scale and arpeggio exercises. Students are growing more confident in their note reading skills, and are making great strides. We are wrapping up our study of “Oriental” and have transitioned into our G major studies. We are working hard with the concept of subdivision, and learning to fit complex rhythms together for our new piece, “Rock On.” Our goal is to join the 7th grade orchestra for the performance of this piece at our Unity Concert in January. Students are encouraged to practice a minimum of 4 days a week for 15 minutes. If students are unable to practice at home, please reach out to me so I can help with in-school practice options.
The 7th grade orchestra is making great strides with “Rock On.” Many of the students have chosen to play the challenging virtuouso arrangement of the piece, and are grappling with 16th notes, slurs, and big skips in the melody line. Additionally, we have started working through the challenging pop tune, “Thriller” by the late Michael Jackson. Students are having fun while we embrace the process of learning new, challenging finger patterns, complex rhythms, and difficult bowing patterns. Students are encouraged to practice a minimum of 4 days a week for 15 minutes. If students are unable to practice at home, please reach out to me so I can help with in-school practice options.
The 8th grade orchestra did a great job performing “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” in our all-school Veteran’s Day Assembly. They mastered slurred bowing strokes and G major/e minor finger patterns. We are currently working through challenging portions of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and cannot wait to perform it at our Unity Concert in January. Additionally, students will continue working through vibrato and shifting exercises to help them produce a mature tone. Students are encouraged to practice a minimum of 4 days a week for 15 minutes. If students are unable to practice at home, please reach out to me so I can help with in-school practice options
Music Studio
Mr. Fairbanks |
[email protected]
6th Grade/7th Grade: Both 6th and 7th grade have begun the tough and arduous journey of playing the ukulele! We are currently learning how to read and play several chords that will serve as the building blocks for the songs the students will choose and learn. Through patience and perseverance we will continue building strength in our hands while developing our sense of rhythm.
8th Grade: We have spent some time diving into the history of rap and hip-hop and exploring the culture around it that has influenced the world. Dance, fashion, art, and music all make up hip-hop culture. Students will start thinking about how to create their own raps to get an idea of what it’s like to be an MC! After our raps are created, we will move on to our introduction of the ukulele!
Chorus
Joshua DeWitte |
[email protected]
6th Grade: 6th Grade chorus members continue to work on proper breath support and creating good vowel sounds. Students are working in small groups to create and perform a scene from a musical. We are also preparing for our concert in January, working especially on tuning vowels and blending our sound. We are tackling some challenging music with difficult harmonies and are making great progress. I will introduce students to Noteflight, a web-based music notation program, in December.
7th Grade: 7th Grade is working on developing independent singing by singing in small groups, and frequently singing in pairs or by themselves in rounds and warm-ups. We continue to work on supporting sound through their diaphragm. We will learn about vocal health next month so students understand how to care for their voices. Lastly, students are working in groups to produce a music video of a song of their choice. Students will record their voices and create a video to tell the story of the song.
8th Grade: 8th Grade continues to make extraordinary progress in our repertoire. We will audition for soloists for the Unity Concert in the second week of December. We will learn about vocal health next month so students understand how to care for their voices. Students are working in small groups to perform a musical telling of a children’s story. Students first decided if their audience was their peers or younger elementary students. With that in mind, they have begun adding music and sound effects to tell their story.
7th & 8th Grade Urban Legends: Students recently demonstrated their ability to play some rudiments, a paradiddle, flamecue, and flam. They continue to make progress in developing these building blocks of drumming. Students should be practicing at least 10 minutes each day. We began learning our most challenging piece yet, Drumfire II.
Art
Ms. Lee |
[email protected]
Two 6th grade sections are finishing up their 3D collage projects, while one section is starting out a Leluja-style cut-paper project. Leluja is a form of Polish art that involves the use of symmetry, nature, and a central tree-like form. Students also have the flexibility of incorporating inanimate vs. natural objects into their designs. The 6th graders are now sketching out their Leluja imagery and later developing their patience and paper-cutting skills in cutting out the first draft. They will then use the draft to trace their designs onto colored paper and cut out the final draft.
7th graders are currently building the armature (the “meat” or framework) for their creature masks or flying soft-sculptures. They’re using newspaper, wire, cardboard and various found objects. Students are using inventive ways to transform very basic mundane materials into imaginative and fanciful sculptures.
8th graders are using the interaction between positive and negative space in creating their cut-paper Notan designs. Notan is a Japanese word that means light-dark. Positive space is the main object, focus or subject(s) whereas negative space is the space around and in between an object or the subject(s) of an image. Students are now in the drafting and experimental stage of their designs. Encourage your child to look at illustration examples of how negative space can also be used in clever and creative ways in advertising and logos.
Theater Arts
Ms. Elguindy |
[email protected]
6th grade is working on their second unit focusing on building their acting skills. The cohorts that meet once a week are focused on using facial expression to show emotion on stage and exploring why it’s important to have emotion in a story. The cohort that meets twice a week is beginning their final project for unit 2 which uses tableau and pantomime to create a short fairy tale playlet that will be performed in class.
8th grade is beginning to explore the performance options for the spring festival. Using the principles of viewpoints they continue to explore using shape/space/architecture on stage to create interesting and compelling stories.