Learning Previews - Specials - April-May 2018

Learning Previews - Specials - April-May 2018
Posted on 05/01/2018
Library Technology: Ms. Musher, [email protected]

6th grade: In Science on Fridays, students will conclude their research into a science question of their choice and plan how to present what they’ve learned to their classmates. Presentations should move beyond a plain Google Slides show this time -- students are encouraged to get creative with a video, song, demonstration, or anything else they can come up with! Ask your student what they’ve learned and how they want to share it.

8th grade: In Science, students will begin some research into biomimicry, the practice of using nature to inspire engineering solutions to human problems. Students will explore examples from the Biomimicry Institute’s website (see below) and then design their own nature-inspired solution to a human challenge.
biomimicry.org/biomimicry-examples/

Health and Wellness: Mr. McNulty, [email protected]

6th grade: Students have kicked off their Nutrition Unit. We begin by assessing our eating habits, identifying areas we could make healthier food choices and also learning about MyPlate and the 6 essential nutrients.

7th grade: Students begun their Get Real Unit. In this unit we discuss the mix messages we receive from media about sexuality and body image, appropriate vocabulary that aligns with the sexuality unit and the importance of communication and decision making skills.

8th Grade: Students have started their Substance Abuse Prevention Unit. We learn about norms and perceived norms around substances, how substances change your mind and body and how early substance use can affect your education, family, and social life.

Physical Education: Michael O’Connell, [email protected]

6th and 7th Grade: Students are just starting their Field-Games Unit. Over the course of the next six classes, students will continue to develop an understanding of movement, manipulative (throwing, catching and dribbling) and tactical skills associated with small group and large group invasion games (ultimate, flicker, capture-the-flag) and sports (soccer, lacrosse) played outdoors.

8th Grade: Students are just starting their Individual and Dual Activities Unit. Over the course of the next six classes, students will learn the rules and the movement, manipulative (striking) and tactical skills associated with tennis.

Band: Patrick Wroge, [email protected]

Grades 6-8: We will be having our first all Band Night on May 1st, 2018. All bands will be featured performing all of the music we have been working on this year. This will be a wonderful way to end cap the year! After the concert we will be working on smaller group projects, allowing the kids to work on music of their choosing.

String Orchestra: Brittany Phillips, [email protected]

The 6th grade orchestra has been preparing diligently for the spring concert on May 2nd. They are focusing on “next level playing”, and working on bringing the music to life beyond just playing the notes on the page. Students have been working on adding dynamics and special articulations in preparation for our performance. We will close out the year reinforcing the D major skills we have attained this year while setting goals for the future.

The 7th grade orchestra is ready to rock in their concert on May 2nd. Student have been mastering their g minor scale patterns, and getting more comfortable with the dotted rhythms that we encounter in our concert piece, “Sahara Crossing.” In preparation for the concert, students have been working on incorporating vibrato and new bow techniques into their challenging repertoire. We will focus on reading and writing our own music compositions as we transition into the final months of the school year.

The 8th grade orchestra students are working hard to put the final touches on our challenging concert repertoire. It has been exciting for 8th graders to reflect on their middle school music experiences and note the massive progress that they have each made on their selected instrument. Students have made strides in their note reading skills, they play with accuracy and have grown to listen to each other louder than they listen to their own playing. We look forward to sharing all that we have learned this semester with you in our culminating concert on May 2nd.

Chorus, Gr. 6-8, Joshua DeWitte, [email protected]

6th: Chorus students continue to prepare for the concert on May 3 at 6 pm (students should arrive at 5:30 pm). The concert begins with a challenging piece often performed by All-State ensembles, “Adiemus,” a primal chant which calls us together to tell our stories. We sing a few more songs from diverse genres. Urban Legends will also perform at the concert. We conclude with “This Is Me,” from “The Greatest Showman.” Once the concert is finished, students will work on music for the 8th grade graduation.

7th: Chorus students continue to prepare for the concert on May 3 at 6 pm (students should arrive at 5:30 pm). The concert begins with a challenging piece often performed by All-State ensembles, “Adiemus,” a primal chant which calls us together to tell our stories. We sing a few more songs from diverse genres. Urban Legends will also perform at the concert. We conclude with “This Is Me,” from “The Greatest Showman.” Once the concert is finished, students will work on music for the 8th grade graduation.

8th: 8th graders recently chose the songs they wish to sing to represent their class at their graduation. Chorus students continue to prepare for the concert on May 3 at 6 pm (students should arrive at 5:30 pm). The concert begins with a challenging piece often performed by All-State ensembles, “Adiemus,” a primal chant which calls us together to tell our stories. We sing a few more songs from diverse genres. Urban Legends will also perform at the concert. We conclude with “This Is Me,” from “The Greatest Showman.” Once the concert is finished, students will work on music for the 8th grade graduation.

Music Studio: Jamal Fairbanks, [email protected]

6th Grade: We will continue diving deeper into developing musical literacy and developing our ability to understand a variety of musical rhythms through instruments such as guitar and drums. We will also look into some of the intricate details of music such as form and dynamics with the goal of having groups of students compose their own song by the end of the year.

7th Grade: We will begin exploring the instruments that make up the orchestra! Each instrument has unique sounds and characteristics and can be experienced through different genres of music. We will listen to a variety of music that demonstrates several of these instruments with the goal of having the students not only becoming more sensitive to what they hear, but to also have them explore the different context in which these instruments are used.

8th Grade: We will begin activities that use music as a way to promote the development of emotional intelligence. This means understanding that music is not only just a product that we listen to, but a bridge to new thoughts, ideas, and ways of thinking. These activities include creative writing while listening to music from different parts of the world, exploring countless professions within music and how different professions interact with each other, and a project where students assume a music profession of their choice while finding ways to incorporate their role in a team setting.

French & Spanish: Sarah Bilodeau [email protected]

6th Grade French: We are creating presentations about Paris monuments and plan to continue our unit about Paris with dialogues between a travel agent and a voyager who is deciding which monuments to visit. We will also be writing each other postcards about our travels in Paris.

7th Grade French: We will write acrostic poems to describe ourselves and starting a new unit all about holidays and vacations. We will use -ir verbs in the present tense to talk about how we prepare for a party and give gifts and we will make an invitation to our ideal party or celebration.

7th Grade Spanish: We will begin a new unit about places and typical activities as we navigate the city. We will focus on the verb “ir” to talk about how we go through the city.

8th Grade French: Students will learn more details about Paris monuments and learn how to form verbs in the past tense so that they can tell about an imagined trip they took in Paris and all of the explorations they did.

Spanish: Mr. Paras, [email protected]

Grade 6: We will finish up on our likes and dislikes and then move onto verbs. We will talk about what an infinitive is and also learn about conjugating verbs in depth. We have touched upon this briefly and now will be getting into using verbs in sentences. Students will talk about things they do by writing sentences using the correct forms of ar verbs. They will then make up questions that they will ask to other classmates using verbs. Students will then translate paragraphs about other. Once completed, we will move onto the verb ser which is an irregular verb. We will talk about it’s conjugations and how it is used in sentences. Students will then move onto descriptions of people. We will learn new vocabulary for this unit and then move on to describing people. Students will describe themselves, others and famous people. Lastly, we will learn about masculine and feminine as well as singular and plural uses of adjectives in Spanish.

Grade 7: In grade 7 we will continue our work with the verb ir- to go. We will use this in the present and past tense. Students will also learn vocabulary for buildings in a city. In class, we will then talk about where we go or don’t go. Students will then create a project where they design their own city and say where people go in the city and why they go to certain buildings. We will they create surveys to ask if certain people go to certain places. Students will then interview 2 other classmates and ask them the questions on their survey’s. Each groups will collect and go over their findings and then present them to the class. Students will then find maps or pictures of cities. We will then look at them and the teacher will ask questions about what building they see and students will answer in complete sentences using the verb ir. For a grade, the class will write a paragraph about places they either went to during the year or places they are going to go to during the summer. They will also write about what they did or are going to do at these places.

Grade 8: In grade 8, we will continue our work on chores around the house. We will interview classmates about what chores they do or don’t do and then have them report back to the class. The class will also be working on affirmative tú commands. We will give commands about what to do in the classroom. One student will give the commands and another students will have to act them out. We will do this as a game and the first student to get the command correct will get a point for their team. We will also write a dialogue using the commands and see if other students can act out what is being said. To continue students will command other students to do chores and they will have to act them out. Lastly, we will move on to the present progressive tense and learn how to conjugate and use the verbs in a sentence. Students will write what other students in the class are doing at the very moment during class time. Students will then write 8 things that they are doing during a school day.

Art: Ms. Lee, [email protected]

6th graders are currently working on the final stages of their “stained-glass” project. They have spent time perfecting their paper cutting skills and now have learned ways to apply tissue paper carefully and appropriately. Students are also encouraged to make creative color choices to enhance the quality of their artwork.

7th graders are using wooden tools and metal tooling repoussé techniques to create raised and indented surfaces on their copper sheets. They have designed their names in bubble letters, transformed objects into their names and arranged letters in a creative and personal way. Students are now creating a background drawing with a theme that is relevant to the idea portrayed on the metal. They’re experimenting with a reductive drawing technique using metallic color pencils with black paper.

8th graders are continuing to use the grid method and techniques on their two-toned high contrast self-portraits. They first used the grid method to draw and enlarge the shapes of their facial features onto a canvas panel, which is a laborious process. Some students get very detailed and break the squares further down into tiny squares, which helps them to draw with much more accuracy. When the outline and shapes are complete, they will then turn their drawings into paintings. Students who are on the painting portion of the assignment are experimenting with painting techniques, proper ways to hold brushes for certain details and learning ways to edit, touch up splotchy areas and fix mistakes. Students who choose to work on a symbolic self-portrait instead have brainstormed ideas/objects that best represent themselves. They have sketched out an image on canvas and are now creating a painting from it.

Theater Arts: Ms. Elguindy, [email protected]

6th Graders: Students have found their voices as we move into our unit on how to creatively use your voice on stage in a healthy way. In class we will be reading short scripts out loud to experiment with character voice creation. Students will also be writing their own short scripts using prompts that they will then rehearse and perform. Our year will end by observing examples of professional theater and then experimenting with different ways to tell a story on stage that is interesting and entertaining for an audience.
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