MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
2/29/08
NEWS OF NOTE:
Middle School students will attend “Diavolo,” a lively dance performance for youth, at Krannert on Friday, March 7. Thanks to the many parents who responded to our e-mail request, we now have enough drivers to transport all the students. We appreciate your help!
Odyssey of the Mind: Odyssey of the Mind will continue to meet on Tuesdays from
3- 4:30 and at early dismissals from 12:30 - 3:00. We will continue to practice
spontaneous problems on Wednesday from 12:25 - 12:55. State competition will be held on Saturday, April 12th in Belleville, Illinois.
MathCounts: MathCounts will continue to meet after school next week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We will be leaving for state competition in Matteson, IL after lunch on March 7, 2008 and return on March 8, 2008 around 5:30pm. Best of luck studying this weekend!
It is yearbook time! The yearbook staff is hard at work and needs your help. We are looking for advertisements and sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring a page for your student or buying space for advertisements, please contact the yearbook staff through Ms. St. Clair.
Prices are: Half page- $25 Full page- $50
COURSE NEWS:
Science: I am working very hard to get Invention Fair Folders graded during the next two weeks so that this large grade will be reflected on 2nd trimester progress reports. Please look at them around progress report time, sign, and return them so I can put them in your child’s portfolio. Again, I was so impressed by the quality of work completed. We have some creative minds attending Countryside.
How do you catch a criminal, determine a paternity suit or keep a millionaire from paying inheritance to gold diggers? Why, DNA fingerprinting, of course! As we wrap up our genetics unit, we are discussing some of the most recent advancements in the industry. This week students solved mysteries like the ones discussed above by studying DNA Gel Electrophoresis fingerprints. During the process, DNA is chemically “cut” into pieces by restriction enzymes from bacteria. It is then cleaned and loaded onto an agarose gel that resembles Jello. By running electricity through it and then comparing the distances that the various DNA pieces traveled, specialists can gain evidence to solve crimes and questions of parenthood. We were fortunate enough to actually borrow a DNA Gel Electrophoresis unit from the U of I and the students were able to simulate this fascinating science using food coloring in place of actual DNA.
LWW:
6: Students had a terrific time collaborating on their collages representing The Song of the Pearl, the Song of Evil, and the Song of the Family in class this week. As they glued, colored, painted, and cut, they also discussed--and eventually wrote about--what their chosen images and shapes represented. What a creative group! I’m looking forward to seeing their Pearl projects next Tuesday, March 4.
7/8: Students submitted their lively and evocative Poetic Portraits this week. Watch for these posters to be displayed outside the LWW room soon. Students also managed to survive the last vocab. quiz of the trimester. Woohoo! Next week we’ll wrap up
Out of the Dust with an in-class scrapbook project.
Math:
Level G: Our class completed our study of percents with a test on Monday
(2/25) and a mini-project due on Friday (2/29). We have started our geometry
unit, and are learning new vocabulary such as vertical, supplemental,
and complimentary angles. Next week, we will be studying triangles and
quadrilaterals.
Levels H-J:
In Pre-Algebra, we are having a short unit on multiplication and other operations. We will learn how to combine like terms, solve equations of the form ax + b = c, and apply the Distributive Property next week. So that we can successfully unlearn everything about this unit during Spring Break, we will have a short test covering this unit next week.
Algebra students have begun a unit on quadratic equations. Yesterday and today we have learned about graphing and shifting parabolas. Next week we will be covering the Quadratic Formula and will continue to explore those shifty graphs.
Bravo to Advanced Math students this week! Each presentation was a joy to witness; students did a terrific job explaining their material as well as asking each other questions. Next week we will have a test covering Chapter 5-7 material, and we will begin a unit about area formulas.
Social Studies:
Watch for our new (and final) geography quiz list next week!
Great News: our foreign exchange students have returned and are busy creating country and culture guides! This week, Ancient Civilizations students embarked (a bit early) upon our third trimester Exchange Student project. Curious? Intrigued? Find a sixth grade student and ask them about it!
The U.S. and the World class would like to extend a BIG ‘Thank You’ to this week’s guest speaker: Laura Jennings. Monday’s discussion of gender roles in history with this outstanding sociologist was engaging and enlightening. After finishing our UN projects this week, we found ourselves once again embroiled in war. Through Korea, we will be able to examine two of our Cold War Unit guiding questions: “Communism… why all the fuss?” And “Was the cold war really cold?”
Happy Leap Day!
The Middle School Team
2/29/08
NEWS OF NOTE:
Middle School students will attend “Diavolo,” a lively dance performance for youth, at Krannert on Friday, March 7. Thanks to the many parents who responded to our e-mail request, we now have enough drivers to transport all the students. We appreciate your help!
Odyssey of the Mind: Odyssey of the Mind will continue to meet on Tuesdays from
3- 4:30 and at early dismissals from 12:30 - 3:00. We will continue to practice
spontaneous problems on Wednesday from 12:25 - 12:55. State competition will be held on Saturday, April 12th in Belleville, Illinois.
MathCounts: MathCounts will continue to meet after school next week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We will be leaving for state competition in Matteson, IL after lunch on March 7, 2008 and return on March 8, 2008 around 5:30pm. Best of luck studying this weekend!
It is yearbook time! The yearbook staff is hard at work and needs your help. We are looking for advertisements and sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring a page for your student or buying space for advertisements, please contact the yearbook staff through Ms. St. Clair.
Prices are: Half page- $25 Full page- $50
COURSE NEWS:
Science: I am working very hard to get Invention Fair Folders graded during the next two weeks so that this large grade will be reflected on 2nd trimester progress reports. Please look at them around progress report time, sign, and return them so I can put them in your child’s portfolio. Again, I was so impressed by the quality of work completed. We have some creative minds attending Countryside.
How do you catch a criminal, determine a paternity suit or keep a millionaire from paying inheritance to gold diggers? Why, DNA fingerprinting, of course! As we wrap up our genetics unit, we are discussing some of the most recent advancements in the industry. This week students solved mysteries like the ones discussed above by studying DNA Gel Electrophoresis fingerprints. During the process, DNA is chemically “cut” into pieces by restriction enzymes from bacteria. It is then cleaned and loaded onto an agarose gel that resembles Jello. By running electricity through it and then comparing the distances that the various DNA pieces traveled, specialists can gain evidence to solve crimes and questions of parenthood. We were fortunate enough to actually borrow a DNA Gel Electrophoresis unit from the U of I and the students were able to simulate this fascinating science using food coloring in place of actual DNA.
LWW:
6: Students had a terrific time collaborating on their collages representing The Song of the Pearl, the Song of Evil, and the Song of the Family in class this week. As they glued, colored, painted, and cut, they also discussed--and eventually wrote about--what their chosen images and shapes represented. What a creative group! I’m looking forward to seeing their Pearl projects next Tuesday, March 4.
7/8: Students submitted their lively and evocative Poetic Portraits this week. Watch for these posters to be displayed outside the LWW room soon. Students also managed to survive the last vocab. quiz of the trimester. Woohoo! Next week we’ll wrap up
Out of the Dust with an in-class scrapbook project.
Math:
Level G: Our class completed our study of percents with a test on Monday
(2/25) and a mini-project due on Friday (2/29). We have started our geometry
unit, and are learning new vocabulary such as vertical, supplemental,
and complimentary angles. Next week, we will be studying triangles and
quadrilaterals.
Levels H-J:
In Pre-Algebra, we are having a short unit on multiplication and other operations. We will learn how to combine like terms, solve equations of the form ax + b = c, and apply the Distributive Property next week. So that we can successfully unlearn everything about this unit during Spring Break, we will have a short test covering this unit next week.
Algebra students have begun a unit on quadratic equations. Yesterday and today we have learned about graphing and shifting parabolas. Next week we will be covering the Quadratic Formula and will continue to explore those shifty graphs.
Bravo to Advanced Math students this week! Each presentation was a joy to witness; students did a terrific job explaining their material as well as asking each other questions. Next week we will have a test covering Chapter 5-7 material, and we will begin a unit about area formulas.
Social Studies:
Watch for our new (and final) geography quiz list next week!
Great News: our foreign exchange students have returned and are busy creating country and culture guides! This week, Ancient Civilizations students embarked (a bit early) upon our third trimester Exchange Student project. Curious? Intrigued? Find a sixth grade student and ask them about it!
The U.S. and the World class would like to extend a BIG ‘Thank You’ to this week’s guest speaker: Laura Jennings. Monday’s discussion of gender roles in history with this outstanding sociologist was engaging and enlightening. After finishing our UN projects this week, we found ourselves once again embroiled in war. Through Korea, we will be able to examine two of our Cold War Unit guiding questions: “Communism… why all the fuss?” And “Was the cold war really cold?”
Happy Leap Day!
The Middle School Team