📝 Belleville Middle School 🍎

This week’s Math Highlight takes us into Mr. Colli’s Class, where you never know what you might learn! First, a joke from Mr. Colli: “I used to have a belt made of watches… but it was a waste of time!” 😂 Along with math, students learn a Fact of the Day. Did you know the national animal of Scotland is the unicorn? And bonjour! Students are even learning some basic French!

Now, back to business! Students have been working hard adding and subtracting rational numbers, exploring exponents, and finding square roots. They recently wrapped up a fun Pac-Man Math Project featuring the famous ghost crew: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde!

Who knew math class could include unicorns, French, and Pac-Man?

Creative Writing students are beginning a poetry unit, reading poems from diverse authors before writing their own and presenting them during a poetry slam. This unit introduces figurative language for use in future projects. Journalism students will learn to read and watch news as responsible consumers, evaluating sources for credibility and bias. Famous People students will learn to cite sources in MLA format and find reliable information for future projects.

Our 7th and 8th graders are stepping up to explore what respect really means—both in school and online!Throughout the week, students were diving into interactive discussions and activities focused on empathy, active listening, and celebrating our differences. We took a closer look at digital citizenship, which helped students understand the lasting impact their words and actions have on social media and gaming platforms. Through peer reflections and collaborative group discussions, students were learning how to go about building a stronger, more supportive school community where everyone feels heard and valued.

Our focus was on Empathy in Action: Recognizing different perspectives and standing up for others; Digital Respect: Navigating online spaces responsibly and shutting down cyberbullying; and Positive Culture: Understanding how small everyday choices create a safer, kinder school climate.

The students were asked to respond to these writing prompt questions: “What does respect mean?” “What’s one simple way someone showed respect to you today?" “What is one way you can show kindness to others?” “What would you consider to be a positive or encouraging message you’d appreciate hearing?” “How could you stand up for your peers?” and “What would you do to help the BMS be more respectful?”

As our 7th and 8th graders put their thoughts onto paper, these reflections are doing more than filling notebook pages—they are shaping the culture of the school with a clear roadmap for a kinder, more inclusive middle school where our students are learning to lead with respect