7th Grade 2nd Quarter Newsletter

Staying connected to our families is important to our teachers. In addition to the front page of our Canvas courses, we are excited to share this quarterly newsletter with our families to keep you aware of upcoming events, activities, lessons, units, and materials from our classes! The 7th Grade Team has compiled this newsletter to share some of the upcoming experiences your student will be having with us. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child's teachers!

Printed 1st Quarter Report Cards will be sent home with students on Friday, October 31st.

7th Grade Treble Choir

7th/8th Grade Baritone Choir

Students have begun preparing music for their upcoming Winter concert and are assisting the 8th graders in learning their parts for a four part version of the “Star Spangled Banner” for Veterans Day. Students have also been working on their sight-reading skills along with music theory. Some of the selections we have been working on are Victor C. Johnson’s “Baraka na Wewe”, the Scottish folk song “Loch Lomond”, the Spanish carol “A la ru”, and “Gaudete!” which is a song in Latin, Students are very excited for their upcoming concert, which is December 9th.

Students in Discovery and Design have just wrapped up their 3D printing unit, where they learned how to take digital models and bring them to life using 3D printers. As we move into the second quarter, students will shift their focus to designing amusement park rides, applying creativity and problem-solving through hands-on projects. They will continue to strengthen their coding skills using a variety of platforms, while consistently using the design process to plan, test, and improve their ideas. This next unit will challenge them to think like real engineers and designers as they combine imagination with technology.

Mrs. Heinig's Enriched ELA Classes:

Beginning the second quarter, our students will be focusing on characters & conflict in realistic fiction selections. Students will be reading quite a few texts, including short stories such as "Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes, “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?” by Bruce Coville, “How the Teen Brain Transforms Relationships” by Daniel Siegel , “The Party” by Pam Muñoz Ryan, “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde, “Saturday at the Canal” by Gary Soto , “First-Day Fly” by Jason Reynolds, “Teens’ Penchant for Risk-Taking May Help Them Learn Faster” by Erin Ross, “Momentum” by Catherine Doty, “Popularity” by Adam Bagdasarian, that teach about belonging, community, and adolesence. Through these texts, we will focus on building students' skills in citing textual evidence, analyzing themes, and examining how specific elements of stories and dramas interact. In their writing, students will have the opportunity to showcase their skills across multiple genres such as narrative, literary analysis, and character studies. Our Project-Based Learning has included an Alaskan Survival Challenge and eight Makerspace Team Building experiences in the library. Coming up, we will be launching into independent Nonfiction research passion projects, as well as more team building.

Math 7

Math 7+

In Math 7 Accelerated, we have concluded Module 3 on rational numbers and are embarking on Module 4. In the module, “Exponents and Scientific Notation,” students will use their prior knowledge of exponents to develop an understanding of the properties of exponents and scientific notation. Students must stay focused and disciplined as we cover 7th and 8th-grade topics. Later this quarter, we will also work on Simplifying Expressions and Solving Equations. Students should continue to work on their weekly Aleks assignments. We will be MAP testing on November 17th and 18th.

Science students are learning about electricity. This week, they completed a static electricity lab that was “shockingly” fun. Next week, they are building parallel and series circuits. Soon, we will use Ohm’s Law to design a dimmer switch and investigate how electric current can be measured using a compass. Our final project for Chapter Six will have the students building a simple flashlight of their own design with only a limited number of materials.

Common Sense Media is an online tool that can help parents and students make informed decisions regarding media use. This tool can be used for many types of media, including books, movies, video games, and apps. Additionally, the “Parent Tips and FAQ” section can provide families with valuable support on facilitating social media, cell phone, and screen time use with their child.