Middle School Chatterbox

6th grade is working writing arguments that have a clear and specific claim, sound reasoning, and factual evidence. A note to parents: I instructed students not to practice their argument skills at home. 6th grade is also learning about figurative language and how it adds an exciting flare to language.

7th grade is reading pieces that deal with the topic of space exploration. They are also learning about correct usage of the English language its many conventions in order to strengthen their writing.

8th grade is reading pieces that look at the question what defines the places we call home. The readings dive into the stories of immigrants and different cultures. 8th grade is additionally review proper punctuation usage ranging from periods at the end of sentences to colons and semicolons to separate clauses in sentences.

We are learning about advantages and disadvantages of renewable and nonrenewable resources.

We finished up our genetics unit and are learning about DNA. Students are looking forward to the fruit DNA extraction lab.

8th Grade- We are now in the physics portion of our textbook. Students learned about speed, velocity, and acceleration. Currently, we will be learning about force and Newton's Laws.

6th Grade have started learning about Ancient Greece. They will follow up with research about various Greek Gods and Goddesses. Students created presentations about the various areas on Greece. They worked together and did a great job.

7th grade wrapped up the geography of the United States with looking at natural disasters common to the region. They also are learning about the Navajo people's woven art and making woven bookmarks

8th Grade have finished learning about the Revolutionary War. They researched major battles and created different Patriot and Loyalist water bottle stickers. They turned out great!

6th Grade is finishing up Scale Factors and Variables. They took a small picture of a dragon and enlarged it using a scale factor. We are also talking about multiplying fractions and mixed numbers so if you have a recipe out, ask them to double the ingredients. Another topic we are covering is area of triangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids.

7th graders are busy working percents. They are solving percent equations, finding percent of change, and one of Mrs. Saltsman's favorites, simple interest. These topics are all very applicable to life skills, so make sure you are quizzing your kid on these things. We have good conversations about what it means to take out a loan, what interest means with a credit card, and how you earn interest with a bank.

8th grade just finished working on Systems of Equations. They found these to be a LOT of work and asked when they would ever use this. There is actually quite a long list of professions that use them; they probably just don't realize they are using them or don't call it systems of equations. We will be starting a new chapter that deals more with Geometry. We will be talking abot rigid transformations (translations, rotation, and reflections).

We have started our Pickleball unit and have already seen some improvements with using the forehand and backhand. We will have a tournament coming up. Then we will be back to our Archery unit to prepare for the State Tournament.

7th grade is exploring the world of Greek mythology and reading Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

We have gone over proper kitchen hygiene and done a kitchen tools scavenger hunt. We are preparing to get into the kitchen in the coming weeks.

The annual middle school fundraiser took place in January. The top ten sellers were rewarded with a smoothie from the 212 Mini-mall

The middle school Lady Battlers wrapped up their 2024-25 season in January. Thank you to the officials, coaches, fans, bookkeepers, and clock runners that make middle school sports possible!

It is time for conferences again. This year, winter conferences will be held on Friday, February 7. These are NOT mandatory. Please sign up using the provided link. As always, please reach out to Mrs. Saltsman, Mrs. Cronin, or Mr. Baldwin with any questions that you may have

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084BAEA92BA2FDC25-54712159-25winter

February 7: Conferences 8-3:30

February 17: Presidents Day; No School