MS 50 Weekly News: 10/23/23
October 23, 2023
Halloween Dance Wednesday!
We are excited for the Halloween Dance this Wednesday from 3:00-5:00PM in the Cafeteria! Students need 120 Dojo points to participate which are earned for being in school, in uniform, and their classroom behaviors. If students have questions about how many Dojo points they have, they can ask Ms. Gunn, Mr. Lopez, or Mr. Barnes.
Students can wear a costume to school on Wednesday if they wish. Costumes cannot include masks or be inflatable. All costumes must be appropriate for a middle school setting.
There will be no ELT Clubs on Wednesday so students can attend the dance. Students participating in SHSAT Prep still have the option to have tutoring from 3:00-4:00PM.
In this Issue:
- New NYC Schools Apps
- Classroom Spotlight: Social Studies
- i-Ready Homework Reminder
- PTA Updates
- Upcoming Events
The DOE has released two new apps, the NYC Schools Account app for families and the TeachHub app for students! Both apps will allow you to view your student's schedule, attendance, contact information, and final grades. Use the links below to access these apps for iOS and Android.
Download Links:
6th Grade: Neolithic Revolution
In Unit 2, students study the shift from Paleolithic to Neolithic times and ask themselves if the invention of farming was a good development. They start by learning about the lives of nomadic hunter gatherers, then study the positive and negative effects from the development of agriculture. During this unit, students learn that a stable food supply is an essential characteristic of a permanent community, which is an essential understanding for Unit 3 afterwards. This unit concludes with a debate about the merits vs. harms of the Neolithic Revolution as a turning point in human advancement.
7th Grade: Exploration and Early Encounters
This unit centers around the following essential question: How did issues of power, wealth, and morality influence exploration and colonization? Throughout the unit, students will analyze and explore a range of primary source documents to explore the following questions;
• What were the characteristics of indigenous cultures prior to European exploration?
• What factors contributed to European exploration?
• How have different cultures experienced European exploration and settlement?
• What role did Africans play in the development of the American colonies and New York specifically?
• How did political, economic, and social factors affect the development of the colonial regions?
8th Grade: Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction
In 8th Grade, our students are finishing Unit 1 which covered US slavery, the Civil War and events which led to it, and the Reconstruction era and the various attempts to reunite the nation and ensure rights for formerly enslaved people. This week, students began working on their Unit 1 Assessment which asks them to take the knowledge they have learned to answer the question, "are Black Americans owed reparations due to the history of slavery and racism?" Students use Ta-Nehisi Coates' "The Case for Reparations" as a guiding text and make connections between the unit and his writing to make their arguments.
One of our goals this year is for every student at MS 50 to complete 30 minutes of i-Ready ELA lessons and 30 minutes of i-Ready math lessons as part of their homework every week. Teachers will check the previous week’s work every Monday. Students can use their @nycstudents account to log into i-Ready by visiting clever.com.
If logging in on an iPad, you must first download and login to the Clever app. You can then launch i-Ready from Clever and students will be logged in. Download this information sheet for more detailed instructions.
October Meeting Summary
At our October Meeting we discussed different ways to support our school community and other parents through social groups and volunteer opportunities. We are currently looking for volunteers for our family laundry room, our Title I committee, and for running our lunchtime snack sale table. If you are interested in helping or learning more about any of those opportunities, please email our parent coordinator.
Halloween Dance Donations
We are looking forward to supporting the Halloween Dance on October 25 from 3-5pm. Snacks and drinks, especially small bottles of water, are our biggest need. Please email our parent coordinator Edda if you are interested in donating.
