December Newsletter

Congratulations to Anjelis Algarin. Anjelis is a hardworking and dedicated student who perseveres through challenging assignments, actively participates, asks thoughtful questions, and consistently shows kindness and respect to everyone around her. Team 71 is incredibly proud of her positive attitude and willingness to help others—keep up the amazing work, Anjelis!

December 23: Student dismissal at 11:30.

December 24-January 2: Holiday Break

January 14: Winter Reading iReady Diagnostic

January 19: No School - MLK Day

January 21: Winter Math iReady Diagnostic

January 23: T2 Midterm

In November, Team 71 participated in our first School Spirit Pep Rally of the year! Seventh graders dressed in their class color—red—and brought incredible energy and pride to the event. Students enjoyed a variety of games, relays, and even teacher-versus-student challenges that helped build excitement and connection within the Westfield Middle School community.

After analyzing an excerpt from The Misfits by James Howe, students are now reading an excerpt from Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl. As they read, they continue to practice annotation, identifying themes, and supporting ideas with evidence from the text. You should also be seeing them read a new independent novel and looking for evidence of Life Lessons.

In addition to reading, classes are also writing using figurative and sensory language to convey experiences or events. Here are some examples from their work:

We have officially started our first novel of the year, The Giver by Lois Lowry! So far, students have read Chapters 1–4, and they are truly enjoying the story. Many students have been actively participating in post-reading discussions, and I’m confident this will be a wonderful and productive term for everyone.

To kick off the unit, students completed a pre-reading visual slide activity that introduced key themes such as individuality, the importance of memory, and freedom of choice. We also engaged in a Jigsaw activity, where students worked in both home and expert groups to analyze different aspects of the book. Each student took on a specific role—Cover Analyst, Theme Discussion Leader, Dystopia Examiner, or Predictor—to promote collaboration and critical thinking.

As we read, students can choose how they engage with the text: some prefer coloring and annotating doodle notes while listening, while others complete a chapter comprehension chart as they read. Regardless of their chosen method, all students independently complete a Four Square response to demonstrate understanding. Afterward, they have time to move around the room and collaborate with peers, sharing insights and discussing interpretations before we wrap up with a whole-group reflection and discussion.

It has been wonderful to see students so engaged, thoughtful, and eager to dive deeper into this thought-provoking novel!

We will continue reading The Giver throughout Term 2, and students have two exciting activities coming up that will help break up the reading, deepen comprehension, and bring some fun and creativity into the classroom. These activities also allow students to apply what they’ve learned while engaging in different learning modalities to support every learner.

After Chapter 8, students will participate in a Mock Ceremony of Twelve, where they will step into the roles of Jonas and his peers to experience this pivotal moment firsthand. This simulation invites students to put themselves inside the story and think critically about the significance of each Assignment within the community.

Students will also be brainstorming, planning, and constructing their own utopia or dystopia society with a partner, taking on the perspective of the Elders. This project encourages creativity, problem-solving, and deeper understanding of the themes and choices presented in the novel.

Both of these activities are designed to give students rich, meaningful ways to connect with the text and explore the characters, setting, and themes from new perspectives.

As we moved into November, students wrapped up our unit on Contact Forces with a hands-on Phone Case Design Project. After creating protective case prototypes, students participated in a gallery walk, observing each other’s work and giving feedback on how different designs used force, motion, and material choice to protect a phone.

We have now launched our new unit on Thermal Energy! To kick things off, students explored a slide presentation featuring their favorite drinks from local “coffee shops.” We used this fun introduction to spark a deeper question:
How do the cups these drinks come in relate to thermal energy?

Students will be investigating how heat transfers through different materials, why some cups keep drinks hot or cold longer, and how insulation works in everyday objects. This unit will continue into December, with experiments, data collection, and real-world applications.

We are transitioning into Unit 4: Operations with Rational Numbers. This extensive unit will span through December and into January.

Key Information:

• No assessment before winter break: Due to the unit's length and complexity, the first assessment will not occur until after students return in January.

• Unit focus: This unit covers essential (though sometimes challenging!) skills involving operations with positive and negative fractions and decimals.

How to Support Your Student at Home:

• Practice with fractions: Any reinforcement at home can be beneficial. Encourage practice finding common denominators for adding and subtracting fractions.

• Review positive and negative rules: Understanding the rules for combining positive and negative numbers is crucial for success in this unit.

• Helpful resources: If your student needs extra reinforcement, many helpful instructional videos can be found by searching YouTube for "operations with fractions" or "adding and subtracting rational numbers."

Optional Extra Credit Items Due Soon

A reminder regarding the optional extra credit opportunity mentioned in last week's talking points:

If you wish to contribute, items such as Kleenex, hand sanitizer, dry erase markers, or disinfectant wipes are due by Friday, December 12th, to count toward Term 2 extra credit. This is completely optional, and we appreciate any donations the class receives. Please do not feel any pressure to contribute.

I hope everyone has a wonderful December!

Ms. Mirski

We have officially wrapped up Module 2: Percents! Students concluded the unit with a Shopping Percents Project, where they applied concepts such as discounts, tax, tips, and percent change to real-life scenarios. It was a fun and meaningful way to reinforce the skills they learned throughout the module.

We are now midway into Module 3: Integers. Students have been practicing adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing integers while learning and applying the rules for each operation. We have used the number line method as well as counting chips. Through guided practice, hands-on activities, and partner discussions, students are building confidence in working with positive and negative numbers—an essential foundation for the units ahead.

As we continue with Module 3, students will begin exploring exponents and how they are used in mathematical expressions. We will also work with real-world problems involving integer operations, giving students opportunities to apply their skills to practical situations. In addition, students will be using the order of operations (PEMDAS) to evaluate expressions accurately and efficiently. These upcoming lessons will help strengthen students’ mathematical reasoning and prepare them for more complex problem-solving in future units.

You can help reinforce what we’re learning in class with a few simple real-life connections:

• Talk about positive and negative numbers in everyday situations—such as temperatures, sports scores, or money earned vs. money spent.

• When your child encounters multi-step problems at home (recipes, building instructions, or comparing prices), ask them to explain which step should come first to reinforce the idea of order of operations.

• Practice quick exponent examples together, such as squaring small numbers (e.g., 323^232, 525^252) to build confidence before we apply them to larger expressions.

• Encourage your child to check their work by asking, “Does this answer make sense?” — an important habit for problem-solving success.

These simple conversations help students see how math applies to daily life and strengthen their foundational skills.

Prior to wrapping up our unit, students created Picto-Words about Hinduism and Buddhism. They did an amazing job! Below are a couple outstanding student examples!

Recently we have wrapped up our study of South & Central Asia by answering our Unit 1 Essential Question: How did geography, beliefs, and leaders influence societies in South and Central Asia? Students worked collaboratively in table groups to connect key concepts from the unit’s lessons, and then used their understanding to write well-structured paragraphs responding to the essential question.We are now diving into Unit 2: East Asia! In this unit, we’ll explore countries such as China, Japan, Mongolia, and the Koreas. Students will analyze and ask questions about a variety of sources to discover how geography, belief systems, and governing styles have shaped societies across the region.

Stay tuned—this is going to be a fun and engaging unit!

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تاسو کولی شئ د یوې تڼۍ په کلیک کولو سره دا خبر پاڼه په اسانۍ سره وژباړئ! په پورتنۍ ښیې کونج کې، "ژباړه" کلیک وکړئ. کله چې د ډراپ ډاون مینو ښکاره شي، مهرباني وکړئ یوه ژبه غوره کړئ او خبر پاڼه به په اوتومات ډول . که تاسو مرستې ته اړتیا لرئ یا کومې تېروتنې ته اړتیا لرئ، مهرباني وکړئ د پرنسپل مک میلن سره اړیکه ونیسئ