3
June
2011
Hello Parents!
To clarify, everyone, 8th graders included, are expected to attend school next week.
ZACC, SpectrUM, and many organizations in town have summer camps – view our bulletin board to the right of the front desk for options!
If you still need volunteer hours, Feather and Laura could both use help!
Today is the end of year program and graduation at 3:45 pm. There is no after school care today.
Tuesday is our end of year party – walk to Currents (even if it’s raining – bring raincoats, rain boots, and an umbrella!), swim (bring swim wear and towel!), and go to Big Dipper (bring $ for ice cream – we are paying for the swimming). Karim, Helena, and Jen will be chaperoning.
Tuesday is the last day of math club; please bring a treat to share!
Wednesday is early out at 11:30 am and our last day of school! No after care is available.
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3
June
2011
Summer vacation is VERY long and I KNOW you don’t want to forget the math you learned this year! I also know you are very eager to get a head start on next year’s math! Here are some ideas on how to do that:
www.aaamath.com
Click on your grade level at the top.
Pick any of the topics.
You can read the lessons (“Learn”) or do the practice questions (“Practice”) or play games (“Play”).
math-play.com
Scroll down and you will see 4th grade math games, 5th grade math games, etc. You can also choose types of games, like jeopardy, on the left side of the website.
classzone.com
Pick 1) middle school math , 2) Montana, and 3)Find your book. Choose Mathematics book 1, 2, or 3 for 6th, 7th, or 8th grade. Graduating 8th graders, you can choose 1) high school math, 2) Montana, and 3) Find your book. Then you can view the Algebra 1 2007 text they use at Hellgate.
Everyone can do practice problems and review lessons.
Doing a Google search for math games for kids will also give you more website options. Another great option for math practice is the grade level worksheet books (Spectrum, by School Specialty Publishing). These are available at Barnes and Noble or www.frankschaffer.com.
Just imagine how skilled you will be in math if you spend 10 minutes a day practicing or even just one hour per week!
Have fun!
Sincerely, Helena Koelle
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27
May
2011
Announcements:
Students did a great job this week asking our guest speakers questions about alcohol and tobacco! Also, see Laura’s comment lower down on the blog.
Monday is memorial day – no school!
On Tuesday, 7th/8th graders will help the preschoolers identify Montana plants and animals, we’ll go to SpectrUM during science, and there is math club after school.
Wednesday we’ll watch 5th grade exhibition in the afternoon.
Friday is the end of year program/graduation at 3:45 pm!
Math:
We’ll be playing games like jeopardy to review our learning in a fun way!
Science:
Students will give their animal behavior/ adaptation project presentations with their partners. If they are bringing in an animal, the pet’s vaccinations need to be up to date and they need to bring their immunization record.
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26
May
2011
I wanted to commend the Middle School for their behavior on the playground on Tuesday during lunch recess. It was a rainy miserable day but the students created a game of tag that was fun, included most of the 4-8th graders and was played in a manner that was respectful. I watched the students resolve problems with rock, paper, scissors and was generally impressed with the level of fun and maturity that they showed.
I also would like to commend them on their learning during the current events geography unit. They were engaged the entire time, worked hard, and participated with respect and enthusiasm in the geography bee. I liked their competitive spirit but also the support that they showed for their younger teammates.
Good job Middle School and don’t forget to read over the summer!!!
Laura J. Bovard
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20
May
2011
Announcements:
Field trip Monday morning to stencil storm drains!
Math Club Tuesday!
Mexico, WTO, and Teton presentations Wednesday at 12:20. Please join us!
THANKS to everyone who helped with field day!
Please see our new middle school work up on display in the hallway – Teton nature experience paragraphs and drawings and our financial literacy research.
Would anyone be willing to take care of Guido & Gunther (our rats) over the summer? I’d love to have them in the classroom next year, too! I will be gone for several weeks over the summer.
Math:
BIG END OF YEAR MATH TEST ON MONDAY! Please have your child study. They have many study ideas and packets. They also wrote down exactly what will be on the test.
After the test, we will do fun math activities and games.
Science:
We’ll rehearse & give our presentations! We also have 3 periods of drug, alcohol, and tobacco education – see my previous emails for details.
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13
May
2011
Announcements:
Would someone be able to chaperone on Monday and/or Wednesday from 2:20 to 3:20 pm? I’d like to go outside for science and need a second person!
Please encourage your child to study for the big end of year math test which will be on Monday, May 23rd! They have received lots of practice work and are able to check their own answers!
Please look for and sign a permission slip for SpectrUM and the end of year party (on same sheet).
Lily & Stella’s AP Spanish test is on Thursday.
Field Day is Friday.
This weeks Approaches to Learning skill we are focusing on are thinking skills. We will generate ideas on how to study for the math test by brainstorming.
Teton and Mexico presentation dates and times TBA!
Math:
All week, all grades: reviewing for the big test!
Science:
We’ll be concluding our Animals unit by studying aquatic macro invertebrates with the help of a Montana Natural History Trunk. The Teton crew became very interested in this and we’ll be following up on our research and educating the 8th graders on what we learned.
Technology:
We’re typing up our memories of friends for an art project they are doing with Feather. We’ll also work on our Teton & Mexico presentations.
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6
May
2011
Today we did our research project. One group decided to do our project on Big Horn Sheep. We went to Miller Butte to observe the sheep. We documented their behavior over a 20 minute period while they were about 40+ feet away. We observed that they mostly grazed. The other group did their project on macro invertebrates (Water insects). Later we returned to the campus to create posters on our findings,which we will present tonight. The other school left so we had a great dinner. BEST GARLIC BREAD IN THE UNIVERSE!!!! We can not wait to see all of you when we return home☺!!!!!
Avery,Madelyn,Ava
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5
May
2011
Today we went on a HUGE hike to a site where there was a barbwire fence that was blocking the migratory patterns of the mule deer. However, there was no fence to take down. Fortunately, we found another fence to disassemble. We took turns rolling up and cutting the fence. The hike was long and fun. Then, we went to the Gros Ventre river to look for macro-invertebrates (big bugs). We found a dead frog, a skulpin, a cranefly larva, and a caddisfly larva. Tomorrow is our last day and on Saturday we are going home!
Gus, Everett and Donal
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4
May
2011
We have had a great day in the field today. This morning we were lucky enough to see a beaver up close in a cage, which is now going to be relocated. We all got to pet it and it had two layers of different fur, plus it was fuzzy. The tail was so freaky because it felt like scales and was all dry.
Molly and Hannah’s day: We’re in the same field group and it’s fun to be together. Today Molly had a break through. She only fell on her face once when she was snowshoeing. The day before she literally fell on her face every 5 minutes and got stuck in the snow at least 2 times an hour. Hannah is the only one who got down our snow slide without stopping. There was a plateau on our slide but some how Hannah didn’t get stuck. Today we also saw 17 moose, 1 coyote, 5 sage grouse, 1 sand hill crane and so many elk it is humanly impossible to count.
Lia’s day: So far, I have had a great time throughout each day. Today, my field group went snowshoeing. We used GPS devices to find a variety of animal signs. We also played some different games in the outdoors. Over all, it was really fun!
Bye
L,M,H
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3
May
2011
Tuesday was fun in the field. We saw 300 elk. We also did something really fun. We belly slid down a big hill. The other group went to Granite Canyon and we had a lot of fun too! We saw scat and a chipmunk! Later in the same group, Georgia fell in a creek! (Helena’s note: with her foot. She is totally fine). We also found very interesting wood that bugs have chewed on. At the Kelly campus we saw 14 moose and we went snowshoeing. We identified different types of trees and animal tracks.
adios,
Luke, Kristen, Madelyn
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