Week of April 3, 2017

Spring Elective Updates

Linguistics:

In Linguistics Elective so far, we have learned about some of the fundamental ideas in studying the way languages work.  We looked at some of the historical development of languages, the uniqueness of human language, and the amazing process that all children go through in learning their first language.  We have also been examining some of the major components of language study, including:  phonetics (study of sounds in language), phonology (study of how sounds are used to convey meaning), and morphology (study of word parts and word formation).

Literary Magazine:

So far we have collected, scanned, cropped, and organized 70 art submissions to the literary magazine. We have also organized our digital files and stripped out old files from the InDesign file used to create last year's lit mag.

Cooking:

In cooking elective we have made muffins, apple crepes, tomato soup and quesadillas, scones, pancakes, chocolate chip cookies for March birthday treats. Both groups are enthusiastic cooks and are good about cleaning up and prep work. 

Red Room Learning Buddies:
Red Roomers continue to enjoy time with their Purple learning buddies. Having them join with afternoon center and outdoor play is a treat. Recently they helped Red Roomers practice their Authors' Tea stories!

Handwriting:

Students have focused on the proper or most efficient writing of lower case letters. We've spent the first half of class practicing letter formation each week. During the second half of class we have explored calligraphy with chisel tip calligraphy markers. Soon, we will practice with pen and ink.

Typing:

Songwriting:
Students in the Songwriting elective have discussed lyric writing and melody composing techniques. All students are working on writing their first song. Some students are writing individually and some in small groups. It will be fun to hear their first compositions soon. Stay tuned for more info on how you can listen to them, too. 

Showboat to Hamilton:

Students in Showboat to Hamilton have been traveling through the history of musical theater in the United States. We started back in the last 1800s and have made it to approximately 1960 so far. The students sometimes sing show tunes together, watch excerpts from various musicals, and play "guess the musical" or "guess the fact" games. The students are also very interested in discovering how musicals have impacted and mirrored events in history. 

Javascript:

Greenhouse:
Students have been enjoying weeding, watering, and harvesting plants in the YMCA greenhouse. We have also prepared pots for seedlings.

Peace First Challenge:

The Peace First Challenge elective has been learning about and utilizing the problems solving process to identify an injustice within our community that we’d like to take action on.  We’ve had lots of good discussions about:
- What systems or structures do we need in place to work effectively and efficiently together?
- What’s the difference between an injustice and an inconveniences?
- What assets do we have that we could utilize address the injustice?
-  What are the root issues at the base of our problem?
The guys have chosen to focus on the Mountain Valley Pipeline and are currently in the process of researching its history and gleaning a greater understanding of who it will negatively impact (and how).

Art Extension:

Paper mache is the art choice so far for art elective. Students have built forms and have added several layers to their wolf and cat paper mache sculptures.

Games:

We have been having a great time.  We have a couple of favorite games so far: Anomia which is a word association game and Karma, a game that actually allows you to come back from the brink and win it all.  This last week we have gotten into Hearts and have talked about learning Spades as a group.  

Children's Garden:

They have played running games, soccer, and tag with the kids. We've also done fingerplays and songs. Both students have read stories to the group of children. 

Purple Curriculum Updates

Pre-Algebra I with MaryAnn:
This week we worked on solving equations with integers, simple and compound interests, and an introduction to slopes. We reviewed some on Thursday and will review more on Monday. Our end of unit 11 assessment will be Tuesday, April 11 along with a notebook check.

Pre-Algebra II with Jared:

We hit the ground running with Chapter 10, as we had already spent a lot of our free time graphing dot-to-dots during the last chapter. On Tuesday and Wednesday we focused on slope, recognizing positive vs. negative slopes, calculating what the slope is on a given line, and drawing lines with a given point and slope.  We took our chapter quiz on Thursday, and then began exploring how to graph non-linear equations.

Pre-Algebra III with Andrew:

This week in our class, we continued to look at how to find the surface area of different solids, including pyramids and cones.  We also explored how to calculate the volume of different solids, as well.  In the middle of the week, we practiced some word problems on how to maximize surface area and volume, and we finished out the week by seeing the relationships between the ratios of side lengths, surface areas, and volumes of similar solids.  We began our review of the chapter, and will have our test next Tuesday.

Algebra I with Molly:

This week students learned methods for factoring more complex polynomials. They also learned to recognize special cases to apply “short-cuts” when factoring. We will finish the chapter 9 lessons early next week, review, and take a test on polynomials and factoring on Friday.

Geometry with Clare:

In Geometry this week, we completed most of the second half of Ch. 10 on Area, including perimeter and area of similar figures, trigonometry and area, and circles. This latter included reviewing basic concepts and extending them to sectors and segments. This means that both the second quiz and the chapter test will be in the coming week, Monday and Thursday respectively. Some of the week's problems were very challenging and occasioned excellent discussions.

Language Arts with Jared:

Students spent this week working on their Authors’ Tea projects, turning in their final rough drafts (which was a second draft for some students), as well as working on their background slide. Sixth and seventh graders took a spelling quiz, and continued working on the final chapters in their novel, Weedflower. Eighth graders spent time preparing for a debate on privacy, and presented this debate on Friday with an audience of blue roomers. They are also working through the final chapters of 1984.

World Studies & Civics with Andrew:

This week in Civics, we learned a lot more about the judicial branch of the government.  We looked at some important court cases that set up the idea of judicial review, and we looked at how the Supreme Court has been involved in controversial decisions over the years.  We will continue next week by looking at some more landmark court cases, as well as participating in a mock trial.

Physical Science with Molly:

This week, focusing on Newton’s Second Law of Motion, students built balloon rockets and added more mass to test for a decrease in acceleration. They also tested balloon helicopters with added mass.

Spanish with Corinne:

Morning Spanish

Sunshine A

This week in Spanish we worked with the plurals of nouns and articles using the vocabulary from Chapter 2Bto build sentences.

Sunshine B

This week in Spanish we reviewed our three new verbs and started learning about demonstrative adjectives (this, these, that, and those). We will have a test on Chapter 7A on Thursday April 20^th. Students who would like to do test corrections on the 6B test should turn them in this coming Thursday, April 13^th.

Spanish B

This week we began Chapter 8B, helping in the community. This chapter teaches vocabulary to talk about volunteer work and about recycling.

Spanish C

This week we reviewed for and took a quiz on the vocabulary in Chapter 3B and direct object pronouns.

Spanish D

This week we reviewed for and took a test on Chapter 9A.

Art with Patti:

Middle School artists continued working on their collaborative auction projects. They are brainstorming themes, creating glass mosaics, creating dye resists, and wood burning. As they take turns with contributing to the auction art, they are also working independently on linear perspective, glazing, or activism artworks. Sketchbooks were turned in this week as well.

Computer Lab with Lauren:

Life Skills / Sex Ed with Molly:

There was a substitute this week, so 6^th grade students played a board game during Life Skills. 7^th grade students focused on body hair changes during puberty. 8^th grade students had a substitute today and focused on social media addiction in teens. They discussed what social media is, what some signs of addiction are, and some negative results of spending too much time on it and relying too much on social media to boost your self-esteem.

Thank you from, 
The Purple Team