Colorado Springs Charter Academy 2577 N. Chelton Road Colorado Springs, CO 80909
December 2015
Middle School Newsletter GRAMMAR/WRITING In 7th grade, after completing our debate unit in November, December has been dedicated to working on first person narratives and review for final exams. The writing final will be December 13th, and the grammar final will be December 16th. In 8th grade, students have been finishing their fiction narratives, just in time for final exams. The writing final will be December 13th, and the grammar final will be December 16th. Writing/Grammar tutoring will be offered on Tuesdays from 3:30- 4:00, unless otherwise notified. Please use my teacher page to help keep track of upcoming projects and homework assignments. The Grammar Final will be on Dec. 8th, and the writing final will be December 11th.
SOCIAL STUDIES Seventh grade students in Social Studies are turning their attention from WWI to the Russian Revolution. In this unit they will be exploring the history of Czarist rule and the causes for the communist revolution in 1917. After a brief encounter with “President George Washington,” 8th grade students are continuing their learning of the U.S. Constitution and the who, when, why, where, and what that went in to preparing this important document. All Middle School classes will be sending a winner to the school wide Geography Bee in January. Be sure to attend to cheer on your class!
IMPORTANT DATES: Student Council Bake Sale Date: 11/30/2015-12/4/2015 afterschool Location: Main Lobby at Elementary and Middle Schools ($1 per item) Yearbook Club Meeting Date: 12/3/2015, 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM Progress Reports Sent Home (1st8th grade) Date: 12/4/2015 Final Exams Date: 12/8/2015 –12/16/2015 Middle School Dance (6th-8th Grade) Date: 12/11/2015, 6:30-9:00 PM Location: Cafeteria Last Day First Semester Date: 12/18/2015 Noon Dismissal
Teachers: Jeff Bloodworth Grammar/Writing
[email protected] 636-2722 ext. 305
Laura Flax Math
[email protected] 636-2722 ext. 304
Kristen Ross Social Studies
[email protected] 636-2722 ext. 303
Jill Weber Science
SCIENCE
[email protected] 636-2722 ext. 310
8th grade We will be learning about ENERGY this month. We are going to build passive solar gain cells to harness the sun’s energy using soda cans. The students will be learning about forms of energy and how they transform from one form to another.
Cindy Welsch Advanced Math
[email protected] 636-2722 ext. 309
7th grade Kyle Wilson
We are finishing up our Chemistry unit by balancing chemical equations and learning about the
Literature/Spelling
conservation of mass. The students always enjoy seeing all their hard work come together in the
[email protected]
chemical reactions and equations.
636-2722 ext. 302
2
LITERATURE/SPELLING Happy Holidays everyone! This month in 7th grade Literature we will be finishing our reading of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and will be moving on to Tom Sawyer. We will continue to develop our understanding of the different elements of fiction, and we will also be taking a look at satire as a literary genre for this unit. Our vocabulary expectations will remain consistent as we have more weekly vocabulary lists. In 8th grade literature we will be reading The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. Students will use their knowledge of Chinese history from Social Studies to build their understanding of the novel. We will also be examining thematic development and character development through our reading of the novel. Our vocabulary expectations will remain consistent as we have more weekly vocabulary lists.
MATH 8th Grade
7th Grade
For the month of December we will be
For the month of December we will be
learning about surface area and lateral
learning about unit multipliers and con-
surface area of a prism, volume of a
versions, powers of 10 and exponent
prism, and solving multi-step equa-
rules, and scientific notation for large and
tions. Additionally, we will focus on
small numbers. Additionally, we will
Standard 2 content- Patterns, Functions,
focus on Standard 2 content- Patterns,
and Algebraic Structures. This will in-
Functions, and Algebraic Struc-
clude an in-depth look at how can use a
tures. This will include an in-depth look
table, equation, or graph to represent the
at how can use variables to represent
same function, characteristics of linear
quantities in a real world or mathematical
and proportional functions, and using
problems, and construct simple equations
functions to represent real world exam-
and inequalities to solve problems. Math
ples. Math tutoring is held Wednesdays
tutoring is held Wednesdays from 3:30-
from 3:30- 4:00.
4:00.
3
Middle School Mid-Term Final Schedule Date
Day
Subject
Dec. 8
Tuesday
Writing
Dec. 9
Wednesday
Literature
Dec. 10
Thursday
Grammar
Dec. 11
Friday
Spelling
Dec. 14
Monday
Science
Dec. 15
Tuesday
Math
Dec. 16
Wednesday
Social Studies
4
