bluecrew week in preview

General announcement

On Wednesday we will have a guest speak come to talk to the 7th grade in conjunction with our recent discussion of the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. El- Fadel Arbab is a survivor of Janjaweed attacks in Darfur and currently resides here in Maine. He is part of an organization called “Fur Cultural Revival”. Here is his biography:

El-Fadel Arbab

El-Fadel was only 12 years old when his village in Darfur was attacked by the Janjaweed militia.  His family scattered and was separated as they fled the attack, and El-Fadel was left alone to find shelter and to survive.  

Hear El-Fadel’s story of the Darfur genocide.  Learn what we can do to help end the violence in Darfur.  With more than 400,000 civilians killed and over 2.5 million displaced, time is running out.

***On Tuesday, on the return from the long weekend, students will have D block first, NOT E block which they will not have on Tuesday. On Wednesday students will not have D block  but will report to D block for attendance before going to the cafeteria for a presentation by El Fidel, a Darfur survivor. 

Harrogate Exchange

Applications for the 2010-2011 Exchange with Rossett School in Harrogate, England are due on Friday, June 4th. Applications are in the 7/8th grade office and should be turned in there. Any questions, please e-mail gturner@fps.k12.me.us

Social Studies

Jeremy Stein

jstein@fps.k12.me.us

This week we will finish our genocide debate. After students are finished presenting the official 4 options for the US role in Preventing Genocide, students will be given an opportunity to express their own opinions. Students will base their opinion on the various perspectives presented during our debate.  The week will end with the culminating activity of the year, a sweeping overview of all the cultures studied over the course of the year.

Le Français   Mme Turner   after school  Tuesday  or extra help before school by arrangement

gturner@fps.k12.me.us

Students will complete their written assessment on their house and will do an oral presentation with visuals before their class which will count as an oral assessment. We will begin a short entry level reader “Pauvre Anne” where students will be able to apply their learning from this year.  There are many supportive vocabulary games!

Sra. Campbell -Spanish 

marshacampbell@fps.k12.me.us 

Available after school on Wednesday and Thursday 

This week will be another short week, as Monday is a holiday. We have finished with Unit 3 with the oral assessments given this week. If your student was out Thursday or Friday and didn’t take the assessment, make sure they stay after school next week to get that made up. We are now moving onto Unidad 4, lección 1: clothing, colors and stem changing verbs. This will be a great unit to wrap up the year with. Some of the students have had colors and clothing before so that will make it easier to put the energy into the new grammar from this unit. We will continue to build on our speaking skills as well as broadening our vocabulary. Have a great Memorial Day weekend! 

Mathematics 

After School Help: 

Tuesday – Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Towle 

Wednesday- Ms. Jacobs, Mrs. Bennett 

Thursday – Mrs. Hodgkins 

Please ask your child to show you the software, Tinkerplots.  We will be wrapping up the data unit with an assessment at the end of the week. 

Encourage your student to complete homework in a timely manner.  School is not over yet and we wish to make every minute count.

Science: Ms. Boudreau

After School Help Wednesday

Cheeseburger Make-up test Tuesday 

cboudreau@fps.k12.me.us

Now that the stress of the “cheeseburger” test has been lifted from our shoulders, we can enjoy our last unit “Diversity of Life” without any pressure. In this unit, students will learn some history of the classification system, how to find external and internal relatedness, and will have an opportunity to develop their own creature.

Many students will need to do one more lab report independently. Students who did not receive a 95 or better on the eggsperiment lab and did not do the extra credit video are expected to complete one more complete lab investigation with a report. This is to give them one more opportunity to achieve meets standards in that skill area. The directions and expectations will be posted in the top section of my Moodle site. Students will be allowed to and encouraged to complete the actual experiment in my classroom with a partner during guided practice (if their partner is in the same science class) or after school. All other work should be done independently. The lab rubric and a lab conclusion organize are also posted on my Moodle site. 

http://moodle.fps.k12.me.us/course/view.php?id=30

PLEASE READ AND PARTICIPATE IN THIS IMPORTANT AND VERY QUICK SURVEY if you have not already!

The purpose of this survey is to identify interest in participation on next year’s 8th grade travel enrichment opportunities. 

There will be potentially two  8th grade field trip opportunities next year. They will include an exchange trip to Harrogate, England and a four day trip to Washington D.C. 

The England trip will involve hosting an exchange student in Falmouth from Oct. 14th – 27th, 2010, and a return trip to the host’s family from April 14th – 28th. The approximate cost for this trip will be $1800. 

The Washington Trip will take place in June, during Discovery Week. The approximate cost for this trip will be $700. 

During the summer, efforts will be made to streamline the costs for families. It is possible that there will be some fundraising events during the school year. 

The link is:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FieldTripPlanning

On Tuesday, May 25th at 6:30 there will be an informational meeting on the Harrogate, England exchange. Applications will be available. If those interested can not make the meeting, the information will be available in the middle school office on Wed., May 26th.

Le Français   

Mme Turner   

After school Tues. and Thurs.

After the Quebec Trip, which many students are participating in, we will reflect on the French read, overheard and perhaps spoken during the long weekend. Back at school…..

We will continue to build on our ability to describe our homes with the new adjectives that precede the nouns. Students will have 2 small assessments, a phrase of the day quiz and a quiz on the adjectives that precede the nouns. We will also prepare for a final written and oral assessment which will be part of our work next week.

Mathematics 

After School Help: 

Monday – Ms. Jacobs 

Tuesday – Mrs. Bennett 

Wednesday- Ms. Jacobs,  Mr. Towle 

Thursday – Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Hodgkins 

We will spend the next six math classes on data.  This week we will concentrate on the concepts of mean and median as seen in lineplots and boxplots.  Much of the material will be taught through using the software, Tinkerplots.

Science: Ms. Boudreau

After school Tues & Wed.

The “Cheeseburger” test is this week. B block takes it on Wed. All other classes take the test on Friday. Students already have the direction sheet and should have started both their practice table and paragraph in science class. We worked on the table (#2) last week, and the paragraph(#3) today in class.    Please review the directions and rubric on the back with your child. Have your child share his/her rough drafts with you. Create a list of questions to bring to class if needed. There are links on my Moodle and other links on the web that will help students understand circulation, and the link between circulation, respiration, and digestion.

Also this week, a lab on calories and energy. Next week, directions for the make-up lab and introduction to classification.

Week In Preview May 17th-May 21st.

On Tuesday, May 26th at 6:30 there will be an informational meeting on the Harrogate, England exchange. Applications will be available. If those interested can not make the meeting, the information will be available in the middle school office on Wed., May 26th. 

Here is a link to the UA Week in Preview:

http://www.falmouthschools.org/middleschool/fmsweb/index.cfm?page=index_content.cfm&id=268

Mathematics 

After School Help: 

Monday – Ms. Jacobs 

Tuesday – Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Towle 

Wednesday- Ms. Jacobs 

We have wrapped up the unit, Comparing and Scaling, and any homework assigned will not be on new material.  The first part of the coming week will be an in class review in preparation for the unit test on Wednesday.  If your student feels additional practice would be helpful, please encourage him/her to take advantage of the after school help available.

Le Français   Mme Turner   after school Tues.

Students will combine their new house vocabulary with irregular adjectives that come before the noun. We will see a short video on Quebec City in anticipation of the Quebec trip taking place this week  or a future trip. There will be no quizzes this week.

Sra. Campbell -Spanish 

marshacampbell@fps.k12.me.us 

Available after school on Tuesday and Thursday 

This week has been a rough with many students out sick and being sick myself. Sorry, we’re a little behind, as I was out today sick. We’ll continue to wrap up this lesson on the family. Focusing on talking about our own families. there will be another oral assessment soon in which we will discuss our families: asking questions and answering them with out a script. We;ll be practicing for that next week, will have the quiz on possessive adjectives (didn’t get to it this week) and continue with comparatives as well.

ELA Reading

Becky Hayes

bhayes@fps.k12.me.us

Due to the short week, we’ll continue our reading of The Outsiders focusing our critical literary eye on the 5 dominant themes: friendship, family, stereotyping, loyalty and growing up/the loss of innocence.  We’ll also continue to analyze the characters (and how they change) and relate the text to our own lives; before the end of the week we’ll almost be halfway through the text!

Students should plan to bring their independent reading book(s) with them to Quebec, Boston, or elsewhere as they’ll most likely have some down time to keep up with their reading.  They’re aiming for completing 6-8 independent focus areas (or reading strategies) before the last week of school! Many are in good shape, but others are seemingly behind.  Please check in with your child to see where they are with their independent reading goals.

Have a great weekend!

Science

Ms. Boudreau  cboudreau@fps.k12.me.us

After School Tuesday & Wednesday

Students who were at school on Friday received the “Cheeseburger” directions and rubric. Please read it thoroughly with them, and help them make a list of questions to ask me in class this week. Students can use the directions to prepare a practice test. I will be happy to check the sample over after school on Tuesday or Wednesday. The test will be given next week. Students are allowed to write notes on one side of a 3in x 5in notecard and use them for the test. No magnifying lenses allowed.

This week we will conclude our study of the human body by engaging in a lab that helps demonstrate how the heart pumps blood, and then by connecting the three systems. Homework is to study for the “Cheeseburger” test.

Social Studies

Mr. Stein

jstein@fps.k12.me.us

After school Wednesday

This week we will begin our real look into the current crisis in Darfur, Sudan. Last week we read the United Nations conventions on genocide and this week we will look at the specifics of the genocide in Darfur. We will be watching the movie The Devil Came on Horseback, which does an amazing job showing what happened from the vantage point of an American observer.

From http://www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com/:

Using the exclusive photographs and first hand testimony of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK takes the viewer on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of Darfur, Sudan, where an Arab run government is systematically executing a plan to rid the province of it’s black African citizens.  As an official military observer, Steidle had access to parts of the country that no journalist could penetrate. He was unprepared for what he would witness and experience, including being fired upon, taken hostage, and being unable to intervene to save the lives of young children. Ultimately frustrated by the inaction of the international community, Steidle resigned and returned to the US to expose the images and stories of lives systematically 

This will provide the background for the following week’s debate on what should the United States Role in preventing genocide be.

Week In Preview May 10-14

Quebec & Non-Quebec

Québec – Mandatory meeting for students and parents Thursday, May 13, 7pm in the FMS cafeteria.  Roommates will be announced.

Non-Québec- Green Permission Slips were sent home with students on Thursday or Friday, that explain planned activities. Please ask your student for it, complete it, and send it back to HR teacher on Monday.

Le Français    Mme Turner   after school Tues. and Thurs.

We have begun a unit on “la Maison”. This week we will continue to learn vocabulary. We will also start learning about adjectives that come before the noun. There will be one quiz at the end of the week on vocabulary. Students will be able to describe their home and the furnishings.

Sra. Campbell -Spanish 

marshacampbell@fps.k12.me.us 

Available after school on Wednesday and Thursday 

This week has been a rough with many students out sick and being sick myself. I hope we are all a lot healthier next week! We are continuing to study family vocabulary and possessive adjectives this week. We will add the comparison of things using más, menos  and tan, and other expressions. We will have a vocab quiz at some point during the week, and one on possessive adjectives. 

Mathematics 

After School Help: 

Monday – Ms. Jacobs 

Tuesday – Mrs. Bennett 

Wednesday- Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Towle 

Thursday – Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Hodgkins 

This past week students learned to compare quantities using unit rates.  It would be terrific reinforcement if you could weave unit rates into family discussions.  Perhaps you could mention how many miles your car gets to a gallon of gas or, when you go grocery shopping, you compute (or look for the sticker with) the unit rate for different quantities of the same item and see which is the better deal.  

It would also be helpful if your student were supplied with pencils and notebook paper for the last few weeks of school.

Becky Hayes

ELA

bhayes@fps.k12.me.us 

Next week we’ll continue reading The Outsiders.  All students were given a mini-workbook to use as we analyze and explore literary strategies.  

Science- Ms. Boudreau

We are learning how the respiratory and circulatory systems work together to provide the cells with oxygen and expel CO2 waste. There will be  respiratory system quiz on Tuesday. Students should practice labeling the organs, and should review their notes from the internet questions. Also, they should review the questions & answers from the orange book. There are LOTS of internet sites that address these 2 systems. Please encourage your student to use these site to help them understand the function of each system as well as the job of each organ in each system.

Week In Preview May 3rd-7

Québec – Mandatory meeting for students and parents Thursday, May 13, 7pm in the FMS cafeteria.  Roommates will be announced.

Le Français    Mme Turner  after school help Tues. & Thurs.

Monday and Tuesday classes will do an oral assessment of the retelling of the “Crictor” story. Ask your child to tell you the story in French! We will share the stories with the 5/6th grades during the week. We will continue with the verbs pouvoir & vouloir and will begin with vocabulary about the house so students can describe their homes. There will be a quiz on the 2 new verbs later in the week.

ELA

Becky Hayes

bhayes@fps.k12.me.us

After School Wednesday

Over the weekend (except for Block B), students need to reread a short story entitled, “On The Bridge” and identify the different plot parts, with a focus on the symbols in the story, as well as the emerging themes.  This short story sets the stage for our next group novel, The Outsiders, that we’ll begin next week.  This is an incredibly profound, classic book set in the 19560s that is very relatable to most 7th grade/adolescent students as it’s rich with themes such as friendships, social groups, stereotyping, family, the notion of belonging, and growing-up.  Due to the nature of the novel, there are fleeting moments of violence.  If you are interested in supporting your child while reading, please feel free to request an additional copy of the book or visit www.bookrags.com/notes/outs/, a great site that provides lots of information.    The audio version of the book will also be available to all students.

Social Studies

Kings Stein and Fox

Afterschool: Tuesday (Stein)

The end is here. The oil has been heated and the nails rusted. The TORTURE CHAMBER is ready! The second class of the week will see the end of the Medieval Studies assessment. This massive test will contain 50 questions that are matching, fill in the blank, and multiple choice. Throw in a map and a few short answer questions to round out the remaining 50 points. Everything from the fall of Rome to the fall of Feudalism will be included on this test. We will spend the first class of the week playing a Jeopardy style review game. Students were given a review sheet mid last week to help them prepare for the test. We also reviewed what materials (handouts) would be helpful for studying for the exam.

The rest of the week will introduce the Renaissance which followed the Medieval Times.

Mathematics 

After School Help: 

Monday – Ms. Jacobs, Mrs. Bennett 

Tuesday – Mrs. Bennett 

Wednesday- Ms. Jacobs 

Thursday – Mr. Towle 

Last week, students took a quiz to assess their ability to express different comparisons (part to part ratios, part to whole ratios, percents, differences and multiplication) in complete sentences and back them up with mathematical data.  Scaling up and scaling down ratios were also skills that were assessed.  If your student had difficulty with this assessment, please encourage her/him to stay after school for extra help. 

In grading quizzes, the work is worth more than the solution as clear effective communication is an overarching attribute of successful mathematicians.  Showing the steps used to find a solution to a problem, not just the solution, is vital.  Lately, we have found that students are not taking advantage of the opportunity to practice this skill as they do their homework.  With only seven more weeks of school, we would like to make every minute – both inside and outside the classroom – count.  Your students have learned a lot of mathematics this year and we would like to see them continue their good work up through the end of the year.  Any encouragement you could give them would be greatly appreciated.

Science: Ms. Boudreau

After School Help Tues & Thurs

Monday is the digestive system test for classes A-D and E will have it on Tuesday. We reviewed last week as we finished with the small & large intestines. Students should study all vocab notes, review labs and visit study guide links on mY moodle site over the weekend. There is no re-take.

We will continue our study of the human body until Quebec. The “Cheesburger” test will be the Friday following the Quebec trip. We will be exploring the respiratory and cardiovascular systems until then. Students should spend at least 20 min/night reviewing science material. That will make things much easier near the end of May.

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES:

I posted the link to the Discovery Channel’s Young Scientist video contest on my Moodle site. 3 of the topics are related to this years studies, and many students have already made some great videos for class when they did the disease unit. I will replace a low quiz grade or the Osmosis lab grade with a 100 for a quality video even if the student does not want to submit it. Due May 25.

Students can make a “Bell Jar” model for 50 pts extra credit. I’ll have some examples in class on Monday. For full credit, they will need to describe what each part represents and accurately describe what is happening when the “diaphragm” is moving up and down. This is due May 14th.

I’ve been actively commenting on assignments when I enter them. I hope this clears up some questions you or your student have regarding their score.

Have a great weekend.

Week In Preview April 12-15. (no school Friday)

On Tuesday, Ms. Boudreau’s homeroom students are raising money for the Center For Grieving Children by making Smoothies for break. They will sell tickets for the Smoothies and to enter Kindness Garden for the celebration.

This Thursday is the annual Seventh Grade Medieval Festival. This is a celebration of the past two months of Medieval Studies. All week we will be holding afternoon workshops in preparation for Thursday’s event. These workshops range from Medieval Idol and Game Show to Knight Games, to Jestering or Archery/Trebuchet building. Tapestries and crafts created during the week will be on display during the festival. Thursday morning each group will be given a chance to share their activities with the rest of the class. The afternoon we will host Medieval reenactors who will share their passion with our students. The day will culminate with the feast that will have been prepared by the workshop “Medieval Top Chef!” We are looking for a few volunteers who would be willing to help out with the day, including the preperation of the feast. If you are able to assist, please let Lords Fox and Stein know. 

Craft supplies and other items that can be recycled to create products for the festival are greatly appretiated. Talk with your child to find out what he/she might need. 

AND DON’T FORGET TO HELP YOUR STUDENT WITH THEIR MEDIEVAL COSTUME. THEY SHOULD BE DRESSED AS THEIR “CHARACTER” !!!

Thank you…

Next week’s schedule will be as follows:

Mon: A, UA, B, LUNCH, C ,  Prep for your Medieval Workshops

Tues: E, Adv, UA, D, LUNCH, A, Prep for your Medieval Workshops

Wed: D, UA, E, LUNCH, C, Prep for your Medieval Workshops…

THURSDAY:::MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL! & UA

Social Studies

Lords Stein and Fox

jstein@fps.k12.me.us

rfox@fps.k12.me.us

The Crusades are done and it is time to hone our writing skills. This week students will begin writing a piece of historical fiction. They will intertwine one of the historical events that we have been studying and their “character” from the Christendom simulation. There should also be one real historical person who is involved in the story. This piece of writing will be HANDWRITTEN, just as the monks back in the day did. Students can have a lot of creativity leeway with this assignment and it can be a lot of fun.

ELA

Becky Hayes

bhayes@fps.k12.me.us

After School by appointment

Due to the shortness of next week, we’ll be completing our found poem from “recaptured” imagery from Crispin and discussing the final chapters to the novel.  Over vacation, students are expected to complete a take-home test on Crispin, using their knowledge and understanding about both the story and the elements of fiction.

Science

Ms. Boudreau

After school on Tuesday

We’ll be investigating what happens to food in the small intestines. One of my students found the reading passage “Into the Blender” online, so if your child misses class or isn’t able to finish reading during class, he/she may be able to find the information online. The name of the next passage is, “The long and winding tube.”

Mathematics 

After School Help: 

Tuesday- Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Towle 

Wednesday- Ms. Jacobs 

Due to Medieval Week activities, most classes will only meet twice before vacation.  There will be a vocabulary quiz (which students have already seen) and a quiz on the ability to express different comparisons (part to part ratios, part to whole ratios, percents, differences and multiplication) in complete sentences and back them up with mathematical data.   

Many students would benefit from accessing the percent review in the Understanding Math application on their laptops.  It provides good practice of  this sixth grade skill. 

I hope everyone has a great week and has safe travel for their vacation. Don’t drink any contaminated water, remember your sunscreen, and apply insect repellent;)

Week In Preview April 5-9

Picture Day & Science Quiz on Thursday, April 8th!

Next Friday, April 9th,  all 7th grade students will participate in “Appreciating Diversity Day”, a full day in which we’ll honor and celebrate the differences in our community through a variety of guest speakers, discussions, a video and much more!

In an attempt to honor the diverse accomplishments of our students, the 7/8th grade Student Council will be holding our third 7/8th grade “student led assembly” of the year at 2:00 in the large gym.    The focus of the assembly will be to celebrate student achievements.    

Social Studies

Mr. Stein/ Mr. Fox

This week we embark on the Crusades, with students traveling around the globe (or building) in search of knowledge and glory!

We will also start our major writing assignment based on the Medieval unit. Students will be writing a piece of historical fiction based on one historical event and they will intertwine their Christendom character into their writing. For example, Rollo the Rat Catcher during the Black Death… They will have specific historical facts to work in, as well as finding an actual historical person to mention.

Le Français  

Mme Turner   

After school  Tues. & Thurs.

gturner@fps.k12.me.us

Students will have an assessment done on Voice Threads on the body and health. We will be reading and learning vocabulary around the story “Crictor” by Tomi Ungerer.

Sra. Campbell -Spanish 

marshacampbell@fps.k12.me.us 

Available after school on Tuesday and Thursday 

We’re ending this week with a VoiceThread activity in which the students record their voices talking about foods they like. This is a new technology for most of us and I am looking forward to seeing how it goes. It is a way to have students hear themselves when they speak Spanish and make improvements in pronunciation and rhythm. This activity will go into the beginning of next week when we share some of the results in class.  Next week we have only four days of classes, ending the week with Diversity Day activities, so we will be trying to wrap up the Unidad 3, Lesson 1 with an oral assessment if possible.  I am planning to check the notebooks soon too and will get the rubric and details out on my Moodle site early next week as well. Reminder to Class B : the Interrogatives Quiz is on Monday. 

Mathematics 

After School Help: 

Monday – Ms. Jacobs 

Tuesday- Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Towle 

Wednesday- Mrs. Bennett, Ms. Jacobs 

Thursday – Mrs. Hodgkins 

In class, students are learning to write comparison statements using complete sentences and backing them up with mathematical data.  These comparisons include the use of part to part ratios, part to whole ratios, percents, differences, and multiplication.

ELA

Becky Hayes

bhayes@fps.k12.me.us

After School: Tuesday & Thursday

Next week, students will show/perform their mini Crispin video that they worked on in small groups from this past week! So far, the performances are fantastic! Please inquire about your child’s project.  Over the weekend, students need to read the 4th section of Crispin (Ch. 36-47) and create a “brick wall of imagery” from Avi’s rich descriptive language, to use as their foundation to their found poem and their first independent writing piece (directions/rubric are on my Moodle).  We’ll be finishing Crispin next week as well. 

Students are also establishing a fluency goal for Reader’s Workshop. They’ll be required to bring in their favorite children’s book to practice pace, intonation, and expression as they read aloud to the class.  If you feel your child needs extra practice (this is due when they feel ready to share!), please work with them and/or see www.storylineonline.net for a little extra expression and inspiration!

Lastly, next weekend the Maine Festival of the Book – A Literary Extravaganza will be going on at the Abromsom Center, Saturday April 10th, USM Portland Campus.  It’s a full day of programs, parties, and performances to promote literacy!  Meet award winning authors as they discuss writing, publishing, memoir, and more!).  Please visit  www.mainereads.org for more information and a schedule of events!

Science: Ms. Boudreau

cboudreau@fps.k12.me.us

Students have performed lots of chemical tests to find out why food has to be digested. This week we will be reviewing digestion in the mouth, going down the esophagus and into the stomach. If anyone has left over hard boiled easter eggs, send them in. We have another eggciting eggspiriment. The week will end with a multiple choice moodle quiz on Thursday. Does your student know the names of the chemicals they used in class? Can he/she explain how to do a test for sugar? What about the name of the enzyme in your saliva? How does food get from your mouth to your stomach? There are lots of links on my moodle site that help students learn more about digestion and help them study. 

Happy Easter >:)

AN UPDATE FROM THE YEARBOOK CLUB:  Next week (3/29 – 4/2) is the FINAL WEEK to order a yearbook.  The prices are $22 for hardcover, and $18 for paperback.  Payment may be made by check or cash, and delivered to Ellen Lowery in room 38, or to Joyce Beasley in the main office.  Please e-mail Ellen with any questions:  elowery@fps.k12.me.us.  Thank you!

A heads up on Summer Academy 2010.  Summer Academy will be held the week before school starts, the week of August 23.  Generally our students are recommended for the program if they struggle with organizational and study skills.  The academy also includes teacher follow-up during the school year so that skills are more likely to be applied.  We will be sending out letters recommending participation in Summer Academy in the next few weeks. If you think your child is a likely candidate, and you would like them to participate, you might want to reserve the mornings of that week.  (The classes are 1.5 hours and there is a choice of two morning times as well.)

Week In Preview March 29.

a. Campbell -Spanish 

marshacampbell@fps.k12.me.us 

Available after school on Tuesday and Wednesday 

Hola! We spent most of this week on the restaurant skits, which were a lot of fun to see. Now we’re moving back to the text to wrap up this lesson. We had a quiz on GUSTAR today ( and Monday for Block B) Then we will start reviewing what we’re learned in this lesson: the ER and IR verbs, the use of GUSTAR with nouns, vocabulary and the different uses of tú and usted, the familiar and the formal forms of the pronoun you. Hasta luego. 

Le Français    Mme Turner   after school Tues. & Thurs. 

gturner@fps.k12.me.us 

A block will start off the week with a phrase quiz. We will continue with body parts, descriptions and illnesses. Students will be using Voice thread for an oral and written assessment describing people. We are focusing on adjective agreement. We may get to reading “Crictor” by Tomi Ungerer at the end of the week. 

Mathematics 

After School Help: 

Monday – Ms. Jacobs 

Tuesday- Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Towle 

Wednesday- Mrs. Bennett, Ms. Jacobs 

Thursday – Mrs. Hodgkins 

Students will conclude the unit on integers with a unit test on Wednesday.  This test will be comprehensive and will assess students’ knowledge of operations (add, subtract, multiply and divide) on positive and negative rational numbers (integers and fractions), absolute value, coordinate graphing in four quadrants, the Distributive Property, and the Order of Operations. 

This next week, students will begin the next unit, Comparing and Scaling.  This unit will explore ratio, proportion, and percent as a tool for making appropriate comparisons with understanding and efficiency.

Science:

Eggspiriment lab reports are due Monday for A-D and Tuesday for E. Students had time to complete most of the report during class. They should be using the rubric they downloaded from my Moodle site to make sure they have included everything. They can also use the Lab Conclusion Rubric to write their conclusions. All student must pass in their own report. 

On Monday, students will use their new skill of being able to do and interpret chemical tests for sugar and starch to find out if sugar and starch can pass through the membrane by diffusion. We will then begin learning how food is broken down in each organ of the digestive system.

WIP 3.22-3.26

Le Français   

Mme Turner   

Before school help by arrangement

gturner@fps.k12.me.us

Students will have a quiz at the beginning of the week on Charlemagne, his importance, what he valued, when and where he lived.  To support the current Science unit, we will learn/review body parts and how to express that one does not feel well. We will continue to apply family vocabulary, possessive adjectives and the verb avoir.

Lord Stein   jstein@fps.k12.me.us 

Lord Fox     rfox@fps.k12.me.us 

All 7th graders have set forth on their chargers to follow the code of chivalry and thus complete the “Squires Challenge.” They will seek your assistance in signing off on their good deeds.   The Squire’s challenge is due on Monday. 

On Friday students started to develop their own personal Coat of Arms, by Monday they need to have a rough draft completed.  We will continue this work next week.  Upon finishing Heraldry a knighting ceremony will occur. 

At the end of the week, we will focus on historical events that shaped Medieval Europe.  Students will be expected to apply reading, research and note taking skills to accomplish the task.   

Have a great weekend. 

ELA

Becky Hayes

After School Tuesday & Thursday

bhayes@fps.k12.me.us

Next week, students will continue to read & discuss Crispin -we’re about half-way through the book and the students seem to be enjoying it!  We’re acquiring new vocabulary, focusing on plot development and characterization, as well as continuing to track/record for their chosen theme.  Students should expect a quiz on plot terms/the elements of fiction the following week – they all will have completed notes on their laptop by Monday.  We’ve also launched the independent side to our Reader’s Workshop – students have begun to focus on a few reading strategies as goals with their current indie. book, and will work on demonstrating these while reading and after they’ve completed the book. Happy Spring!

Enjoy the warm, sprummer weather this weekend !!

After School: 

Monday –  Ms. Jacobs 

Tuesday-No after school help available due to Math Meet at Biddeford Middle School 

Wednesday- Mrs. Bennett, Ms. Jacobs

Thursday – Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Hodgkins 

This week, students learned about the distributive property over addition and subtraction.  Next week, we will finish the unit with a review of the order of operations and a unit test.  This unit test will be quite thorough and will cover addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of positive and negative rational numbers, absolute value, graphing in four quadrants, the distributive property, and the order of operations.

SCIENCE-Ms. Boudreau

cboudreau@fps.k12.me.us

Students did a wonderful job with their infectious disease presentations. They really put the software and technology available to educational use. I hope they had as much fun producing as we did viewing. 

This week we are learning about OSMOSIS, and may start our Science Needs Everyone Project simultaneously. I’ll see how it goes. For the Osmosis lab, students will need to bring in 8-10 oz / 200 ml of a non-parishable liquid. They are going to predict weather the liquid will be hypertonic, hypotonic or isotonic to a de-shelled chicken egg. We put the eggs in vinegar on Friday. Encourage your children to be creative with the liquids.  

For homework for Monday, students should be visiting the OSMOSIS link on my Moodle site, listing the three types of solutions, and drawing before and after pictures for each one to show what happens to the cell membrane in the various solutions.

Week In Preview March 15th. 

Le Français  Mme Turner   after school Tues. or before school by arrangement

We will finish our mini-unit of Charlemagne and learn vocabulary around body to support the current Science unit. Students will learn how to express maladies while using the verb “avoir”.

Mathematics 

After School Help: 

Monday – Ms. Jacobs 

Tuesday- Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Towle 

Wednesday- Mrs. Bennett, Ms. Jacobs 

Thursday – Mrs. Hodgkins 

Students will continue to practice algorithms for multiplication and division of positive and negative numbers and there will be quiz on these concepts this week.  If there is a need for extra help, it is expected that the student will take advantage of the many different times and opportunities available.

ELA

Becky Hayes

bhayes@fps.k12.me.us

After School Tuesday & Thursday

Next week, all classes will finish our Plot Pyramid notes  and delve into Crispin (our first group novel!).  All students have read or are reading, over the weekend, the first 12 chapters in Crispin.  All students have the audio companion downloaded to their laptop, which they may feel free to listen to while following along with the text.  With this novel, we’ll be focusing on the elements of fiction, themes (we’ve just started to create a Medieval “stained glass window” in my classroom, of student-selected excerpts referencing the 6 primary themes of the novel!), new vocabulary, and the hero’s journey.  Over the weekend, students either are working on new vocabulary from Crispin or recording evidence of their selected theme (self-discovery, friendship/loyalty, freedom, bravery/courage, family or religion/faith).  This past Thursday, all classes (except Block C due to guided practice) began the independent side to Reader’s Workshop – students are self-selecting books (some with my guidance), strategizing individual reading goals, and beginning the ground work towards those goals.

It’s been such a pleasure getting to know your child over the past week and a half, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to working with them over the next few months!  Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns.

Social Studies

Lords Stein and Fox

This week will begin with the presentation of each groups manor. There should be a physical manifestation of the castle, a map of the manor grounds, a vicious moat monster (drawing and poem), and a couple of paragraphs describing how each manor maintains its self-sufficiency. It should be entertaining as well as informative.

We will have the pleasure of having a guest speaker come in and share his knowledge of medieval manor life and the economy of medieval Europe. It is always great to have parents share their expertise with the rest of the class. 

The end off the week will be devoted to the study of Knighthood. Look for students to bring home work regarding chivalry. They can earn farthings for kind and courteous acts done at home.

Sra. Campbell -Spanish 

marshacampbell@fps.k12.me.us 

Available after school on Tuesday and Wednesday 

Everyone is working on a “pictograma” using the ER and IR verbs. This is due Monday ( or Tuesday for E). I have put the rubric for it on my moodle site under the Homework heading at the top.  I have postponed the cuaderno check till next trimester. (Lo siento, pero no hay tiempo.) We will be continuing with Unit 4, lesson 1. Question words and the new verb conjugations will be our focus. Expect a ER and IR verb “box” quiz this week as well.   A restaurant scene skit will be written and performed in class this week so make sure the vocabulary is studied! Hasta luego.

Science- Ms. Boudreau

After School Tuesday & Thursday

This week groups are using unique ideas to teach other members of the class about an infectious disease. The information that is included in their presentation is listed on my moodle site in the document “Disease Project Notes”. I’m looking forward to being delightfully entertained.