| From the Principal | |
-Steve Murray
November is upon us. Time is moving quickly. A lot has gone on and we have a lot to celebrate. Our Math Team did fantastic at their last competition. Ms. Andresen and Ms. Levinson meet with the students every Thursday. The hard work from both the students and teachers paid off. Additionally, our new Drama Club director, Ms. Simko, is excited to announce that our May musical will be, "High School Musical." The drama club started and auditions will be happening in the upcoming weeks.
A.C.E. generously funded a new program for the middle schools' Engineering programs. The program is called Mindstorms from Lego. Imagination is the only limit for students. Using their engineering skills, imagination and creativity, students can build prototypes (using Lego Mindstorms) of a device they designed and have it perform various functions. The structure syncs up to a computer. Students use the computer to give their device commands in which to maneuver and perform tasks. It is an amazing program.
We love our partnerships with area businesses. Recently, 3M donated over $1000 in office supplies to WMS. The money saved from purchasing supplies will be used for student scholarships for families in need. In addition, we recently applied for a science/technology grant through 3M. WMS requested to have a 3D printer. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning (web based educational resource for teachers) details some of the myriad of uses for 3D printing.
- It provides teachers with 3 dimensional visual aids that they can use in their classroom particularly in illustrating a hard to grasp concept
- 3D printers make it easy for teachers to seize the interest of their students compared to just showing the pictorial representations of objects.
- It enhances hands-on learning and learning by doing. Using this prototyping technology, students will be able to produce realistic 3 dimensional mini-models. (great for engineering, architecture, and multi-media arts students)
- It provides more room for interactive class activities. In science, for instance, teachers can create a 3D model of the human heart, head. skeleton...etc. to teach students about the human body.
I am so happy to announce that 3M awarded us a $5000 grant to purchase a 3D printer. We look forward to purchasing this device and we want to say thank you to 3M for all that they have done to support WMS and the Andover Public Schools.
We are also looking forward to our 3rd Annual WMS TechAware Week. This week will take place in early December and will include a number of activities that focus our students' attention on making good choices when using digital technology, as well as broadening their thinking about alternatives to spending hours each day staring at a screen! Students will participate in an "unplugged" day and special Flex Time activities throughout the week.
Last but not least, I want to give a great big CONGRATULATIONS to Floyd Greenwood. Floyd's 7th grade science fair project focused, in part, on selectively breeding algae to be more nutritious to fish. Floyd was among 30 nationwide finalists (out of 2054) to present at the national science fair in Washington D.C. Floyd was invited to the White House and met President Obama. What an amazing journey he is on.
|
| From the PAC | -Gina Murray, Michelle Curran, Margaret Sullivan, Carolyn Rainville, Chris Adams, Shital Shah
PAC BOARD A big welcome to Shital Shah who is coordinating this newsletter for WMS and also Carolyn Rainville who will be our new PAC treasurer. We thank you very much for volunteering your time! A special thanks to our outgoing treasurer, Rich Durbeck who dedicated his talents in this role for the past several years. Thank you!
FLAMINGO FUNDRAISER
We would like to thank everyone for helping make our Flamingo Fundraiser a tremendous success!! With your help we were able to raise $8,000!!!
A huge thank you to the leaders of this fundraiser Wendi Williams and Kim Grady! They put in a many hours each day and night ensuring that the flocks were where they were suppose to be. A special thank you to Karen Gaffney for being our Public Relations coordinator and making sure our pink friends got attention.
Another thank you to our fearless Flamingo Captains and all of their spouses and children who helped along the way. Through all kinds of weather and circumstances they got their flamingos to their destinations and took great care of them during their assignment. These people included...
Caroline Lyons, Sheryl Rose, Laurie Fraser, Amy Hauser, Carlene Alpert, Leslie Shahbazian, Karen Wiley, Mary Sakellarios, Elaina MacLean, Sue Archambault, Alison Campbell, Erika Halloran, Heather Heidtke, Kelly Dougherty, Laurie LaBrie, Karen Gaffney, Jennifer Savino, Veronica Pierni, Liz Bardetti, Jenn Hardock, Susan Ros, Kandie Hale, Christine Weiner, Monica Reedy, Lisa Keeler, Margaret Sullivan, Maria Dankens, Amy Smith, Ann Irza, Jennifer St. Onge, Eileen Forgue, Julie Patten, Laura Buonopane, Christine Zdunczyk, Heather Dennehy, Lysanne Lapierre, Kerry Larney, Fozia Vasowalla, Kara Ceduchuck, Anita Johnson, Susanne Willert and Diana Elliott.
Ms. Whitman's homeroom had the most flocking orders and donations and will be treated to a pizza party! A special thanks to all the teachers that most certainly made the past 3 weeks a ton of fun in school with the homeroom competitions. By the last week the tradition of passing forward the 'shirt of victory' (ugly itchy flamingo shirt and head boppers) included the entire homeroom of kids shaking marimbas, parading down the hall to the new winning homeroom. A fun way to start of each day!
It was amazing to watch this many people coming together to support West Middle School. We flocked 200 yards... so thank you to everyone that put in an order, donation or volunteered to help. It was truly a team effort and a lot of fun was had while we raised money for WMS! We are very fortunate to have such supportive and wonderful families at West Middle School!!
TEACHER WISH LISTSThe holidays are fast approaching. As you know, in middle school the collection of money for teacher's gifts is no longer done due to the changing of classes/teachers. We worked with the teachers and administration at the beginning of the year to organize teacher's classroom needs. Each teacher indicated wish list items on Post-It Boards which were available in the lobby during the first month of school. Thank you to those of you who took Post-Its and donated items at the beginning of the year. A list has been created with the remaining items from those original Post-Its and is available at this link: https://sites.google.com/site/westmiddlepac/teacher-wish-list You may contact your team leader, the applicable teacher or wmspac@gmail.com for questions on any wish list items. WMS DIRECTORY The final edition of the WMS Family Directory has been published and you should have received an email from us with a link to the PDF directory on October 23. We would like to thank Lynn Bowab for her work on this year's directory. If you did not receive the directory email, please check your spam or junk folder and contact us if you need further help. |
| WMS Happenings and Parent Info | |
6th GRADE WEB SOCIAL
Attention all 6th Graders - you are invited!!!
When: Friday Nov 14, 2014 - 2:05-4:30 pm
What: This fun Social is sponsored by your WEB Leaders!
Admission: $3.00 (snacks will also be sold)
Students should be picked up at 4:30 pm in front of the auditorium, and must be in school that day in order to attend.
We hope you will join us!
PICTURE RETAKE DAY
Wednesday, November 5th
|
Team Champion (6)
| |
-Ms. Artus, Mr. Broduer, Mr. Freiberg, Ms. Wesley, Ms. Witman, Ms. Kumph
Social Studies
Champion team has been busy learning about the world outside of the United States. We are about to finish our first unit on Africa (yes, it took nearly two months! They ask a lot of questions). We have been very busy learning about the Five Themes of Geography (location, place, human environmental interaction, movement and region). Our next unit will be on Prehistory and the Evolution of Early Man. We focus on the world and the problems man faced during this time. These problems will lead them to invent items that we can not live without today (irrigation, government, farming tools, etc...). This unit will also start in Africa in the Great Rift Valley. It is believed that early man traveled through this valley in search of food, eventually leaving and wandering to occupy the rest of the world. Please continue to check my website. I will often post questions and websites to enrich the class.
Language Arts
We have been busy reading aloud in language arts! We have just finished our first novel, Esperanza Rising. The students seemed to really enjoy reading this book that touches on a lot of interesting topics. Ask your child about it. We will have three culminating assessments related to the book: a vocabulary quiz, a writing assignment (letter), and an artistic/analytical activity. For writing, the students just turned in their first essay. It was a personal narrative. In terms of grammar, we have covered three parts of speech. The students were tested on nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Grammar instruction is ongoing, and we will revisit all parts of speech throughout the year. In the coming months, we will be working on journal writing, reading The Cay, and pronouns.
Science
Sixth-graders started the school year by learning how to make qualitative and quantitative observations while avoiding bias in the process. These basic process skills, along with making inferences and predictions, have given them the tools they need as they transition from learning about scientific methods to using them. By integrating their current study of the necessary variables in a controlled experiment, students were successful in conducting an in-class experiment on batteries. They are now learning how scientists document and communicate their findings by writing their first-ever lab report.
Next, students will conduct their own experiment at home and report their findings in a formal lab report. This is great practice for the Annual Science Fair in Spring. The next major unit of study will be the metric system and measurement. Students will learn how to measure length, mass and volume of objects (both regular- and irregular-shaped) by using a variety of instruments.
Math
Champions have been progressing nicely through their new program, Math In Focus, completing units on both positive and negative numbers and the number line. We are currently exploring multiplication and division of fractions and decimals, noting the parallel between the two rational forms and utilizing real-world situations as contexts. In the coming weeks, students will apply rational number concepts to ratio and rate, major themes of study for the sixth grade. Here, real-world examples will include unit rates such as speed and unit cost. One constant throughout our units is our class page in Aspen. Students (and parents) are encouraged to visit the page regularly not only to confirm assignments, but as a resource where you'll find links to documents and web sites. Documents include worksheets and solution keys, and the links go to review and practice sites that include tutorials and games. You should also be able to monitor progress on homework assignments, check-ins, and tests through the Aspen portal. Do let me know if you ever have any questions by email at : SFreiberg@aps1.net
|
Team Lightning (6)
| |
-Ms. Brink, Ms. Brouillard, Ms. Hansberry, Ms. Lawler, Ms. Thompson, Mr. Doherty
Language Arts: Ms. Hansberry
We just finished reading the novel Esperanza Rising. During our reading, we focused on the elements of a story (setting, mood, characterization, conflict, etc.), and the use of strong vivid language/vocabulary throughout the novel. The students continued to work on their writing as well. Students studied how to incorporate mood in their writing through music, and they wrote a Personal Narrative essay based on a life experience. Many students wrote some fantastic leads that had me hooked from the start! Our next novel is The Cay.
Math: Ms. Brink
The students have adjusted very well to the Math in Focus/Singapore Math curriculum. We are currently working on Unit 3, Multiplying and Dividing Fractions and Decimals. Students have done an excellent job drawing models to represent fraction division problems, which has given them an additional strategy for solving real-world word problems. In Unit 4, we will begin to work on ratios and proportional relationships. Understanding ratios and proportional reasoning is a critical part of sixth grade math so we will spend a significant amount of time on these concepts.
Science: Ms. Brouillard
During the month of November, after performing an entire experiment and completing a lab report in class, Lightning students will be assigned their first lab report. From discussions in class, it is clear that the kids are looking forward to this assignment.
In December, our main focus will be the Measuring Unit. Your children will be learning to find mass and volume of both solids (regular and irregular shapes), and liquids. We will continue to learn new vocabulary as we go, and complete lots of fun in class activities. Thanks to the support of our P.A.C., in December we will be bringing in Michael Bergen, The Science Guy. This will be Michael's 8th year coming to WMS. He leads the kids in 2 hours of fun and engaging activities involving chemical changes - date TBA.
Social Studies: Ms. Thompson
We are coming into the home stretch of our introductory unit on basic geography and the continent of Africa. We have covered the Five Themes of Geography, land use, the importance of location, etc. We are just beginning out final project (African Flags) and will have one more quiz (vocabulary). At this time, we are also shifting our assessment focus from the memorization of facts, to the application of those facts in more critical thinking projects. We'll soon be moving on to Ancient Man and then into Mesopotamia and the beginnings of civilization. I am so impressed with the consistent completion of homework. The students this year are really on top of their work.
|
Team Pride (7)
| |
-Ms. Lane, Mr. Fraser, Ms. Freilich, Mr. Goyette, Mrs.Harrington, Ms. Baldwin
In Social Studies class, students have been working on studying the mythology, heroes, gods, goddesses, and monsters of Ancient Greece. Students have completed a research assignment on Ancient Greek heroes, read through a synopsis of The Iliad, and most recently have been working on completing a Mythology Movie Project. Students worked in large groups(roughly 12 students) to create their own movies, either creating their own heroes, monsters, gods and goddesses or incorporating those from Greek mythology. Students were involved in script writing and editing, prop making, costume designing, acting, directing, and filming. The last piece of the process was editing all of the footage into an actual movie using iMovie software on the MacBook laptops in the Media Center. Students were able to utilize the iPads and green screen as well. Most recently students have begun their study of the development of Democracy in Athens as well as the various other forms of government that existed prior to Democracy.
Language Arts: Students are off and writing. This month we are publishing memoirs, fables, and myths. Students are focusing on improving word choice by including figurative language, vivid verbs, and sensory language to create strong images for the reader. Myths will also challenge students to write an original stories to entertain their peers. Student have been studying the purposes and characteristics of myths and working to finalize myths that could have originated in ancient Greece.
We are almost finished with our first in-class novel, The Adventures of Ulysses. Students are enjoying studying Greek God/ Goddesses and Monsters and following Ulysses' 10 year heroic journey home to Ithaca. In the last few weeks students gave fabulous presentations highlighting the strengths, realms, and powers of the Gods, Goddesses and Monsters. The presentations and arguments were entertaining and insightful. Students will conclude the unit by working collaboratively to create a map of Ulysses journey highlighting the elements of his hero journey, characteristics of mythology, and the life lessons he learns along the way.
|
Team Quest (7)
| |
-Ms. Campbell, Ms. McCormick, Ms. Fuerst, Mrs Knight, Mrs. McDonald, Ms. Ogden
In Science, we are currently investigating the kingdoms of life. The students spent a week working as "disease detectives", researching different viruses and bacterial diseases. They were introduced to a 3-D folder method of completing research to collect and organize their information as well as keep track of their sources. We will continue with a more in depth look at each kingdom of life: bacteria, protist, fungi, plants, and animals. We will then move into the study of ecosystems and the abiotic and biotic factors that affect its overall balance. Other topics will include invasive species and current environmental issues that may harm our natural habitats.
Team Quest Social Studies has transformed into mini-Hollywood with our current movie-making project. Students are practicing their collaboration, communication and creativity skills by producing a movie that follows the classic Journey of a Greek Hero. In class, students studied this world famous archetype that can be found in Ancient Greece's epic poetry and mythology. Throughout the movie-making process, students have worked with their peers to create fictionalized heroes and journeys that have been influenced by ancient times combined with present-day pop culture. We're confident that Homer, the epic poet, would be quite proud of Team Quest's wonderful sense of creativity! Later in the term, we will begin our civics unit by studying different types of government and gaining an understanding of how Athenian democracy helped shaped the United States.
In Math class we continue to work on rational number operations. We are applying fraction and decimal operations to include negative rational numbers. Our Unit 2 test will be coming soon and then we will spend Unit 3 on writing and interpreting algebraic expressions. All of our units involve solving real world problems and we will continue to work on breaking down word problems an applying our problem solving strategies. Students will soon be receiving new user ids and passwords for the on-line textbook found at http://my.hrw.com
Language Arts: Students are off and writing. Team Quest Publishing Inc. have been working on our letter-essays, which are a vehicles for students to discuss reading, thinking, and writing. Students select fiction books based on peer recommendations, level of difficulty, and level of enjoyment. Next term we will select trending non-fiction titles. Many students have finished one book and moving on to a second selection! A high-five to our company of readers and writers.
This month we are publishing myths. Students are focusing on improving word choice by including figurative language, vivid verbs, and sensory language to create strong images for the reader. Myths will also challenge students to write an original stories to entertain their peers. Student have been studying the purposes and characteristics of myths and working to finalize myths that could have originated in ancient Greece.
We are almost finished with our first in-class novel, The Adventures of Ulysses. Students are enjoying studying Greek God/ Goddesses and Monsters and following Ulysses' 10 year heroic journey home to Ithaca. Last week students gave fabulous presentations highlighting the strengths, realms, and powers of the Gods, Goddesses and Monsters. The presentations and arguments were entertaining and insightful. Students will conclude the unit by working collaboratively to create a map of Ulysses journey highlighting the elements of his hero journey, characteristics of mythology, and the life lessons he learns along the way.
|
Team Dynasty (8)
| |
-Ms. Andresen, Ms. Barry, Mr. Almon, Ms. Manship, Mr. O'Connor, Mr. MacCarthy
In Language Arts class, students finished reading The Giver. Next, students will read Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse. They will write original poetry as they study the poetic techniques throughout the novel.
Mr. O'Connor's Science classes are currently studying chemistry by investigating the characteristics of matter. Students began by studying the properties of matter and are now studying elements, compounds, and different types of mixtures.
In Social Studies classes, students have been studying the structure and function of our government. The overall theme for the beginning of the year is power and propaganda. We explore how power is distributed in a society and what responsibilities come along with having power. Learning activities thus far included analyzing a political cartoon for the Articles of Confederation, creating a cartoon about Shays Rebellion, and writing a test essay about how the U.S. reached the point where they felt they needed to "create a more perfect union". Next, students will examine the U.S. Constitution in depth.
In Math, we have just finished Chapter 1 on Exponents in the Math in Focus Volume A. We are working in Chapter 2 with the concept of Scientific Notation. We had the opportunity to integrate technology into our lesson using Google Earth to find the distances (in centimeters) from cities like Andover to London. Then, the students took data on how far they can in hop in 10 seconds. In the near future they will apply what they learn about Scientific Notation to figure out how long it would take to hop from one city in Australia to another. The next chapter we will explore Algebraic Linear Equations.
|
Team Fusion (8)
| |
-Mr. Heidenrich, Ms. Goodwin, Ms. Lheron, Ms. Plaskon, Ms. Walsh, Ms. Buchanan
In Ms. Lheron's Language Arts class, students finished reading Lois Lowry's science fiction novel, The Giver, which explores themes of individuality and the importance of memory. During class discussions and in written work, students showed insight as they looked for meaning in the novel, and they wrestled with different theories about the ending, which Lowry leaves open to interpretation. Next, we will read Karen Hesse's novel Out of the Dust, which is a story about a young girl's experience during the Dust Bowl. The novel is told in verse, which, for many students, will be a new experience. During this novel study, students will study poetic techniques and they will also write their own original poetry.
In Social Studies, we have finished the American Revolution, and are currently exploring the creation of the new government, types of governments, and the Constitution. After this, we will study the early Presidents from Washington to Andrew Jackson, the growth of the nation, Westward Expansion, the War of 1812, and the American Industrial Revolution.
Science classes are hard at work in their Chemistry unit. Currently, we are working Physical and Chemical Changes, States of Matter and the Gas Laws. Soon we will be working on measuring matter. Students will be writing up a formal lab report as the culminating project for our team measurement investigation.
In Math, we have finished Chapter 1 on Exponents in the Math in Focus Volume A. We are working in Chapter 2 with the concept of scientific notation. We had the opportunity of integrating technology by using Google Earth to find the distances from cities like Andover to London (in centimeters). Then, the students took data on how far they can in hop in 10 seconds. In the near future they will apply what they learn about scientific notation to figure out how long it would take to hop from one city in Australia to another. The next chapter we will explore Algebraic Linear Equations.
|
World Languages
| |
French
-Mrs. McGonagle
Grade 6:
Gender, gender gender is the theme in French for sixth grade. We are busy learning classroom objects and colors while at the same time studying gender and number. After getting over the shock of learning that they were sitting at a male desk on a female chair, students jumped right into learning the genders of everything around them. Soon we'll be moving on to subject pronouns and verb conjugation ! Yikes !
Grade 7:
In 7th grade we are currently, have been and will be studying adjectives. Although it feels like a life sentence to some classes, we will not be studying adjectives all year as students fear, but will soon change topics to prepositions and places around town.
Grade 8:
In 8th grade we've been focusing on sports, leisure activities and the weather with students taking turns being our own personal forecaster at the start of class each day.
During the first week of November all three grades will be celebrating National French Week ! Some of the activities planned include french bombing (the students came up with this term themselves) the school with hundreds of labels in French, a trivia contest, bi-lingual pledge of allegiances, french films and much more. Want to get in on the action ? Watch a film in French with your child, try a new recipe from a French speaking place (like Morocco or Belgium), try a French restaurant or select a French station on Pandora to listen to (Edith Piaf, Vanessa Paradis, Shy'm or Tal are all French artists you could give a listen to) or simply ask them to share about what they did today in class.
|
After School Activities
| |
-Mr. Deschene
West Middle School offers a variety of before, after and weekend school enrichment programs. If your children are participating in any of these programs, please make sure you have submitted the Activity Fee. If you have not paid the fee, please take this opportunity to visit our website to download the forms to include with your $100 Activity Fee (make checks payable to Andover Public Schools). If you are not sure if you have paid please e-mail Marc Deschene at mdeschene@aps1.net and he will confirm for you!
The Activity Fee Form, Activity Medical Authorization Form, Activities Schedule and their Descriptions are available on the PAC website at the following link: |
Math Team
| |
-Ms. Andresen, Ms. Levinson
Math Team is off to a great start. Thanks to all the Mathletes who participated in the home meet at West Middle in October. We had a good showing for the first competition with new participants in all three grades. All math team members should register to participate by signing on using the Math Team website survey. You can find the survey by going to Mrs. Andresen's class site. Just google mrsamath and click to the left side for the Math Team site. Follow the links to the signup and to the questions for the next team meeting.
|
Student Council
|
- Ms. Campbell and Mr. AlmonThis year, WMS is updating the structure of student government to better represent the middle school model by selecting a handful of Grade Representatives to collaborate with peers, school personnel and the parent community. Student Council's main objective will be to enhance the school climate and culture at WMS. Their role will be to act as student leaders, spearheading activities, initiatives, and special events over the course of the year. In planning each event, our Grade Representatives will recruit groups of peers from their team to get involved - with the goal being to involve as wide a variety of students over the course of the year as is possible. Our new model of Flex Time lends itself well to this system. By having a small group representatives actively leading each of the teams, we anticipate that the overall participation in student-led initiatives will increase at WMS as compared to past years. The new and improved Student Council will kick off it's year by facilitating the annual Veterans' Day assembly. This will be a wonderful opportunity for student leaders to welcome and honor local heroes!
|
|
Yearbook
| |
-Ms. Crowley
Yearbooks on Sale November 3-28, 2014
The West Middle School yearbook committee is pleased to announce that yearbooks will be on sale from November 3 through November 28, 2014. This year's staff is hard at work creating a yearbook filled with student portraits, baby pictures, faculty pictures, photos, activities, highlights, and special pages for autographs. The yearbook is a hard cover book that will grow more valuable over time. The cost of the yearbook is $35.00. Yearbook staff members will be distributing and collecting order forms in homeroom. Please refer to the "West Middle School Yearbook Order Form" for additional ordering information.
Make sure your student doesn't miss out on this opportunity!
You can download the form here.
|
Absentee/Safety Check Calls
| |
The absentee phone line is a critical ingredient in ensuring your child's safety. It is important that parents report a student's absence from school by calling the absentee line, 978-623-8716, every morning before 8:30 a.m. Should the school not receive notification, the school nurse, Ms. Taitz, calls homes to verify absences. On occasion she leaves messages at work locations as well. In addition to the phone call, upon your child's return to school, please send a note to the school nurse explaining the cause of the absence. This note becomes part of the absentee record.
|
| Upcoming Events | |
To stay up-to-date on the latest happenings at West Middle, please view, print or subscribe to the WMS calendar.
Access to the Full WMS Calendar on Andover Public Schools website:
http://www.aps1.net/calendar.aspx?CID=20,
If you use an electronic calendar, you can add the WMS Calendar as an iCalendar to your calendar. Many calendar programs support the iCal format, here are a few: Microsoft Outlook, Apple iCal, Google Calendar, and Most Smartphone Desktop Applications. Add WMS iCalendar:
http://www.aps1.net/iCalendar.aspx
|
|
|
Moving? New Email
|
Scroll to bottom of email and click the Update Profile/Email Address link
|
|
|
