When I first started our middle school club program a few years ago, I pictured students gathered in a room, discussing topics that interested them with little action. Not because I doubted their follow-through, but because that was the model I had seen at other schools. After the very first year, I realized that our students had something different in mind. They brought new energy, creativity, and urgency to clubs. They weren’t just talking, they were acting. They saw clubs as a way to create and shape our middle school culture, and they continue to rise to the challenge each year. It is always inspiring to see what happens when we give our students autonomy and trust. They are truly amazing citizens!
Here’s a glimpse of what our clubs are up to this fall:
- Media Arts Storytelling
Students are producing Halloween podcasts with roles as writers, engineers, and readers. Jason set up an impressive studio with Macs and podcasting equipment, and students are learning everything from storytelling to audio editing to produce polished, spooky episodes. - Spirit Club
Spirit Club is planning a middle school talent show! They’ve set the date, are gathering sign-ups, and will emcee and manage the entire event. This year, they’ve even expanded the audience to include the whole school. - Talking Club
Through Toastmasters-inspired activities, Talking Club members are writing speeches designed to engage an audience. They are preparing to present their work, with feedback and revisions from peers, building both confidence and skill. - Craft Club
Craft Club is exploring watercolor painting techniques. Right now, they’re focusing on pumpkins—bringing a festive, fall spirit into the middle school hallways.
These clubs remind us that when students are given voice and trust, they rise to the occasion and often go far beyond what we imagined. I am so proud of the way our students dream big and then follow through. Their energy and creativity continue to shape a vibrant middle school culture.
-RC
ELA- This week, 6th grade workshopped a few personal stories and used one more brainstorming technique – timeline work – to find new stories to tell! We then combed over our 3 mini stories to decide which one would be our “focus story” for the unit! 6th graders also tested their vocabulary knowledge on 9/25, so be sure to look for those test grades.
Next week, 6th graders will learn the art of expanding stories with detail and dialogue. We will also switch back to unit 2 of grammar.
Science- This week in science, 6th graders explored the difference between climate and weather by looking at some long term data for different cities around the United States. Students then used that data to come up with trends between latitude and temperature and concluded that latitude is not the only reason for temperature variation in different regions of the Earth. Next week will explore other factors that contribute to weather patterns and climate differences around the world.
Social Studies- Sixth grade has wrapped up our first unit of the year, Mesopotamia this week and will take their final test next Thursday. You can find the study guide on google classroom and the students have a copy as well. Once we finish our final discussions we will be moving onto ancient Egypt. This is a wonderful unit with some great hands on activities!
Math- This week in math, sixth graders explored part-part-whole ratios along with converting units to help us find equivalent ratios that are more easily comparable to others.
Next week, we will begin exploring percentages in the realms of discounts, taxes, and tipping. We’ll learn the relationships between percentages as decimals and fractions, and we’ll play with different strategies to help solve division problems.
