November, to me, has always felt like the first month of winter and I start to feel a little panicked and rushed as I see the end of the year approaching. The holidays creep up with gathering gifts, attending get-togethers, and lots of travel. I also start to think about my New Year’s Resolutions, which we call our “one word” in the TCS Middle School. I always get really ambitious with my resolutions and feel like once January comes, I’m not in the space to make a big change all at once.
Reflecting on this, I’ve been listening to some podcasts about the “Winter Arc”, which is the time where we have the potential to use the coldest and darkest days of the year to refocus and set routines that will help us get to where we want to be.
With five weeks of school left before the new year, I want our students (and us!) to think about their winter arc and what habits/routines they can set in their lives to help them not only succeed when it comes time to conceptualize their “one word”, but throughout the next five school weeks, as well! When we work towards goals together, even when individualized, we’re much more likely to succeed.
AG
Math:
This week, we reviewed for and took our unit 7 test! Next week, we will dive into unit 4 on expressions, equations, and inequalities which will expand on our new knowledge of one and two step equations and apply them to real-life scenarios.
ELA:
7th grade completed their genre ‘zines this week – they were full of astute essays, insightful genre glossaries, and clever visuals! They took their vocabulary test on 11/7, so be sure to ask about their grades!
Next week, we swing into a reading unit where readers will study a collection of short stories by contemporary authors in the middle grades genre! 7th grade will also start another 2 weeks of grammar study, with a test on 11/21.
Social Studies:
Seventh grade began its next unit of study this week, European colonization. They have done a fantastic job so far with this complex system of movement and innovations seen during this time period. We have also begun the Columbian Exchange, which discusses the trading of people, goods and animals across the Atlantic Ocean. We’ll continue on with that next week, discussing the different styles of colonization and how they made money for European countries.
Science:
Seventh graders started learning about the longleaf pine forests this week! They learned about the importance of fires and the role fire plays in the health of the forest. They choose different organisms in the longleaf pine ecosystem to research and they will learn about the interdependent relationship between them. Next week, they will learn more about populations and ecosystems, specifically the pine forest.
Important Dates:
November 11&12: Parent Teacher Conferences (11:30 dismissal)
November 13: Cooper Clusters Lunch
November 22: Harvest Feast
November 25-29: Thanksgiving Break
