All the holiday preparations, upcoming breaks, trips planned, and gifts wrapped can send one into a spin. It’s always so funny to cap off a fast flying, busy year with the busiest month ever. However, I’ll halt my cynicism right there. Yes, the year is moving fast (especially in Middle School), but I’ll attribute much of that to the positive momentum of kids rapidly growing into who they were meant to be. I see budding basketball players flying down the court, projects reaching their peak, concepts unlocking, even a brand new spirit club forming.
Ah yes, spirit club. In this spirited season, a number of our middle schoolers have started a new club solely focused on pride in our school, celebration of who we are. It’s honestly lovely timing, a perfect way to applaud wildly for another year of growth and cheer loudly as we look forward to part II in 2024.
So, as I consider this lightning-fast time of year, I happily accept that the fast paced progress and high-energy celebrations make the moments of quiet, magical, slow rest all the more satisfying.


-MK

Here’s a look at what is happening in each of the classes:

What’s happening in Science?
Seventh graders learned about photosynthesis and how energy is transferred up the trophic level. They considered how 90% of the energy is lost as it goes up a trophic level. The seventh graders also experimented with energy transfer. They burned cheetos to observe and calculate how many calories are in the food. By calculating how much heat is needed to raise the temperature, they were able to witness what a “calorie” is and how they provide us energy for our everyday needs.
What’s up in Math?
This week, 7th graders learned to combine like terms, find equivalent expressions by expanding or combining expressions, and evaluate the number of solutions an equation may have. Next week, students will create and solve equations derived from real-life scenarios before reviewing for their Unit 4 Assessment which they will take on Friday, December 15th.

What’s happening in ELA?
This week, seventh graders deepened their ability to interrogate articles and texts they use for research–they questioned author agendas, asked important questions of who/what/when/where/why/how, and identified ways each piece of data or reporting fit into the debates they’re studying. Researchers finished in-depth new infographics that broke down the views of a certain side of their issue.

Next week, 7th grade begins a new literary essay writing unit! We will work on our analytical writing skills, but push ourselves to make sure our writing about reading/essays have as much voice and passion as our creative storytelling. 7th graders will also make the usual switch from vocabulary to grammar study for the next four weeks.

What’s going on in Social Studies?
This week, the seventh graders studied Washington’s Presidency and the creation of a two party system. Students used their content knowledge on Washington’s presidency to create an interview for George Washington. Students then took the role of interviewer or George Washington and conducted the interview via FlipGird. Students moved into learning about the creation of the two party system and created propaganda posters on one of the two parties.

Next week, the students will move into the next four presidencies. Students will dive into deep detail of the presidencies before completing a President T-Chart over Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. Students will begin viewing Hamilton to lead into winter break.

Important Dates:
December 19 – PJ Day (½ day)- Holiday Extravaganza 10:30-11:30
December 20 – January 3 – Winter Break