Academic Teams | Electives
7th Grade Team | 8th Grade Team
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Cassie Banka, Karen Carmichael, Suzanne Cross, Pat Easum, Mike Harms, Keith Lewandowski, & Melissa Rindt
Team Conference Time: 9:05-9:50 a.m. M-T-TH-F
Wow, here we are at the end of November,
and science classes are diving into the worlds of Bacteria, Viruses, Protist, and Fungus. Students will
look at all of the little things that sneak up to get you
when you least expect it, but we will also study all the
good things bacteria and fungus do for us each day.
For example, do you know that bacteria are in the
food you eat every day and help to regulate your
digestive system? Please remember that the textbook
and many fun activities can be found on the website:
http://mrindt.weebly.com.
Having read and discussed a number of short
stories in our literature book, English classes spent the
beginning of this month reading and writing folk tales.
As a class, we read selected folk tales and discussed
the history and country of origin for each. Students
researched an African country and created their own
folk tale based on their research. Final copies will be in
the form of student created pop-up books. For the
remaining days of November we read mysteries from
our literature book.
After completing a unit on Africa, social studies
classes will begin to focus on the continent of Asia.
Various teaching methods will be used to analyze the
many different countries located in Asia. The basic
concepts of Geography, Economy and Politics will be
addressed.
Math 7 classes are starting to work with ratios
and rates which will lead to solving proportions. Proportions are a big topic in 7th grade! Students will need to use proportions to find missing sides of similar
figures and to work with scale drawings. In Math 7
Plus, your child is also solving proportions. The topic
is made a little more complicated because students
are asked to find indirect measurements. Can you
find the height of a tree by measuring its shadow? If
not, ask your Math 7 Plus student for help! Both
types of math classes will start a new chapter over
percentages before winter vacation.
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Ashley Dunham, Cheryl Emerson, Jamie Frost, Terry Gordon, Peggy Griswold, Chris LeFevre, & Kevin Shobe
Team Conference Time: 9:55-10:40 a.m. M-T-Th-F
We enjoyed meeting with many of our 8th grade
parents during conferences. Please feel free to call
any time if you have questions or concerns. The
team will be glad to set up a meeting with you if
needed.
We are halfway through the second quarter.
There are many distractions with the holidays coming
up so please help your student remain focused on
school.
English students have been reviewing six-trait
writing techniques during class time and have recently
completed a writing project. Also, we are about to
finish our study of "The Diary of Anne Frank" and
have been covering WWII and the Holocaust in
conjunction with this novel. We are excited to report
that on November 16, students walked to the high
school to see the play! Students will continue to work
on vocabulary, conventions, and six-trait writing skills
as we read.
Math 8 students have learned about square
roots, exponents and scientific notation. Ask your
student how to use the Pythagorean Theorem. You
might remember this as a² + b² = c². They are
working on ratios and proportions, and can find the
height of a tree or flag pole without climbing to the top
to measure it! Your child will also learn about percent
and how to use it to find discounts and the percent of
increase or decrease. Math 8+ students are learning
three different ways to write linear equations and graph
them. After this unit, classes will be presented with
several methods to solve systems of equations and
inequalities.
In social studies we will soon complete our Lewis
and Clark PowerPoint presentations. We will begin
studying the Industrial Revolution, the invention of the
cotton gin and its affect on slavery, and the continued
expansion of our country to the west. Remind your
student that he/she can earn fifty extra credit points
by doing a community service project.
In science, we have concluded our chemistry
unit and are now embarking on biochemistry and
genetics with an emphasis on the structure and punction
of DNA. We will
also discover
genetic mutations
and their impact
on DNA in addition
to the passing of
traits from parent
to offspring via
Punnett Squares.
The students will
also partake in a
lab activity in which
traits will be passed
from parents to
offspring and a "baby" will be
created. Ask your
student about
heredity, DNA
nucleotides, and
genetic disorders to join in on our learning adventure!
Please remember that every student has access to
the online science textbooks by way of http://
my.hrw.com. The username/password is glions3.
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Art | Band & Orchestra | Choir | FACS | Industrial Tech | PE | Publications
7th Grade Reading | 8th Grade Reading | Spanish | Technology
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Angie Mitchell
The art classes at GMS
have had a productive semester.
The 2-D classes are now working
on drawings of their shoes using
pencil to shade the different
values. We have spent a lot of
time looking closely at details and
drawing what we actually see,
not what we think we see. The
3-D classes are completing their third and final clay
project. The ceramics unit is always popular with the
students, and they look forward to using their functional
pieces once they take them home.
I'd like to express my thanks to the parents
who took the time during conferences to visit the art
room. The students are eager to show off their
blossoming art skills and appreciate an audience for
their hard work. Also, it's important for parents to see
what art class is all about. We don't just make pretty
things. Long gone are the days of macramé and
Plaster of Paris ash trays. Visual arts classes reinforce
skills and concepts taught in other content areas of
school as well as nurture critical thinking and problem
solving skills. The Kansas State Visual Arts Standards can be found online at the KSDE website (http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3511#vaStd).
Also, the Kansas Art Education Association
website has links to several articles regarding the
importance of arts in the school curriculum. Their
website is www.kaea.com. I'll have more information
on that in following newsletters.
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Brett Morrison
Hello from the instrumental
music room! We had one major
event during the month of
November for our band and
orchestra students. Prairie Hills
Middle School hosted the Pioneer
League Honor Band, Choir and
Orchestra Festival on November
12. The band clinician was Dr. Jeff
Jordan of Fort Hays State
University, while the orchestra
clinician for this year was Dr. Mark
Laycock, Director of Orchestras at Wichita State
University. Students who attended this workshop were
announced in the October issue of this newsletter.
Everyone learned a lot, and we appreciate all those
parents who were able to attend and support us.
Please note that our Holiday
Extravaganza will be December 1
at 6:15 p.m. in the GMS main
gymnasium. This concert will
feature the 7th and 8th grade bands,
orchestra, and choir. It promises
to be a very exciting event, as this
concert will feature several holiday
selections and fun pieces. Seating
will be limited so make sure you get
there early!
In news specific for orchestra, we are preparing
for our performance at the annual "Breakfast with
Santa" at 10:00 a.m. on December 10 at Goddard
High School. Refreshments will be available, and there
will be an opportunity to take a picture with Santa.
Plan on bringing the whole family and enjoy a fun
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Mindy Barr
Congratulations to all who were selected for
participation in the Pioneer League Honor Choir this
year! The concert on Saturday, November 12 featured
league choir, band, and orchestra students and was
excellent! Thank you to all the parents who attended
and helped your child in preparation for such a great
event!
The choir is hard at work in preparation for our
Winter Concert on Thursday, December 1. The
concert will be held in the main gym at Goddard
Middle School. The concert begins at 6:15 p.m.
and all students are expected to be in the choir room
no later than 6:00 p.m. in order to warm up. Students
need to wear their blue shirts and khaki/tan slacks (or
skirts) for this performance. This concert will feature
our school band, orchestra, and choir so those who
attend are in for a real treat!
See you on December 1st!
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Family and Consumer Science |
Jessica Buchanan
In our last unit for the semester in FACS, the
students will study clothing: repairing, laundering, and
constructing. After a couple weeks of learning how a
sewing machine works and practicing our sewing skills,
we began our projects in mid-November. Students
will construct a drawstring backpack and a pair of
pajama shorts following a very simple Simplicity pattern.
More information on the projects for class is available
at www.goddardusd.com/staff/jbuchanan.
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Kelsey Brown
Students taking shop class this semester are
currently completing a unit which includes learning
drafting and design techniques in the production of a
CO2 race car.
The students began by drawing several possible
thumbnail sketches of a car while using the techniques
of border, object, center, hidden, extension, and
dimension lines. The chosen design was then
transferred to a wooden block form, cut out and
sanded. Once the cars have been through the final
finish and painting process comes the most exciting
part – racing the cars! To conclude this unit, students
will use the various car times and the distance of the
track to compute the speed of the cars.
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Barb Letts and Matt Busby
We are already racing into the
second half of our allotted time with the
1st semester group of students, and we
are packing in as many activities as we
can! It is really fun to introduce our
students to all the new and exciting ways
they can be physically active.
Both Mr. Busby's and Ms. Letts' classes have
moved mostly to indoor activities now. We ask that
ALL students keep their sweatshirts and sweatpants
here though, because there may still be an occasional
really nice day that we do go outside for some fresh
air. As long as the students are dressed properly, it
isn't a problem.
As the cold and flu season arrives, we also
want to take this opportunity to remind parents that
plenty of rest, lots of fluids, and eating lots of fruits
and vegetables with Vitamin C help our bodies ward
off viruses and infections. If your child is experiencing
symptoms and does not feel well, keeping him home
will reduce the spread of germs and viruses. If a
student is present at school, we assume that he or
she is capable of meeting our high expectations for
suiting up and participating in physical activity.
The indoor winter activities which we will be
playing over the next two months include handball,
Speedaway, basketball, Pickleball, badminton, hockey,
line dancing, and aerobic activities. One of the highlights of this season is a visit on December 2 from
Kim's Academy of TaeKwanDo. Several of the black
belt instructors spend the day with our students to
demonstrate kicks, punches, and various means of
self-defense. Another upcoming highlight will be
competing in the Iron Man/Woman Challenge. This is
an exciting time for the students to show what they
can accomplish with some hard work in class.
During the last few weeks of the semester,
our students will be completing the "post" fitness tests,
hoping to be able to show an improvement in all the
components of fitness: cardiorespiratory endurance,
muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body
composition. They have graphed their "pre" tests
results and the goals they set. When they graph
their "post" test results, it should be evident that all
their hard work this semester has paid off. It is our
goal that they will develop the realization that to stay
healthy requires conscientious effort to eat healthy
and always be physically active.
Once again we would like to thank you parents
for your support throughout the semester by getting
those clothes washed and back to school each week,
signing activity logs, and encouraging your child/children
to get outside and play rather than sit in front of the
TV or computer. Please remember that modeling
(demonstrating) good health behavior is one of the
best ways to help your child.
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Jessie Skala
The publications staff has been very hard at
work. The third newspaper had a release date of
November 22 and the girls will release a fourth
newspaper before the winter break. I can already
see the improvements in writing skills and layout
designs. This group is very creative and is using all of
its resources to produce great work. The staff has
also been introduced to some elements of Adobe
Photoshop like cobbing an object (producing a cutout)
and changing the color of an element. Traces of these
abilities will be seen in both the newspaper and the
yearbook.
The yearbook is almost one-third complete
and much more has been started. Pictures are being
taking here, there and everywhere! The staff is doing
a great job at compiling the pictures they need and
uploading them into the yearbook. I'm looking forward
to the future progress of these very hard-working
students! |
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Sarah Shobe
By the time you read this we will be taking our
final exam over our class novel, "The Outsiders," by
S.E. Hinton. Even though this book was published
back in the 1960's, the themes of family, prejudice,
and social relationships will be forever timely. While
reading this classic tale we worked with several literary
elements including predicting, inferencing, figurative
language, cause/effect, problem/solution, point of
view, character and setting traits, theme, and plot.
We also tested the relativity of the novel by comparing
events and characters in the text with our own lives
and the world around us.
During the last two weeks of this first semester
we are splitting up into smaller groups and doing
Literature Circles. This is like a book club where three
or four students in the same class are reading the
same novel at the same time. Students will be
responsible for reading the assignment each day and
working together in revisiting their assignment using
different literary elements—many are mentioned
above.
Seventh grade reading students are still required
to bring an AR (Accelerated Reader) book to class
that they have chosen to read during our daily silent
reading time. Homework each day consists of another
reading time of at least 15 minutes. Students can
work on finishing books and taking AR tests for their
AR goals this second quarter until the last day of school
before Christmas break, December 16, 2011.
I love seeing books being read from our
classroom library, and this semester has been the
busiest that I can remember in the last five years!
It's been a good semester! Thank you for sharing
your seventh grader with me and have a wonderful
holiday break! Contact me if you have any questions
or concerns with Reading 7. Log on to http://
reading7gms.blogspot.com/ to check my lesson plans for the current week.
Go Lions!
Ph: 794-4230, ext. 42214, Email: sshobe@goddardusd.com, Plan Time: 9:55 - 10:40
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Bobbi Cole
As a parent of a middle school child, it tends to
become more difficult to connect with your child in the
area of reading because they don't "need" us to get
through the readings like they did in the lower grades.
Here are a few tips to better connect with your child
through reading and in some instances create some
bonding time!
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Plan a time for family members to read together
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Share reading aloud. Alternate reading favorite
passages and discussing them
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Link movies and TV shows to books
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Give your child a magazine subscription as a gift
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Let your children see you read for work and for
pleasure
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Read in an unusual place
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Turn off the TV, make a bowl of popcorn, and
read with your child
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Reward reading. If your child finishes a book, set
up a time to go out to dinner and talk about it. Visit the local library or bookstore together
afterwards to buy a new book!
The 8th grade reading classes have started their
novel units. The students will read "The Giver" by Lois
Lowry. Throughout this novel we will focus on various
literary elements such as summarizing, predicting,
making inferences, theme, distinguishing between fact
and opinion, using context clues, understanding plot,
conflict, and other valuable reading skills.
At school we spend time learning and honing
various reading skills, and there is time incorporated
into each reading class for silent reading, but not nearly
enough. It would help tremendously if you would
provide a time and place for your child to read at
home a minimum of 15 minutes each night. Reading
outside of class counts for part of each student's daily
reading grade also.
New AR (Accelerated Reading) goals have been
distributed and the students will work on these goals
both in class and out of class throughout this nineweek
period. Please check with your child and help
monitor his or her silent reading time as well as goals.
The goals will be due Wednesday, December 14!
As always, if you have questions, please feel
free to contact me either by phone or e-mail.
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Jessie Skala
Thanks to all the parents that stopped by to
visit with me during conferences! I always enjoy sharing
student work and progress.
Exploratory Spanish
students can now say the date,
the day of the week, and their
birthdays using the Spanish
language. After a short break with
a week-long interactive mini-series,
the students began the chapter on
explaining their likes and dislikes. Exploratory Spanish
will complete the semester with one more chapter
about describing a classroom and a final project about
a famous Spanish-speaking individual. It has been a
pleasure working with these students, and I hope that the seventh-graders consider taking the year-long
Spanish I class next year as eighth-graders, and that
the current eighth-graders consider taking the class
as a freshman.
Spanish I classes have been just as busy!
Students can now describe one another and will move
on to their likes and dislikes. Towards the end of the
semester students will learn that each verb in Spanish
has many forms and will learn about one specific type
of regular verb. Essays on tests are becoming longer
and more advanced and I love it! I can't wait to see
what the next semester brings! I hope students keep
up the great work and continue to practice their Spanish
outside of class.
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Carrie Schrader
Synergistic Modules in Tech 8 have been so
interesting. Our Tech 8 Lab consists of 18 modules.
Students will be able to complete eight to nine modules
in a semester. Students are trying to earn a space on
the Wall of Fame by earning all 420 points in a module.
Several students have come close but only a few have
actually made it – and a few of those have made it
twice! These 8th grade Wall of Famers include: Abby
Bay (two times), Jarett Erdman, Katie Joslyn, Cailyn
Kerschen, Mickey Purnell, Jenna Puthoff (two times),
Ruben Salcido (two times), Ryan Thomas, Jayden
Titus, Tate Vang (two times), Jordyn Walock, and
Maria Zurschmiede (two times).
We are continuing with Mavis Beacon Typing in
Tech 7. Several more students have now mastered
different levels with 80% or more accuracy and have
earned a place on the Wall of Fame. These students
include:
40 words per minute: Tatum Grote, Kyler
Hawk, Trenton Valentine, Brooke Wentz, Joshua
Girrens, BriLea Winkle, Daniel Gomm, Talli Shepherd,
Jaden Damon, Jacob Grossman, Adam Allen, Haley
Dumcum, Paige Hutson, Caylee Kirby, Tyler Wallace,
Nick Lund, Dayton Driskill, Angel Garcia, Daniel Tyndall,
Brayden Circle, and Kale Ramos.
50 words per minute: Will Spexarth, Ashley
Stanphill, Reed Schroeder, Thomas Parks, Jordan Cooke,
Ryan Fross, Zachery Baxley, Armando Espinosa, Jesse
Fronning, Natilee Stephen, Logan Hamilton, Marshall
Fief, Jeremy Bartnick, and Daryan Freeman.
60 words per minute: Kendall Frame, Karlee
Lowen, Matt Forbus, Devon Sutton, and Alyssa
Prytherch.
100 words
per minute with 97%
accuracy: Ashley
Peery. Way to go,
Ashley!
We have one
extra speedy student
who has set a new
school record three
times. Sinjin Vu has
keyed 147 words
per minute with 99%
accuracy. Amazing!
Our goal in 7th grade is to key 40 words per
minute with an average of 80% accuracy.
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