Principal's Message 9/28/18

9/28/18

TGIF...Twin Groves it’s Friday!

In an effort to spread positivity, Twin Groves uses our 5 Traits to recognize exemplars of the following qualities: Responsible, Accountable, Respectful, Safe, and a Community. In addition to the 5 Traits, we are also recognizing students for being an Upstander.

As part of this focus, the Twin Groves Staff would like to recognize and reward students who consistently demonstrate these qualities each month. For our first month of recognitions, we are pleased to announce that the following students have been selected for displaying these characteristics.

Alex Day

Dean Greaney

Alex Jang

Joey Kalou

Karsen Libman

Sanya Mahajan

Jasmine Marchant

Lucas Raykhlin-Levando

Yuka Sakurai

Reid Ziniewicz

 

What’s Happening at TG?

6th Grade

Language Arts

Students in LA have been working on reading literature closely to analyze how elements of the story develop throughout the text.  Students are making good growth, but most are still developing their skills and have not yet developed mastery of this target. As long as students are making growth, there is no cause for concern. A first stab at a new target may yield a 1 or 1.5, but a second or third score in the same range would suggest that the student needs additional help to master the concept. We are calling groups in during FLEX to address issues students are having, and it seems to be helping greatly. We’ve noticed improvement already!  Students are also welcome to come in after school on Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays if they make an appointment with us ahead of time. This is a good practice for any subject where your student is struggling greatly. 2’s and 2.5’s at this time in the year are pretty common.

Reading assessment is ongoing and classroom based throughout the trimester, so continue to watch for growth in Literacy grades during Cycle 2. Soon we'll be adding new grades for analytic and narrative writing. Check TeacherEase to see your child’s progress.  Remember, we are looking for overall growth!

*Please be advised that appropriate text-complexity, not the targets, is what will differentiate 6th grade Language Arts and Advanced Language Arts.  The targets are the same regardless of level.

Social Studies

In our social studies classes, students have begun to investigate our world through the lens of geography.  By looking at the different themes of geography, students have been able to see that it is more than simply looking at a series of maps!  We will continue to focus on helping students develop an understanding of why we live in certain places, how we interact with our environment, and how we continue to become more connected with the world around us.  Students will be using these skills as we begin to discover the origins of the first human civilizations.

Science

Students have started working on the Ecology unit. We are learning about what factors can affect a population and a community.  We will be completing a number of lab activities to simulate animal interactions with other animals and how people can influence a population of animals as well.  We also will be working on a STEM challenge creating a trap to capture a 3D printed animal!

Pre- Algebra Survey

The students have been working really hard and transitioning well to middle school math. Pre-Algebra Survey students will have their unit test on the ratio unit in a few weeks, and then continue on to rational numbers.

At curriculum night, we talked about encouraging the students to persevere on their homework. Thank you so much for your support at home on this! This month we’d like to focus on another math practice standard: modeling with mathematics (showing work in different ways). Part of being a mathematician includes being able to approach a problem in several different ways. In class, we often teach several strategies that can be used to solve problems. It is very challenging to be able to understand and use different representations and models in math, and it is a skill we will continue to work on all year.

All students have access to Knowre. This app covers topics in line with the Common Core Curriculum which the students are covering this year. This program is designed to develop critical thinking skills. Each class will have expectations for completing lessons in Knowre each week, and students are welcome to work ahead and extend their learning.

Pre-Algebra

The students have been working really hard and transitioning well to middle school math. Pre-Algebra students have just finished their unit on ratios, and are starting the new unit on rational numbers.

At curriculum night, we talked about encouraging the students to persevere on their homework. Thank you so much for your support at home on this! This month we’d like to focus on another math practice standard: modeling with mathematics (showing work in different ways). Part of being a mathematician includes being able to approach a problem in several different ways. In class, we often teach several strategies that can be used to solve problems. It is very challenging to be able to understand and use different representations and models in math, and it is a skill we will continue to work on all year.

All students have access to Knowre. This app covers topics in line with the Common Core Curriculum which the students are covering this year. This program is designed to develop critical thinking skills. Each class will have expectations for completing lessons in Knowre each week, and students are welcome to work ahead and extend their learning.

 

7th Grade

Language Arts

The language arts and advanced language arts classes have been hard at work discussing the literary elements (plot development, characterization, dialogue, theme) authors use in their writing to craft stories. Our focus has been on formulating thematic statements. As we move forward connecting informational and literary texts, we will be using these elements to develop a narrative story.

Social Studies

7th grade Social Studies has been examining the development of the British 13 colonies in North America and their three separate and distinct regions: New England, Middle, and Southern.  Each region features specific economic, geographical, and weather/climate characteristics that will enable each region to grow and prosper via trade and commerce. Moving to the west, conflicts begin to occur over land possession. This will anger “Mother Britain” and she will come down hard on the colonists driving a wedge between the Patriots and the Loyalists.  The effects of the French and Indian War will set the stage for an intense "road to Revolution." This will culminate into the Revolutionary War, and, eventually the United States of America. We examine a variety of primary and secondary sources using inquiry, questioning, and source evaluation for reliability and credibility.

Science

By examining topics like how temperature can affect the gender of certain organisms, students will be learning about how environmental factors can turn DNA genes on or off to show certain characteristics. After we will be looking at how body systems work together and have specialized cells to help them function.

Bridge to Algebra 1

Bridge to Algebra 1 students are just finishing up a very crucial unit on solving equations and inequalities. Then it's onto our functions unit! What IS a function? How can you identify them? Can you compare two separate functions? Can you describe them?

Algebra 1

In Algebra 1, we are working on graphing and writing equations of lines! We will be working on mastering how to graph lines in all different forms and incorporating piecewise and step functions. Our test for this unit is coming up soon.  Then it's on to solving systems of linear equations.
 

8th Grade

Language Arts

In Language Arts and Advanced Language Arts we are still reading short stories to analyze theme and reading informational texts to determine central idea and how the authors make their points. We will continue working on reading strategies to strengthen our inferring skills as we prepare to read our first novels of the year. In LA we will begin with Lois Lowry's The Giver and in Advanced LA we will read John Knowles's A Separate Peace. We are excited to experience some novels together as a class! In a couple weeks we will also complete our first lengthy analytic writing task, which will revolve around our novels.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, students are debating the role the United States should have played at the turn of the 20th Century.  Students took on the role of imperialists and anti-imperialists to determine if expansion was justified. As the United States began to take on a greater role in world affairs, World War I broke out in Europe. During our study of World War I,  students will attempt to prevent the war by researching the main goals of the countries involved, study events during the war in Europe and on the homefront , and look at the long-term impact of the Treaty of Versailles. Through our study of the war, students will continue to focus on improving their analytical writing skills and reading comprehension.  

Science

In Science, students have been examining circulation and currents in air and water to determine how they affect weather. In the upcoming weeks, we will be diving deep into looking at natural disasters. Students will be assigned one catastrophic event to research and present to the class.  We will conclude the unit by engineering structures to withstand hurricane force winds.

Algebra 1

Algebra 1 is currently in the middle of Unit 2: Writing and Graphing Linear Equations. Students are learning about domain and range, function notation, and how to write and graph linear equations and inequalities. They will also be introduced to piecewise and step functions. Students will be building off skills and knowledge from last year. Please make sure that students have a TI-84 Plus graphing calculator they are bringing with them to class daily.

Algebra 2

Algebra 2 is currently in the middle of Unit 2: Polynomial Functions.  Students are learning how to build, solve and factor polynomial expressions, how to determine key features and sketch polynomial functions using end behavior, and complex numbers. It is important for students to be practicing outside of class and studying before assessments to ensure mastery! Please make sure that students have a TI-84 Plus graphing calculator they are bringing with them to class daily.

SLC

The Structured Learning Classroom ( SLC ) is off and running! Students in the SLC thrive in well-organized, highly structured environments. Our structured environments are those environments that promote a clear understanding of the schedules, activities, and expectations for both the students, staff and families .The SLC classroom is an environment that allow students to: understand and predict what is happening in their environments; predict the expectations of an environment; acquire new skills; and generalize learned skills from one setting to another.
Direct instruction in math, reading decoding, reading comprehension, written expression and language/thinking skills are individualized to meet each students’ needs.
This trimester in Science we are learning about weather. From the water cycle, layers of the atmosphere, tools to measure weather conditions, to storms of the seasons including thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes.
The targets for Science include:
*I can explain the meaning of identified words within a text.
*I can use information from both the text and a visual to answer a specific question.
*I can identify the author’s purpose.
*I can summarize the text.
*I can compare/contrast two pieces of information.
*I can identify the main idea of the text and cite specific text evidence to support that.

Along with academics, the SLC implements social and organizational skills along with encouraging independence throughout the school day. Homework is typically assigned daily and returned the following day, unless otherwise noted.  Please encourage your child to have and follow an after school routine at home. This will make homework time more enjoyable for everyone!

 

ILC

The coffee cart has been very successful so far.  Students in the ILC have enjoyed greeting teachers, taking orders and making change.  It has truly proven to be a meaningful learning experience, integrating social skills, math skills, communication, planning/organization and personal hygiene.  In Science, we have been exploring the many ways people can prepare themselves for severe weather events. Students are beginning to support their written claims with text evidence and analyze that evidence!  Most of the students in Resource have been working on "Resource BINGO," a menu of academic options/choice

activities to strengthen basic skills.  When your child completes five in a row with quality, he/she earns a period of free time to explore topics of his/her choice.  The students have been hard at work!

 

Students in the ILC have enjoyed greeting teachers

STEM Conference for Middle School Girls in Lake County (THIS SATURDAY)

STEM Conference for Middle School Girls in Lake County

Daily Announcements

The Daily Announcements will be posted each morning. Please see Twin Groves website for up to date school announcements.  The announcements let you know what exciting activities and clubs are going on at Twin Groves. Please click HERE to access the Daily Announcements.

 

PTO Happenings

-Dessert Day is on October 24th

-Special Lunch is on October 31st

-Dessert Day is on November 14th

-Special Lunch is on November 28th

Please click HERE to access the Membership Toolkit. All items for sale from the PTO will be available on this website.

 

Band & Orchestra Boosters

Please click the BLOG to access the latest news from the Band & Orchestra Boosters.