Principal's Message February 14, 2020

2/14/20
TGIF… Twin Groves it’s Friday!


Just a reminder...We do not have school on Monday. February 17th. 
See you on Tuesday, February 18th!

 

What’s Happening at TG?
Spanish
In 6th grade Spanish, students are studying clothing vocabulary.
In 7th grade Spanish, students are learning the body parts.
In 8th grade Spanish, students are learning commands and present progressive with chores vocabulary.

Orchestra
Congratulations to all of the students who participated in the IGSMA Solo/Ensemble contest this past Saturday! It was a wonderful day of performances!
The 6th Grade Orchestra is preparing for their performance at the District 96 Orchestra Festival on Friday, February 21st from 3:30pm-6:30pm at Woodlawn. Parents, family, and friends are welcome to attend the concert that evening at 6:00pm. We look forward to a wonderful event!
6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Orchestra students are also preparing for our next concert on Thursday, March 5th, at 7:00pm at Twin Groves. We look forward to a fantastic performance!

 


Twin Groves Gives Back
We are gearing up to do our 3rd annual student raffle. If you have anything you would like to donate please give donations to Mrs. Howard by March 6th. 

Examples of past donations have been.
-$5 gift cards 
-Gently used/ new games or activities that would interest middle schoolers
-Twin Groves Spirit wear 

All proceeds from the raffle go to St. Jude. 

 

 

Parent Communication about Spring Conferences

Spring Conferences are coming on Thursday, March 12th from 5pm-8:30pm and Friday, March 13th from 10am-1:30pm .   


THE ELECTRONIC SIGN UP LINK WILL BE SENT OUT TO PARENTS ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18th at 2:45PM.
 

Spring Conferences are Collaborative Conferences!  
 
Collaborative conferences means that your child will be leading the conference.  The purpose of collaborative conferences is for educators, students and families to discuss, reflect and celebrate student work, and for families to experience school through their child's eyes.  Students have been working hard to prepare for the conference, and we are excited for you to learn about your child’s progress directly from your child!   
 
Teachers will be available in the room as guides and will be available to answer student questions or elaborate on a point a student is making, but we ask that all participants respect that this is the student’s opportunity to lead the conference by sharing progress and reflections about their own learning.  
 
Please read below to learn specific information about how collaborative conferences will be structured at the middle school.

Families will sign-up for a 15 minute conference. Grades 6-8 collaborative conferences will be structured with up to 4 students in the classroom at a time. Student/Family partnerships will sit in a private space to engage in the conference. The grade-level team of teachers will be in the classroom to greet families and guide the process, but students will lead the conference.  Exploratory teachers, PE, Health, Spanish and Band and Orchestra teachers will host an exposition of their courses in the cafeteria.  Students should plan to bring their iPad to the conference. 

What is the Role of Families during Collaborative Conferences?

-Provide reinforcement, encouragement and praise
-Listen and ask questions 
-Help students look realistically at quality of work
-Facilitate student’s self-reflection and goal setting
-Be a partner in learning
-See school through their student’s eyes


Questions Families Can Ask During the Collaborative Conference

-What is your favorite piece of work? Why? 
-Describe your favorite activities or subjects.
-What experiences at school do you find the most exciting?
-Are there experiences that frustrate you, if so why?
-What goals have you set for yourself for this spring?
-How can I help you at home?

THE ELECTRONIC SIGN UP LINK WILL BE SENT OUT TO PARENTS ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18th at 2:45PM.

 

 

Culture Conversations with Students
The Guiding Coalition for Interculturalism (GCI) is looking to include student voices in the weekly staff blog! Click HERE to access a short survey that your child can complete if they are interested, and their answers may appear in the staff newsletter!

 

 


KCSD96 Offers a Dual Language Opportunity
Parents are invited to consider the Dual Language Program for their incoming Willow Grove kindergartner. The program’s purpose is to give children the opportunity to develop a deep academic proficiency in two languages. Fifty percent of the academic day instruction is delivered in Spanish and fifty percent in English. Following their kindergarten year at Willow Grove, Dual Language participants continue at Country Meadows for Grades 2–5 and transition to Woodlawn for Grades 6–8.

To be included in the public lottery that will be used to select the 2020–21 Dual Language kindergarten class, an Interest Form (ENGLISH or SPANISH) is due to the Willow Grove Early Learning Center office by 3:00 p.m. on March 18th.

LEARN MORE about the KCSD96 Dual Language program and attend a Parent Education Evening on February 12th or March 16th at 6:30 p.m. at Willow Grove Early Learning Center to hear a presentation from District faculty/administrators and ask questions.

 

 

ProjectCSGirls
ProjectCSGirls is a great event to do research on a global topic of your interest and create a technology solution to help solve a social problem under one of the four themes: global health, a safer world, bridging inequalities, and intelligent technology. It promotes powerful and innovative thinking. 

ProjectCSGirls recognizes semifinalists, finalists, and national winners. All finalists are invited to a national gala event in Washington DC in June of 2020, where they can tour tech companies, participate in workshops, listen to guest speakers, showcase their projects, and be honored at a formal awards ceremony. 

If you are interested in building a tech project with a social impact this is your chance to win an invitation to the ultimate celebration for girls in computing! The deadline to register is March 1st, 2020. The deadline to submit projects is April 15th, 2020. Mentors are provided on a first-come, first-serve basis so if students would like to request a mentor, they should register early!

See the ProjectCSGIRLS website for more details: www.projectcsgirls.com. The competition is open to all girls in middle school (6th – 8th grade) during the 2019 – 2020 school year. Both individuals and teams of up to three girls may participate.

 


Daily Announcements
The Daily Announcements will be posted each weekday 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 read and access the Daily Announcements.

 

 

PTO

ATTENTION 8TH GRADERS:
Get your complimentary STEVENSON CLASS OF 2024 cotton t-shirt, courtesy of the Twin Groves PTO!
Login to twingrovesmspto.membershiptoolkit.com and choose your size!
Families can also purchase additional STEVENSON CLASS OF 2024 apparel through the online PTO MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT at twingrovesmspto.membershiptoolkit.com by Friday, March 6th, 2020 (no late orders accepted).
Items should arrive within 2 weeks after the order deadline (before spring break!).

cotton t-shirt


Upcoming Events:
2/19- Dessert Day
2/26- Special Lunch
3/11- Dessert Day
3/18- Special Lunch
4/22- Dessert Day
4/29- Special Lunch
5/6- Dessert Day
5/13- Special Lunch

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