11/13/20
TGIF…Twin Groves it’s Friday!
What’s happening at TG?
Spanish: In 6th grade Spanish, students will be continuing with school supplies and articles, and then moving into the theme of family.
In 7th grade Spanish, students are working on interrogatives. Then, we will start with the verb ir and places.
In 8th grade Spanish, students will be working on the AAPPL exam for SHS.
Band: All students in the band program have a solo they are working on. Some students are taking those solos to IGSMA. Their solos will have to be recorded and sent to Mr. Nagle by November 30. Everyone else will have until the 2nd week of December for their solos. The students are working on analyzing their solo so they can prepare it correctly for performance. We are going step by step through this process.
In addition, 6th grade students are working on the chromatic scale, reviewing the first book, and percussion students are working on rudimental percussion exercises. Some 7th grade students are working on Honor band requirements. We did not get to do this in the spring so we are going through the process of making sure all students have passed the requirements for the honor band. 8th grade students are working on their solos. All 7th and 8th grade percussion students are learning the four rudimental paradiddles. We are calling this Paradiddle November.
Finally, we have great news. Six of our students made the ILMEA district 7 Honor Band. They will be enjoying the special master classes presented by ILMEA this Saturday. Congratulations!
Orchestra: Congratulations to all of the orchestra students who made it into ILMEA! I am so proud of all of them and their hard work with the audition process! The students will be attending a “Virtual Masterclass” this Saturday, November 14th from 9am-12pm via Zoom.
Thank you to all of the students that signed up for the virtual IGSMA Solo/Ensemble Contest this year! Students should be checking our IGSMA Group on Schoology for more information on next steps and instructions. All recordings/videos must be submitted to Mrs. Anderson by Mon. Nov. 30th. This is to ensure everything is ready to submit to IGSMA by Friday, Dec. 4th. In the meantime, students should be practicing and preparing their pieces diligently!
In addition to our class assignments, all orchestra students are currently working on submitting videos for a “Virtual Concert Performance”. Because we cannot hold concerts in-person right now, it is very important for our students to still be able to play together as best we can! Students are in the process of submitting videos of themselves performing their orchestra music parts. The audio from the videos will be mixed together and the videos will be collaged together to create a virtual orchestra! The virtual performances will be shared with students and parents when they are finished! I am very grateful that our students get to experience this and are excited for their performances!
Keyboard for Student iPads
If your child is in need of a keyboard, please feel free to pick one up at the Twin Groves office. The office will be open from 7:30AM to 2:30PM Monday, November 16th through Friday, November 20th.
To ensure someone is in the office, please call the office at 847-821-8946 prior to coming.
Recognizing Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) Festival Qualifiers
As do many activities this pandemic year, ILMEA festival auditions for our middle school band and orchestra musicians looked different than in previous years.
We're so proud of our students for their dedicated practice to prepare and audition for ILMEA by video.
Congratulations to our 2020 ILMEA festival qualifiers. Rather than presenting a festival program, this year they will have the opportunity to participate in a virtual masterclass.
Parent Opportunity
Has your family recently moved to the United States or are you and your student(s) new to this area?
On Thursday, December 3rd at 10:30 am parents that are new to our area and have students at Twin Groves and Woodlawn Middle Schools are invited to a casual conversation.
This is an opportunity for parents to meet some D96 staff, ask questions, share their thoughts, and also to meet parents that may have had similar experiences or have been in the district for a long time.
This is an informal opportunity for parents who–like their students–are experiencing our social customs and practices of teaching and learning for the first time.
Twin Groves and Woodlawn Newcomer Conversation
Lubna A is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting
Join Zoom Meeting
https://kcsd96.zoom.us/j/86059806634?pwd=VXNVVG1QUjMzd1psTi9GUE9ucERXQT09
Meeting ID: 860 5980 6634
Passcode: 298685
8th Grade Spanish Placement Process
Dear Families -
At the end of November and into December, 8th grade students will participate in the AAPPL (The ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages) assessment to assess their communicative competency with the Spanish language. The purpose of this assessment is three-fold:
1. D96 will collect valuable data that will inform our instruction to continue to enhance our Spanish curriculum and instruction.
2. Stevenson High School will use this proficiency data to make initial recommendations for Spanish coursework when your student is in high school.
3. Students will have the opportunity to have experience with an assessment that can lead them to earning the Seal of Biliteracy on their High School diploma when they are in high school.
Tell me more about the assessment.
Students will be offered time in class to complete this exam. The specific schedule for your student will be communicated by the classroom teacher. The exam is not timed, though we estimate it will take approximately one hour outside of class time in total to complete. If your student chooses to use more time, they can complete the assessment outside of the time given in class as long as the assessment is finished on or before December 14th. We will monitor the collected data as it compares to classwork/assessments to ensure the fidelity of the results and to confirm that students are not using outside supports.
Key Dates:
-November 16th/17th - Your child’s Spanish teacher will offer a demo for the listening and reading portions of the assessment.
-November 18th through the 30th - The AAPPL portion of the assessment for the listening and reading and in-class interpersonal speaking assessment will be hosted in class.
-December 1st-8th - The writing portion will be practiced in class
-December 9th/10th - The writing portion of the assessment will take place in class.
-December 14th - The total assessment will be completed by the end of the day.
The tasks included in this assessment are similar to tasks we use during our regular instruction and assessment cycle in Spanish classes. The students are asked to engage in interpretive listening and reading tasks. This includes listening or reading authentic Spanish pieces and answering questions, in English, about those pieces based on language the students already know or context given. Additionally, the students will respond to a writing prompt in Spanish utilizing learned language skills. The final piece of the assessment is an interpersonal speaking opportunity in which your child will perform for the classroom teacher and will be scored based on a rubric co-constructed with all Spanish teachers across the consortium (D96, D102, D103, and D125) for consistency of expectations.
How will this information be used to make course recommendations?
Your student’s level of proficiency (interpretive listening and reading as well as writing) as indicated by this assessment combined with an analysis of their interpersonal speaking skills and teacher input will be used to make an initial course recommendation that is optimal for your student. You will receive this information in the mail late January/early February prior to needing to select courses at Stevenson. In general, recommendations will be made for the following courses based on this assessment:
-Spanish 2
-Spanish 2-3 Accelerated
-Spanish 3-4 Accelerated
As this is a recommendation, your family will have the opportunity to provide input as you make the final selection for a course should your child choose to continue studying the Spanish language.
For more information about courses, use this link and click on the Courses Tab.
What is the Seal of Biliteracy?
The Seal of Biliteracy is intended to recognize students for multilingual skills and is indicated on a student’s high school diploma. Additionally, Illinois universities are obligated to offer college credit to students that have earned the Seal of Biliteracy through meeting the requirements.
For more information about this opportunity, use this link and click on the Seal of Biliteracy Tab.
What if my child would like to participate in a benchmark or placement assessment for a language other than Spanish?
Students who have prior coursework or experience in Chinese, French, German, Hebrew or Latin, and are interested in potential placement in one of these language programs beyond the introductory level, may also participate in the corresponding language benchmark exam. For the January 2021 benchmark date, we anticipate that assessments will be completed remotely through at-home proctoring. More information will be made available via Stevenson High School.
School Pictures- Information from VIP
School portraits are ready to view and order!
VIP has created a flyer you can download here .
Please contact VIP with any questions at [email protected]
8th Grade- SHS Presents Disney’s Newsies
On November 23rd, the 8th grade students will be viewing Stevenson High School’s production of Disney’s Newsies. The students will log on to their first period class zoom and watch the production.
Students will have a regular afternoon and report to lunch, Flex, and 7th and 8th period as usual.
Daily Announcements
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.