3/11/22
March Reminders:
March 14th- Early Release 1:30 PM dismissal for students
March 14th- Family Educator Conferences 5:00 PM- 8:30 PM
March 15th- No School
March 15th- Family Educator Conferences 10:00 AM -1:30 PM
March 18th- No School
March 21st-25th- Spring Break
March 28th- Classes Resume
NEW *PCR Screening for the Week of March 14*
Given that there is no student attendance on Tuesday, March 15 or Friday, March 18, PCR Screening will only occur one time next week. Students who have opted into screening will receive PCR kits on Monday, March 14. The PCR sample is to be returned to school on Wednesday, March 16. If you have any questions regarding PCR screening, please contact Amy Gluck, Director of Educational Services, at [email protected].
The week following spring break will return to twice weekly screening with PCR samples to be returned to school on Tuesday and Friday. If metrics remain stable, we are targeting moving to once weekly PCR screening the week of April 11.
Twin Grove Catalyst
This past Wednesday, the Twin Groves Catalyst group went to Stevenson for their monthly meeting with other feeder schools. Students were working on creating a fun game show to discuss the effects of vaping and drinking amongst youth. This picture depicts the banner that will be hung up at all the feeder schools and SHS this Spring.
What’s Happening at Twin?
6th Grade
Pre-Algebra Survey: 6PAS is beginning a new unit on Algebraic Equations. We will be solving one-step equations involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The students will be learning about isolating the variable and keeping the equation balanced. 6PAS will then extend this knowledge into solving two-step equations. It is very important for students to check their answers by substituting the solutions back into the original equation, so please encourage that at home. The unit will end with a brief study on independent and dependent variables and solving inequalities. Last month we talked about encouraging students to understand others’ reasoning and provide critique. This has allowed the students to have rich discussions in class and has led to a great sharing of viewpoints. This month, students should recognize that they are modeling with mathematics, whether by representing the problem with an equation, table, or graph. We’d also like to focus on reasoning abstractly and quantitatively, as these skills are necessary when modeling with mathematics. Feel free to ask your children about their work!
The students have access to these apps that they should be using regularly:
Math Facts Ninja - For students who need extra practice with their math facts.
IXL - 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.
Pre-Algebra: 6PA will be finishing their first unit on geometry soon. We have been focusing on circles, surface area, and volume. They will then move on to the second geometry unit, which includes angle relationships. Many of the problems the students have been working on include rigorous, deep-thinking problems, and the students have been rising up to the challenge! Last month, we talked about encouraging the students to understand others’ reasoning and provide critique. This has allowed the students to have rich discussions in class and has led to a great sharing of viewpoints. This month, students should recognize that they are modeling with mathematics, whether by representing the problem with an equation, table, or graph. We’d also like to focus on reasoning abstractly and quantitatively, as these skills are necessary when modeling with mathematics. Feel free to ask your children about their work!
The students have access to these apps that they should be using regularly:
Math Facts Ninja - For students who need extra practice with their math facts.
IXL - 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.
Language Arts: Spring book clubs have started! All 6th grade students have a book to read, a calendar of assignments, and a discussion group which meets once or twice a week. Discussion topics range from noticing the author’s craft in a scene or description to debating the wisdom of a character’s choices to pointing out unfamiliar words to the group! Students must keep up with their assignments so that everyone’s voice can be heard and discussion can be rich and purposeful.
Science: Scientists have been busy learning about the different cycles of matter. From the water cycle to the carbon and nitrogen cycles, students became a part of it! Students were excited to link their knowledge of matter and elements into this new target. There were some really cool labs too! Be sure to ask your child about their Nitrogen Cycle Passport and their Water Cycle Adventure!
SS: In social studies, we will be looking at the formation of the Roman Republic and how it compares to both the Greek democracy and our own government. From there, we will see how the republic transformed into the Roman Empire. We will focus on both the positives and negatives of how Rome was ruled, with the students eventually deciding what was the most important factor that led to their downfall.
7th Grade
Bridge to Algebra 1: The students are learning all about the properties of exponents. There are quite a few of them so practice is key to remembering them all! Our practice with exponents will lead us into working and learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide with numbers written in scientific notation.
Algebra 1: We have been delving into solving quadratic equations using square roots, factoring, and the quadratic formula. We have also learned quite a bit about simplifying radical expressions. Some of the problems we encountered even had us multiplying by the conjugate and rationalizing the denominator.
Language Arts: Both Language Arts classes have finished reading their novels. We are wrapping up the novel studies by having each class write a narrative adding on to the story and creating a poster that displays one of the themes of their novel - we are calling them “2 Pagers.” We will spend our time before spring break wrapping up the novels. When we return, we will spend some time focusing on informational text. You can expect to see AOWs return, so your child should be working on that for a few minutes each night. We also recommend your student have a silent reading novel. Since they won’t spend as much time reading a novel in class, we encourage them to have a high interest book to read on their own.
Science: Students started our current target learning about how scale is used when studying our solar system. We have been looking at models and discussing how scale is important to consider when making an accurate model. Students have been learning about how the sun, earth, and moon cycles and interactions result in phases of the moon, eclipses, and seasons. We are also continuing our robot project by learning how to drive the completed robot design through various challenges.
SS: As Trimester 3 begins, we are digging into the new nation coming out of the Revolutionary War and Constitutional Convention. We will analyze several historically significant individuals, documents, events, and texts during Trimester 3 - one of which will be George Washington’s farewell address, which is just as relevant today as it was back in 1796! We will then examine our nation’s growth and westward expansion, including outstanding achievements and unfortunate setbacks as we completed our “Manifest Destiny”. While America grows and expands, the Industrial Revolution is taking shape. So many great innovations… which ones are most influential? However, what “price” or “cost” do certain segments of the population face during these growing and expanding years….Native Americans, slaves, immigrant workers, etc. There will be a second conflict against Great Britain, which will eventually provide us with our National Anthem. We continue to examine a variety of primary and secondary sources using inquiry, argumentation, implementing questioning and questions, and source evaluation for reliability and credibility. It’s important to note that we practice critical literacy skills such as highlighting and annotating to help comprehend our historical information and learning.
8th Grade
Algebra 1: In Algebra 1, we are in the middle of our Quadratic Equations unit. This unit is essential for students to understand in order to be successful in Algebra 2. Students have been learning how to solve quadratic equations by graphing, factoring, the square root method, and the quadratic formula. If your child is struggling with this unit, please encourage them to seek help and use outside resources!
Algebra 2: In Algebra 2, students are finishing Unit 8: Statistics. The students learned different types of sampling and survey methods, calculating z-scores, using the mean and standard deviation to estimate population percentages, and margin of error. Next unit of study will be the Unit Circle and trigonometric functions! Please remind your student that they should be completing all homework assignments and getting help when needed!
Language Arts: Students have begun to analyze how modern works of fiction draw on themes, patterns of events or character types of traditional stories, and are describing how those aspects create a new meaning in the modern story. Students are also continuing to work on their narrative writing skills as well as strengthen their analytical writing techniques.
Science: Students are beginning to investigate the impact humans have on the environment, known as the human footprint. We will begin the unit looking at emissions of greenhouse gasses and studying water pollution. Students will design their own water filters using common materials like sand, gravel, cotton balls, and carbon. Students will then test their own filtration systems to determine how effectively their designs filter water.
SS: To better understand the Vietnam War era in America, we’ve spent the last couple weeks learning about the Civil Rights Movement, which also took place throughout the 1950’s and 60’s! This was truly a time of great divide amongst the citizens of this country and while our story includes racial discrimination and violence, the focus of this unit is to help students understand that the Civil Rights leaders and all those involved in nonviolent protest thoughtfully went about making positive change in society. Students will be writing their next argumentative essay soon, where they get the opportunity to practice creating a claim statement within an introductory paragraph, as well as crafting an evidence-based body paragraph that supports their sub-claim. Students have made great strides this year in their ability to write argumentative responses! After spring break, we will continue our story by moving into the 70s and 80’s and helping students better understand other groups that have historically been fighting for social justice and learn more about the Cold War struggle between America and the Soviet Union.
NEW *Talking to Students about Events in Ukraine *
As indicated in Mrs. Schmidt’s Superintendent’s message, staff has received resources regarding how to support conversations with students who express personal and more global concerns and fears. We will continue to provide the most up-to-date resources to them. Below you will find resources for parents on how to support your student at home.
Many of our students need the guidance and safety of adults in their homes to navigate their own emotions and trauma in a healthy, safe, and productive way. A few reminders when speaking with your student:
-News like this can be scary to children if not handled in the right way. Support and conversations will look and sound different with different age groups.
-Remain calm
-Affirm that it is okay to feel upset
-Stick to facts from vetted sources
-Keep explanations developmentally appropriate
-Model coping strategies
-Keep open lines of communication between school and home
Each of the attached resources provides tips for families and educators, and some include what we can do as adults and how you can respond to students.
Resources:
How to Talk to Kids About Violence Crime and War: Common Sense Media gathers tips and conversation starters to help you talk to kids of different ages about the toughest topics.
Talking to Your Kids About War: VeryWell Family explores ways families can speak with young people about war, including tips on sharing information and restricting media coverage.
Resilience in a time of war: Tips for parents and teachers of elementary school children: This article from the American Psychological Association can help adults guide their young children beyond fear and to resilience.
Resilience in a time of war: Tips for parents and teachers of middle school children: The American Psychological Association breaks out tips and strategies for parents and teachers of middle school-aged children.
The following resources are from the National Association of School Psychologists:
War and Terrorism: Tips for Supporting Children at Home and School
Helping Children Cope with Terrorism: Tips for Families and Educators: Tips and reminders in an easy to read chart
Helping Children Cope with Terrorism: Tips for Families and Educators: Fifteen tips for adults in supporting children
NEW *Illinois Assessment of Readiness
Students in grades 3-8 participate in the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). The IAR consists of assessments for both literacy and math. The District 96 window for the IAR is April 4 - May 21. More information and specific dates within the window to come.
IAR Parent Letter (English)
IAR Parent Letter (Spanish)
SPRING COLLABORATIVE CONFERENCES- STUDENTS MUST ATTEND!!!
The collaborative conference dates are Monday, March 14th from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM and Tuesday, March 15th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM.
Students must be present as the conferences are Student Led. Students have been preparing for the conferences in school and will have a presentation to share.
Collaborative conferences will be held over zoom unless parents request an in-person conference using the instructions below.
A document with all the staff zoom links was sent out early today.
School Supply Kits- NOW ON SALE!
School supply kits for next year are now on sale. If you have any questions please email Jackie Beegun at [email protected].
www.shopttkits.com
Use Account # 22104
Registration now open for the 2022-23 school year
Registration is now open for the 2022-23 school year. This week, parents and guardians of returning students and pre-registered Kindergartners were emailed Notification letters with a SnapCode to start their registration process.
Register today to avoid the $20 late fee (per child) to be charged on registrations completed after April 15.
If you have questions about the 2022-23 Registration Notification email, please email [email protected] or call 847-459-4260, ext. 8022.
For information on registering a new student, visit https://kcsd96.org/registration.
NEW *Covid Metrics*
To stay up-to-date this school year on local metrics, please visit the COVID DASHBOARD for District 96. Our priority remains to keep our students safe and follow guidance from the CDC. If your student is identified as a "close contact", you will be notified individually through the contact tracing process.
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.