10/28/22
Congratulations!
Each month, Twin Groves will be recognizing students who are model citizens of our Colts Community!
The Twin Groves Staff would like to recognize the following students who consistently demonstrate they are Responsible, Respectful, and Safe. In addition to the 3 Traits, we are also recognizing students for being leaders, role models, supportive peers, brave, and positive.
Lily Fan
Tanya Ganapathy
James Guyer
Anvi Khosla
Noah J. Kim
Max Kolinski
Abi Perez
Tanvi Pulikesi
Eryk Starzycki
Aki Takahashi
Evelyn Zimbalist
What’s Happening at TG?
6th Grade
Pre Algebra Survey: Pre-Algebra Survey classes are in the middle of their unit on rational numbers. The students are working with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing positive and negative integers, fractions, and decimals- which can be a lot to take in! We are doing a lot of practice in class and the students are working hard to master these fundamentals. Last month, we talked about modeling with mathematics and being able to show work in different ways. The students were very successful with this! This month, please encourage your child to look for structure and use this to help them solve new problems. For example, can the numbers in this problem be manipulated to look more like something we’ve seen before? For this, great note-taking skills are a must, which includes lining up work in students’ notebooks and iPads carefully.
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: Pre-Algebra classes are in the middle of their unit on rational numbers. The students are working with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing positive and negative integers, fractions, and decimals- which can be a lot to take in! We are doing a lot of practice in class and the students are working hard to master these fundamentals. Last month we talked about modeling with mathematics and being able to show work in different ways. The students were very successful with this! This month, please encourage your child to look for structure and use this to help them solve new problems. For example, can the numbers in this problem be manipulated to look more like something we’ve seen before? For this, great note-taking skills are a must, which includes lining up work in students’ notebooks and iPads carefully.
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: Students have been working on identifying the central idea of a piece of informational text. Shortly, we will begin reading whole-class novels and answering a question: What is a community? In Advanced, we will be reading Lois Lowry’s Newbery Award winning classic The Giver - a perfect community until the reader becomes uneasily aware that all is not well. In LA, we will read Seedfolks. It will show us how people of all different backgrounds can come together as one to make a positive change in the community.
Science: Scientists have moved onto our next unit on Thermal Energy. Guiding our work is the question: “How can containers keep stuff from warming up or cooling down?” Students will partake in a number of hands-on activities from keeping a cup warm to keeping an ice cube “penguin” cool. STEM challenges have included building towers and working with a limited set of materials.
SS: As we have worked on our migration unit, the students have begun to develop an understanding of how humans populated the world. After learning about the big ideas of how and why people migrated, we will now be focusing on some specific examples of this process. We will be learning about groups and individuals from different time periods and exploring how the presence or absence of water and other resources has impacted our ability to live where we want.
7th Grade
Pre Algebra: We are in the middle of their unit on rational numbers. The students are working with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing positive and negative integers, fractions, and decimals, which can be a lot to take in! We are doing a lot of practice in class and the students are working hard to master these fundamentals.
Bridge to Algebra 1- We have just begun our unit on Linear Functions. Students will be exposed to two different forms of equations that are used to represent linear functions. They will be learning how to write equations and graph them in each form. First, concepts such as slope, rate of change, and x intercepts and y intercepts will be introduced and studied.
Algebra 1- Unit 3 has us learning how to use our calculators to find lines of best fit (trend lines) of data. The students have done wonderfully learning how to do this since the graphing calculator is new to them. There are many steps they need to remember for the calculation and data that needs to be entered. The need for precision is very high. The students will also be learning how to calculate residuals and how to analyze those residuals. We use residuals to determine if a linear model is the best fit for the data.
Language Arts: In both classes students are in the middle of their book clubs. We are studying dystopian stories and looking at how individuals make an impact in their society when they think individually. We are also working on our narrative writing skills. The students have been analyzing a video clip that they will turn into a piece of narrative writing. We will look at how the students transferred details from the video to written expression. Please check to make sure that your student is bringing home and reading their dystopian novel every night.
Science: Students are investigating how we can heat up food if we don’t have the typical methods available. We observed how a chemical reaction can be exothermic or endothermic. Our end project will be to design and build a device that can heat up a substance using an exothermic reaction. Additionally, we will be building and testing a wind powered car for our engineering targets.
SS: A key focus of 7th grade S.S. is the development and formation of historical claims and arguments. These must be based from reliable and credible sources. We then develop reasons and ideas to back up our arguments and claims followed by an accurate citation. We intentionally started the year with the key elements of source evaluation, making this step of the inquiry process pretty smooth. Last step is to argue, defend, and prove our thoughts, evidence, and thinking (the “how and why”). In class, to facilitate this we are exploring the causes and effects of the French and Indian War, which will directly lead us along the “Road to the Revolutionary War”. Two opposing perspectives will develop… Patriots and Loyalists during the Revolutionary Years. Our great Constitution will replace the terribly problematic Articles of Confederation, our first attempted national government. Another set of perspectives will develop… the Federalists and Anti-Federalists will debate and defend their views during the Constitutional Convention and ratification. These groups will form the origins and basis of our government, politics, and political parties of today!
8th Grade
Algebra 1: In Algebra 1 we are completing Unit 2: Graphing and Writing Linear Equations. We will be starting Unit 3 on Statistical Models. This unit contained brand new material for students and they learned how to use their TI-84 Graphing calculator to create scatter plots and calculate linear regression models. Students should be bringing their graphing calculator to class with them everyday! All units from here on out will be very critical for students to demonstrate mastery of and are essential for building a solid algebra foundation.
Geometry: Geometry has just completed Unit 3: Angle and Segment relationships. This was a more challenging unit for students but most persevered and mastered our learning targets! Unit 4: Introduction to Proofs is where we will start to see less Algebra 1 review concepts and more Geometry. Students will have to really push themselves with their thinking. Students will have to take given information, come to conclusions, and provide detailed reasonings. If your child feels that Algebra 1 concepts are making Geometry more difficult, please encourage them to utilize IXL/Khan Academy outside of class and reach out for extra practice!
Science: In Science, we just wrapped up our first unit on contact forces and we are starting Unit 2: Sound Waves. In this new unit, students develop ideas related to how sounds are produced, how they travel through media, and how they affect objects at a distance. Their investigations are motivated by trying to account for a perplexing anchoring phenomenon — a truck is playing loud music in a parking lot and the windows of a building across the parking lot visibly shake in response to the music.They make observations of sound sources to recognize that objects vibrate when they make sounds. They figure out that patterns of differences in those vibrations are tied to differences in characteristics of the sounds being made. They gather data on how objects vibrate when making different sounds to characterize how a vibrating object’s motion is tied to the loudness and pitch of the sounds they make. Students also conduct experiments to support the idea that sound needs matter to travel through, and they will use models and simulations to explain how sound travels through matter at the particle level.
SS: In Social Studies, we have recently learned about World War I, including the various causes of the war, advancements in technology that led to many casualties, United States entry into the war, and the long term impact the Treaty of Versailles had at the conclusion of the conflict.
We have also covered the story behind the 19th Amendment and what it took for women to achieve the right to vote in this country.
Most recently, students have been learning about the innovations and products created throughout the 1920’s that made life easier and connected more and more people over greater distances. The “Roaring 20’s” was truly a “Boom to Bust” decade and students have begun work on understanding the social and economic factors that led to the Great Depression. Students have been working to master the skill of closely reading primary sources, where they then have to summarize what it says, as well as be able to analyze its historical significance.
Halloween Costumes
Students are welcome to wear Halloween Costumes to school on Monday, October 31st. Students should be able to sit comfortably in their costumes during the school day.
Halloween Costumes should follow the D96 dress code.
No masks or full face paint will be allowed at school.
No weapons or other props that represent weapons will be allowed.
Student Sense of Belonging Survey (NEW)
In District 96, we believe that feedback from students regarding their perception of the school climate and teacher-student relationships provides valuable input about their sense of belonging. Our school district is committed to providing our students with every opportunity to succeed. Substantial research indicates that supporting students’ social-emotional development improves their readiness to learn, positive classroom engagement, and overall academic performance. As a result, District 96 will administer a student belonging survey to all students EC-8.
Please look at this LETTER that gives more information about the student belonging survey.
These surveys are below for you to look over. If you would like a physical copy, you can also get one from the district office.
Surveys Below (these are public google drive links)
Lake County STEM for Girls Conference
The Lake County STEM for Girls Conference is less than a month away! This year's event is being held at WOODLAWN!!! Registration is OPEN and spots are still available! Visit lcstemforgirls.com or scan the QR code in the flyer below to register your child for this great event!! Join us for an awesome and engaging morning with STEM professionals from our area! (There are parent sessions to attend as well if interested!)
PTO
Please click HERE to access the PTO Blog.
Twin Groves Athletics
Please click HERE to access the Twin Groves Athletics site.
This site will be updated frequently.
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.