1/13/23
Happy New Year! Welcome Back!
There will be no school on Monday, January 16th. See you on Tuesday, January 17th.
Today the TG Students and Staff enjoyed a fun Winter Spirit Assembly. This was the makeup date from December 22nd. A huge thank you to all the students and staff for planning such a great assembly!
Counseling Corner
Ms. Baker and Mr. Maddox, School Social Workers
Mrs. Koulentes, School Counselor
Mrs. Leverentz, School Psychologist
Happy New Year Twin Groves! We hope everyone had a wonderful start to their new year and enjoyed their time off. It is nice to see everyone and be back in our classrooms! As we move into the second half of our school year, we thought it would be important to highlight five after-winter-break tips and help our students sustain momentum during these winter months.
1. Return to Bedtime Routines
Although it is easy to get into a new pattern of sleep during special occasions (such as winter break), it is important that kids transition to their regular sleep patterns as they are returning to school. Quality and consistent sleep is essential to helping kids stay energized throughout their school day.
2. Discuss Goals for the New Year
Having discussions with your child about what their goals are for the new year are a great way to transition into the second half of their school year. Whether they have school, personal, physical, or any other goal in between, it will help your student have something to look forward to and work towards as they tackle the rest of the year.
3. Focus on Celebrations the First Weeks Back
From big celebrations such as personal accomplishments to little celebrations such as getting out of bed to their alarm in the morning - celebrating and starting off on a positive note will help set the tone for the weeks ahead.
4. Validate your Child’s Feelings
It is normal for kids to have mixed feelings about starting back up again after the break. While some are excited to come back, see their friends and teachers, and get into a routine, others may feel anxious or apprehensive about returning. Both feelings are okay and valid. Encouraging kids to voice their opinions and listen will go a long way. When kids feel heard, they are more likely to share.
5. Emphasize the Importance of Self-Care
Doing things that help them alleviate stress such as listening to upbeat music, deep breathing, doing something they enjoy, spending time with loved ones, etc. will help your child immensely/be a helpful continued practice to put in place.
What’s Happening at Twin?
6th Grade
A big THANK YOU to students and parents for the numerous notes, sweet treats, and gifts we received before winter break! We truly appreciated each and every one of them!
Pre-Algebra Survey: 6th grade Pre-Algebra Survey will begin their expressions unit, which involves understanding variables, combining like terms, and writing mathematical expressions. A big focus will be on using mathematical properties to create equivalent expressions. This will be the foundation of much of their future math work, so it is great to see how hard the students are working. Last month we talked about encouraging the students to be precise in their work. This has been evident as they have continued showing their work properly and have been labeling with units. This month the focus will be on modeling with mathematics. It is an integral part of Algebraic, numeric, and ratio reasoning and will truly show understanding. Thanks for all your support!
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 will begin working on their equations unit. They will extend their work from 1-step equations to multi-step on both sides of the equals sign. This is the foundation of much of their future math work, so it is great to see how hard the students are working. Last month we talked about encouraging the students to be precise in their work. This has been evident as they continued to show their work properly and have been labeling with units. This month the focus will be on modeling with mathematics. It is an integral part of Algebraic, numeric, and ratio reasoning and will truly show understanding. Thanks for all your support!
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: This month we will be starting Book Clubs. These book clubs will allow students to collaborate with one another by discussing engaging, thought-provoking novels that align with our current standards. Parents were sent an email earlier this week that includes a list of the book choices. We request a reply from you in order to ensure that all of these books are OK for your child to read.
Science: 6th-grade student scientists are beginning Unit 4: Plate Tectonics and Rocks. Our essential question is “What causes Earth’s surface to change?” Students will dive into activities, research evidence, and analyze data to discover how the plates move.
SS: In social studies this month, students will be learning more about the pillars of civilization and how leadership can impact a community. We will be looking at examples of political, economic, and social leaders throughout history and then be investigating how students themselves can lead in modern times.
7th Grade
Pre-Algebra: Pre-Algebra will begin working on their equations unit. They will extend their work from 1-step equations to multi-step on both sides of the equals sign. This is the foundation of much of their future math work, so it is great to see how hard the students have been working.
Bridge to Algebra 1: This new year finds us at the end of our unit on Solving Systems of Linear Equations. The next couple of weeks has us focusing on writing and solving these systems of equations in real-life situations in the form of word problems. We will then begin our unit on Congruence and Similarity.
Algebra 1: Students have just completed their unit on the Properties of Exponents. This will be very beneficial as we begin our unit on Graphing and Writing Exponential Functions. Students will learn how to calculate and identify key features of these functions, graph and create them without a calculator, and solve them with and without a calculator.
Language Arts: The Language Arts classes are all involved in a poetry unit where we’re emphasizing the strategies authors use to develop a theme. Students are working on close reading skills like highlighting and annotating and looking for ways “in” to a difficult poem. For the most part, we’re seeing some great successes as students see things in the texts that they were not noticing earlier in the year. Later this month, both LA and ADV will be starting class novels. As always, reading at home and talking about what they’re reading makes students stronger learners and builds reading stamina. Thanks for your support.
Science: We are opening the new year with an engineering project using our robots! Students will be building one-of-a-kind robots to carry a small container, dump out its contents, and return the container to its original position. We will then jump into our fourth unit which covers Matter Cycling and Photosynthesis to answer the question: Where does food come from and where does it go next?
SS: Our new nation had to start somewhere with a first government and that start was operated under the Articles of Confederation during and (thankfully for not that many years) after the Revolutionary War. The problems with the Articles would lead to the development of political factions and parties during this time of intense debate about what a “better government” should look like in America. These conflicting views for the future will manifest during the Constitutional Convention. Disagreements and various forms of protest, debate, and disagreement about what the “better vision” of the American Government will encourage many to take action. Connections will be made to how we can step up to take civic action to make a difference, just as many did years ago to help shape the new Constitution and American Government. From there, we will continue to analyze the structures, concepts, and branches of our government and Constitution beginning with seven key principles and components that serve as critical foundations. Defending claims and perspectives is always a focus of attention.
8th Grade
Algebra 1: We are starting this year in Algebra 1 by finishing up our 5th Unit regarding Exponential Properties. After that, we are onto Exponential Functions! In Unit 6, students will practice writing and graphing these functions, while discovering Growth and Decay models. The skills students developed in the last unit will be made even stronger as we start to get into more real-world examples! 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. Happy 2023!
Geometry: We are in the midst of our Quadrilaterals unit. We are learning about the hierarchy of quadrilaterals and what makes each shape unique. Our knowledge on congruent triangles has helped us discover properties involving diagonals of each shape. The students are excited to be working on how to find missing values of each shape by using the properties where algebra skills will be utilized.
Language Arts: In Advanced ELA we will begin a new novel: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. This is a coming-of-age story about a character named Pip and how he makes his way through social classes. This story deals with the themes of Social Classes, Generosity, Family, Justice vs Revenge, and Fulfillment. We will be reading an easier and adapted version of the 1800’s classic story. I will also be guiding students through the story as well. We feel here in District 96, that it is important to challenge our students with rigorous and challenging texts that they may not pick up and choose on their own. Through the relatable and relevant themes of the book, I know this story will be worthwhile.
In At-level ELA, we will begin reading Flowers for Algernon. A story about Charlie, a man who undergoes an experimental surgery to change his IQ. After the surgery, he quickly realizes how his relationships with his friends and co-workers change. Much like any story we will be pulling out important themes and relating the content of the story to our lives.
Science: With the new year we are starting our fourth unit, Earth in Space, which is asking the big question “How are we connected to the patterns we see in the sky?”
Humans have always been driven by noticing, recording, and understanding patterns and by trying to figure out how we fit within much larger systems. In this unit, students begin observing the repeating biannual pattern of the Sun setting perfectly aligned between buildings in New York City along particular streets and then try to explain additional patterns in the sky that have been observed. Students draw on their own experiences and the stories of family or community members to brainstorm a list of patterns in the sky. They listen to a series of podcasts highlighting indigenous astronomies from around the world that emphasize how patterns in the sky set the rhythms for their lives, their communities, and all life on Earth, and these are added to their growing list of related phenomena (other patterns in the sky people have observed).
Students develop models for the Earth-Sun and Earth-Sun-Moon systems that explain some of the patterns in the sky that they have identified, including seasons, eclipses, and lunar phases. They will also investigate a series of related phenomena motivated by their questions and ideas for investigations.
SS: In Social Studies, students have concluded learning about World War II, which included them sharing their opinion on whether or not the United States should have dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan. Students wrestled with the morality of such a decision and did a great job having conversations with those that may have had a differing perspective. Students have since focused on the liberation of concentration camps by Allied soldiers, as well as the trials that took place to hold Axis power leaders accountable for their “Crimes Against Humanity”.
We have just begun our Cold War unit, which will be the umbrella over the next 40-plus years of content, where students will see the competitive struggle between capitalist and communist nations working to rebuild the world in their image.
ACCESS Testing
The State of Illinois requires identified English Learner (EL) students to annually participate in the ACCESS testing to determine current English language proficiency in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Our ACCESS testing window will occur from 1/17-2/22. Each school’s testing schedule is unique and will only impact students who take the ACCESS test. Students taking ACCESS do not need to prepare anything ahead of time.
Simplifying Stevenson- 8th Grade
The annual Simplifying Stevenson program for parents of 8th graders on Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 PM in the Ivy Hall Large gym.
Pre-Registration Open for Incoming 2023-24 Kindergartners
Pre-Registration for incoming 2023-24 kindergartners is now open.
The 2023-24 Kindergarten Pre-Registration is open to students who live within District 96 boundaries and will be 5 years old by Sept. 1, 2023.
To begin the Kindergarten Pre-Registration process, parents must email all required documents to the administrative assistant at Willow Grove Early Learning Center at [email protected].
Parents need to supply the following:
-Student’s Birth Certificate or Passport or Visa
-Parent/Guardian Photo ID (Passport or Driver’s License)
-Proof of District Residency (a current mortgage statement or current lease or property tax bill)
-Current Utility Bill
-Click the link to download & complete: RESIDENCY FORM
-Click the link to download & complete: HOME LANGUAGE SURVEY
-Click the link to download & complete: ENROLLMENT FORM
After the submitted documents are approved, families will receive a Pre-Registration link to complete by January 31, 2023. Students pre-registered by January 31 will receive a free Willow Grove T-shirt. (T-shirts are not available after this pre-registration period.)
Families needing to pre-register their child in person may contact Kimberly O’Neill, administrative assistant at Willow Grove Early Learning Center, at [email protected] or at (847) 541-3660.
Learn more about Kindergarten in District 96: https://www.kcsd96.org/wg/kindergarten-in-kcsd96
Got questions? Email Kimberly O’Neill, administrative assistant at Willow Grove, at [email protected].
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Daily Announcements
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