1/12/24
Happy New Year! It was great to be back and to see so many smiling faces!
Upcoming Dates:
1/15- No School
1/30- Early Release 1:30 PM Dismissal
2/16- Half Day 11:10 AM Dismissal
2/19- No School
2/27- Early Release 1:30 PM Dismissal
What’s Happening at Twin Groves?
6th Grade
Pre-Algebra Survey: The 6th Pre-Algebra Survey will begin the 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 is the foundation of so 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 showed their work properly and labeled 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.
Edia - 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 the equations unit. They will extend their work with 1-step equations to multi-step on both sides of the equals sign. This is the foundation of so 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 showed their work properly and labeled 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.
Edia - 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 included 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 titled 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 even investigating how students themselves can lead in modern times.
7th Grade
Pre-Algebra: After learning how to solve simple equations, this winter break left us solving two-step equations with one variable. As we begin the new year, students will learn how to solve multi-step equations in one variable by using the distributive property and the collecting of like terms. We will also learn how to solve an equation when there are variables on both sides of the equation. We will apply this knowledge to solve some real-world problems.
Bridge to Algebra 1: This new year finds us at the end of our unit on Solving Systems of Linear Equations. 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 students have just finished their first major writing assignment where they analyzed the poem “Richard Cory”. This week we will read the short story “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury. The students will then have an opportunity to write their own ending to the story, and we will practice writing an analysis together before our next assessment. In two weeks, we will begin our next novel study, The Outsiders. Over the next two weeks your child should still be working on AOWs and IXL at home. Starting on the 22nd they should also read some portion of The Outsiders at home every night.
Advanced Language Arts: The students have just finished their first major writing assignment where they analyzed the poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou. This week we will study the satirical and ironic elements of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. The students will practice writing an analysis of this text before beginning our next CFA in a week. Starting on the 22nd students will begin reading the novel The Book Thief”. The students will read most of this novel at home so they can participate in the daily discussions and activities. Until then, expect your child to work on AOWs and IXL at home.
Science: We are opening the new year by completing an engineering project using our robots. Students are building a one-of-a-kind robot 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: The new year brings a brief shift away from history and toward an evaluation of our civic institutions. Students will learn the foundations of American government, including the branches of government, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the principles of democracy. Once we have our feet under us on the foundation of government, we will be digging deeper into the Bill of Rights, and evaluating how those rights apply to all of our lives today.
8th Grade
Bridge to Algebra 1: We are in the midst of Unit 4: Simultaneous Linear Functions! Students are continuing to learn how to solve systems of linear equations by graphing, substitution, and elimination. To close out the unit, students will be practicing word problems. They will need to create a system given a word problem and interpret solutions using context. This unit is critical for students to master to help them in Algebra 1! Please remind students of the importance of completing all homework assignments! Happy 2024!
Algebra 1: Prior to winter break, we completed Unit 5: Exponent Properties. This was a short but tough unit! We just started Unit 6: 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 2024!
Geometry: We just completed our Quadrilaterals unit. Students learned about the hierarchy of quadrilaterals and what makes each shape unique. Our knowledge of congruent triangles has helped us discover properties involving diagonals of each shape. After winter break, we began Unit 8: Similarity. Students will be learning about dilations, dilation factors, scale factors, overlapping triangles, similarity statements, and much more! Happy 2024!
Language Arts: In Language Arts, we are wrapping up part 1 of our poetry unit. We read and interpreted several classic poems from poets, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, and Billy Collins. While we are taking a short break from poetry, we will continue part two of this unit in March. There we will explore the art of language by studying contemporary living poetry. Coming up next we will be getting into our persuasion and debate unit. Here we will be learning about persuasive appeals: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. My hope is that students will begin to see how much these persuasive appeals fill their lives. By recognizing these strategies, students will be able to become higher-level thinkers. In addition to the debate, AT-level students will also begin the adapted version of Flowers for Algernon. Here we will explore our own multiple intelligences while interpreting the themes of this great story.
Science: In Science, we just wrapped up our third unit, contact forces, and are starting Unit 4: 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 figured out that patterns of differences in those vibrations are tied to differences in the 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 begun our Cold War unit, helping students understand the multi-faceted competition that took place between the United States and the U.S.S.R., beginning after World War II and lasting until the early 90s. This competition included efforts by both nations to spread capitalism or communism across the world, as well as the Arms and space races that highlighted the technological advancements that were made by both nations.
Students will learn why this era was known as the “Cold War,” but also see moments in history where tensions heated up to actual conflict. Next week, we will start learning about the Korean War from a historical perspective, while also making connections to present-day conditions between North and South Korea. By the end of the month, we will also learn about the Vietnam War, focusing both on the brutal fighting/tactics that took place and the civil unrest that took hold of America during this time.
Lost and Found
If your child is missing a personal item like a water bottle, jacket, bag, hat, gloves, sweatshirt, or other clothing item, please have them look on the lost and found table in the cafeteria. All items will be donated on January 19th.
Approved Snack List- Updated
Please click HERE to access the updated D96 Food and Beverage List.
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 1/17/24-3/5/24. 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.
NEW *24-25 Kindergarten Registration Open*
Are you the parent of a kindergarten student or friends with someone who is? Please help us get the word out! Kindergarten registration is now open for the 24-25 school year. Families who complete registration by April 30th may attend Kindergarten Kick-Off in May at Willow Grove Early Learning Center and receive a free t-shirt while at the event! Kindergarten Kick-Off is an exciting event designed to welcome and introduce incoming kindergarten students and their parents/guardians to Willow Grove, supporting a successful transition into school and kindergarten. Please follow this link to learn about the steps to register. Fully registered families will receive additional information about Kindergarten Kick-Off and more in early April.
If your child is already attending Willow Grove in the early childhood program, you will automatically receive a registration link in March for kindergarten. Please wait until you receive that link to proceed with registration. You will still want to complete the registration process by April 30th to receive your child's free t-shirt and attend Kindergarten Kick-Off.
Please note that your child must be 5 years old by September 1st, 2024 to attend kindergarten for the 2024-25 school year.
https://www.kcsd96.org/wg/kindergarten-registration
Daily Announcements
Please see the 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.
Twin Groves Athletics
Please click HERE to access the Twin Groves Athletics site.
This site will be updated frequently.