4/12/24
Upcoming Dates:
4/18- Half Day for Students-11:10 AM Dismissal
4/19- Institute Day- No student attendance
4/30- Early Release for Students-1:30 PM Dismissal
5/21- Early Release for Students-1:30 PM Dismissal
5/24- Half Day for Students-11:10 AM Dismissal
5/24- Last Day for 8th Graders
5/27- No School
5/28- 8th Grade Graduation 5:30 PM
5/31- Last Day for 6th and 7th Graders- 11:10 AM Dismissal
What’s Happening at Twin Groves?
6th Grade
Pre-Algebra Survey: 6PAS is continuing its unit on Algebraic Equations. We will be solving one-step and two-step equations involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The students will be learning about isolating the variable and keeping the equation balanced. The unit will end with an introduction to inequalities. The unit will end with a brief study on independent and dependent variables and solving inequalities. Last month, we talked about modeling with mathematics. This skill will continue to be important this month, because students will be modeling verbal models as Algebraic equations. This month, we’d like to focus on attending to precision. This might mean being careful to define your variables to make your work more understandable, labeling measurements, or making sure your answer is represented in the correct format.
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: 6PA will be finishing their second unit on geometry, focused on angle relationships and the Pythagorean theorem. The focus for the third and final unit of geometry is on transformations. Students will be reflecting, translating, rotating and dilating shapes around the coordinate plane. Last month, we talked about modeling with mathematics. This skill will continue to be important this month, because students will be modeling verbal models as Algebraic equations. This month, we’d like to focus on attending to precision. This might mean being careful to define your variables to make your work more understandable, labeling measurements, or making sure your answer is represented in the correct format.
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: In Advanced LA, students are about to start reading the classic novel The Outsiders which is sure to engage students and to prompt deep discussion. In LA, students will be reading Seedfolks which will show us how people of all different backgrounds can come together as one to make a positive change in the community.
Science: The 6th-grade scientists are wrapping up Unit 5 on Natural Hazards and recently completed a mini-research project on a Natural Hazard. Our last and final unit of the year is Unit 6: Cells & Systems. Our essential question is “How do living things heal?” We’ll start the unit with a look at how bones, muscles, and skin heal and end the unit by looking at cells under the microscope. It’s amazing how big our world is when we look at tiny things.
SS: In our culture unit for social studies, we will learn all about a wide variety of topics from a diverse range of perspectives. We will be spending time studying music, food, dance, art, games, and sports from throughout history, while also helping students connect these ideas to their own lives. Some of the cultures that we will be focusing on in this unit include indigenous groups such as the Pima, Aztecs, and Maya while continuing to learn more about groups from Mesopotamia, Rome, and Greece.
7th Grade
Pre-Algebra: Students are finishing up their unit on Surface Area and Volume. They will continue working on Geometry in their next unit focusing on angles and triangles including learning how to use the Distance Formula and the Pythagorean Theorem to find missing side lengths.
Bridge to Algebra 1: We are just beginning our unit on Radicals, Irrational Numbers, and the Pythagorean Theorem. Students will be responsible for knowing perfect squares up to 225 and perfect cubes up to 125. Using the Pythagorean theorem, students will find missing side lengths of triangles. They will also be using the converse of the Pythagorean theorem to prove if a triangle is a right triangle.
Algebra 1: We are about to begin delving into solving quadratic equations using square roots, factoring, and the quadratic formula. To prepare us to do so, we must first learn about simplifying radical expressions. Some of the problems we will encounter will even have us multiplying by the conjugate and rationalizing the denominator.
Language Arts: In LA we have been using Super Bowl commercials to review our text structure skills and use text structure to help write central idea statements. We will continue those info text reading and analysis skills by applying them to articles. Next week the students will take a CFA that will assess their skills with text structure and central idea analysis. You should also be on the lookout for a Google Form in your email that will serve as the permission slip for book clubs which we will be starting in a couple of weeks.
Advanced Language Arts: In Adv LA we have been using Super Bowl commercials to review our text structure skills and use text structure to help write central idea statements. We will continue those info text reading and analysis skills by applying them to articles. Next week the students will take a CFA that will assess their skills with text structure and central idea analysis. You should also be on the lookout for a Google Form in your email that will serve as the permission slip for book clubs which we will be starting in a couple of weeks.
Science We are wrapping up the 5th unit of the year which focused on how the use of palm oil in everyday products negatively affects the wildlife in Indonesia. Students have learned about the economic, social, and scientific impacts of palm oil and now have a great understanding of how small changes to ecosystems can have big effects! Looking ahead, students will be starting our sixth and final unit which covers the idea of how climate impacts ecosystems. Students will also be developing their coding skills for their robots to wrap up our engineering adventures this year.
SS: In Social Studies this month, students will continue their work evaluating sources and will begin looking at the historical significance of events, documents, and people. Our focus remains on the growth of the new nation, as the United States begins to settle into the business of making a functional republic. We will also be examining the causes and effects of westward expansion in the early 1800s, and how that affected many different groups of people - for better and worse.
8th Grade
Bridge to Algebra 1: In Bridge to Algebra we are in the midst of Unit 7 - Radicals, Irrational Numbers, and the Pythagorean Theorem. Students are becoming familiar with common perfect squares and cubes and how to solve equations with perfect squares. We will soon introduce the Pythagorean Theorem and how to solve using it. We will practice in both equations and word problems. Please encourage your student to continue completing their homework, practicing with Edia, and asking for help if/when needed.
Algebra 1: In Algebra 1, we are in the middle of our Quadratic Equations unit. This unit continues to be essential for the students to understand in order to be successful in Geometry and Algebra 2. Students have been learning how to solve quadratic equations by graphing, factoring, square root method, and quadratic formulas. If your child is struggling with this unit, please encourage them to seek help and use outside resources!
Geometry: In Geometry, we just began our 2nd to last unit of the year! Area. We are learning about finding areas of quadrilaterals, regular polygons, circles, and sectors. We will be discovering all the different formulas that can be used for each given shape and applying these formulas to solve complex problems. If your child is struggling with this unit, please encourage them to seek help and use outside resources!
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 also continue to work on their narrative writing skills as well as strengthen their analytical writing techniques. We finished our novels in verse unit and are feeling ready to tackle Shakespeare!
Science: We are starting our last unit, Patterns within Earth and Space. This unit 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. Students draw on their own experiences and the stories of family or community members to brainstorm a list of patterns in the sky and space. We will 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: Students have now written their third DBQ formative assessment, helping them continue to develop the analytical skills necessary for high school. We will have one more writing opportunity before the year ends! Since Spring Break, students have focused their learning on various groups of people who have been working for social justice throughout the years. Students worked in teams to create presentations intended to inform their peers about the struggles, successes, and current goals of the movement of their choosing. Up next, students will be investigating President Nixon-Obama to prove which one deserves the title Mr. President and which president deserves the title Mr. Disappointment. They will incorporate their analytical writing strategies as the presidents face off in our April Madness Elite Eight Competition.
Attention 7th Grade Parents
It has come to my attention that there is some confusion regarding a Washington DC trip planned for next February, intended for the current 7th graders and next year's 8th graders. It's important to clarify that this trip is not and has never been a school-sponsored event. Consequently, the district does not distribute information directly to parents regarding this trip.
The company that hosts this trip is called WorldStrides.
I have become aware that there is information about the trip being advertised on Facebook. Please look at the District 96 Moms and Dads Facebook page for more information.
If you have any questions or need further information, please reach out to the school office at 847-821-8946.
2024-25 School Supply Kits Sales Are Live
Families can now order the 2024-25 School Supply Kit from Educational Products Inc. (EPI) at https://www.educationalproducts.com/shoppacks/ (enter code KCS096).
Order by July 9 for home delivery before the start of school in August.
For questions about your order, contact Educational Products at 800-365-5345.
The School Supply Kits are a fundraiser for the PTOs. Parents can buy the grade-level materials on their own; access the School Supply Lists at https://www.kcsd96.org/curriculum/school-supply-lists.
6th Grade Dental Forms Needed
Dear Parents/Guardians of District 96 6th Grade Students:
Please note that your child’s completed dental examination is now due, per Illinois school law. The deadline for the dental examination is no later than May 15 of the current school year. Proof of this required dental examination must have been completed within eighteen months prior to the May 15 deadline.
If you haven’t already done so, please make an appointment with your child’s dentist for a dental examination, have him and/or her complete the required form, and return it to your child’s school nurse.
State of Illinois Proof of Dental Examination Form
In the event that you are unable to fulfill this requirement, the state of Illinois does permit a waiver of the examination.
State of Illinois Dental Waiver Form
Dental examination forms, as well as dental waiver forms, can be downloaded from the District’s website.
If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Borzych at [email protected] or call the Twin Groves office at 847-821-8946.
Thank you for your prompt cooperation.
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.