5/10/24
Upcoming Dates:
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
Congratulations
For the first time ever, the Twin Groves Scholastic Bowl Team won first place at State! Congratulations, Aharshi Chakrabarti, Abhinav Gandhi, Maya Hulyalkar, Adit Mehta, Mao Mao, Pratham Rajpa, Jotin Samayamantri, Nikithaa Sathish, Aadhav Sriram, Sriniketh Venkatesan!
Congratulations, Ms. Schaefer!
Thank you, PTO!
The TG Staff would like to thank the PTO and all the volunteers for a wonderful Staff Appreciation Week!
Thank you, TG Staff!
Mrs. Barnes and Mrs. Dolan are so appreciative of each and every one of the Twin Groves Staff. Your dedication, hard work, and positive attitude contribute immensely to Twin Groves’ success and make Twin Groves an incredible place! Happy Staff Appreciation Week!
What’s Happening at Twin Groves?
6th Grade
Pre-Algebra Survey: In 6PAS, we will be working on geometry this month. Students will be solving problems involving finding the surface area and volume of three-dimensional shapes. Last month, we asked you to focus on attending to precision, which means labeling units and working carefully. This month, we’d like to ask you to emphasize choosing appropriate mathematical tools. The students have learned so many different ways to apply their knowledge to solve new problems, so they should have numerous tools in their mathematical “toolbox.” For example, when solving a statistics problem, students should know whether a histogram or box-and-whiskers plot is more useful to their task. It has been such a pleasure to get to know your children, and they have impressed us with their perseverance, despite the very challenging targets we’ve had all year. The next month is going to fly by! Thank you so much for your support at home.
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: In 6PA, students will be completing the last of their three geometry units, which is focused on transformations on the coordinate plane. Last month, we asked you to focus on attending to precision, which means labeling units and working carefully. This month, we’d like to ask you to emphasize choosing appropriate mathematical tools. The students have learned so many different ways to apply their knowledge to solve new problems, so they should have numerous tools in their mathematical “toolbox.” For example, when solving a statistics problem, students should know whether a histogram or box-and-whiskers plot is more useful to their task. It has been such a pleasure to get to know your children, and they have impressed us with their perseverance, despite the very challenging targets we’ve had all year. The next month is going to fly by! Thank you so much for your support at home.
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: As we finish up the year and head into summer, please keep in mind that there is a District 96 Summer Reading Assignment that will be explained to all students in the next few weeks. It will also be posted on the D96 website. Please make sure your child completes the assignment by the first day of school. We hope everyone has a wonderful summer and that kids will break away from the video games and read!
Science: And, just like that our school year is coming to an end! We’ll finish unit 6 and a few more STEM activities. Looking back, we’ve learned lots of new things and made many new friends. The mini-activities and hands-on experiments helped guide our discovery. Keep on noticing changes in our world- both big and small. And, may you continue to think, act, and do SCIENCE each and every day!
SS: To wrap up our year in social studies, students will be putting together all that we have learned about in a final project about taking informed action. They will get the opportunity to see how others have helped to change the world, research a topic they are passionate about, and share their findings with the class. We are looking forward to seeing all of the amazing things that our students will come up with!
7th Grade
Pre-Algebra: The students are finishing up the school year working on a unit involving many different types of angle relationships. This week, we are learning about how the Pythagorean Theorem works on right triangles. We will finish the unit learning about the Distance Formula and how it relates to the Pythagorean Theorem.
Bridge to Algebra 1: The students just started their unit that involves learning about the radius and diameter of a circle as well as the area and circumference of circles. We will also take some time to learn about how to find the volume of different solids in this unit.
Algebra 1: Students are just beginning our very last unit on statistics. In this unit, they will be learning about how to create histograms and box and whisker plots. They will also be learning how to analyze and interpret the data. They will learn how to interpret data distribution and how to compare data by analyzing the shape, center, and spread of the data.
Language Arts and Advanced Language Arts: Book clubs are underway! We are wrapping up the year with characters overcoming challenges in student-selected novels. Students will be flexing their literary muscles in mastering and extending targets. The last few weeks will be dedicated to the return of the narrative story. Students will try their hand at in media res, translated to “in the middle,” by crafting a story that begins at the point of the plot’s climax.
SS: Can you believe it… there are mere weeks remaining in this school year? All along, we’ve kept the discussions, arguments, claims, questions/questioning, literacy skills, source evaluation skills, curiosity, and inquiry going strong. We’re closing 7th grade S.S. with the growth and expansion of the United States (“Manifest Destiny”) coming out of the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 (our “first and second struggle for Independence”). Our nation is being divided between the industrial North and the agricultural/plantation South. The Industrial Revolution brought tremendous innovations, but at what “costs”? Slavery, states’ rights, and popular sovereignty all lead to anger, frustration, and other tensions gradually boiling over to the point of no return… leading to the American Civil War and then a period of uneasy reconstruction. Being the Land of Lincoln, we appreciate the historical significance of Abraham Lincoln such as his Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address. We’ll investigate the history of our American Flag, its meaning, and proper flag etiquette. In addition, we explore the development of the Medal of Honor and the significance of that designation and other military decorations to highlight sacrifice, dedication, commitment, and determination. In 7th grade S.S. we analyzed the early growth and development of our nation from 13 fledgling British Colonies to become the United States of America, with all the challenges along the way. 8th grade S.S. will pick up from there, around 1900. Thanks for a great year! As the great Albert Einstein once said, “The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
Science- Students are working on our last unit where we are studying resource distribution and the ways climate affects ecosystems. We are focusing on how the frequency of droughts and floods is linked to changes in weather patterns and attempting to find ways to solve that problem. We are looking at how humans impact natural resources and the effect it can have on the world around us. After our final unit, students will be using the knowledge they have gained throughout the year to code robots for the final STEM project of the year!
8th Grade
Bridge to Algebra 1: In Bridge to Algebra we are in the midst of Unit 8 - Volume. Students are becoming familiar with finding the volume of prisms, cylinders, cones, and spheres. We will soon be practicing all of our skills together and taking our unit assessment. Throughout the unit, we have been prioritizing LT0 (retention) targets and have continued to practice solving equations and word problems. Please encourage your student to continue completing their homework, practicing with Edia, and asking for help if/when needed. This has been a fun and challenging year for our bridge students!
Algebra 1: We just started our last unit of the school year, Unit 10: Descriptive Statistics! Students will learn about histograms, dot plots, box and whisker graphs, and analyzing/interpreting data. Please remind your students that they still need to complete all homework assignments and get help when needed! This has been a fun and challenging year for Algebra 1 students!
Geometry: We are in the middle of our last unit of the school year, Unit 13: Surface Area and Volume. Students will learn how to calculate the surface area and volume of prisms, cylinders, cones, pyramids, spheres, frustums, and composite solids! Please remind your students that they still need to complete all homework assignments and get help when needed! This has been a fun and challenging year for Geometry students!
Language Arts: That’s it! We are here! The end of the school year. I want to first thank all the parents and students for such a wonderful school year. We had some fun times in Language Arts this year and it was a pleasure getting to know your students. I will miss them when they go off to High School next year. For the rest of the school year, we will be working through Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We are working on translating and discussing the important themes. Afterward, we will be conducting a debate on whether or not William Shakespeare existed.
I giveth thee the most wondrous of luck as thee venture to high school, 8th graders!
Science: We are finishing up our last unit of the year, Unit 6: Earth in Space. The big question we have been exploring is “How are we connected to the patterns we see in the sky?” Students have drawn upon their own experiences to brainstorm a list of patterns in the sky. They have also listened 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. Students have developed 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. Students will end the year by building water-propelled rockets for their STEM lab.
SS: Students are wrapping up the year by increasing their understanding of various major events that occurred between the 1970s through the early 2000s in the United States and around the world. We have focused on each President during this time period, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of their administration and leadership. Students have been learning about the events that led up to the September 11th attacks on America and the subsequent War on Terror carried out by military and intelligence agencies. Students will continue to fine-tune their writing skills in preparation for high school expectations with one last DBQ.
Attention 7th Grade Parents- Sign Up Deadline is July 1st
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.
Parents will need to sign up by July 1st.
If you have any questions or need further information, please reach out to the school office at 847-821-8946.
Kildeer Countryside School District 96 iPad Collection Notice for End of School Year 2023-24
As the 2023-24 school year draws to a close, we need to inform all students and families about the iPad collection process. Unlike previous years, where students retained iPads over the summer, this year, we require their return to update and refresh our equipment for the 2024-25 academic year.
Collection Schedule:
8th Grade: May 22
Kindergarten: May 29
1st - 7th Grade: May 30
Items to be Returned:
Each student is required to return the following items:
iPad
iPad case
Charging cable
Charger
Logitech crayon
Damage and Missing Items Policy:
If any items are damaged or missing, please refer to the iPad handbook signed at registration. Remember:
-Students have coverage for two incidents of damage to the iPad and two to accessories (charging cable, brick, case, pencil).
-Beyond these incidents, costs for repair or replacement fall to the students and their families.
-Intentional damages are not covered by the district.
Summer Programming Exception: Students enrolled in summer programming will retain their iPads and accessories through the summer session, returning them by June 27, 2024. This ensures that all students participating in educational activities have the necessary resources.
We appreciate your cooperation in returning the iPads and accessories promptly and in good condition. This initiative is crucial for maintaining high-quality educational support for our students.
Thank you for your attention and continued support of Kildeer Countryside School District 96.
Health Forms
REMINDER - To comply with Illinois State guidelines, a physical examination – including current immunization records – is required for all children entering an Illinois school for the first time, for children enrolling in kindergarten (even if they previously were enrolled in a District 96 Early Childhood program), and for students entering Grade 6.
REMINDER - Health Forms: Provide required HEALTH FORMS as soon as possible. A physical and immunization record needs to be on file in the nurse's office by October 15th, or the student will be excluded from school. STATE OF ILLINOIS CERTIFICATE OF CHILD HEALTH EXAMINATION FORM. This form must be completed and signed by the pediatrician. Parents must also complete the fields for their child’s name and address, birth date, etc., at the top of the form on pages 1 and 2 in addition to the parent section on page 2, including a parent signature and date.
Other health forms required include VISION, due before Oct. 15, 2024 (Kindergarten and new students), and DENTAL, due before May 15, 2024 (2nd and 6th graders).
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.
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.