10/25/24
Upcoming Dates:
11/5- No School
11/19- Early Release- Students dismissed at 1:30 PM
11/27-12/1- No School- Thanksgiving Break
12/10- Early Release- Students dismissed at 1:30 PM
12/21- 1/5- No School- Winter Break
1/6- Classes Resume
1/14- Early Release- Students dismissed at 1:30 PM
1/20- No School
Congratulations!
Each month, Twin Groves will be recognizing students who are Upstanders at Twin Groves.
The Twin Groves Staff would like to recognize the following students who consistently demonstrate that they are Responsible, Respectful, and Safe, but most importantly Upstanders. These students have been recognized by the staff for being leaders, role models, supportive peers, brave, and positive.
Nicole Fedorkins
Evan Fei
Anthony Hoffman
SoYeon Chloe Kim
Cristian Maina
Thakgalo Phaleng
Renee Raj
Katya Vaysberg
What’s Happening at TG?
6th Grade
Core 6/7 Math: 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 in 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.
Core 7 Math: Classes are finishing up the unit on Algebraic expressions. 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 in 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: This month, students have been working on identifying the central idea of a piece of informational text and writing their own short stories based on a fiction piece they have read. Shortly, we will being reading whole-class novels. In Advanced we will be answering the question, What is a community? as we read Lois Lowry’s Newbery Award winning classic The Giver, about a perfect community – until the reader becomes uneasily aware that all is not well. In LA we will read Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling, which will show us how a girl born without arms navigates the challenges of middle school and friendship, and even solves a mystery along the way.
Science: Scientists have moved to 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 testing various materials and how their temperature changes to how light affects temperature changes. STEM challenges have included building towers and working with a limited set of materials. Things certainly have started to HEAT up!
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
Language Arts: The language arts classes have just finished their unit on text structures. The students made a lot of progress on that target, and we will revisit it during trimester 3. We have since moved on to reading The Giver. The students will have to read at home, so please check with your child and the virtual assignment notebook to make sure they are keeping up with the reading. Our study of the novel will focus on word choice, and perspective and begin to introduce the theme.
Language Arts Advanced: The language arts classes have just finished their unit on text structures. The students made a lot of progress on that target, and we will revisit it during trimester 3. We are now moving on to an author study where the students will read several works by Edgar Allan Poe. We learned some background information about the author and will use that background to inform our interpretation of several works. We will also be looking closely at the meaning of specific word choices and how he develops the characters’ perspectives.
Science: In our second unit, students are investigating how we can heat food or a drink when we don’t have the typical methods available. Our end project will be to design and build a device that uses household chemicals to heat water through chemical reactions. Students are studying exothermic and endothermic reactions and analyzing experimental data from class lab activities to create the best flameless heater possible. Students are continuing to build our robots and will be building and testing a wind-powered car for our engineering targets.
Social Studies: A key focus of 7th grade S.S. is the development and formation of historical claims with evidence and then argumentation, explanation, or analysis. Sources must be from reliable and credible sources; which is why we used so much class time at the start of the school year to establish a base on source evaluations. We continue to touch on this on a regular basis. This is a vital lifelong skill. In regards to content, as the 13 British colonies grow and expand to the West, 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 Pre-Revolutionary Years. The Declaration of Independence will indicate a seismic shift in thinking. Somehow, the Revolution will be won, and a new nation will be born! What we know as the politics of today, gets its origin during these times.
Math Core 7: We are just finishing up Unit 2 (Expressions) in Core 7! Most students have mastered targets like exponent rules and combining like-terms and are doing well with retaining knowledge for their LT0s. Students are in a great spot to start Unit 3 (Equations) off strong! We will finally introduce equal signs and solving for x!
Math Core 8: We have just begun our unit on Linear Functions. Students will be exposed to three 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 use of 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.
8th Grade
Language Arts: In ELA, we are beginning our first book club unit, which will focus on the essential question: In challenging times, which is more powerful: fear or hope? This unit is designed to help students explore how fear and hope shape the choices characters make when they face adversity and how these emotions influence their growth. Our book club selections are all coming-of-age novels, where each character experiences significant events that force them to confront challenges, mature, and adapt to new realities—much like the journey our 8th graders are on as they prepare for high school. This book club experience is meant to foster a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them and to show that, even in difficult times, growth is possible. I'm confident that these discussions will inspire personal connections and help students see the power they have in shaping their own identities.
Science: In Science class, we are in the middle of our Natural Selection and Common Ancestry unit. We have been exploring how things living today (e.g. modern penguins) are connected to things that lived long ago (e.g. ancient penguins). We have also been learning about how organisms change or adapt to their environment over time. The students also had an opportunity to use the Maker’s Space and/or supplies from the Maker’s Space to complete the STEM bridges lab. Students were provided with a list of criteria and constraints. Then, the students designed and built a bridge that was capable of holding the maximum amount of weight without breaking.
Social Studies: In Social studies, students are learning about the 1930s. Students investigated the economic changes that occurred in the country that caused the drastic Boom to Bust Era, and its impact on the rest of the world. As the U.S. economy was struggling, dictators came to power in Europe. Students are currently practicing their DBQ strategies to prove which World War II dictator was most ruthless. From there students will return to the United States to discover the strategies that President Roosevelt would institute in hopes of ending the Great Depression in the United States.
Algebra 1: In Algebra 1 we will have started Unit 3 on Statistical Models of linear function. This unit contained brand new material for students and they learned how to use their TI-84 Graphing and Desmos calculator to create scatter plots and calculate linear regression models. 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. It is very important that students complete all homework assignments and use IXL for extra practice outside of class.
Geometry: Unit 4: Introduction to Proofs is where we started to see less Algebra 1 review concepts and more Geometry. Students have had to really push themselves with their thinking. Students have had 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 outside of class and reach out for extra practice!
Red Ribbon Week Dress-Up Days
In honor of Red Ribbon Week, we will have dress-up days from 10/28 to 11/1.
Please note that all students must follow the D96 dress code.
10/28- Color Wars
6th Grade- Blue
7th Grade- Black
8th Gade- Green
10/29- Twin Day
10/30- Jersey Day
10/31-Halloween Costumes
Halloween Costumes in School
Students are allowed to wear costumes to school on October 31st.
Halloween Costumes should follow the D96 Dress Code.
No masks or full face paint will be allowed at school.
No weapons or other props are allowed.
Students should be able to sit comfortably in their costumes during the school day.
11/1-Wear Red
Middle School Health Letter
Please click HERE to access the 24-25 Health Education letter.
Virtual Backpacks
District Virtual Backpack: https://www.kcsd96.org/about/virtual-backpack
Twin Groves Virtual Backpack: https://www.kcsd96.org/tg/virtual-backpack
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.
Twin Groves Athletics
Please click HERE to access the Twin Groves Athletics site.
This site will be updated frequently.