11/22/24
Upcoming Dates:
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
2/14- Half Day- Students dismissed at 11:10 AM
2/17- No School
2/18- Early Release- Students dismissed at 1:30 PM
2/28- No School
3/3- No School
3/20- Early Release- Students dismissed at 1:30 PM and Conferences from 5:00 PM- 8:30 PM
3/21- No School- Conferences from 10:00 AM- 1:30 PM
3/24-3/28- No School- Spring Break
The TG Staff hopes everyone has a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving Break!
The next Principal’s Message will be sent out on December 6th.
What’s Happening at Twin Groves?
6th Grade
Core 6/7 Math: We are finishing up the unit on rational numbers. Rational numbers include all positive and negative integers, fractions, and decimals. Last month we talked about encouraging the students to look for structure. This has definitely shown up in class as the students worked. This month, we’d like for you to encourage the students to be precise in their work. This includes knowing definitions, like absolute value is the distance of a number from 0, including units in answers, and converting to different units as necessary. Thank you for all the help 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.
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: We are starting our unit on one-variable equations. A big focus will be on using mathematical properties to solve for the value of a variable. 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 look for structure. This has definitely shown up in class as the students worked. This month, we’d like for you to encourage the students to be precise in their work. This includes knowing definitions, like absolute value is the distance of a number from 0, including units in answers, and converting to different units as necessary. Thank you for all the help 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.
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 year, we have been working on identifying themes in fiction and central ideas in informational text. Taking this up a notch for Trimester 2, students are now starting to learn how to write an analysis paragraph in order to explain how the text evidence supports their chosen theme/central idea. In addition, we will be writing fictional narratives with a focus on description and sensory details.
Science: 6th grade scientists are in our third unit of the year on Weather and the Water Cycle. A perfect unit for entering into the winter season when precipitation in the Chicagoland area is always ever-changing. Students learn how and when hail, rain, and snow form as well as complete a number of hands-on activities.
SS: In social studies this month students will be learning all about different forms of government throughout history. We will study how pharaohs ruled Egypt, how laws were first created in Mesopotamia, and the beginning of democracy. For every form of government we learn about in the past, we will be making connections to how it impacts us in modern times.
7th Grade
Language Arts: Having recently finished Lois Lowry’s The Giver, the LA classes will be delving into poetry. We will be examining structure, and the different elements of figurative language and sound devices poets utilize. Students will be practicing analyzing text in response to a provided theme and we will further develop analytic writing skills with short stories and informational text.
Language Arts Advanced: The advanced classes are just about to finish their first whole class novel The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. We will be going back into poetry as we learn about perspective and continue to examine how figurative language and sound devices are utilized to develop mood and theme. In the coming weeks, we will double down on analytical writing, using various texts to develop and support a claim or theme.
Science In Unit 3, students are learning about how their bodies work and use energy. Students are looking at a case study about a 13-year-old girl named Kenna who started feeling sick for an extended time. They are planning and conducting investigations into how her body works differently from a healthy person's to help them determine what is making Kenna feel sick. Once they discover her illness, they will be investigating how genetic and environmental factors can influence health in different ways. Students are getting a lot of practice analyzing graphs and models to help them in their investigations and draw conclusions based on data.
Social Studies: The inquiry model of teaching and learning about history and social studies is not the kind of learning you probably experienced years ago as a student in history or social studies classes! Students are challenged to investigate and develop questions to help focus work, learning, and discussions. Researching for reliable and credible sources is a critical component of finding answers and learning content. This is why we started the year with a foundation of research and evaluation skills. This will always be a focus of attention. We are looking at the effects of the Revolutionary War and the terribly problematic Articles of Confederation, our first attempted national government. After much debate and argument, our great Constitution will thankfully come into effect. During this time of compromises, a set of perspectives will develop… the Federalists and Anti-Federalists during the Constitutional Convention and ratification process. These groups will form the origins and basis of our government, politics, and political parties of today! From there we will begin the basics of government and how citizens can take informed action.
Math Core 7: We are currently taking our first Formative for Unit 3! Students are working hard on solving & creating equations. Soon we will begin exploring inequalities. Inequalities are extremely important because students are learning how to apply their knowledge of equations to something new within a different context. Important tasks will be creating clear lines of algebra, graphing on a line, and utilizing new symbols.
Math Core 8: We are finishing up a very important unit where we learned about linear functions. We learned how to calculate slopes, write linear equations, and graph linear equations. Understanding linear equations is crucial because they are prevalent in many levels of math. Our next unit of study will be simultaneous linear functions.
Algebra 1: We are finishing up our unit on simultaneous linear functions where the students were asked to find the intersection of two linear equations. They had to do this by graphing or algebraically using one of two methods, substitution or elimination. Our next unit will focus on exponent properties and exponential functions.
8th Grade
Language Arts/Language Arts Advanced: We recently wrapped up our first book club unit in Language Arts and students did a wonderful job discussing and analyzing their novels throughout the entire unit. Students explored how their characters developed and changed throughout each text and focused on how hope and fear impacted the character's actions and decisions. Both AT Level and Advanced will begin a poetry unit in the month of December. Throughout this unit, we are not only exploring what poetry is and how to read poetry, but we also look at how the lives of the poets influence their poems and writings. We explore how poetry can be a tool for expressing ourselves and relating to others, as well as a healing tool in some cases. In addition we explore and practice using figurative language techniques. Students will also continue to focus on reading and analyzing informational texts.
Science: In science, we have been exploring physics! Specifically, our current unit is contact forces. Student questions about the factors that result in FLEX tape will lead them to investigate what is happening to any object before, during, and after a collision. They will make their thinking visible with free-body diagrams, mathematical models, and system models to explain the effects of relative forces, mass, speed, and energy in collisions. Students then will use what they have learned about collisions to engineer something that will protect a fragile object from damage in a collision. Coming up in physics, we will focus more on different types of friction and how they can influence an object’s motion and position. From the push and pull of everyday objects to the invisible forces shaping our universe, this unit is designed to ignite curiosity and understanding! Your child will engage in various hands-on experiments to experience the effects of forces firsthand. From Kinetic Energy formulas to Newton's laws, each activity is designed to make physics come alive in the most interactive way possible!
Social Studies; In Social Studies, students finished up our Great Depression unit by summarizing and analyzing a speech made by Adolf Hitler, where they were asked to compare and contrast his actions to handle the socio-economic downturn within Germany to that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in America. We have just begun learning about World War II and the Holocaust. We began by researching the rise of dictators in that era,, including Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler with his German “War Machine.” Students will use the Ladder of Prejudice to investigate the horrors of the Holocaust and the role that both bystanders and upstanders played in reaction to the Nazis. In trimester two, students will have opportunities to practice their ability to take part in the document-based questioning (“DBQ'') process. Students will work on their ability to craft a claim statement and effectively defend an argument with historical evidence.
Core 8: We are finishing up a very important unit where we learned about linear functions. We learned how to calculate slopes, write linear equations, and graph linear equations. Understanding linear equations is crucial because they are prevalent in many levels of math. Our next unit of study will be simultaneous linear functions!
Algebra 1: In Algebra 1, we are currently studying Systems of Linear Equations and Inequalities. Building on their knowledge from Unit 2: Linear Functions, students are learning to graph systems of equations and inequalities and determine the solutions. We are also applying these concepts to real-world problems, using methods like substitution and elimination to solve them. These skills are essential not only for success in this unit but will also be foundational in Geometry and Algebra 2! Please encourage your child to complete their homework daily and seek help when needed, either from me or by utilizing IXL for additional practice.
Geometry: In our Triangle Proofs unit, students are building on prior knowledge to prove triangles are congruent. By practicing both paragraph and two-column proofs, they learn to present reasoning in clear, step-by-step formats, strengthening their understanding of logical progression. We are also exploring what can be proven after establishing triangle congruence, such as identifying corresponding parts and using them to prove further relationships. Please encourage your child to complete their homework daily and seek help when needed, either from me or by utilizing IXL for additional practice.
NWEA MAP Assessment (New)
All students in grades K-8 will be participating in the NWEA MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) assessment on Wednesday, December 4th, and Thursday, December 5th. The MAP assessment is a normed-referenced, computerized adaptive test that helps teachers, parents, and administrators improve learning for all students and make informed decisions to promote a child's academic growth. Like in previous years, all students will be taking the MAP test in reading and math during the school day.
New to KCSD96: Coffee and Conversation
KCSD96 is excited to host another "New to KCSD96: Family Coffee and Conversation"! This is an opportunity for parents and guardians of newly registered students to ask questions and share information about their transition in a casual and fun way. This will be communicated in Friday's E-News, but we would love it if you helped us spread the word!
This year’s Coffee starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 3rd, at Ivy Hall Elementary School, 1072 Ivy Hall Lane, Buffalo Grove in the Educational Development Center (EDC).
It is an informal opportunity for these new parents and guardians to ask questions and share their thoughts — with other parents and staff — about their experiences in the district. These parents might be experiencing the District’s social customs and teaching practices for the first time, just as their students have, and can learn from the experiences of others.
New parents/guardians who missed the New Family Tours in August are encouraged to attend this conversation. Those who did attend the tours are welcome to join this conversation to share how they are adjusting to the District 96 culture.
Coffee and other refreshments will be served.
For planning purposes, RSVP at https://forms.gle/BhyqUTF2xFitcBah8.
This is an event only for parents and guardians.
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.