Stretching and Shrinking SUPERSTARS!!!

A HUGE congratulations goes to the following students for doing so well on their Unit Test today (80% or higher):

• NiJaia (88%)
• Cameron (85%)
• Christina (100%)
• Richard (100%)
• Trinity (100%)
• Leah (96%)
• Khaila (88%)
• Deacon (96%)
• Marshell (92%)
• Dorian (81%)
• Jordan (85%)
• Nick (96%)
• Kavon (88%)
• Kyle (81%)
• Troy (100%)
• Angelique (96%)

Investigation 5 Quiz Results are in...

Despite our hectic day yesterday and our snow day on Monday, I am very pleased at how "together" the students were when they completed their quiz. Congrats to the following students that got an 80% or higher on their quiz:

• NiJaia 88%
• Cameron 100%
• Christina 100%
• Caron 88%
• Richard 100%
• Nate 94%
• Trinity 100%
• DaShawn 100%
• Leah 82%
• William 88%
• Khaila 100%
• Deacon 82%
• Marshell 82%
• Laura 100%
• Jordan 82%
• Nick 100%
• Kavon 100%
• Troy 100%
• Angelique 100%
• Osaze 82%
• Patrice 88%

WOO HOO! I hope everyone does this well (if not better) on tomorrow's Unit Test!!!

SNOW DAY!!!

That's right! There is no school today so enjoy your time off! I will see you tomorrow!

Our last school week of 2010!

It is amazing how fast this year has gone so far, isn't it? Let's make this week very productive so we can leave for holiday break on a good note!

This week in Math we will be finishing up our unit on "Stretching and Shrinking". We will have a review for Investigation 5 as well as a quiz (take-home -- if you don't return it, it will be a zero!!!). Then we will review all the major concepts in the book as well as have a test on the entire book before break. It is very important to study hard for this test, since it is the first major test of the trimester!

In Science we are going to finish looking at the materials needed to make a computer, including the waste that is produced. We will then look at different ways to dispose possibly hazardous materials that are created when a computer is manufactured to see if any of them are more safe than others.

In Advisory it is expected that students are done with their math section (I did a check-in on Friday and all but 1 person had theirs -- if you were absent Friday, you can either email it to me or have it to check in on Monday). This week you should be working on personal qualities. Remember, feel free to use the options given on the checklist, or if you think of something else you'd like to do, just make sure to get it approved by me first! Check-in for personal qualities will be on Friday!

I hope everyone is enjoying the snow (and being safe if you have to go out in it!). See you tomorrow!

Investigation 4 Quiz Results are in...

Congratulations to the following students for receiving an 80% or higher on today's math quiz. This is a great way to start out the trimester!!!!

• NiJaia (100%)
• Ananda (100%)
• Trinity (100%)
• DaShawn (100%)
• Caron (81%)
• William (81%)
• Khaila (93%)
• Deacon (85%)
• Leah (85%)
• Trenton (89%)
• Richard (96%)
• Adam (89%)
• Dorian (85%)
• Laura (93%)
• Chandler (81%)
• Troy (100%)
• Patrice (96%)
• Katie (81%)
• Osaze (89%)
• Angelique (93%)

Congrats and keep up the great work!!!

Weekly News

This week in Math we will review Investigation 4 concepts (finding the scale factor to help us find the length of missing sides and angles within polygons and using ratios to determine if shapes are similar) on Monday for a quiz on Tuesday. From Wednesday-Friday, we will start looking at real-life situations where we can use the idea of similar triangles to determine how tall an object is.

In Science we will look at what happens when we mix polyvinyl alcohol with sodium borate. We will then study the idea of synthetic plastics and the types of chemical reactions that are used to develop these plastics. At the end of the week, we'll study the types of materials used in making computers and the amount of waste produced from manufacturing them.

In Advisory students will be able to work on their career topics. On Friday, I will be checking in their math projects. Remember, all projects must be on powerpoint (no poster boards this time around) and if anything has to be read from directly, there should be some sort of visual aid on the powerpoint and your paper must be typed out. Please refer to the checklist given out last week for the options that you have for math (you must choose 3).

Only 10 more school days before holiday break. So far, many of you have started out this trimester very well -- keep it up!

Weekly News

This week in Math we are going to continue our studies on scale factor and similar shapes. Since few people did very well with their quiz before Thanksgiving, we are going to review the entire quiz concepts again on Monday before moving on to Investigation 3, which will require these skills. Throughout the week we will continue looking at different shapes and finding the measure of missing side lengths using ratios and scale factor. Remember, if you need extra help, you may come up at lunch on Tuesday and Thursday for that help!

In Science we are going to look at the properties of plastic. We are going to find various properties so that we can determine what type of plastic an unknown sample of plastic is. Students will use the results of the physical and chemical properties of the plastics to come up with a solution.

In Advisory we are going to continue to determine what requirements are needed for the 2nd trimester exhibition topic of "careers". After we brainstorm ideas, students will have to choose two options out of each category (math, science, social studies, ELA, and personal qualities). By choosing and completing 2 categories, students will be sure to have a depth of knowledge of their topic. Remember, research is still needed to complete these tasks -- not just the knowledge you already have about the topic.

Please remember that Monday marks the first day of the 2nd trimester. Everyone starts out with 100% in their classes, but it is up to them on whether or not they keep that 100%. Be sure to take advantage of any opportunity you have to correct mistakes for a better grade, get extra help, etc. so you can do even better than last trimester!

First Trimester Superstars!

I am very impressed with the following people that received an 80% average or higher in math and/or science. Congratulations! If you did not receive an 80% average or higher this trimester, I hope that you decide to do all that is necessary next trimester to strive to be on this list!

Math:

• NiJaia (86%)
• Christina (94%)
• Ananda (83%)
• Richard (92%)
• Trinity (97%)
• DaShawn (97%)
• Leah (88%)
• Khaila (85%)
• Dorian (83%)
• Laura (83%)
• Nick (82%)
• Troy (83%)
• Angelique (84%)
• Osaze (82%)
• Patrice (80%)

Science:

• Trenton (80%)
• NiJaia (85%)
• Cameron (82%)
• Christina (93%)
• Ananda (88%)
• Richard (94%)
• Trinity (100%)
• Jerkirean (83%)
• DaShawn (94%)
• Leah (85%)
• William (82%)
• Khaila (88%)
• Chandler (88%)
• Laura (89%)
• Jordan (82%)
• Nick (85%)
• Char (85%)
• Troy (83%)
• Angelique (86%)
• Osaze (87%)
• Patrice (80%)

Congratulations again and keep up the great work as we move towards 2nd trimester. Again, those of you not on the lists should try to reach out for extra help so you can have a better understanding of the math and science work so you can be on this list next trimester.

Investigation 2 Quiz

Today's math quiz for Investigation 2 was the last one for the 1st trimester. Unfortunately many students did not do well on this quiz even after 2 days of review and the option to come up at lunch for extra help (of which no one did). I am very happy with the following students, however, for finishing this trimester out strong:

• Trinity 100%
• DaShawn 100%
• Nate 83%
• Troy 83%

Parents, please note that your child has his/her quiz, so feel free to ask for it and look it over to see where the mistakes were made. We will continue practicing this same skill after Thanksgiving, so I urge anyone who did poorly on it to come et extra help when possible!

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Hi everyone. Are you looking forward to a short school week and a long holiday weekend with your family? I know I am!

This week in Math we will be taking our quiz on Investigation 2. This quiz will include filling in missing side lengths of shapes with a given scale factor, having to find the scale factor between shapes, and determining if shapes are similar by looking for the scale factor among the shapes. On Monday we will complete our review and Tuesday and on Wednesday, we will have our quiz.

In Science we are going to further investigate atoms, elements, chemical bonds, molecules, and compounds. We will be making models of each of these to get a better understanding of how they are different from one another. Students will also be having a notebook quiz, so please make sure to have all recent analysis questions done (and corrected), rubrics, and labsheets so you can use them effectively on the quiz.

In Advisory we will use this time to further discuss exhibitions from last week -- what went well and what didn't. We also will start brainstorming ideas for the next trimester. On Wednesday (as long as all goes well with the class during the week), we will take a quick trip to the library to return books from last trimester and get new books for this trimester.

Please remember that this is officially the last week of the trimester, so in both classes, make sure to do your best on class work and quizzes. This is your last chance to raise your grade!

As we move into Thanksgiving later this week, feel free to comment on what you are looking forward to this holiday season.

Weekly News

This week in Math we will continue to explore the idea of similarity and scale factor by using pictures on a coordinate grid. Students will spend Monday and Tuesday completing these pictures and will analyze them in another activity on Wednesday and Thursday. By the end of the week it is anticipated that the students will understand how to determine scale factor, even if decimal scale factors are used.

In Science we will continue our studies of the elements and the periodic table. Early in the week we will finish a reading on the periodic table, focusing mainly on compounds that are created from the elements on the table. We will finish the week by creating models to further investigate atoms, elements, chemical bonds, molecules, and compounds.

In Advisory it is the big week. It is EXHIBITION week! I am hoping that students are successfully able to present the information they gathered for the past 2 months. They are expected to present 5 mini-projects and show a depth of knowledge, along with a visual aid, to prove that they learned a great amount of information regarding their topic. Remember, the time frame is 15-20 minutes, so make sure each mini-project has about 3-4 minutes of information! Please refer to the rubric passed out 2 weeks ago regarding how the students will be graded.

Any questions? Let me know! I look forward to seeing all the parents at their child's exhibition!

Element Symbols

Some students in class asked why some elements had symbols (abbreviations) that were not using any of the letters that were in the name. For example, Potassium has a symbol of K, Sodium has a symbol of Na. WHY???? If you can find out, please EMAIL me so that multiple people can respond for extra credit. I will post on here what students get the extra credit and will put the answer on here by Monday.

Stretching and Shrinking SUPERSTARS!!

Congratulations to the following people who received an 80% or higher on their first quiz of our unit on similar objects!

• NiJaia -- 84%
• Christina -- 92%
• Richard -- 92%
• Nate -- 84%
• Trinity -- 100%
• Jerkirean -- 84%
• DaShawn -- 100%
• Leah -- 100%
• Troy -- 92%
• Angelique -- 92%
• Osaze -- 92%
• Patrice -- 96%

Congratulations again!

Synthetic Elements

Today we talked about different "families" of elements. Some elements are liquid, some are gas, some are solids, and some are synthetic. While we know what solids, liquids, and gases are, what does it mean for an element to be "synthetic"? Write a response by adding a comment to the blog and you will get extra credit if your answer is correct!

Weekly News

This week in Math we will continue our discussion on similar figures. Students should know the basic "rules" for similar figures relating to side lengths, basic shape, angles, perimeter, and area. Students will have a quiz on Thursday over this topic. On Friday, we will review the coordinate grid for an activity next week relating coordinate grid figures to similar figures.

In Science we will finish our investigation on determining the properties of a variety of objects that we started on Friday. For the remainder of the week we are going to start talking about elements, atoms, and the periodic table.

In Advisory students will be working on making notecards, practicing on the smartboard (if they are using it for their presentation) and making an agenda. Exhibitions start next week, so as of now, students should be ready to go with all of their projects. Please refer to the exhibition rubric that was sent home last week as to what students will be graded on. Also, if you don't have an exhibition time yet, please sign up ASAP! Options of times are running out!

Variables and Patterns Test SUPERSTARS!!

A big kudos to the following people for receiving an 80% or higher on today's Unit Test:

• Khaila 85%
• Jerkirean 80%
• Trinity 91%
• Richard 97%
• Cameron 85%
• Christina 97%
• Ananda 88%
• DaShawn 97%
• Leah 85%
• Angelique 83%
• Nicholas 97%
• Dorian 88%
• Laura 90%

I am hoping that everyone looks back over the test and takes advantage of the possible re-take on Thursday by getting your test signed and brought back!

Exhibitions

The first trimester is quickly coming to a close. Our first trimester exhibitions will be during the week of November 15-19th. Students will be presenting their 5 mini-projects for the topic they chose at the beginning of the year. Each project will be graded on the following:

• Depth of knowledge -- information presented must be NEW information -- something they learned by doing their research -- NOT something they've already known. Information must also be in the student's own words. Anything copied directly from the source will not be allowed and student will receive a 0 for that section.
• Preparedness/time spent on each section -- how prepared they are with presenting their information -- not stumbling over their words, not reading directly from their paper or powerpoint. Students should be able to casually talk to us about their topic because they know it well enough. Students should also have enough information about each topic, spending about 3-4 minutes on each section (for a total of 15-20 minutes total)
• Visual aids -- Students need a visual aid for EACH of their mini-projects. These visual aids must be neat and professional, and easy for everyone to be able to see from the front of the room.

Exhibition notes went home today, but you can respond to this posting if you'd like to, to reserve your day and time. I will confirm on here (or on the returned paper) so you know the time of your child's exhibition.

Monday (11/15): 1pm, 1:30pm, 2pm, 2:30pm

Tuesday (11/16): 1pm, 1:30pm, 2pm, 2:30pm

Wednesday (11/17): 1pm, 1:30pm

Thursday (11/18): 1pm, 1:30pm, 2pm, 2:30pm

Friday (11/19): 1pm, 1:30pm, 2pm, 2:30pm

Let me know if you have any questions regarding information on this post or anything regarding exhibitions at all!

Weekly News

This week in Math we will be taking our unit test on Variables and Patterns. Starting on Wednesday, we will start our new unit of "Stretching and Shrinking" which deals with identifying similar figures by finding the scale factor for corresponding side lengths. We will look at the relationships between sides, angles, perimeter, and area to help us identify these similar figures.

In Science we will continue our second Chemistry Unit by looking more closely at the three materials we studied last week (Plastic, aluminum, and glass). Students will make a life cycle diagram after reading about the life cycle of these materials. At the end of the week, students will look at properties of common materials, and will sort the materials based on their properties.

In Advisory students will be expected to show me the remaining 2 areas for their learning plan by Friday. On Friday, I will do the final check in, and on this day I expect to see ALL FIVE of the mini-projects students have completed. In past check-in's, I have suggested things to students regarding information to alter, add to, put in own words, etc. On this Friday, I expect that this is done for all 5 projects.

On Monday, there will be an exhibition sign-up note coming home (there will also be a post on here that you can respond to) regarding options for dates and times. Please choose your time and date quick because it will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Any questions? Let me know!

Math Rockstars!

I am so pleased at the progress made this unit, considering its our first algebra unit. For Investigation 3, congrats to the students who received over an 80%.

• Trenton 92%
• NiJaia 88%
• Cameron 88%
• Christina 88%
• Ananda 92%
• Richard 100%
• Nate 83%
• Trinity 88%
• Jerkirean 83%
• DaShawn 96%
• Leah 96%
• Khaila 88%
• Deacon 96%
• Chander 100%
• Marshell 83%
• Dorian 83%
• Char 88%
• Kavon 92%
• Kyle 88%
• Troy 96%
• Patrice 88%

I hope everyone does this well (or better!) on the entire unit test next Monday! Keep up the great work!

Science Superstars

Today was our first Unit Test in Science. I want to congratulate the following students for receiving an 80% or higher on this exam:

• Cameron -- 85%
• Christina -- 96%
• Caron -- 85%
• Ananda -- 85%
• Richard -- 100%
• Trinity -- 88%
• DaShawn -- 96%
• Leah -- 85%
• Khaila -- 85%
• Chandler -- 96%
• Laura -- 88%
• Katie -- 85%
• Nicholas -- 100%
• Angelique -- 96%

Congrats again! Next time I hope to see even more names on this list!!

Weekly News

This week in Math we will be finishing Investigation 3, in Variables and Patterns. It is expected that students understand how to make equations from tables and graphs. Students should also understand how to fill in a given variable in the equation and get the answer for the other variable. A quiz for Investigation 3 will be on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, students will complete a review on the entire unit of "Variables and Patterns". The Unit Test will be on Monday.

In Science students will have their first Chemistry Test. On Tuesday, we will begin our second unit. In this unit, we will begin discussing the life-cycles of various materials. We will begin by looking at the differences between aluminum, glass, and plastic containers.

In Advisory students will be expected to show me their 3rd project by Friday. Those students that do not have anything to show, will not be able to join us at the Detroit Public Library/Wayne State.

This week is SPIRIT WEEK! Students will be allowed to participate based on their behavior and correct uniform for the month of October. It costs $1 to participate each day.

• Monday -- Teachers dress like students and students dress like teachers.
• Tuesday -- Crazy sock and tie day (school uniform still required)
• Wednesday -- Nerd day (school uniform not required, but school colors are)
• Thursday -- UPA day (dress in your UPA gear or school colors)
• Friday -- Twin day

Hoping for another great week!

Weekly News

This week in Math, we are going to continue with Investigation 3, where we will be continuing our work with making equations on tables and graphs. By the end of the week, I am hoping that students are comfortable with making equations given any table or graph, by analyzing the patterns in the table or graph. By the way, the Math MEAP will be taken on Tuesday!

In Science we are going to be finishing our Chemistry Unit. We will be wrapping up our unit by looking at a variety of household cleaners to see which one would be the safest to use in a hospital, based on all of our discussion on chemicals. On Thursday, we will be completing a unit review and our test will be on Friday.

In Advisory it is the assumption that students are working on their 2nd exhibition project. Any student that did not complete their 1st project will be required to stay after school each day this week until it is done. The second project will be checked in by Friday this week!

Any questions? Let me know!!

Weekly News

This week will be a busy one! We will be starting MEAP on Tuesday and it will last for 3 days this week. Next week we will be finishing up MEAP with 2 days of testing. With this in mind, it is extremely important, for you to be in school on time, or else you will risk missing the test altogether and you will have to take it at another time.

In Math students will begin looking at how to solve equations. Last week we worked on simplifying and evaluating expressions and this week we are going to move to equations. Students will learn the steps to one-step equations (similar to "solve for the unknown" from last year) and then we'll move to the more difficult, but still easy, two-step equations. With the correct procedure being used, students will find both of these topics quite easy!

In Science we will be looking at what the 6 unidentified pieces were from last week, based on density. On Friday, we took the mass and volume of the pieces and calculated the density. On Monday, we will be taking those results and matching it up with the specific metal they were actually made of. For the rest of the week, we will be looking at the two unidentified pieces from the mixture at the beginning of the unit. We will determine the mass, volume, and then calculate the density of both pieces to find out what metals they are.

In Advisory students will have time to work on their project work, but remember, a majority of this work should be completed at home. With only 25 minutes each day to work on it, most students won't be able to get everything done in school. On Friday, I will be doing my first check-in. Each student was able to decide what section to work on first, and they will be required to show it to me on Friday.

Any questions? Let me know!

Math Wizards!

I am SO pleased that Investigation 2 Quiz was so much better for nearly everyone. A BIG, HUGE congratulations to the following people for achieving an 80% or higher:

• Trenton 83%
• NiJaia 91%
• Cameron 87%
• Damera 96%
• Christina 91%
• Caron 83%
• Richard 100%
• Nate 96%
• Trinity 100%
• Jerkirean 96%
• DaShawn 100%
• Leah 100%
• William 83%
• Khaila 96%
• Deacon 87%
• Chandler 83%
• Dorian 100%
• Adam 91%
• Laura 83%
• Katie 87%
• Jordan 87%
• Nick 100%
• Char 100%
• Kavon 83%
• Kyle 100%
• Angelique 91%
• Osaze 87%
• Patrice 83%

I am so proud. Even if you are not on this list, you all had significant improvement and I'm happy with everyone's progress so far. Keep up the great work!

Weekly News

This week in Math we will be having our second quiz. This quiz will be on analyzing graphs and tables more thoroughly. For the remainder of the week, the students will learn concepts that are required to know for the MEAP, but not necessarily taught in their book.

In Science we are going to do some measuring activities. Students will study the idea of volume and will learn the two different ways to measure the volume of the two solids that are still unknown. We will use that data along with the mass of the two solids to find the specific density, which will then help us figure out exactly what those two solids are.

In Advisory we will finally start our learning plans. Students will be able to choose their own topic, but they will be required to figure out themselves, how it will fit in to each subject. Students are hopefully already thoughtful of what topic they want to do, so they can get started rather quickly. They are also given the choice of how they want to present their information at their exhibition, to make it as creative as possible.

Here's to our first week in October. I'll see everyone Monday!

September Superstars

I want to congratulate the following students for their excellent work in the first month of school, having an average of 80% or higher overall:

Math:

• NiJaia 85%
• Christina 97%
• Ananda 82%
• Richard 83%
• Trinity 101%
• DaShawn 98%
• Leah 87%
• Khaila 81%
• Chandler 91%
• Laura 89%
• Nick 86%
• Troy 89%
• Angelique 87%

Science

• NiJaia 101%
• Christina 97%
• Ananda 82%
• Richard 99%
• Nate 82%
• Trinity 120%
• Jerkirean 88%
• DaShawn 103%
• Leah 88%
• Khaila 100%
• Chandler 93%
• Laura 94%
• Jordan 83%
• Char 104%
• Kyle 87%
• Osaze 94%
• Patrice 82%

Keep up the great work. We are almost half way through this trimester. I hope you work just as hard the second half. If you aren't on this list, take advantage of re-doing assignments in both science and math, and study for quizzes a bit more so you can be on this list next time!

Weekly News

This coming week in Math we will continue our study of graphs. We will review our quiz from Friday (and allow for a "re-do" for those that didn't perform very well) on Monday. Throughout the rest of the week, we are going to look at various tables and graphs and spend time analyzing them. This is what was most difficult for students in Investigation 1, so hopefully after this practice, students will feel more comfortable with problems asking to analyze the information.

In Science we will continue our study of the unknown liquid and solid. On Monday and Tuesday we will finish our activity with the analysis of the two unknown liquids and hopefully students will have a good idea of what the two liquids are. On Wednesday and Thursday, we will turn our study to the unknown solids that were in the mixture and start to analyze them separately to determine what each of them are. On Friday, we will finish the week by looking at how to determine volume of an object, and use that information to further determine what each of the solids are.

In Advisory I am still expecting that students have turned in their Learning Plan Sheet that was sent home last week. We will be using both the student and parent input to determine goals for this trimester.

Math Quiz

Well, the quizzes were definitely not done as well as I had hoped, which just means that we have some more practice to do next week. I do want to give a HUGE congrats to the following people, however, who received 80% or higher:

• Christina 100%
• Richard 100%
• Trinity 88%
• DaShawn 100%
• Leah 100%
• Khaila 88%
• Nicholas 100%
• Troy 88%
• Angelique 88%

Keep it up!!!

LBS???

Leah asked a very thoughtful question today asking "Why is the abbreviation for pounds, lbs?". In order to allow multiple people extra credit, feel free to email me the answer. If you get it correct, I will let you know in class. Good luck!

Back to School Night

Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be Back-to-School Night from 6-7:30pm. Parents will be able to follow their child's schedule and meet the various teachers they have (including elective). This would be a great time to meet up with any teacher you want to meet or have questions for.

Unfortunately, due to a prior commitment, I will NOT be available at Back-to-School night. If you have any questions regarding ANYTHING, please feel free to send me an email (kperez@uprep.com), call me (313-831-0100 ext. 131), or leave a message on this blog and I will be sure to contact you ASAP. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Weekly News

This week in Math we will be continuing our practice with working with tables and graphs. Last week, students focused their time on the 5 criteria needed for a graph, as well as learning about scale and plotting points. This week, students will be learning how to make a table from a graph, AND making both a table and a graph from notes. So far, I am extremely impressed with their hard work and diligence as we begin our first algebra unit. I look forward to them shining on their first quiz on Friday!

In Science we will continue looking at the unknown mixture and discuss the plans the students made on Friday as far as how to separate the mixture. We will then further analyze each liquid and solid separately in order to discover what each of the components of the mixture really is. Again, students should prepare to have another notebook quiz on Friday. Make sure all analysis questions are answered and complete, as well as all vocabulary words written in your notebook.

We will continue using Advisory as a MEAP review time and/or study time, depending on the day. Students will be asked to fill out a short survey regarding their goals and interests, and will also be taking it home for their parents responses as well. This will help us as we develop our first learning plan in the coming weeks.

I am looking forward to another great week! Let me know if you have any questions!!

Our first full week!

This is it! Time to officially start Math and Science!

This week in Math we will be starting our new book, Variables and Patterns. This is a beginning algebra book where students will learn how to make tables, graphs, and equations from everyday situations. This week, the students will specifically be looking at jumping jacks. They will actually be doing jumping jacks for a specified time and we will graph the number of jumps they did during every interval. As the week goes on, we are going to compare this to a biking situation in which people biked a certain number of miles each hour. Please note, there will be homework, so make sure it is completed and brought in the next day!

In Science we are going to be starting with a Chemistry unit. We will be looking at mixtures of items (both liquids and solids) and use different skills to determine what each of the unknown liquids and solids are. Students will learn about corrosion, flammability, and what hazardous materials are. At the end of the week, students will develop an investigation where they will attempt to separate all of the liquids and solids from one another to study them more in depth.

In Advisory we will use that time to review for the upcoming MEAP. Students took a practice math MEAP last Friday and with the results, we will be going over any questions they may have or questions on the test that they simply didn't understand at all.

Lets have a great first week!!

It's Back to School Time!!!

Can you believe it?!?! The summer is over and you are all returning for 7th grade! I'm very excited to see everyone on Tuesday and I hope you are all excited to be coming back.

Just a few reminders:

• School doors open at 8am and you are considered tardy if you are not IN the classroom by 8:15am.
• You must be in school uniform EVERYDAY! Same uniform as last year: red, white, or black polo (which must be tucked in at all times), black pants, belt, and ALL-black shoes. There is no excuse for coming out of uniform considering you all knew what was expected last year.
• Math packets are due on Tuesday. If you haven't checked it out yet, look at the previous postings (scroll down to look at them), to check a few answers from each page. This packet is your first math grade. No packets will be accepted Wednesday, so make sure it is done!

If you have any other questions, please leave a comment! I look forward to seeing everyone bright and early on Tuesday to start another great year!

Are you done yet?

I just wanted to see the progress of everyone working on their summer packet. In the last posting NiJaia said that she was done. How many of you are done, or think you'd be done in the next week??? If Ms. Fisher and I plan a pool party, remember, you would have to be done with your summer packet to attend. So -- before we go through and plan something, I'd like to know who is done. I know that some people don't come on the blog regularly, so if you see this posting, feel free to get on the phone and ask your classmates if they are done or not. Then you can come back on here for them and let me know who is done or not. This includes Ms. Fisher's class because I don't think they check my blog, okay?

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer -- only 3 more weeks of freedom left for you! =)

There will be a couple of "back to school" nights where you will be able to meet the new principal, so keep your eyes open for some information in the mail.

See you soon!

Happy Summer

I hope everyone is really enjoying their summer. Ms. Fisher and I are trying to get together a date for a pool party for those of you that are done with your packets, but it won't be until sometime towards the end of August. So, you still have lots of time to work on it, but let me know if you have any specific questions. Also, make sure you check on the blog every so often for answers I give, as well as details of the pool party.

More answers:

Percents Quiz: 1) d 30.4 2) b 60% 6) c $139.88

The Coordinate Plane (first sheet): 1) (-2, 2) = V (2, 2) = Z (0, 1) = F (-1, 0) =B (0, 0) = P

The Coordinate Plane (second sheet): 1) H = 2 N = 1 T = 2 Z = 1 Q = 2

Integers: First row of answers: 3 -6 2 7

I hope this helps you make sure you are on the right track. From this post and the previous two, I have given a few answers to every sheet in the packet. Let me know if you are confused on any of it. Enjoy!

Happy Slurpee Day

It's 7/11/10 (7-11, get it?). I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I probably won't post anything else for a week or so after this post because I'll be going to Europe on Tuesday, for a week! I'll bring back lots of pictures of things I see to show you in September. For all of you going on vacation somewhere, I hope to see pictures of your vacations in September too.

Here are a few more answers for your summer packet:

Story Problems Part 1:

#1) 4-1/6

#2) 5-1/3

Decimals Worksheet 9 (Addition):

#1a) 22.65

#1b) 22.459

Decimals Worksheet 10 (Subtraction):

#1a) 23.017

#1b) 6.72

Decimals Worksheet 12 (Multiplication):

#1a) 42.72

#1b) 55.25

Decimals Worksheet 18 (Division):

#1a) 1.362

#1b) 118

Story Problems #2:

#1) 7.6

#2) 1.3

Let me know if you've checked your work and if you have any questions on the answers above!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy red, white, and blue everyone! I hope you are having a great holiday and great summer. Can you believe its July already? Summer sure is flying!

Well, to celebrate 4th of July, I will share a few answers to your summer work packet, just to make sure you are on the right track. Remember, you still need to share your work so you can't copy! =)

Fraction Worksheet 4: Addition (this is the title of the assignment)

1a) 10-1/4 1b) 6-17/21

Fraction Worksheet 6: Subtraction

1a) 4-11/40 1b) 1/4

Fraction Worksheet 7: Multiplication

1a) 26 1b) 10-17/42

Fraction Worksheet 10: Division

1a) 1 1b) 1-13/15

Let me know if you have any questions on any of these! Enjoy the 4th of July too!

Having fun yet?

Wow, we've been out of school a whole week already! I hopeeveryone is enjoying their time off, but I didn't want to forget posting pictures on the last few days of school -- our little party on Thursday and a picture from before Friday's ceremony.

I also want to encourage everyone not to wait until the last minute to do some of the math packet. I know homework over the summer isn't fun but it'll pay off in September. Feel free to email me (kperez@uprep.com) if you have any questions on anything you're trying to do and I'll do my best to try to explain it to you. Also, for those of you that check out the blog every once in a while, I will put some answers on here that you can use tocheck to see if you're on the right track. Of course you still have to show your work, so you can't just copy, but you can use this to check some of your answers ahead of time.

Feel free to post a comment (even if you are just saying hi or telling me something fun you've done so far) just so I know who is reading the blog over the summer. If I don't get much of a response, I won't put many posts on here.

Alright, picture time...

Talk to you soon!!!

Integers Test

Awesome job! What a great way to end the school year. The following students have received above an 80% on their integers test. Please note that not every student took the test because many students were absent. They will take the test when they come back to school -- or even on Friday after the honors ceremony if they don't return by then. Please make sure you have taken this test and turned in your math book -- if not, you won't be participating on Friday.

• NiJaia -- 100% (woo hoo!)
• Cameron -- 81%
• Christina -- 90%
• Trinity -- 97%
• Leah -- 97%
• Khaila -- 94%
• Deacon -- 87%

Well, this is it!

Can you believe that this is the LAST week of school? It's amazing to think back at how much everyone has grown, both academically and socially, throughout the year.

This week in Math students will take their final Unit Test on Integers. Students will also get a chance to look back at the GLCE checklist to see how many GLCE's they met and how many they still need practice on. Yes, students will be receiving a packet of work to complete over the summer, as their first math grade for 7th grade. This is not meant to be a punishment, it is meant to be a review of topics learned so that all the hard-earned knowledge doesn't escape over the next 3 months.

In Science students will be presenting their extra credit project if they decided to do it after the test last week. Unfortunately for many, there were only 4 students (Congrats to DaShawn (100%), Trenton (100%), Trinity (94%), and Christina (85%) for their job well done) that received over an 80%. Since that was supposed to be the last grade of the trimester, we brainstormed on Friday about an extra "project" related to energy that they could complete. It is due tomorrow, and they will be presented tomorrow afternoon. We will also be traveling to the Cass Community Garden on Tuesday to help plant some plants, flowers, and trees.

On Thursday, we'll be having an end-of-the-year celebration. We will discuss what we'd like to do for this tomorrow, so there will be more information to come.

On Friday, there will be a 6th grade honors/promotion ceremony to honor the hard work of all the 6th graders this year, that we'll see as 7th graders next year. It is at 9am, in the Middle School Gym. Students are allowed to leave with their parents afterwards, as all class work has been completed at this time.

Only 5 more days -- can you believe it?

Weekly News

This week will be pretty easy, but important, in Math and Science due to having exhibitions.

In Math, we will be finishing up our unit on Integers by first reviewing adding and subtracting integers, along with the coordinate grid. Students will complete a lesson on opposites and absolute value on Tuesday. For the rest of the week, students will be reviewing all topics related to integers in order to study for next week's final unit test.

In Science, we will be wrapping up our unit on Energy and students will complete a study guide for a unit test the following week.

In Advisory, students will be completing their 3rd trimester exhibition. I am so excited to see everyone's exhibition because they have put a lot of hard into it this trimester. Please keep in mind that there are no "redos" this trimester, so I hope everyone has all their components completed!!!!

Camp Photos

Everyone seems to have had a great time at camp. Below are some pictures that I hope will bring back some good memories!

Weekly News

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

I first want to let everyone know that once I get home, I promise I will start uploading pictures from camp. Everyone seemed to have a great time and I greatly appreciate everyone's excellent behavior. No problems from our class!!!!

This week in Math we will look at the concept of Order of Operations. We use the order of operations to solve problems with more than one operation in it, so we will use it to solve rather long problems. We will also explore the distributive property, which incorporates the use of parenthesis and multiplication along with addition or subtraction. We will be having our unit test on Integers (add, subtract, multiply, divide integers, coordinate grid, order of operations, distributive property) next week, so make sure you have your foldables handy.

In Science we will look at the differences of renewable and nonrenewable resources when it comes to converting it into electricity. The students will also be able to complete another experiment with ice, but now they are going to try to preserve the ice and NOT get it to melt. At the end of the week we will be completing a study guide and having our unit test. Our unit test is tentatively on Friday, but could change if we don't finish everything as scheduled -- pushing it back to next week.

In Advisory students will have a chance to practice parts of their exhibition for next week. Exhibitions are next week so it is important that students remember the following:

• They get 25-30 minutes to complete their exhibition.
• Students may not plaigarize in their exhibition -- meaning EVERYTHING must be in their own words.
• Students must make sure that they have every section covered, including trimester academics.
• Students must make sure they have a depth of knowledge in their topic. Stating 2-3 sentences about a topic IS NOT depth of knowledge. Do not assume that just because you mentioned something, it covers the requirements. YOU must show you are the professional about this topic and know everything about it.

Any questions?? Let me know...

See you tomorrow!!!

Weekly News

This week in Math we will be wrapping up our understanding of multiplying and dividing integers. We will be playing a game on Monday to review multiplying and dividing integers rules, and have a quiz on Tuesday.

In Science we will be completing an "Ice-Melting Competition". Students will try to figure out the fastest way to melt an ice cube. Start thinking of ways to melt an ice cube quickly and also keep in mind the types of energy that will help you with this experiment.

In Advisory I will be doing one last check-in for trimester academics topics. Students should be working on math, science, writing, reading, and social studies trimester academics. They should be wrapping up anything they need to do for their entire exhibition -- note cards, making an agenda (which I will type up and print for them if they have it to me by Tuesday), etc. Next week, we will be doing practice exhibitions so students should prepare for this!

CAMP NOTES:

As everyone knows, we will be at camp from Wednesday-Friday. We are asking the students to be at school at 7am on Wednesday so we can arrange everything (pack the luggage on the bus, get the students situated on the bus, etc.) and leave as soon as possible. We will be back on Friday at 4pm. Please be prompt picking your child up!

A few reminders:

• No cell phones are allowed. I gave all my students my personal cell phone so if anyone needs to get ahold of anyone, they can use my phone (if the signal is even strong enough there).
• Electronics are allowed only on the bus to and from camp, and in their cabins (at their counselors discretion).
• Please label all luggage -- students are allowed only 1 piece of luggage and 1 carry-on (in addition to a sleeping bag, blanket, and pillow.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. The weather looks like it is going to be beautiful for us, so I think camp is going to be a great experience for the students!

P.S -- Only 19 more days of school left!

Incredible Integers

I am so impressed at how well my class did on their integer quiz today. Adding and subtracting integers appear to be the hardest ones to do and with them doing so well on it, I am extremely impressed. Congratulations to the following students for receiving an 80% or higher on that quiz!

• NiJaia (81%)
• Cameron (83%)
• Christina (92%)
• Ananda (83%)
• Richard (92%)
• Nate (83%)
• Trinity (100%) WOO HOO!!
• DaShawn (94%)
• Leah (97%)
• Khaila (81%)
• Deacon (86%)

Keep it up everyone! I promise that multiplying and dividing will be easier so those of you struggling with adding and subtracting, have plenty of time to continue practicing before the big test. Don't give up!

Weekly News

This week in Math we will be continuing our work with integers. We will review plotting positive and negative numbers on a coordinate grid on Monday. On Tuesday, we will have a quiz on graphing on a coordinate grid, along with adding and subtracting integers. For the rest of the week, we will focus on multiplying and dividing integers.

In Science we will continue our study of energy. We will wrap up last week's activity of the energy needed to drive a nail into a foam block before looking at energy within roller coasters. With this background in mind, students should then have a good understanding of kinetic vs. potential energy, and they will study the Law of the Conservation of Energy. Using the Law of Conservation of Energy, students will be able to connect it directly to situations where energy is used and describe where the energy transfers took place.

In Advisory students will get a list of ideas for math and science, that they can complete for Trimester Academics for their exhibition. At this point, most students should have a pretty good idea of what they are presenting for the health/animal topic, since we had our last check-in on Friday. Making notes on notecards, making sure nothing is plagiarized and having visual aids ready are some last steps to wrapping up everything before the actual exhibition. If you haven't signed up for a time yet, make sure you do quickly! Times are running out!

Just a reminder that there is no school on Friday, May 21 due to Teacher Professional Development.

Exhibition Time/Date sign-up

It's time again to start thinking about dates and times for exhibitions. We will have Exhibition Week the week of June 7. The times are as follows:

Monday, June 7 -- 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 2:15pm

Tuesday, June 8 -- 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 2:15pm

Wednesday, June 9 -- 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 2:15pm

Thursday, June 10 -- 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 2:15pm

Friday, June 11 -- 9:30am, 10:15am, 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 2:15pm

Sign up is first-come, first-serve. Feel free to leave your requested date and time on the blog or fill out the form that was sent home and I will confirm that time with you.

Thanks!

Awesome Quiz/Test Scores

Today, on this beautiful Monday, students had a math quiz and a science test.

Congratulations to the students who received an 80% or higher on the math quiz (awesome work on this more difficult topic!!!):

• Trenton (89%)
• Christina (100%) WOO HOO!!
• Darren (93%)
• Richard (100%) Double WOO HOO!!
• Nate (96%)
• Trinity (100%) Triple WOO HOO!!
• DaShawn (96%)
• Khaila (100%) Quadruple WOO HOO!!
• Deacon (96%)

The Science test proved to be a bit more challenging. Congratulations to the following students who perservered and received above an 80% on the Ecology Unit Test:

• Christina (83%)
• Cameron (83%)
• Richard (93%)
• Trinity (90%)
• DaShawn (97%)
• Khaila (83%)

Keep it up everyone. Finish the year out strong!!!

Weekly News

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

This week in Math we are going to continue our study of integers. On Monday we will have a brief quiz on basic integer understanding (comparing, number lines, ordering, etc.). For the rest of the week we are going to focus on developing rules for adding and subtracting integers. Last week I taught the students how to use a number line or "chips" but that isn't always practical for larger numbers. So, once we develop a rule for adding and subtracting, it will be a bit easier. Also, we will begin to learn about the coordinate grid, the x-axis and y-axis, and how to plot points on the grid.

In Science we are going to have our unit test for Ecology on Monday. The rest of the week we are going to start our last unit of Energy. We will look at energy uses in the home, including how to reduce energy used and study the differences in kinetic, gravitational, and thermal energies. Remember, your "Introduced Species" project is due on Monday. If you don't have it, you won't be going to the student-staff basketball game on Wednesday. Please make sure you do it!

In Advisory students will be wrapping up their presentations. They should have their powerpoint done, their notecards done, their posterboards done, etc. Anything that they are using to present their project, should be done. I will be doing a final check-in on Friday to ensure everyone has everything done!

We are only 29 days away to graduating 6th grade. Lets finish strong!!!

Science questions

In Science today we had a few questions that you can answer for extra credit:

1) What is the difference between a mole and a vole (or is there one?)?

2) What does the vacuole of a cell do?

3) What does the mitochondria do?

4) What does the cell membrane do?

5) What does the cell wall do?

6) What is cytoplasm?

Any other words and definitions you can find relating to plant and/or animal cells, please add it for extra credit!

Weekly News

Happy May!!!

This week in Math we will be starting out our new unit (and our LAST unit of the year!) -- Accentuate the Negative, which is the study of negative numbers. This week's focus will be on understanding real life situations where negative numbers are used as well as getting comfortable finding negative numbers on a number line, comparing positive and negative numbers, as well as putting them in order.

In Science we will be finishing up our ecology unit by looking at the habitat of an organism, as well as the carrying capacity of an ecosystem. On Friday, students will complete a study guide for their test next Monday.

In Advisory it is expected that students are done with ALL of their five areas for their exhibition. On Monday, I will be doing a check-in for the final area -- personal qualities. At this point, students should be working on how they are going to present their information. If they are doing a talk-show, they may need to write out note cards of what they will be saying, as well as getting volunteers to be "guests" on their talk show. Other students that are working on powerpoint presentations will need to make sure their powerpoint is perfected -- making sure not to have full sentences written on their slides and having notecards with more details that they will present to us.

Don't forget that on Monday and Tuesday we will be heading to U of M - Dearborn for our 2-day science field trip. The project they work on while they are at U of M is a grade, so those students that are not able to attend because of behavior or failure to turn in a permission slip will be given a packet of work to complete both days to make up for not doing the project at U of M.

Any questions?? Let me know!!!

Geometry Geniuses

Wow! Many of you did a fantastic job with this geometry unit. It was a nice break from all the numbers we've seen in our fraction and decimals unit. Congratulations to the students with an 80% or higher on this test!

• Trenton (80%)
• NiJaia (85%)
• Cameron (90%)
• Christina (90%)
• Ananda (85%)
• Richard (90%)
• Nate (95%)
• Trinity (95%)
• DaShawn (100%) WOO HOO!!!
• Leah (95%)
• Deacon (90%)
• Khaila (90%)

Weekly News

This week in Math we will be finishing up with our unit on Geometry. We will first begin by reviewing interior angles and learn how to find exterior angles. Then we will review corresponding angles (when two parallel lines are cut by a transversal) and relate that to finding the corresponding sides and angles of two polygons. We will also look at how to "find the rule" of basic transformations when polygons are on a coordinate grid. Finally, we will review all of these topics (on Thursday) to prepare for our Friday Unit Exam.

In Science we will be identifying producers and consumers and relate this to the food web we discussed last week. We will also begin discussing the roles of producers, with the concept of photosynthesis, and get an understanding of how the photosynthesis process works.

In Advisory students will be urged to work on any of the sections of their project that is not complete so far. Next Monday (May 3) I will be checking in their personal qualities. Some students are right on target with their sections, but some students have not turned in any. Starting next week the students will be expected to start preparing how they are going to present each of their sections, but without the information prepared, this will be very hard. Please stay on track!

I'm looking forward to another week!! (can you believe it is the last week of April??)

Woo hoo!!!

Today we had our first geometry quiz regarding angles, triangles, lines of symmetry, and parallel lines cut by a transversal. A huge CONGRATS to the following students that received 80% or higher:

• NiJaia (93%)
• Cameron (93%)
• Christina (93%)
• Ananda (83%)
• Richard (98%)
• Michael (83%)
• Nate (98%)
• Trinity (90%)
• Leah (90%)
• Khaila (88%)
• Deacon (85%)

Great job everyone! Keep it up!

Weekly News

This week in Math we will continue our studies of geometry. Last week, we learned a lot of new vocabulary (adjacent angles, vertical angles, corresponding angles, alternate interior angles, congruent, etc.) that we will review this week in centers. Then we will review all the content we've learned so far, going back to classifying triangles in 2 ways, finding lines of symmetry in a polygon, measuring and drawing angles using a protractor, as well as finding all relationships between angles when looking at two parallel lines cut by a transversal. A quiz on all this material will be on Wednesday. At the end of the week, we will be looking at interior angles of polygons.

In Science we will continue our studies in ecology -- the study of living things. We will start the week off by classifying animals based on their similarities. We will look at how scientists classify animals into phyla, and then look at classifying animals into five major vertebrate groups. Later in the week we will look into owl pellets to find out what owls ate and try to reconstruct a skeleton from the bones they found in the owl pellet.

In Advisory, students should be working on finishing their Social Studies portion of their project. At this point, all Math graphs (4 of them), Science, and ELA portions should be done. If those 3 portions are not done, as well as the Social Studies portion which is due on Thursday, they may not be able to take the walking field trip to Cass Gardens on Friday. PLEASE make sure you are caught up with your work!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and I'll see you tomorrow!

Weekly News

Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed their spring break and that you are all ready to finish out the year strong!

This week in Math, we will be starting our geometry unit. We will review all the types of polygons, including the 6 different triangles, and the variety of quadrilaterals. We will also look at transformations (reflections, rotations, translations), angles, and symmetry. We will have a review on how to use a protractor so you can draw and measure angles perfectly. We will end the week by looking at special relationships of parallel lines cut by a transversal (sounds confusing now, but it won't be after Friday!)

In Science we will start our Biology Unit. We will start by looking at different species of animals and the consequences of introducing new species to different environments (introducing a new fish to a pond, for example). Students will complete a project where they will learn about a specific species, and understand how it would impact a different environment from the one it lives in, as well as the other consequences for introducing it to a new environment. Finally, students will begin to learn about the relationships between living organism and the environment those living organisms live in.

In Advisory, students will have their check-in on Monday, for their ELA portion. Once this is complete, it is expected that students are working on their Social Studies portion. At this point, every child should be more than half way through their project (having 3 of the 5 topics complete). It is VERY important that each student keeps up with their work. If they are not up-to-date with their work, it is possible that they will not be able to participate in upcoming field trips!

I'll see everyone tomorrow!

Spring Break News

Hi Everyone! I hope your break has been treating you well so far! The weather has been beautiful so I hope everyone has had a chance to enjoy it.

As the week progresses, it looks like the weather will be cooling down and some rain will be coming in, SO if you're bored, please don't forget about your ELA portion of your exhibition. Remember, those of you that haven't completed your Math and Science portion need to do that too. I will be doing a check-in the Monday we return from school. If you'd like to email me over break to check something out, or to confirm that it is done correctly, please do so: kperez@uprep.com

I also hope everyone who has books from the library renewed them over the phone, or turned them in. Please don't forget to do so, if you haven't done it already so you don't have overdue charges on your account!

See you over break and let me know if you have any questions while you are off!

I am so proud...

I am so thrilled that all the hard work has paid off! The students did FABULOUSLY on their Decimals and Percents Unit Test. A big congrats to the following people for receiving over an 80% on their test:

• NiJaia (84%)
• Khaila (92%)
• Cameron (92%)
• Trenton (96%)
• Deacon (88%)
• Christina (100%) woo hoo!
• DaShawn (100%) double woo hoo!
• Leah (96%)
• Trinity (100%) triple woo hoo!
• Richard (96%)

Spectacular Science Scores

Once again, we had some great results from the science test on Plate Tectonics.

Congratulations to the following people who received an 80% or higher on their test:

• Cameron (81%)
• Ananda (81%)
• Richard (86%)
• Nate (81%)
• Trinity (86%)
• Leah (100%) Woo hoo!!!!
• Khaila (86%)
• Deacon (81%)

Weekly News

This week in both Math and Science we will be reviewing the major concepts in each of the units we have been studying and take a test.

For Math, the following things will be tested:

• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals
• Story problems (with exact calculations and estimated answers)
• Sales tax, tip, discount
• Percent of

For Science the students need to understand the following concepts:

• Continental drift
• The three types of plate boundaries and what happens at each type (earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountains)
• Layers of the earth
• Plate tectonics
• A general idea of when major events occurred on Earth

In Advisory students are expected to continue working on their exhibition projects. Students are required to have 4 graphs for math and their science information turned in on Wednesday to be graded for completion. Those students that do not have this work done will not go to the library or Wayne State on Thursday.

New Dismissal Procedure

Starting on Monday, March 29th, our dismissal procedure will be as follows:

• At 3:15pm, students will be dismissed to go to their lockers. At this time, they may turn their cell phones on.
• If their parent comes right at 3:15pm, they may leave the building. Please realize that once students leave, they can not re-enter the school. Also, once they are in the parking lot, they must find their car or else leave the school property.
• If their parent comes after 3:15pm, they will go back in their classroom and wait for their parent to arrive. Parents may call their child on their cell phone when they arrive and their child can leave the classroom. If parents/students don't have a cell phone, there will be a teacher in the parking lot with a walkie-talking that will call students out (as done before), or the parent can come into the office and have their child called down at that time.
• Students not picked up by 3:30 will be taken to the auditorium, where again they can wait for their parents (using cell phones, walkie-talkie, or office phone calls to indicate when the parent is here).

Any questions?? PLEASE feel free to leave a comment or email me personally.

Weekly News

This week in Math students will be working on "percent of" problems. There are three different formats that students will learn (35% of 13 is what?, 45% of what is 24?, and what percent of 87 is 12? are three examples -- 1 for each format). Students will spend 3 days working on these 3 formats before having a review at the end of the week and a BINGO game to practice all 3 formats. As a heads-up, students will have a unit test next week reviewing all decimal operations, story problems, estimating in story problems, sales tax, tip, and discount, AND percent of. Now would be a great time to start reviewing.

In Science students will be working on the idea of convection and conduction. Also, we will use a computer simulation to look at plate tectonics, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. to help visualize how all this happens. Also, we will anticipate the Plate Tectonics Unit test for next week also! Based off of the quiz we had last week, some of you may want to start reviewing now to remember all of the information you have learned so far!

In Advisory students will continue using their class time looking through their books and on the computer for information for their MATH and SCIENCE portions. Remember, both of these sections are due on March 31 (in final copy form) in order to go to Wayne State and the library on April 1st. I also told the students that whoever emailed me their math graphs by this Friday (March 26th), I would print out for them (in color!). Please take advantage of this if color printing is not available to you!

Another reminder -- there will be an Honors Assembly for 2nd trimester on Tuesday, March 23rd from 9-10am in the school gym. We will award students who received above a 95% in academic classes, had excellent citizenship, showed improvement in an academic subject, and/or had perfect attendance. Feel free to join us -- especially if your child is receiving a certificate (notes were sent home last week for those students receiving awards!)

Third Trimester Success

This week is the first week of the third trimester. For some, it is a chance for a fresh start -- everyone started the trimester off with 100%! It is up to each individual student as to whether or not he/she keeps that grade.

We have had a math quiz on sales tax and tip and I am so pleased at how well many of the students did. The students with an 80% or higher are:

• Trenton (80%)
• NiJaia (100%)
• Marae (88%)
• Christina (105%)
• Ananda (96%)
• Richard (92%)
• Michael (88%)
• Trinity (96%)
• DaShawn (92%)
• Leah (96%)
• Khaila (105%)
• Yanik (92%)
• Deacon (100%)

In Science, we also had a quiz on Plate Tectonics. The students with 80% or higher are:

• Christina (95%)
• Trinity (95%)
• DaShawn (95%)
• Leah (95%)
• Khaila (100%)

Although most of them did excellent on the vocabulary crossword puzzle, students must also know their content well enough to answer short response questions.

Congratulations to everyone listed above! I am happy to see such a good start to the last trimester!

Maple Syrup Field Trip afterthoughts...

After spending a day at U of M, learning about the maple syrup process, feel free to comment to this posting about what you learned today or what you thought was interesting.

Some suggested questions:

1) What are the 3 B's that can help you identify a maple tree and what do you look for?

2) When can maple syrup be collected in Michigan?

3) Why did Rick say that there wasn't much maple syrup today?

4) Why were some lighter rings in the "tree cookie" larger than the darker rings?

What else interested you?

Weekly News

This week in Math we will continue our work with percents. Students have done a good job so far with sales tax and tip (which we will review early in the week) and we will end the week in learning how to work with discounts.

In Science we will continue our work with plate tectonics and truly understanding how the plates play a role in creating volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountains. We will have a quiz at the end of the week on vocabulary from this unit and major concepts we've learned.

In Advisory students will create their new learning plan by finalizing their topic and deciding what they are going to study within that topic to cover the 4 academic subjects (ELA, science, math, social studies) and personal qualities. Due dates for each section will be provided and once students have their learning plan approved, they will be able to start working on their new topic. Students that got books out of the library should bring them to school EVERY day so they can work on things even when the computers are not available.

Field trip reminders:

• Monday, March 15 -- Maple Syrup field trip -- wear old/warm clothes (jeans, boots, warm jackets, gloves, hats, etc.). We will be outside for a portion of the day, in the wet grass so please be prepared. Also, don't forget your bagged lunch!
• Friday, March 19 -- Skating Party -- payment of $12 or $10 (if you don't need skates) is due by Wednesday! Free dress is given only to the students that are going skating!

Earthquakes

We had a few questions in class that if anyone can answer, extra credit will be given (I had a few of my own I added):

1) What number on the earthquake "Richter" scale is the one where people can actually feel the earthquake?

2) When was the most intense earthquake ever recorded and what number was it on the scale?

3) How many tectonic plates are there on the Earth?

If you find out anymore interesting facts, list them under the comments and you'll get credit as well!

Weekly News

In Math this week we are going to turn our attention to working with percents again. The students are going to learn how to compute sales tax, tips, and discounts. If the students remember how to turn the percents into decimals, they will have no problems!

In Science we are going to return to our unit on Plate Tectonics and start by watching a video about plate tectonics which will also answer some questions students still have on continental drift. We will then model earthquake seismograph records and students will explore the relationships between the movement of the plates and earthquakes.

In Advisory we will start looking for ideas for our last trimester exhibition topic. I have a few ideas, but I'd like to see what the students have in mind also. So, students, if you are reading this, try to think of a topic you'd like to study that can incorporate ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies, okay? We'll talk about it this week and hopefully by the end of the week we'll have our new topic to start! Remember, on Thursday, we will be going to Wayne State University's Food Court as a reward for a job well done last week with exhibitions. Don't forget to bring money if you'd like to buy something to eat!!!

See you tomorrow!

Exhibitions

I am so proud of all the students hard work with their exhibitions. It goes to show they worked their butts off when many of them fulfilled the 30 minute time frame and even went over (whoops!). I am impressed with the work they did and hope they continue this high level of work for the third trimester project.

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a "Meeting expectations" grade or higher:

• Trenton -- Presentation Skills
• Cameron -- Presentation Skills AND Academic Skills
• Christina -- Presentation Skills AND Academic Skills
• Ananda -- Presentation Skills AND Academic Skills
• Michael -- Presentation Skills
• Trinity -- Presentation Skills AND Academic Skills
• DaShawn -- Presentation Skills AND Academic Skills
• Leah -- Academic Skills
• Khaila -- Presentation Skills AND Academic Skills
• Deacon -- Presentation Skills AND Academic Skills

Great job everyone!!!

Field Trips

Now that the exhibitions are over (and most students did fabulous on them -- BIG round of applause to you all!), we can look at going on some field trips.

Thursday, March 11 -- Wayne State University Food Court as a reward for doing so well and working so hard on their exhibitions. Students will still go to the school lunch and electives, and we will leave shortly after 1pm. Students are asked to bring money depending on what they'd like to eat at Wayne State.

Monday, March 15 -- University of Michigan Maple Syrup Field Trip -- We will be leaving around 9am and returning around 2:30pm. Students are asked to wear old, warm clothing as we will be outside and it may be muddy and cold. Students are also asked to bring a bag lunch since there will be no food for purchase. The cost is $7 and students must pay this and bring their permission slip by Monday, March 8th. Any parents that would like to chaperone are free of charge. Please just let me know if you would like to join us.

Friday, March 19 -- Skating Party -- a fundraiser for the 8th grade students attending the Japan trip in the Summer. Cost is $12 ($10 if you have your own skates). Students will leave at 12pm and return by 3:30pm. Money and permission slips are due by Wednesday, March 17.

** Please realize that students are not REQUIRED to attend any of these field trips. If there are behavior problems, individual students will stay back at the school with another teacher with work to do. Students that do not go on the Maple Syrup field trip will be given Science work to do in replace of the field trip since this is an academic field trip.

Any questions? Let me know...

Weekly News

This will be a busy week for the class since we have exhibitions this week!

In Math we will continue working with story problems, in addition to working with dividing decimals as both of these skills prove to be the most difficult ones for students still.

We will not be doing Science this week since we have exhibitions all afternoon.

In Advisory we will be presenting exhibitions. The things students must remember are:

• Do you have an agenda?
• Is your binder in the order that your agenda says?
• Do you have the necessary note cards?
• Have you practiced your exhibition in front of someone to make sure yours isn't too short or too long?
• Do you have ALL of your projects? (If you are not sure, please refer to the rubric I gave out last week for the projects that will be graded, as well as the presentation skills that you will be graded on)

I am anticipating much success for this exhibition because the students have been working VERY hard. I look forward to seeing everyone's presentation this coming week!

Upcoming Field Trip

On March 15, 2010 (Monday), we will be going on a field trip to the University of Michigan - Dearborn. We will be working with "Maple Syrup Science" where the students will learn the process of making maple syrup and all the science that is involved. This is a partially outdoor field trip so students must wear old clothes -- jeans, sweatshirts, boots, etc. and they should also have necessary warm clothes such as gloves, hats, scarfs, warm coats, etc.

The cost of the field trip is $7 and it is due no later than Monday, March 8th.

We are looking for a couple parent volunteers, so if you would like to volunteer, please let me know by Friday, March 5th.

Finally, students will be required to bring their own bagged lunch since we will not be at school for the normal lunch time. If they normally get a school lunch and would like a bagged school lunch, I must be notified before Friday, March 5th as well.

Any questions?? Let me know...

A longer vacation...

Happy Snow Day -- again! I'm sure you all know it's a snow day today, but I just want to remind you that exhibitions are next week. Have fun today, but remember that today is a GREAT day to get caught up since you'll have one less school day to get this stuff done, since we don't have school today.

Enjoy your day and see you tomorrow!

Welcome Back..

I hope everyone had an enjoyable and productive mid-winter break!! Get ready for a BUSY week!

In Math this week, we will continue our practice with decimals. Before break we focused on adding and subtracting decimals, and this week we will focus on multiplying and dividing decimals. Not only will we review the steps to completing these problems, but we will also review estimating and how to solve story problems.

In Science we will continue our study of plate tectonics. We will review the layers of the Earth and look at important events in Earth's history that make it look like the way it does today. We will also talk about the continental drift that occurred millions of years ago as well as other historical events that created the plates that are under the surface of the Eart.

In Advisory I will do a last check-in on Monday to see all of the projects that the students have done. Remember, everything should be done at this point, because exhibitions are next week. By the way, if you have not signed up for a time, please do so as soon as possible. It is first come, first serve and there are very few spots open. For the remainder of the week, students will work with note cards and plan out what they are going to say for each section and some students may decide to do a "practice" exhibition in front of the class to get some early feedback before they are graded on it. If you have any questions regarding any of the exhibition items, please let me know ASAP. Exhibition grading rubrics will be passed out on Monday, so if you are curious about how the students will be graded, please ask them for the rubric.

Don't forget, for those of you that were in school Friday before break, get your progress report signed...that is 500 points for your table and table points end this week! See you tomorrow!!!

Things to remember over break

I hope everyone is enjoying their break so far. I just wanted to update the blog with things I hope you remember to do (and remind your other classmates that don't regularly check the blog please)...

1) Get your school progress report signed. 500 points for your table will be awarded to those students that were at school on Friday and bring it back signed on Monday.

2) Work on your 3 personal qualities projects, your ELA academics, and your Geography academics projects. I will do your last check-in on Monday that we return.

3) Be sure you have an exhibition time. I have about 5-7 spots left, so if you haven't signed up for one yet, make sure you bring in your options on the Monday we return.

4) Don't forget to work on your tic-tac-toe.

Enjoy your break, but please make sure you make time for your exhibition work. When we get back to school, we only have one week left until exhibitions. During that time, you will be planning out your notecards and will have "practice" exhibitions, where you will be able to practice a section of your exhibition in front of the class to get feedback before you are graded on it.

Let me know if you have any questions...

Happy Snow Day

That's right! We have a snow day today. So go back to bed, or watch tv, or go play in all the snow we have. This is actually a great chance to get all the exhibition work done too! See you tomorrow!!

Weekly News

Only 5 more days until Mid-Winter Break, but it will be a busy 5 days!

In Math we will continue our study of decimals by using estimation to see if our exact answer is reasonable, as well as starting our study with story problems. Since we worked so hard with story problems for decimals, I think this will be easier for everyone. We'll see!!

In Science we will continue discussing plate tectonics and how the things on the inside of the earth affect the outside. On Monday, we will finish up our discussion on nuclear waste being stored at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. For the rest of the week, we will study volcanoes, which I know everyone is excited about!

In Advisory this is a very important week because students need 13 projects to be turned in, in order to attend the exciting Valentine's Day dance on Friday. I have advised the students not to buy a ticket until they get the "all clear" from me, so they don't miss out by buying a ticket and not being able to go. The following must be turned in by Wednesday (please recall that all of these items have been due in previous weeks, but some students had to redo some of them -- only 2 items (the last two) are new from last week!)

• 4 math graphs
• 3 currency problems
• 3 animals with explanations/fun facts about the animals
• 3 plants/flowers with explanations/fun facts about the plants/flowers
• Paragraph of climate of the country
• 10 words/phrases in the other country's language
• Map (with major cities identified)
• Flag (with meanings of the colors and symbols)
• 2 holidays (indicating what is special about that holiday/traditions of the country)
• 2 historical events (listing why it was important)
• Government (including the leader, type of government, and 3 unique laws the country has)
• Math academics -- 2 fraction problems (one basic problem, one story problem/solve for the unknown)
• Science academics -- Where would you build? (based on seaside cliff, delta marsh, or green hill -- 1 page report as well as a visual aid)

The only thing not required to be done yet are the 3 personal qualities topics that the students have chosen themselves. This will be required to be turned in the Monday we return from Mid-Winter break, so that means at this point, they have 2 weeks to get it done!

Parents, please expect a letter to come home about the exhibition dates and times. Again, it is first come, first serve. You may respond under this post, once you get the form Monday if you would like and I can confirm with you that way.

I'll see everyone tomorrow!!