Welcome back and Happy New Year…Xin nian hao!

This Friday marks the end of Quarter 2, and students will receive their Q2 reports on Friday 16th January.

Reminders for the week: Don’t forget to review for the science test on Magnetism and Electricity scheduled for this Friday 9th January.

I would like to wish you all a very happy winter break.

Travel safely, and I look forward to seeing you all again on January 5th, 2009!

In Humanities you are beginning your study of Mesopotamia: ‘land between the rivers’. Here are some useful sites to help you find out more about this first great civilization. The first interactive site on ancient Mesopotamia - present day Iraq- leads you through an archaeological dig! The British Museum also has this great site with lots of interesting information. To learn more about  farming & agriculture in Mesopotamia try this site for easy to read information 

There is a lot happening this week so here are some additional reminders for you!

Math with Mrs. Mamo: On Friday there will be a brief quiz on rewriting two fractions with least common denominators (all sections).

Humanities with Ms. Nall: You need to be working on your ‘RAFTS’ writing task. RAFT is an acronym for Role, Audience, Format, Topic, and Strong Verb (to indicate the purpose of writing). Refer to Ms. Nall’s blog for a more thorough explanation and examples.

Humanities with Mrs. Crepeau- Leonard: Your comic book project is due this Friday Dec 5th.

Science with Mr Bister: Atom model is also due this Friday Dec 5th.

In Mrs. Crepeau’s class this week you will be reviewing Early Humans vocabulary and your hominid study guide. Mrs. Crepeau has scheduled a test on this work for December 12th, so please remember to review unit notes at home also. The test will also include a written paragraph. You will have a choice of questions from your discussions in class and will partly be graded for organization as well as content.

For those of you in Mr. Bister’s science class don’t forget that your atom model is due this Friday 5th December.

In science this week students have been looking at how objects become charged; comparing charging by conduction and induction, and learning about static electricity. Check out some of the fun lab activities they have been doing!

A reminder…..Don’t forget to organize materials for your atom models for Science. Speaking of ATOMS, here is a website (Jefferson Lab) that reviews what an atom is and what it is made up of. The site also has games and online quizzes.
Here is a challenge for you…. Refer to the Periodic Table of elements in your science text books and find out which atom is animated here. When you have the answer, let me know!

Animation image: http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~donie/images/helium-animation.gif

As part of the Reading Buddies elective this quarter, some of our Middle school students are spending time each week reading to their new buddies in kindergarten. In preparation for our next session, students visited the elementary library and met with Mrs Boyer, who spoke to them about what to look for when deciding what books are most enjoyable and appropriate for young children.

A reminder for all ‘push-in’ students to remember to meet with me during your scheduled time each week. This is an opportunity to go over any core work that you need help with. I will also be checking in with you about your science test and going over it with you.

In Science you are about to begin the next unit: Electricity and Magnetism. Don’t forget to make sure that you keep up-to-date with the homework reading and assigned vocabulary. We will review this in ESOL class also.

For Humanities you should have completed your first draft of the assigned writing on Hominids. You need to review this, paying particular attention to your introduction, use of transitions, and closing/conclusion. Don’t forget that you should also be working on your plot chart for Dar and the Spear Thrower, as well as the set vocabulary from the novel.

Image: http://www.wigginml.org/kidspage07/questioning.jpg