I have a
ton of information here for the blog this week.
PLEASE CLICK ON THE PTO NEWSLETTER LINK ON THE TOP OF THIS PAGE!!!
2012-13
Registration
Have you
registered your student for the 2012-2013 school year? Students–even those
currently enrolled and returning–must be registered annually. In just one
week it will cost families $20 more per student to register, so don't delay! If you missed the registration
email(s) that include(s) the electronic link you will need to register your
student(s), please call the public information coordinator at 847.459.4260, ext. 7722, as soon as possible.
Standards
Based Report Card Information
With
the new system, how will parents know how their child's learning compares to
other students' achievement?
As I've
described, a standards-based report card is one that depicts student learning
by specific curriculum targets. By reporting in this manner, parents and
students will have a clearer understanding of what the learner is able to do in
terms of proficiency by target. The goal is to measure and report on each
child's growth and mastery of targets, considering learning from a personal
progress perspective rather than a comparison to other students.
What
is the difference between a "meets" (3.0 target) and
"extends" target (4.0)?
As stated
in past blogs, the expectation is that most students will "meet" the
instructional targets within each content area. With that said, some students
may be able to stretch their thinking to more deeply understand the learning
target. This is exactly what we mean by "extends"! Please see below
for a 6th grade Social Studies example:
3.0 (Meets) Target
Identify
how the Five Themes of Geography influence the characteristics of a
civilization.
4.0 (Extends) Target
Differentiate
between two civilizations and how all 5 Themes of Geography influence their
characteristics.
We are
developing differentiated targets in all content areas, across grade levels, so
that we can clearly identify what we expect students to know/be able to do at
levels 1.0 (well below), 2.0 (below target), 3.0 (meets target), and 4.0
(extends target). Student proficiency will be reported on this 4.0 scale for
each learning target taught within the trimester. This will launch next year in
a limited field test, with implementation system-wide taking place during the
2013-14 school year.
Team Information
6-1
Social Studies - For the remainder of the school year we will focus
on learning all about Ancient Greece and everything that they have contributed
to mankind. We will also be taking our final benchmark of the year on
Friday, June 1st. For our end of the year project, we will be conducting
our own Greek Olympics. We will ask the kids to form their own
city-states and come up with a name to represent them. Next, we will have
a field day and have them compete in various competitions. Have a great
summer!
Reading/LA: We just finished up our persuasive writing unit and
are moving on to expository writing. In addition, we are finishing up our
novel units and focusing on the targets of theme, indirect and direct
characterization, and conflict. In honors reading we will also be
studying character motivation and oral traditions. Finally, as an end of
the year project, the students will be applying their knowledge of theme and
other literary elements to create short stories of their own. The
students will pick a universal literary theme and write a story that brings
that theme to life. To do this, the students must carefully consider the
characters, conflict, climax, and resolution of their story. They always
turn out wonderful, and it’s a great way for the students to apply all that
they’ve learned this year!
Science: The students are transitioning into our final unit,
Biology. The students will be learning about the different types of cells and
the functions of their organelles. The week of May 14, the students will be
learning the parts of the microscope and using the equipment to view cells and
other mystery slides. The biology unit culminates with genetics/heredity and a
cell project.
Math-
AT level just completed
division and will be starting measurement. We will end the year with patterns
and variables.
Advanced- We are in the
middle of the percent unit and will finish the year with traditional long
division.
Honors- We are in the middle
of applying fractions to basic pre-algebra skills and graphing. We will
continue to synthesize the material with word problems.
6-2
Reading/LA: Now that students are finished with persuasive
writing, students are now moving on to an expository writing unit. Each
class is also finishing up their novel units which have focused on theme,
characterization, and conflict. At the end of May students will be
creating their own short stories and publishing them in a hard-cover book.
Students will be applying their understanding of plot, conflict, theme,
character, and literary devices in their short stories, which will bring
students full circle from what they started learning in the very beginning of
the school year. This creative writing project is always a favorite for
students; what a great way for students to celebrate their love of reading and
writing at the end of the year!
Math:
At Level: We are
learning LONG DIVISION (I know you are all excited.) From there we will
be moving on to measurement, then finishing up the year Patterns and Variables.
Advanced: We are
smack dab in the middle of the Percent Unit. We will be finishing up the
year with decimal multiplication and Division (yes...finally long division.)
I time we will be doing some activities with the Metric System.
Pre - Algebra: We
will be finishing up the year with equations and Linear Functions...they will
definitely need graph paper.
6-2
SCIENCE : Students are excited about using the microscopes
for the first time and are enjoying looking at a piece of their hair ( what a
surprise) as well as many other specimens! They will also be learning about
animal and plant cells and their organelles.
Finally, they will study
a few concepts in genetics!
Social Studies - After completing some incredible ancient Egypt tomb
projects and our India/China pamphlet project, we turn our attention to the
ancient civilization that has had the most impact on our western civilization.
As we study Greece, the birthplace of democracy, we learn about how almost
everything we do had roots in Ancient Greece. For our end of the year project,
we will be conducting our own Greek Olympics. We will ask the kids to
form their own city-states and come up with a name to represent them.
Next, we will have a field day and have them compete in various
competitions. Our target date for the final benchmark will be Friday, June 1st.
7-1
Spanish - In Spanish we are beginning or last unit which will
cover weather and clothing vocabulary. Students will also learn to speak
in the present progressive tense (-ing) and begin to use direct object
pronouns. We will also continue to learn about the island of Puerto Rico.
Miss Keehnast - In at-level R/LA, students are
studying the different forms of drama, and they will participate in a variety
of presentations. In honors R/LA students are finishing their drama unit and
beginning literature circles. Both levels are also finishing their persuasive
benchmark pieces. We are continuing the study of the parts of speech until the
end of the year.
Luther
- In at level R/LA,
students are studying the different forms of drama. They will have the
opportunity to perform these dramas for the class and determine how their
presentations compare to a professional one.
Math--In at-level math we will continue our study of
percents, including real-life applications like computing interest and sales
tax. Students in accelerated math will be completing a unit which
includes identifying, graphing, writing, and interpreting linear functions.
Honors math students will finish their study of factoring trinomials and
solving polynomial equations and then move on to studying the graphs of these
functions. It has been a great year, and I’d like to thank all of the
students for their enthusiasm and hard work!
Social Studies--For the remainder of the school year, we will be
learning about the CIvil War by assuming the identity of a soldier in that
conflict. Activities include daily roll call, Destiny Dice (where your
soldier will “experience” the high and low points of being in the army),
contests (a Gettysburg Address contest, for example), and playing Civil War
baseball. Students will write journals describing their experiences in
some of the major battles of the war and how these experiences impacted them,
their families, and their hometowns. The unit will culminate with student
presentations of projects that show their deep understanding of a particular
aspect of the war. This unit is a great way to end a great year, and we’d
like to thank all of the students for their interest and effort!
Mrs. Shanks- Students will be finishing up their persuasive
essays and then focusing on drama. Students will get to experience various
forms of drama and will have the opportunity to compare the different styles.
The students have worked hard this year and hopefully will continue to do so
for the remaining weeks!
7/2 - 8/2
Mrs. Hain’s 8th graders
in English/LA have finished reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We have started our in class reenactments.
Ask your students about their reenactments. Students are also
working on an individual Shakespeare project due on May 29. Please ask
your child to share this assignment with you and to get started if they have
not.
Mrs. Hain’s 7th graders
in English/LA are finishing up their persuasive unit with a research based
persuasive essay. We will comparing our baseline results to our benchmark
results to track growth. We have also began our drama unit with the play
“Dragonwings” and will soon start “Monsters are Due on Maple Street”. We
will continue or grammatical journey with prepositions and prepositional
phrases.
Señora Nicksarlian -
7th and 8th Grade Spanish
Seventh grade students
are learning about the weather and clothing. This chapter is about the rainforest
in Puerto Rico. El Yunque is a small rainforest with
beautiful pools, waterfalls, and small animals. Animals indigenous to this
rainforest are the coquà (a tiny brown frog that sings), the puerto rican
parrot, and many other small animals, the biggest of which is the boa. Students
are also learning tener expressions and the present progressive. They will also
be singing the weather song.
Eighth grade students
are in the last chapter of the Spain unit and they’ve been cooking!! They had
to make their favorite tapa recipe at home for extra credit and then film it or
take pictures of the cooking process. This was an extra credit activity and the
two most popular recipes were tortilla española (Spanish potato and onion
omelette) and churros. Churros is a very popular breakfast item in Spain,
served with very thick hot chocolate. Congratulations to all the cocineros
(cooks)!! They did a phenomenal job!! Students are also learning the
preterite with irregular verbs and singing the preterite “cucaracha” song. Next
week they will be creating a scrapbook with their favorite Woodlawn
memories in Spanish.
Ms. Maggiore - 7th
and 8th grade Math, Pre-algebra, and Algebra 1
This is my last blog
for the school year and I want to thank all of the parents, students,
administrators, faculty members, support staff, and anyone that I missed for a
wonderful final year here at Woodlawn. I could not ask for a better group
of people to work with or for than District 96. Who knew when I started
34 years ago that I would still be here to tell great stories, and reminisce
about the times we have all shared in the district. I will miss all of
you, you are my family too, we spend numerous hours together, and I would not
trade it for anything. I do intend to substitute next school year, so I
will be around. How could I possibly stay away from my home away
from home!
I would like to wish
everyone a happy, restful, and fun-filled summer vacation.
7th Grade At Level
Math - We are presently working on
a unit on percents. It includes finding percent of a number, finding the
missing number, taxes, discounts, simple interest, sale prices, original
prices, percent of change, mark-ups, and commissions. When we conclude we
will be working a bit more on geometry formulas, such as volume and surface
area of prisms, pyramids, and cylinders.
7th Grade Pre-algebra
- We are working on rate of
change, graphing linear equations using a table, finding the x and y intercepts
of graphs, slope, and finding the equation of a line. We will also be
graphing linear equations in slope-intercept form and learn how to change an
equation from slope intercept form into standard form.
7th Grade Honors
Algebra - We are presently working
on polynomials. We are learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and
factor polynomials. The students will classify polynomials, and find the
roots or zeros of a polynomial. We will then continue on with Quadratic
Functions and graphing non-factorable polynomials using the quadratic formula,
graph quadratic equations, and find the x-intercepts, y-intercepts, axis of
symmetry, and the vertex of the quadratic function with and without a
calculator.The students will learn the quadratic formula to the tune of “Pop
Goes the Weasel”.
8th Grade Accelerated
Algebra - We are working on
Quadratic Functions and Equations. The students are learning how to graph
the equations using a table of values, finding the x-intercepts by
factoring or with the quadratic equation, find the vertex of the parabola,
and the axis of symmetry both with and without a calculator. The students will learn the quadratic formula which
will be sung to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel”.
Ms. Russell - 7th
Grade Reading and Language Arts (Honors)
We are wrapping up our
year with the completion of our research-based persuasive essays that will be
due next week. The drama unit is also coming to a conclusion with live,
in-class performances of The Diary of Anne Frank. Students will
soon begin a final group reading unit with their participation in Literature
Circles (novels provided); many wonderful books will be explored and enjoyed
and it is my hope that student will deeply appreciate the experience!
Ms. Russell - 8th
Grade Reading and Language Arts (At-Level)
Each student will soon
be submitting his/her second literary analysis essay; it will be counted as
part of the final writing and grammar grade for quarter four and I look
forwarding to reading all compositions! Our drama unit is drawing to a
close with live, in-class performances of The Diary of Anne Frank.
We will begin literature circles next week and that will be our final
reading unit before graduation!
Mrs. Miller - 7th
Grade Social Studies
We are currently
invested in an extensive unit on the American Civil War. Each student has
received a war identity, and during this unit students will role-play Americans
on both sides of the conflict. They are learning to function successfully
in cooperative groups (“battle “contingents”) though daily roll call, common
soldier interviews and class activities. Students have also begin
researching their Civil War Archive Project topics and should be moving into
the presentation development stage very soon. Presentations will begin on
May 29th - what an exciting way to end the school year! Hopefully the
weather will cooperate so we can get outside and play a little Civil War
baseball before summer break!
Mrs. Miller - 8th
Grade Social Studies
During the course of
this school year, our students have been watching a fascinating ABC
News/History Channel series called The Century: America’s Time. Each segment we’ve watched highlighted a
particular decade of the 20th Century. To culminate our school year,
students will be assigned topics of the late 1990s and modern world and will
create their own “Century” segment
through use of iMovie. We hope it will remind students of the importance
of history and will inspire them to be active citizens and leaders in the
modern world.
Mr. Frank’s 7th Grade
Science
Astronomy is our final
destination in 7th grade. Weather permitting, we will find sunspots using
a filtered telescope and discuss recent activity on the Sun’s surface. We
explore our solar system, how we measure distance in space, and the role
gravity plays in keeping everything in order. Other topics include the
summer and winter solstices, fall and spring equinox, and moon phases and
eclipses. Thanks to our wonderful PTO, all classes will view a
presentation of the formation of the universe in a mobile planetarium.
Mr. Frank’s 8th Grade
Science
There are 3 remaining
science activities to wrap up the middle school science experience. The
first involves experiments using balloons to demonstrate how air resistance and
mass can influence motion. These experiments will give us one last bit of
practice identifying independent and dependent variables and setting up
controlled experiments. Next we compare balanced and unbalanced forces
using a lunar lander simulation and a web based exploration of force vectors.
The final project takes a look at momentum, collisions, and Newton’s
laws. Students will create vehicles to protect an egg from cracking as it
collides head-on with fellow classmates vehicles. Should be messy!
TEAM 8-1
English/ LA:
At Level - We are finishing up the drama unit, The Diary
of Anne Frank and are now
beginning Literature Circles. This will continue till the end of the school
year.
Honors- All classes are working on their Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream projects.
Social Studies - Mrs.
Shannon
During the course of
this school year, our students have been watching a fascinating ABC
News/History Channel series called The Century: America’s Time. Each segment we’ve watched highlighted a
particular decade of the 20th Century. To culminate our school year,
students will be assigned topics of the late 1990s and modern world and will
create their own “Century” segment
through use of iMovie. We hope it will remind students of the importance
of history and will inspire them to be active citizens and leaders in the
modern world.
Spanish
We are finishing our
preterite unit with a “my memories of Middle School” project. We will
also have a final exam May 23. We will end the school year with a
mini-unit based on the movie “Stand and Deliver”.
Math
We are studying graphing linear equations, quadratic
equations and sequences and series.
Encore
Art
6th grade has finished
the clay animals and while they are drying out to be fired we will be starting
our value painting project.
7th grade is “glue deep”
into constructing the wooden animal sculptures and some have even started
painting them. We have some outstanding specimens that even include movement!
8th grade has finished
clay masks and we have been doing painting exercises in order to be ready to
start our abstract acrylic paintings on canvas.
SAVE
THE DATE!
CONSORTIUM
ART SHOW IS COMING UP!
MONDAY, MAY 21 from 7-9 p.m. at Stevenson High
School
Over 200 students from
Woodlawn have had their work chosen and invitations should arrive by early next
week to let you know if your student will have work on exhibit. We have amazing
projects this year, as our halls and displays have shown us!
Communications
6th graders have just
finished a unit on non-verbal communication, and this week started preparing
for their first formal speech. They are learning how to brainstorm ideas, how
to organize their ideas in a formal topic outline, will prepare note cards, and
will learn the do’s and don’ts of giving a formal speech.
7th graders just
finished their first speech, an “object speech”, and just started a persuasive,
partner speech today.
8th graders are starting
to prepare for their last formal speech. They will reflect on their years in
Dist. 96 and discuss all the ways they have changed, major lessons they’ve
learned, and talk about some of their favorite memories.
FACS
6th/7th/8th
As the school year comes
to an end our students have been quite busy finishing up their sewing projects,
which are all turning out wonderful. All grades will end the year with a
cooking unit. We will discuss basic sanitary requirements when cooking, and the
nutritional value of what we eat. Students will be preparing such things as
fruit smoothies, pizza muffins, pancakes, french toast, parmesan twists, and
more.
Music
I want to congratulate
all the participants in our spring musical, “Cinderella” for an outstanding
production! It was a joy to participate in this endeavor and I want to
thank everyone for their cooperation, dedication and talent. In our
general music classes, the seventh and eighth grade will be beginning their guitar
unit this week. They will not only learn to read chords and tablature,
but also compose with those skills. Sixth graders have begun writing
their cereal commercial and will be filming their projects as well. As
you begin to think about summer and have any questions about music lesson or
children’s theater, please feel free to contact me. It has been an honor
and pleasure to teach in District 96 for the last 20 years. I will
miss all of students and our terrific staff and plan to substitute often.
Have a great summer!!!
Orchestra
I would like extend a
big thank you to our Woodlawn Orchestra members Albert Cao, Jessica Eggers, and
Eileen Hoang for participating in the Stevenson High School Consortium
Orchestra on Monday, May 7th. Albert, Jessica and Eileen played a big part in
the overall performance Monday. Thank you!
All Woodlawn Orchestra
students are gearing up for our final concert of the year on Wednesday, May
16th. The concert will include 4th and fifth grade students from Country
Meadows and Kildeer in addition to the Woodlawn 6th grade, 7th/8th grade, and
chamber orchestras. The concert will begin at 7 pm. Please come and show your
support!
The 7th/ 8th grade
orchestra will be presenting their annual elementary school tour on the
morning of Wednesday, May 23. This talented group of 7th and 8th grade students
will demonstrate their instruments and talk about what it means to be a part of
the Woodlawn Orchestra for all 3rd, 4th &5th graders at Country Meadows and
Kildeer.
Band
Our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade
band students are making final preparations for our Spring Band Concert on
Thursday, May 17. We will continue with lessons and rehearsals after the
concert. 6th and 7th graders will have a short amount of time to prepare
for the final performance of the year at the 8th grade graduation ceremony.
Finally, 6th and 7th grade students will have an opportunity now and over
the summer to practice for the IMEA Honor Band and Honor Jazz Band festivals.
I’ll also have available fall audition music for the Woodlawn Jazz Band
to practice over the summer. Please keep checking (or subscribe to) the band
website announcements to stay current on all things band!
Learning Center:
The
Learning Center would like to thank the Woodlawn PTO for the wonderful Spring
Scholoastic Book Fair that they hosted this past week. Our students were so
excited with the selection of books and the great enthusiasm that the
volunteers brought to the event. We are also thankful for the many books that
were donated to the Learning Center as a result of the sale. We can’t wait for
the next book fair in the fall.
We
are beginning our end of the year closing process in the Learning Center. All
books are due on May 18th and all fines are due by May 21st. If a student has
lost a book, we ask that they wait until all lockers have been cleaned out in
case another student finds the book. It is amazing what turns up at the end of
the year. If there are outstanding fines or missing materials, students will
not receive their yearbooks, so please be sure to encourage your child to
return everything to the Learning Center.
We
will also be adding a subscription to the EBSCO research database to the
services the LC offers next year. This is a database that hosts scholarly
articles on nearly every topic that is organized by Lexile score. With the
implementation of the new Common Core curriculum, this will be a very valuable
tool for teachers and students.
There
are so many wonderful additions to the Learning Center and we are really
looking forward to next school year. Have a wonderful summer!
Physical Education:
We have begun the
track and field unit and are preparing for the school track meet.
Students are practicing some track and field events that will be offered
when all three P.E. classes face off to be the top class of 2012! This
cooperative and competitive unit ends with many celebrations in which students
have to qualify for. All fitness days, fitness laps and track events need
to be completed in order to participate in the reward days. Who will win
during each class period this year? Team Berry in blue? Team Blair in
bright white? or Mr. Donofrio in dark black? We will soon find out!
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