Literature

Mrs. Sanders:

We started the year reviewing how to do a close read of an article.  We will be reading short stories this quarter that will focus on a variety of skills:  finding main ideas, using text-based evidence, identifying elements of plot, etc.

Mrs. Camp - After finishing the i-Ready diagnostic, we will begin with procedures and start reading short stories or articles of the week.

All students should be reading 15-20 minutes each day.

10 AR points and 1 literacy skills test are due October 9.

ZAP (Zeroes are Prohibited)

ZAP begins on August 25.   Students who do not have their assignments completed when they are due will receive a ZAP.  

If a student receives a ZAP before their lunch hour, they will go to lunch study hall to complete it and turn it in to the teacher.  If a student receives a ZAP after their lunch hour, the student will attend lunch study hall the next day to complete the assignment.

Math

Mrs. Blair

Unit 2 begins this week as we work with numbers and operations. The set of integers includes all whole numbers and their opposites. They can be positive, negative or zero. Lesson 7 deals with adding integers that are both positive and negative while Lesson 8 begins to mix the signs while adding fractions and decimals.

Lesson 9 and 10 deals with the same ideas but with subtraction instead.

Advanced- 

Your student is now beginning to learn about slope. They have learned about proportional relationships and unit rate. The graph of a proportional relationship is a line. While talking about a line, the unit rate is called a slope. In order to find slope, you can take two points and divide the vertical change by the horizontal change. We call this rise over run. We will be working with slope for a long time, so be sure your student understands this as best as he/she can.

Mrs. Pearson

CC Math- Big year for us! We will begin reviewing the 6th grade curriculum for the first quarter. Refreshing all of our basic skills. We will be starting with Area of shapes.

7th Grade- 7th grade curriculum is very challenging. I have warned the students that focus, practice, and asking for help are going to be crucial for this year. IXL is always an “extra” that they can practice outside of class.

Science

Mr. Brouwer - We will be discussing motion, forces of friction and gravity, and Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion.  We will also have our first project of the year, water bottle rockets.

Social Studies

We are working on the geography of the United States. We will be taking a quiz Aug 22nd over physical features in the US. We will then move on to early settlements in the colonies.

English

Miss Archer - In November, we are working through our informative unit about missions.

Mrs. Camp - We are starting the year with a baseline essay to see what our kiddos have remembered from last year. After looking those over we will review basic English skills.

Computer

Art

Art classes are beginning our yearly portfolio with an “about me” project. Creative Crew began this week and their first project includes their name. There will be a brief informational meeting for Mural Makers on Monday, August 25th after school. Our first MM will be Tuesday, September 2nd until 4pm.

Band

Important Dates

• 8/20:  2:30 dismissal
• 9/1:   No School
• 9/3:  2:30 dismissal
• 9/5:  midterms
• 9/16:   Fall picture day
• 9/17:  

Reminders

• If your student is going to be absent,  please call the office and let the secretary know.  

             217-466-3050

 It’s a great day to be a Redbird!

Keep up all the wonderful things you are doing!