The Willow Weekly: April 2013

Friday, April 26, 2013

Dynamic Dialogue 4/26/13

Good afternoon Dynamic Team!

Upcoming Events: Hixson Fine Arts Night, May 1^st, 7 – 9 p.m.

Professional Day/Early Release Day, May 2^nd

Track Day, May 2^nd, 8:45 – 11:30 a.m.

Important Information: You are now able to buy the Hixson Middle School teacher and staff t-shirts. Follow this link (http://hixsonmiddleschool.blogspot.com/2013/04/youve-seen-graphic-now-own-t-shirt.html) if you are interested in purchasing one for yourself.

If you are interested in enrolling your student Hixson’s Summer School program, please click here for a registration form.

Permission slips have been sent home for the end of the year pool party. If you need another copy, please click here.

English –

This week students reviewed the literary elements of plot by analyzing a short narrative piece. We engaged in thought-provoking conversations about rising action, climax and falling action. Many students are actively seeking text references to support their thinking which is one of the criteria for "engaging effectively in discussions." The class was split in half to provide a smaller group for discussion. The other half of class worked on sentence combining and editing, both of which are due on Friday.

The second half of this week, student worked on drafting a professional report for the interdisciplinary project with mathematics. Together the students and I are learning how to organize and draft a business report. The instructional notes (PPT) are available on Edmodo along with my "poopy" draft. Next weeks, students will continue working on the project.

Susan Artkras – artkras.susan@wgmail.org

Math –

Math grades are updated on the portal. The math placement test for 8^th grade will be given next week on April 30^th & May 1^st.

Wilma Slaughter – slaughter.wilma@wgmail.org

Science –

This week in Dynamic Science students have continued working on analyzing the original data sets from Dr. John Snow’s work with the epidemiology of cholera epidemics in London, England from 1832 to 1855. It has been a challenging activity for the students to sort through qualitative data and decide what the key evidence pieces are. The students have their Disease unit outline and study. The test will be next Friday, 3 May.
Disease Unit Outline is below:
https://drive.google.com/a/wgcloud.org/?tab=wo#folders/0B47t0_AnyTUhaVYtQ3N2TXVJcE0

Disease Unit Study Guide is below:

https://drive.google.com/a/wgcloud.org/?tab=wo#folders/0B47t0_AnyTUhaVYtQ3N2TXVJcE0

The links for the course websites are listed below.

Course Websites:

4^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330004

5^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330001

6^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330002

7^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330003

If you have any questions or comments please let me know

Dynamic Systems Science – Coach Daniels daniels.mark@wgmail.org

314-918-4603

Social Studies –

This week we have been focused on several key happenings during the Middle Ages. We looked at the evolution of art from Romanesque through Gothic; investigated the reasons for and impact of the Magna Carta on Europe and later on the U.S. Constitution; and the consequences of the Black Death. Next week – The Crusades!

I am available for after school help every Thursday until 4:00 p.m.

The links for the course websites are listed below.

Course Websites:

4^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M340001

5^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M340002

6^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M400002

7^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M400004

Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org

314-918-4602

Please visit the following links for more information:
Hixson home page - http://schools.webster.k12.mo.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectionid=7
Dr. Heisserer's blog - http://hixsonprincipal.wordpress.com/

Friday, April 19, 2013

Dynamic Dialogue 4/19/13

Good afternoon Dynamic Team!

Upcoming Events: Choir Concert, April 23^rd 6 – 7 p.m., Steiger Auditorium

7^th Grade Band Concert, April 24^th, 7 p.m.

If you are interested in enrolling your student Hixson’s Summer School program, please click here for a registration form.

Permission slips have been sent home for the end of the year pool party. If you need another copy, please click here. Permission slips and $2.00 fee should be turned in to Coach Daniels.

English –

This week students participated in peer reviewing writing with emphasis on sentence structures, mood, pacing, punctuation, and word choices that enhance the piece with the writer's voice. Students are having fun working on honing their editing skills by hunting for punctuation, capitalization, spelling, grammar/usage and content errors. Next week, students will learn the skills of writing a report for their mathematics car project and review the literary elements in preparation for revising their personal narratives.

Susan Artkras – artkras.susan@wgmail.org

Math –

This week we finished grading the assessments for the (Comparing & Scaling) unit: the portal will be updated soon. Also, we started The Car Project where students will learn the practical math involved in purchasing a vehicle. My goal is for students to learn what is involved in purchasing a vehicle, and the other things involved in owning one (yearly taxes, maintenance, insurance). Students have to purchase three vehicles to represent the different stages in life and a dream car. They are having a lot of fun researching which vehicles to purchase, especially the (dream car); you are encouraged to work with your student.

Wilma Slaughter – slaughter.wilma@wgmail.org

Science –

This week in Dynamic Science students finished up the Circulatory and Respiratory unit and had the unit test today. The students who did not finish the test will have some time in class on Monday to answer the last couple of questions. We will return to our disease unit next week and pick up with Disease Detectives using Dr. John Snow’s original data to analyze and interpret to discover the causes of cholera outbreaks in the mid-1800’s in London, England. These last few units will go quickly as we finish preparing the Dynamic Scientists for 8^th grade.

The links for the course websites are listed below.

Course Websites:

4^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330004

5^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330001

6^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330002

7^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330003

If you have any questions or comments please let me know

Dynamic Systems Science – Coach Daniels daniels.mark@wgmail.org

314-918-4603

Social Studies –

Students have been working on a special project this week called a Feudal R.A.F.T. RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. Students have each chosen a role crucial to medieval society and are assigned a task as that person. They have been conducting research through links that I posted to Edline as well as shared folders on Google Cloud. Next week we will take a look at the Magna Carta and see how it influenced the United States.

I am available for after school help every Thursday until 4:00 p.m.

The links for the course websites are listed below.

Course Websites:

4^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M340001

5^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M340002

6^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M400002

7^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M400004

Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org

314-918-4602

Friday, April 12, 2013

Dynamic Dialogue 4/12/13

Upcoming Events: Choir Concert, April 23^rd 6 – 7 p.m., Steiger Auditorium

7^th Grade Band Concert, April 24^th, 7 p.m.

Important Information: You are now able to buy the Hixson Middle School teacher and staff t-shirts. Follow this link (Hixson T-Shirts) if you are interested in purchasing one for yourself.

Spring for Schools on April 30th. Follow the link to see which establishments will donate a part of their profits on April 30th to help support education in Webster schools.

English –

When Barry Lane, a nationally known professional writer and teacher, what the steps of the writing process consists of, he replied, "Revise, revise, revise." This is a firm belief I have as students work to take their persuasive writing to the next level, so this week students have been steadily working to revise their drafts of their position paper about the reading "Song of the Trees." Students are working to clarify their reasoning while providing direct and indirect text evidence, and even more challenging, students are working to counter opposing claims and build a final appeal within their conclusion. Students are rising to the challenge! I appreciate all their determination and courage to take the constructive feedback and move their writing forward.

Classroom library visits are scheduled for Tuesday. Please check for overdue books that can be returned. For details on your student's fines or books checked out, you can access their Destiny account or contact Elaine Hartman at hartman.elaine@wgmail.org

Susan Artkras – artkras.susan@wgmail.org

Math –

This was the last week of MAP testing. Dynamic students worked with confidence on the test. My goal is for each student to move up at least one level on the MAP test from the 6^th grade score.

Next week, the math grade that you will receive on the progress report is the same grade your student had fourth term, because we haven’t finished grading the assessments for the (Comparing and Scaling) unit. After we finished the unit, I thought it was necessary to review the math concepts from the first semester before the MAP test. When we finish grading the assessments next week, I’ll let you know when the grades are updated on the portal.

Wilma Slaughter – slaughter.wilma@wgmail.org

Science –

This week in Dynamic Science students had a tremendous learning experience at the Practical Anatomy Lab at SLU! Please ask your student about the field trip! Since then we have completed the circulatory system and next week take on the remainder of the respiratory system. The student took a formative Quia quiz today in class. The students can take the quiz as many times as they would like to help them refine their understanding of the concepts. The Circulatory/Respiratory Unit test is next Friday, 19 April.

Thank you to the parents who supervised the pig heart dissection field trip on Monday!

www.quia.com/web - “Circulatory/Respiratory Systems Formative Quiz.”

If you have any questions or comments please let me know.

Dynamic Systems Science – Coach Daniels

daniels.mark@wgmail.org

314-918-4603

The links for the course websites are listed below.

Course Websites:

4^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330004

5^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330001

6^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330002

7^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330003

Social Studies –

We have continued with our focus on the Middle Ages in Europe. Students have been focused on geography as well as the origins and structures of feudalism. I have begun to post the chapter readings on both Edline and Edmodo – students are able to pre-read chapters before we begin working on them in class. I will be doing this for the remainder of the year which will allow us to use our class time more efficiently. Next week we will do a role-playing writing activity as well as look at The Black Death.

I am available for after school help every Thursday until 4:00 p.m.

The links for the course websites are listed below.

Course Websites:

4^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M340001

5^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M340002

6^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M400002

7^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M400004

Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org

314-918-4602

Friday, April 5, 2013

Dynamic Dialogue 4/5/13

Good Afternoon Dynamic Team!

Upcoming Events: Term 5 Ends - April 5, Grades mailed - April 12

Hixson Student Trivia, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. - April 5

Dynamic SLU Field Trip – April 8

MAP Testing - April 9 - 10

Important Information:

English –

Susan Artkras – artkras.susan@wgmail.org

Math –

The mathematics part of the MAP test will be given next Tuesday and Wednesday Please make sure your student have a calculator, because I only have a classroom set (30), and they are allowed to use a calculator on parts of the test.

Wilma Slaughter – slaughter.wilma@wgmail.org

Science –

This week in Dynamic Science students have been continuing to study the circulatory and respiratory system. Most of the students are feeling there are lots of parts to the heart and are working to be able to describe the path of the blood. The concept of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood is coming into their vocabulary! Today in order to practice some dissection skills the students dissected an earthworm. Ask them about their experience dissecting the earthworm and then again on Monday evening after they have dissected the pig heart.
Thank you to the 12 parent supervisors for the field trip on Monday! This should allow us to have 1 adult to every 2 labs groups which is very good at making the lab experience the best!

Thank you to the parents who completed the survey evaluation of me! This feedback will help me continue to grow to be better relating and communicating with parents and guardians!

The links for the course websites are listed below.

Course Websites:

4^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330004

5^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330001

6^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330002

7^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M330003

If you have any questions or comments please let me know

Dynamic Systems Science – Coach Daniels daniels.mark@wgmail.org

314-918-4603

Social Studies –

We began the Middle Ages in Europe this past Monday. I won’t lie, this is one of the most enjoyable units of the year. Since our classes were shortened for three days for MAP testing, we used those days for a general overview of the Dark Ages. I’ve asked students to predict what will happen when a totalitarian government packs up and leaves a region. What happens when there is no government? Next week, we will continue with an examination of feudalism and monasticism.

I am available for after school help every Thursday until 4:00 p.m.

The links for the course websites are listed below.

Course Websites:

4^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M340001

5^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M340002

6^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M400002

7^th Period - http://www.edline.net/pages/Hixson/Classes/M400004

Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org

314-918-4602