Willow Weekly 12/11 to 12/15

Welcome to the Willow Weekly.  Here you will find all of your Team Willow news and information.  Please sign up for automatic updates and you will be notified whenever an update is made.

Important Information:  

• No after school activities next week.
• Have a great winter break!
• Classes resume January 4th

ELA –
Published poems are due on Wednesday! We'll be celebrating our poetry unit with a publishing party where we'll share snacks and poems. Looking forward to seeing what everyone writes!

Don't forget to stay updated with what's going on in ELA by visiting Ms. K's blog or follow Willow ELA's Instagram page.

Social Studies –

This week we took a deep dive into the Three Chinese Philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Many students were absent, so they should read Chapter 21 on my website to get up to speed. Next week, students will construct concept maps on this topic.

 www.hixson.webster.k12.mo.us/pages/Hixson/Classes/pettid

Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org

314-918-4602

Math- 

Algebra-  Started finals on Friday and will finish up next week.

7th grade math-  Working on Ratios and Proportions LT1 and possibly LT2

Ashley Porter 

porter.ashley@wgmail.org

Science –

This week students took a close look at infectious diseases.  Just kidding… sort of.

Students this week worked on reassessment procedure in class and after school.  As a reminder we are in the final days of the first semester.  All reassessment and late work must be completed by Wednesday 12/21. Students can use in class time, before school, or at lunch for reassessment next week.

Outside of reassessment students began working on their in class assignments for cell hierarchy and the organelles of cells.  The assignment is due Today (FRIDAY) but I will work with students who were absent to make sure they have an appropriate length of time to make up the assignment.

Matt Geringer
geringer.matt@wgmail.org

Please visit the following links for more information: Hixson home page -http://hixson.webster.k12.mo.us/pages/Hixson

Willow Weekly 12/4 to 12/8

Welcome to the Willow Weekly.  Here you will find all of your Team Willow news and information.  Please sign up for automatic updates and you will be notified whenever an update is made.

Important Information:  

• After school activities are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 3:30 to 4:15
• After school help is available during those same times.
• Jug wars have started in our 5th hour classes! Please bring in money (preferably change) to your 5th hours. Any bills can go to competing 5th hour classrooms to put them in the negative! All money will go to our Holiday family! Money and items are due the 12th!

We have an app!

The Webster Groves School District now has an app. You can find it in the app store by searching for Webster Groves SD. It features news, calendars, menus and more. Download it today!

ELA –

This week, we started our last "microunit" for the semester. We are exploring "sticky language" in poetry and how writers craft their words so that they stay with us long after we finish reading their work.

Next week, we'll be looking at different forms of poetry and writing our own to share!

Don't forget to stay updated with what's going on in ELA by visiting Ms. K's blog or follow Willow ELA's Instagram page.

Social Studies –

This week we began looking at the geography of China. Students, once again, looked at they many ways in which geography can affect a civilization. This is a learning goal that will continue to spiral throughout the year. We finished the week by examining some amazing Chinese inventions - kites, gunpowder, flamethrowers, noodles, seismographs, paper, paper money - many things we take for granted today.

Next week, we will be looking at three Chinese philosophies.

 www.hixson.webster.k12.mo.us/pages/Hixson/Classes/pettid

Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org

314-918-4602

Math- 

Algebra-  Finished up chapter 6, working on chapter 7 now. They will have a quiz Monday and they should be studying for their final that will be the last couple days before winter break.

7th grade math-  Took their unit test over Expressions and Equations. We will do some ratios and proportions work before we leave for winter break.

Ashley Porter 

porter.ashley@wgmail.org

Science –

This week students began our second unit for the year - Cells.  We will study their function, relationship with multicellular organisms, and interactions with each other. This week we focused on Goal 1 which covers Cell Theory and Cell Hierarchy.

Students scores for their Summative Assessment from last Wednesday and Thursday were posted today and students will have an opportunity to reassess if they are unhappy with their scores.  In order to reassess students must have a completed study guide and a completed sheet of study notes prior to reassessment. Students will be given time in class on Monday to look at their assessment scores and create notes to study from. They will then schedule a day to take the reassessment before school, at lunch, or after school.

Matt Geringer
geringer.matt@wgmail.org

Please visit the following links for more information: Hixson home page -http://hixson.webster.k12.mo.us/pages/Hixson

Willow Weekly 11/27 to 12/1

Welcome to the Willow Weekly.  Here you will find all of your Team Willow news and information.  Please sign up for automatic updates and you will be notified whenever an update is made.

Important Information:  

• After school activities are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 3:30 to 4:15
• After school help is available during those same times.
• Jug wars have started in our 5th hour classes! Please bring in money (preferably change) to your 5th hours. Any bills can go to competing 5th hour classrooms to put them in the negative! All money will go to our Holiday family!

We have an app!

The Webster Groves School District now has an app. You can find it in the app store by searching for Webster Groves SD. It features news, calendars, menus and more. Download it today!

ELA –

We celebrated our realistic fiction pieces on Friday with a publishing party! We drank hot chocolate and apple cider as we read each other's stories. We also practiced leaving "warm" feedback on each other's work, aiming to compliment the writer on something he/she did well in their story.

Next week, we'll begin our last unit for the year--an exploration in poetry. I look forward to this "micro unit" every year. Students will be reading, analyzing and creating poetry--and don't worry if your student says, "I'm not a poet!" Anyone who can read poetry can also write poetry! This is a fun, low-stakes unit with the overall goal of exposing students to good poetry and empowering them as writers of poems.

Don't forget to stay updated with what's going on in ELA by visiting Ms. K's blog or follow Willow ELA's Instagram page.

Social Studies –

This week in Social Studies, students worked in groups to create Hinduism Word Webs. These consist of several statements about the origin, beliefs, practices, and caste system. Since many of the statements can be in multiple categories, students discussed, debated, and sometimes argued about where to place each statement. There were some lively discussions! We finished the week with some work with primary source documents about Buddhism.

Next week, we will be taking a look at China, building towards a point-to-point comparison with India.

 www.hixson.webster.k12.mo.us/pages/Hixson/Classes/pettid

Lisa Pettid – pettid.lisa@wgmail.org

314-918-4602

Math- 

Algebra-  Chapter 6 test will be on Monday! Final exams will take place the last three days before winter break. If your student is not going to be here, please make arrangements with me!

7th grade math-  We worked on learning target 7 and learning target 8. They will have their unit test next week, either Wednesday or Thursday!

Students can use Khan academy to do extra practice with two step equations.

Ashley Porter 

porter.ashley@wgmail.org

Science –

Students in Science this week reviewed for and took their summative assessment over our space systems unit.  It covered learning goals 2-5 about gravity, seasons, eclipses, and lunar phases.  Tests will be graded and students will have the opportunity to reassess once they are returned as long as they can show me a completed study guide.
Next week we will begin working on our 2nd unit of the year.  This will include cell theory, cell hierarchy, organelle, and human body systems.  

Matt Geringer
geringer.matt@wgmail.org

Please visit the following links for more information: Hixson home page -http://hixson.webster.k12.mo.us/pages/Hixson