The Spillway

The Poetry/SongWriting Contest is up and running here at NMS! Several 6th graders and a few 7th graders have already submitted poems. April is National Poetry Month so encourage your child to participate in this contest and submit an original poem/song to the library by Friday, April 26. These poems will be displayed at our upcoming Related Arts showcase in May.

The guest presenters from the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee will be at our school on April 11th and 15th to conduct the Mental Health 101 early intervention program through related arts. If you have questions about the curriculum or would like to speak further please contact Emily Baxter at 865-494-7171 or elockridge@acs.ac

It is time for interested students to apply to the Anderson County Fair Youth Board. The Board is open to Anderson County students in grades 6-12. It is a great community service opportunity to list on college applications. Please see Ms. Baxter in Guidance for more information.

The Compassion Ministries Mobile Food Pantry is coming back to LCMS on Saturday, April 13th, from 10:00 - 1:00. Everyone is eligible. The address is 1132 S Main St, Lake City, TN 37769.

Transfer request deadline is May 1, 2024

Anderson County School Board Policy requires that all applications for transfer be submitted in writing by the parent/guardian and must include all information requested. This form and the supporting information may then be submitted to the requested school's principal who will inform the parent of approval or denial of the transfer in a timely manner.

Parents/guardians must complete the normal registration process if the application is approved Anderson County School Board procedures for transfer/OOZ require all applications be submitted April 1 through May 1 prior to the school year the parent/guardian wishes to enroll the student. Parents will be notified of the decision by May 15th for grades 1-12.

For a student to be considered for transfer. the following conditions must be met:

• Student must have a ·C" or better average in all coursework

• Student must have 95% attendance for the previous year

• Student may have no more than three disciplinary referrals during the previous year.

Parents are cautioned that providing any false information will result in the denial of this request.

The following information MUST be submitted with the initial transfer application:

• Current school grades, attendance and discipline reports.

Once a transfer is approved , the approval will be re-evaluated each semester IF:

• The parent/guardian indicates the choice to renew this form and updates the address each year.

• The above conditions for transfer continue to be met by the student.

Forms were sent home with current students last week. Additional forms may be downloaded from The Spillway or you may call the school office at 865-494-7171 and request a form.

Sixth Grade Field Trip: Knoxville Zoo May 16th

Parents and students put in your calendars for our May 16th field trip to the Knoxville Zoo. April 2nd we will send out permission slips with more information. Parents who would like to serve as chaperones for small groups of students at the zoo please use this link to sign up. We can’t wait to see you there!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeLVgITdMMCheQ2B9UfSNCex7mxNNQM4sdMP8mF8u1VSD_Geg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Math:

We recently wrapped up our 6th grade math standards and are beginning a review of the Tennessee State Standards in preparation for our upcoming Math TNReady assessment. Please check Google Classroom regularly for ways to support your child’s success.

ELA:

This week students have been voting on Round 2 in Poetry March Madness. They also participated in a poetry question trail and learning stations.

Next week, we will wrap up learning stations. We will also be working on some text structure review and other skills. Students IXL F.5 will be due Friday, April 12!

Social Studies:

This past week we learned about the Fall of Rome, the Christian Religion, and Ancient Roman Achievements. Next week we will be wrapping up our study on Rome. We will take our Rome Unit Exam on Wednesday 4/10. Our Rome Study Guide and Notebook will be due the same day. We will then transition to reviewing for the TNReadyon April 25th.

Science:

Next week we will wrap up our investigation of the rainforest ecosystem as we design sustainable oil palm farms that support biodiversity and the orangutan population.

The week of April 15 - 19 is SHARK WEEK in sixth grade science! We will review for the TNReady test by watching videos, reading graphs, and answering questions all about sharks. Today our Senator Time classes got a head-start on Shark Week by having a Zoom presentation with marine scientist (and former NMS student) Zeke Meyers. Zeke is going to have a Q & A session via Zoom during Senator Time next Friday, April 12 with students interested in science related fields. Students are encouraged to wear shark themed clothing during our Shark Week!

ELA: This week in ELA, students wrapped up their practice of figurative language by creating a visual analysis of a chosen song. Students analyzed the figurative language in their song and drew pictures to represent the meaning of the figurative language. To end the week, students began reading two short stories to analyze character interaction. Next week, 7th grade will continue to dive deep into standards practice and test taking strategies to prepare for the upcoming TNReady tests.

Social Studies: This week we wrapped up our unit on the Protestant Reformation by using Quizizz to review; then we took the unit assessment in MasteryConnect. Class averages were in the 80s across the board, showing not only mastery, but the hard work students have been putting in lately! To finish out the week, we began our next unit, the Scientific Revolution. We will be learning about all the major breakthroughs and advancements of the Renaissance era and the people responsible for them. Topics will include the geocentric vs heliocentric theories, elliptical orbits, the microscope and telescope, the discovery of gravity, the establishment and popularization of the scientific method, the Laws of Motion, and scientists such as Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Sir Francis Bacon, and Sir Isaac Newton. These are exciting times in history!

Science: Students took a look into Earth’s Atmosphere and how human activity can impact its composition. Check skyward and encourage students to do Q4 quiz corrections and make up from checklist grades if needed. We will wrap up starting this week with their final project on biomedical engineering. Students will also be completing review packets in class as we approach testing.

7.ETS2: Links Among Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

1) Examine a problem from the medical field pertaining to biomaterials and design solution taking into consideration the criteria, constraints, and relevant scientific principles of the

problem that may limit possible solutions.

Math: 7th grade students will practice problem solving by hand next week. We will review fraction and decimal operations. Students will also participate in problem solving workshops. They will share strategies and develop vocabulary essential for the 7th grade TN Ready test to be administered later in April.

Thank you everyone for a great week! Our young scientists are continuing to work on their TCAP practice packets. The first packet was due this Wednesday and the second packets is due next Tuesday. Please contact Mrs. Bayne or Mr. Oldham should you have any questions.

Social studies and taking notes on Presidential Reconstruction and Southern Resistance to the 13th,14th, and 15th Amendment

Happy Friday! This past week we experienced talented suspense writer Edgar Allen Poe. Students learned how tragic his 40 year life was, but how his talent as a writer earned him the reputation of the most famous horror/mystery writer in the world. We read his famous short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" and analyzed how he used point of view and setting to create suspense.

Eighth graders will continue to work on sustained silent reading, vocabulary, and literary elements that will be present on upcoming state testing. The morning of Monday, April 8th the entire school will complete a practice writing test to prepare for the writing portion of the TCAP exam. Eighth grade has put in a lot of time and effort working on our writing craft this year, so we project great results!

Math students have wrapped up a unit of study on scientific notation. Next week, we will begin our final new unit of study on probability and statistics. TNReady testing for math will begin Monday, April 22nd, so please encourage your student to finish strong during this next two weeks of instruction and review.

NMS will be having a school wide talent show on Friday, May 10 to celebrate our students' amazing abilities. Students may perform individually or with a group, and they will be performing in front of the entire school. Singing, dancing, comedy….encourage your child to participate in this awesome opportunity!

Students will be asked to submit a 1-2 minute video clip (to the NMS Talent Show Google Classroom - code: x4n2zwc) of the talent they will be performing for the teachers to review. If they are performing with a group, all members need to be present in the audition video. The deadline for these video auditions is Monday, April 29th at 11:59pm. Please see Mrs. Thurman if you have any questions.

Track - Last night, our track and field team traveled to Maryville for the Maryville Middle School Meet. We had many outstanding performances from our athletes. Making personal bests for the season are:

Cassie Newman 100M

Parker Good 100M

Stephen Blakney 100M

Ahleya Hancock 200M

Owen Olson 200M

Rebekah Berg 1600M and 800M

Emma Owen 800M

The Girls’ 4 by 100M Relay Team

A huge shout out to our scoring athletes–The Boys’ 4 by 100M Relay Team scored with their 11th Place finish. Parker Good placed 5th in the Long Jump and Rebekah Berg placed 4th in both the 1600M and 800M. – She also joined the Sub-6 Club by breaking a 6:00 minute mile with her 5:56 finish in the 1600M.

Great job to our track team!

Our next meet is next Friday in Campbell County!!

Our baseball team remained undefeated on the year while defeating two county rivals this week. The Senators took down Clinton on Monday evening and then Norwood on Thursday. The team hosts Champmanville Middle tonight who is coming in from West Virginia. First pitch is at 5:30.

The Lady Senators are capping off another successful week tonight as well as they play host to Norwood @ 6:00. They also faced off against Fort Loudon Middle last night and brought home the Win. Keep it up ladies!