Whitehall-Coplay Middle School

GINGERBREAD HOUSE COMPETITION

**In their period 2 classes, students have selected groups to work with to create gingerbread houses for the competition.

**They will create their house December 20th during periods 2&3.

**All owed work must be completed by 12/18 to participate.

**If they did not talk to you already, please ask your students about what necessary materials they need to bring in for their group.

**Materials need to be in by 12/15 at the latest (preferably by 12/11). They took letters home explaining everything.

Science - Students will be completing culminating activities for our chapter on rocks. There will be a vocabulary quiz on Friday.

Math - Students will begin Lesson 13 on Absolute Value and Ordering Numbers. The quiz will be Tuesday, December 19th.

English - Students will continue to work on lessons in the verb chapter. Also, they will learn how to evaluate argumentative pieces of writing, as well as start to write their own essays.

Science - Students will finish up Chapter 4 on rocks by the end of this upcoming week. Vocabulary Quiz on Friday the 15th and a Chapter Test on the 19th. All review materials were posted on Google Classroom back on Nov. 17th

Math - Students will begin Lesson 13 on Absolute Value and Ordering

English - Students will be reading an argumentative piece, and we will continue to focus on root words, author’s point of view, and cause and effect.

Social Studies - Students are labeling, coloring, and studying the countries and capitals of Central America and the Caribbean. They will also create silly sentence mnemonic devices to help remember the locations of these places.

Assignments

Science - We have wrapped up our study of photosynthesis and respiration. We will be moving on to asexual and sexual reproduction as it relates to mitosis and meiosis in cells. Students will have a bioterm builder quiz on or around the 13th. Flashcards have been posted (Google Classroom) and students should study sets 5 & 6.

Math - In Mrs. Kinani’s class, we will be finishing lesson 13 and reviewing lesson 12 and 13 together to take the test on Friday 12/15. Please make sure that students charge their chromebooks every night.

Drey - Students will continue working on Lesson 13 (Percent error & percent change). In accelerated, students will be completing Lesson 15, in which they will be writing linear expressions. Students must turn in their completed Taco Truck projects on Monday, 12/11.

English - We will be assessing Stave 3 at the beginning of the week. We will then start Staves 4 and 5 and find out what the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come has in store for Scrooge and what his ultimate fate is. Please continue to discuss what we are reading in class at home. Daily Language Review will be completed and assessed this week and throughout the year.

Science - Students will continue learning about cells in Chapter 2 by focusing on Chapter 2.4 - Cells and Energy, which discusses cellular respiration and photosynthesis. Students will also be back in the lab using the microscopes and observing osmosis in action (a review of Chapter 2.3!)

Math - Students will continue studying Lesson 12-13, studying percent change and simple interest. They will begin their Taco Truck project to prepare for their test. In accelerated, students are studying how to simplify and write linear expressions (lesson 15 & 16). There will be a quiz later in the week. Their Taco Truck projects for Mrs. Wiersch are due Monday 12/11.

English - In English this week, there will be an assessment on Stave 3 of A Christmas Carol in the beginning of the week. We will then finish our reading of A Christmas Carol with Stave 4 “Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come”, and Stave 5 “The End of It”. We will have Daily Grammar and a Daily Grammar Quiz.

Social Studies - Students will be discussing Chapter 4:1-2 and 1-3 and learn how agriculture encouraged the development of communication and kingdoms in Egypt and how strong kings united Egypt and made Egypt powerful. In addition, students will label a map of Egypt. Don’t forget about the weekly “Do Now” quiz on Friday!

Science - Students will be wrapping up chapter 2 on forces and Newton’s Laws. Balloon Car Projects are due Tuesday., 12/12.

Math - In 8th grade math, we will be working on our next lesson on Proportional Relationships. In Algebra, we are solving problems with linear systems.

English - In general English, we are continuing our novel study of Freak the Mighty. In accelerated classes, we are beginning Act 1 of The Diary of Anne Frank

Social Studies - In social studies we will continue with chapter 4. The outline for 4-3 is due Monday 12/11 and 4-4 is due Friday 12/15. The test is Friday 1/ 5.

Science - In Science we are working on Balloon cars. These are due Tues 12/12. Study Island #16 is due Friday. We will finish Newton’s Laws of motion this week.

Math - In 8th grade math, we will be finishing up our lesson on Proportional Relationships and taking a quiz somewhere around Wednesday. Students will then be working with slope-intercept form. In Algebra, we will be continuing our unit on Systems of Equations and working with the Substitution Method.

English - In 8th grade English, we will continue reading Freak the Mighty and begin organizing examples for our TDA. In Accelerated English, we will continue reading The Diary of Anne Frank. In both courses, we will continue our weekly grammar (DLR) and daily vocabulary.

Students will participate in our floor hockey unit. Sneakers are required each day in order to participate in class.

6th Grade: Students will begin our Body Systems Project on Tuesday 12/12. Students will have 3 full days in class to work on the presentation with their groups and will present their project on 12/15 or 12/18.

7th Grade: Students will be continuing our Safety & First Aid Unit. The unit will culminate with our First Aid: Quiz on Monday 12/18.

8th Grade: Students will be learning about the Female Reproductive System. The unit will culminate with the Female Reproductive System: Quiz on Thursday 12/14.

Our 6th-grade STEM students engage with the Everfi program's Math section, immersing themselves in interactive lessons that blend technology and mathematics to foster a deeper understanding of key concepts.

In the upcoming week, 7th and 8th-grade Technology Education students embark on a comprehensive exploration of craftsmanship. They'll learn the art of precision with the bandsaw, experiment with creative shaping using the router, and delve into digital woodworking with the CNC router, fostering skills that blend traditional and modern techniques.

6th: Creative Computing students will continue their ‘Scratch’ review by creating their digital nametags using block coding to complete the ‘Animate a Name’ project

7th: Comp Programming & Design students will design and test LEGO vehicles and finish their discussion of the Design Process by using Canva to create their team logos

8th: Career Ed students will finish our lesson on Employability Skills, completing a self-assessment skills inventory and presenting on a specific employability skill that their group researched; teams will also complete the creation of a digital logo and begin brainstorming project ideas for Shark Tank business plan presentations.

6th Grade: Students will finish their rhythm unit and move onto the history of music notation. We will begin to learn the basics of writing music and treble clef.

7th grade: Students will begin their unit on Music in media. We will talk about Jingles and how jingles use music to promote their company products.

8th grade: 8th grade students will begin their unit on the introduction of the music industry, with an introduction to the treble clef in order to prepare for our piano unit.

6th graders will be finishing their color theory mandalas and begin looking into how value is used to draw realistically.

7th graders will be putting the last touches onto their pop art triptychs followed by an exploration into perspective and how we view the world.

8th graders start drawing their realistic self portraits, focusing on proportion and shading.

Students will be learning numbers 0-31 and the months. They will also be introduced to different weather expressions.

Students will continue to review the months of the year, days of the week, and learn how to express the weather in German.

On Friday, December 1st our 8th grade gifted students went to the Free Library of Philadelphia for a private tour of their Rare Books Collection. Students got to visit the writing desk of Charles Dickens, plus see the only handwritten copy of Edgar Allen Poe’s manuscript of “The Raven.” We also toured the Edgar Allen Poe museum, which incorporated a recitation of “The Raven.” Students really enjoyed the library the most and engaged in a scavenger hunt made by Dr. Pisco to tour the library independently. Students will conduct a Socratic Seminar on “The Raven,” during our gifted classroom time.

On Tuesday, December 5th the 7th grade gifted students enjoyed a performance of A Christmas Carol at Civic Theatre. Students stated they LOVED the performance, and the production choices made by the director to encapsulate the core themes of the novel they are readying in their ELA class during the month of December.

6th grade gifted students will travel to the Museum of Industrial Technology in Bethlehem on Thursday, December 7th-we can’t wait to share about our experience next week!

This week, the library has several new book displays including, books about inclusivity, STEAM careers, STEAM projects, and holidays that are celebrated in December. We also added over 50 new books to the collection in the both the fiction and nonfiction sections. The next Reading Olympics meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 13th after school.