The Eaglet

The Fox River Grove Middle School (FRGMS) staff is so excited to welcome students back to our building. We had a great first week getting to know our students and are ready to drive into helping our students grow academically, socially, and emotionally.

This Thursday, August 31st is Parent Night. I will start at 6 PM with a presentation in the MP room. Parents will then be able to walk their child's schedule and meet the teachers.

On September 6th and 7th, we have NWEA MAP Testing. These tests help us determine where students are currently at in math and reading. Teachers use this data to help differentiate in their classroom and track progress over the course of the year.

Don't forget to follow us on Social Media and download our App, FRGSD3!

August 31st - MS Parent Night

September 6th and 7th - NWEA MAP Testing

September 15th - 8th Grade Field Trip

Drop off and pick up locations have changed this year. Buses now park near the south side of the building on Orchard Street. This area is for Bus Parking only. Parents can drop off and pickup in the main lot or along Midway Street. Please ensure you are following all traffic signs and stopping when the Bus arms are out.

Students visit once a week during literature class. Students’ Accelerated Reader goals (grades 6-8) will be set after fall MAP testing. Fifth graders are starting off with an 8 point goal for all students so they can learn and practice.

Three things determine a 6th-8th student’s AR goal: current MAP Lexile level, total weeks (12), and reading minutes per day (15 for trimester 1). Reminder: goals go up throughout the year. Returning students will find that their goals have gone down since last year, because they are expected to read for 10 fewer minutes in trimester 1 than they were expected to read last year’s trimester 3.

For safety purposes, students will be expected to wear proper footwear to PE this year. Students without proper footwear will not be allowed to participate. In 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, they will lose points off of their grade when they have to sit out. Students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade need to wear their PE uniform during class every day. Students will be playing soccer, football, kickball, and other assorted games outside in the beginning of the year.

Beginning Band: 5th Grade Band students will be learning all about their new instruments, such as how to care for them, put them together, and play our first notes. The Beginning Band meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the 5th Grade Study Hall period. Students should check the Sectional Schedule posted outside the band room for their assigned weekly lesson time.

Symphonic Band: The 6th-8th Grade Band is starting off the year on a high note by joining the Cary Grove Marching Trojan Band for Middle School Marching Band Night on September 8th. We will learn fun tunes such as “Twist and Shout” and the CGHS School Song, “Go You Trojans.” Symphonic Band meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45-3:25pm. Students should check the Sectional Schedule posted outside the band room for their assigned weekly lesson time.

Choir: The FRG Choir is open to all students in 5th-8th grade. Students will be starting off the year with community building activities, ice breakers, and sight reading practice. In addition to developing our music reading skills, we will explore warm-ups that develop our breath support, tone production, and musicality. Choir meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:45-3:25pm.

Art Club will begin for 8th Grade students Tuesday, Sept. 5th from 2:45-3:30. Mrs. Bentle is excited to host this awesome club that will allow students to discover a variety of art forms while also being able to connect with other students in a safe environment.

Pep Club will meet on Friday mornings at 7 AM. Entrance for Pep Club is the entrance on the south west side of the school (Midway St.) Please be aware that if you arrive earlier than 7 AM there may not be anyone available to let you in the building. The goal of Pep Club is to raise school spirit by creating posters to promote the Middle School's various activities. Pep Club is open to all FRG Middle School students 5-8th grade.

"I am most looking forward to joining clubs and the field trips." Aidan Hester

"I am excited to expand my mind this school year as much as I can, and I'm also excited about the upcoming field trips this year!" Sebastian Koprowicz

"The basketball team and the games." Ryan Borzych

"I'm most looking forward to the six flags field trip." Riley Blumer

"Going to the dinner dance, or six flags, these are both very special events that we hopefully will earn!" Alivia Myers

"To get good grades!" Shayla Garcia

"Friends, graduating with a 4.0 or higher gpa, win more then 1 game in soccer, six flags, nice teachers." Patrick Lipski

Lit: Students will learn about literary genres before moving onto our first class novel, Front Desk by Kelly Yang. This novel will be accompanied by class discussions, comprehension activities, and vocabulary.

GW: Students will start with a grammar unit on basic punctuation. They will then begin the first large piece of writing, a personal narrative.

Math: Students will be learning about place value concepts followed by numerical expressions. This year in math place value focuses on decimals to the thousandths. In numerical expressions, we will be focusing on order of operations. The first week has been great and I am looking forward to a successful year in math.

Resource Math will review addition and subtraction facts and build towards multiplication skills.

Science: Students will be learning to represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.

SS: Students will work through mini units on culture & heritage, maps, and timelines. The following unit will be a large segment on Native American culture and history.

Art: Students will be focusing on the element of art ‘form’ for the next few weeks in class. Students will have the opportunity to engage in creative exploration both as an individual as well as working in a team to create an abstract sculpture made out of paper. In class we will be learning about a variety of artists including but not limited to: August Rodin, Jean Arp and Sandy Skoglund.

Music: Music students will begin the year by focusing on music literacy, which is the ability to read and write musical notation. By learning to demonstrate steady beat, read rhythmic notation, and read pitches on the Treble Clef staff, we will prepare ourselves for a semester of collaborative music-making! Musical vocabulary to be highlighted: beat, rhythm, meter, and pitch.

Lit: Students have begun the novel unit for Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. This takes students back to The Great Depression as the main character, 10-year-old Bud, sets out to find his father. The story provides much discussion about the importance of family, hope, and trust. Accelerated Reader begins this week as literature classes visit the CLC and meet with their teacher to set trimester 1 goals.

GW: We have begun the year with The Best Part of Me. This week we begin our podcast listening, Vocabulary.com assignments, poem writing, and sequence writing. Throughout the trimester we will prepare for the descriptive writing paper and work on grammar lessons.

6th Grade Math: Students will start the year by learning numerical expressions and factors. Our focus to start will be on powers and exponents, order of operations, and prime factorization.

6th Accelerated Math: The students will start the year off learning about integers and rational numbers. We will be focusing on adding and subtracting positive and negative integers and rational numbers.

Science: Students will be learning to develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.

SS: As we begin the school year, 6th grade will be taking its first steps into ancient civilizations. Early hunter and gatherers begin to convert to a more agrarian society, and the first societies emerge in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia.

Music: Music students will begin the year by focusing on music literacy, which is the ability to read and write musical notation. By learning to demonstrate steady beat, read rhythmic notation, and read pitches on the Treble Clef staff, we will prepare ourselves for a semester of collaborative music-making! Musical vocabulary to be highlighted: beat, rhythm, meter, and pitch.

Art: Students will be focusing on the element of art ‘form’ for the next few weeks in class. Students will have the opportunity to engage in creative exploration both as an individual as well as working in a team to create an abstract sculpture made out of paper. In class we will be learning about a variety of artists including but not limited to: August Rodin, Jean Arp and Sandy Skoglund.

Health: 6th graders Health focuses on the body systems. Students will learn how they all work and are interrelated.

Lit: Our year starts with the short story, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling. The first class novel will be Flush by Carl Hiaasen. This novel provides several opportunities for discussions on environmental issues along with review of both literature devices and terms. We will also be continuing Accelerated Reader for students to be completing as independent readers throughout the three trimesters.

Resource Literature will also be starting the year reading Rikki-Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling. Then our first novel will be Flush by Carl Hiaasen. This year the students will continue to read independently through our Accelerated Reader Program.

GW: We have kicked off the year with The Best Part of Me. Our trimester 1 major writing project will be a biography research paper. Students will learn how to create notecards and annotated source cards, outlines, parenthetical citation, and works cited page. In addition, vocabulary.com spelling and vocabulary lists will be assigned in conjunction with our literature units. Grammar lessons will be stand alone as well as integrated with writing. Finally, we will follow a podcast and complete listening pages.

Resource GW: After getting to know one another better with “My Life In Pictures” they will write about “The Best Part of Me” Once we get to know one another, the students will start doing a research paper. Students will learn how to create notecards and annotated source cards, outlines, parenthetical citation, and works cited page.

7th/8th Resource Math: The students will start the year off by reviewing multiplying and dividing numbers. We will be reviewing addition, subtraction as well as introducing fractions and ratios.

7th Grade Math: Students will start off the year by adding and subtracting rational numbers. To begin, we will focus on exploring rational numbers, then moving in to adding integers and rational numbers, and then learning how to subtract them.

7th Accelerated Math: The students will start the year off by reviewing integers and rational numbers. We will be focusing on adding, subtracting, multiplying & dividing positive and negative integers and rational numbers.

Algebra: The students will be reviewing and learning how to solve linear equations. We will begin by solving simple equations and move to multi-step equations.

Science: Students will be learning about how to interact with science, such as creating graphs, recording data, and evaluating the results. Afterwards, students will begin the unit on cells, organelles, and the similarity and differences between animal and plant cells.

SS: Students will be learning about the beginnings of America starting with the English Colonies.

STEM: In 7th grade STEM, students will begin to learn about the design process and how to sketch in 3D.

General: On September 15, our 8th graders will be taking a fun field trip to expand on their study of space and robotics. They will be going to the Challenger Learning Center in Woodstock. More details will be coming home soon.

Lit: In 8th grade literature, we will begin the school year by delving into the theme of Dystopian vs Utopian societies. We will start off with the classic short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson before diving into the theme deeper with The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Resource Literature: The 8th grader will be reading “Stargirl”. This year the students will continue to read independently through our Accelerated Reader Program.

GW: After getting to know one another better with My Life In Pictures and The Personal Resume, 8th grade will begin its first major project, The Demonstration Paper and Presentation. Students will have their first opportunity to practice their public speaking skills!

Resource GW: Students will get to know one another with My Life in Pictures and Personal Resume’. After the resume they will start writing a Demonstration Paper and then have the opportunity to give a demonstration by publicly speaking to the class.

7th/8th Resource Math: The students will start the year off by reviewing Multiplying and dividing numbers. We will be reviewing addition, subtraction as well.

8th Grade Math: Students will start the year working with equations and move into transformations.

Algebra: The students will be reviewing and learning how to solve linear equations. We will begin by solving simple equations and move to multi-step equations.

Geometry: Students will start out by learning about lines and reviewing material from Algebra.

Science: Students will be learning about how to interact with science, such as creating graphs, recording data, and evaluating the results. Afterwards, students will begin the unit on astronomy, the Earth-Moon-Sun System, and the formation and motion of galaxies.

SS: Students will be learning about the Five Themes of Geography. With each theme, they will be doing assignments to enhance their understanding of the concept and will conclude with a Themes of Geography mosaic project.

Health: In this trimester, students will be learning about the dangers of Drugs, alcohol and tobacco have on them as teens.

Spanish: Students are researching a Spanish Spanish-speaking country and are going to present what they’ve learned to the class. We are learning how to greet people, say goodbyes, and common courtesy phrases.

STEM: In 8th grade STEM, students will start the year by getting an introduction to robotics and coding.