November/December 2012

Dear Parents,

'Tis the "official" season for giving; however, at John Glenn Middle School the commitment to give back to others stretches from early September to late June. As a middle school community, we believe that it is our shared responsibility alongside parents to create varied opportunities for students to embark on service projects to continue to develop their civic conscientiousness..

I am incredibly proud of our students and staff for taking the initiative to make our school a better place and for their many efforts to assist those people less fortunate.

Listed below are just a few highlights. I hope they warm your heart, as they did mine.

• In collaboration with the Beacon Santa program, Ms. Eaton leads our school-based efforts to provide vouchers to families in the Bedford community that may be used to purchase food, clothing and toys for the holidays.
• Through November and December, our JGMS Student Council, advised by Ms. Noferi and Ms. Mangini, kicks off its annual Coats for Kids coat drive. The student-organized event asks families to donate gently used coasts and drop them off to marked boxes around the school. In turn, the coats are delivered to Anton's Cleaners where they are cleaned and distributed to families throughout New England. The collection runs from November 19th to January 12th.
• Since November 26th, the Student Council has set-up its "Giving Tree" in the main lobby. The rather interesting looking palm tree is adorn with paper apples. On each apple, the Student Council has written pre-teen gift ideas for any individual or groups of students, teachers, advisories...etc. to pick. If someone chooses to take part in the tradition, they purchase the gift and drop it off in Ms. Noferi's classroom. After December 6th, the Student Council organizes the gifts and delivers them to the Home for Little Wanderers, in time for their holiday distribution.
• Also organized through our wonderful Student Council, the traditions of Penny Wars and Valentine's Day Flower/Candy Sale are here to stay. Penny Wars invokes fierce competition among grade levels to donate change. Each grade level chooses a charity and the winning grade donates all of the collected change to their charity. Last year, the school raised over $200.00 for the 6th grade chosen charity, The MA Humane Society. After all, who doesn't love puppies? The Valentine's Day Flower/Candy Sale urges students and staff to buy flowers and candy around Valentine's Day. All of the profits go to the Bedford Council on Aging to help pay for home heating costs for Bedford residents.
• Staff and students within our Bridge Program have dedicated the entire month of December to their "volunteerism" unit. Among the many planned activities will be writing letters and cards to troops stationed overseas and volunteering at a local food pantry.
• Starting in January/February, the staff and students begin their planning for this year's Relay for Life event. JGMS traditionally has many student and staff teams compete in this national event to raise money for cancer treatment and research.
• Ms. McGraw (who is too modest to toot her own horn) has developed a fantastic idea to get away with an advisory party and still maintain a clear conscience. Every time her advisory has a party, they need to bring in food for the local food pantry!
• In recognizing that one in six people in the country struggle with food insecurity and that Bedford is not immune to this sad reality, Ms. Mallott and her advisory runs a school-wide food drive to benefit the Bedford Community Table and Food Pantry in the Spring.
• At an upcoming event, the Chain Reaction Committee and Ms. Smith will be throwing a "holiday card writing party" to create and mail cards to a number of organizations, including, but not limited to the Pine St. Inn, an assisted living group, a local veteran's organization, Heading Home and the Crossroads family shelter.

To ensure that every child has the opportunity to feel connected to JGMS,

• The PALS Program is kicking off its first event on Wednesday, December 12th. For those who may not know of this terrific program, PALS is an organized way for students in our LABBB program to bond with our JGMS students. The LABBB Collaborative Program helps students with special needs reach their full potential in a classroom setting that integrates academic, social, recreational and vocational services. The JGMS LABBB program fosters the values of independence, responsibility and community awareness in order to prepare for high school and beyond. The LABBB program at John Glenn Middle School serves students in the Autism Spectrum Disorders, Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities and other Neuro-cognitive challenges. Most of the LABBB students are integrated within the building and participate in inclusion opportunities. As part of the PALS program, students will participate in ice-breakers, board and card games, cooking, movies, arts/ crafts and the Special Olympics in May. The program is a wonderful opportunity for both LABBB and JGMS students to share their time with some new friends and create friendships.

In support of the school's efforts to protect and be respectful of our environment,

• On Thursday, November 15th, the student leaders of the Chain Reaction Committee with staff members, Ms. Ham, Ms. Anderson and Officer Waite, were joined by over 50 student volunteers to clean-up our courtyard and the surrounding school grounds. This event was rescheduled twice due to inclement weather, but the students displayed great resolve and refused to allow cold weather to cancel the event. Armed with rakes, bags and plenty of hot chocolate, the students and staff spent the afternoon beautifying our school and fostering community spirit among all grade levels.
• The Science Club, led by Ms. Ferri and Ms. Scaltreto, continue their work in collaboration with the Alliance for Climate Education. This work includes designing, planning and implementing energy saving initiatives and recycling efforts throughout our school. In addition to launching our plastic, glass and aluminum recycling program, the students in the Science Club also lead the charge in collecting and recycling print cartridges, re-chargeable batteries and cell phones!

Nothing exemplifies service better than the commitment and sacrifice of our military service men and women and their families. In their honor,

• Students from our 6th grade Orange Team created cards for the Veteran's at the V.A. Hospital in Bedford. The 83 cards were delivered in time for Veterans' Day. One touched recipient stated, "Your thoughtfulness reflects the concern that you feel for our Veterans and for the service they provided to all of us while in service to our country". A number of our students also remarked how pleased they were to create these cards because they also volunteer at the V.A. Hospital in Bedford as part of their Scout troupe and hoped that some of the Veterans they worked with would receive one of these cards.
• As Memorial Day approaches, many JGMS students enter the Memorial Day Essay contest to honor our nation's heroes. The contest's winner reads their essay at the town's Memorial Day ceremony.
• Every year, the 8th grade chooses 4 students (1 boy and 1 girl from each team) to represent JGMS during a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on our Washington, DC trip. The action exemplifies the importance of citizenship and acknowledges the incredible sacrifice many soldiers make in defense of our values and freedom.

These events, and the students and staff who help lead the efforts, are just a few more reasons why I am "thankful" and proud to be the JGMS principal.

May you enjoy a wonderful, "restful" holiday season with your friends and family.

All the best,

Kevin

 

Picture: Participants in the 2012 Courtyard Clean-Up, You Rock!

Principal's Accolades

For their tireless dedication to volunteerism, promoting a positive school culture and proactively looking for ways to better themselves and those around them, this edition's "Principal's Accolades" goes out to the phenomenal students on the Chain Reaction Committee. Whether it is educating others around the importance of respect and acceptance, organizing fundraisers or various philanthropic events, lending a hand to staff and the administration, these students stand as an exemplar for advocacy and character. Congratulations, Chain Reaction Committee. I am very proud of you and thankful for all of your efforts.

Most recently, members of the Committee worked collaboratively with representatives from the Bedford Youth and Family Services (BYFS) to analyze the Youth Risk Behavior Survey results. In turn, they created posters to display around the school to educate our school community around important social issues.

Just a few great examples...

99% of JGMS students have never tried marijuana.

85% of JGMS students feel well connected to an adult. 

90% of JGMS students have never tried a drink of alcohol.

96% of JGMS students have never tried smoking a cigarette.

Library News

Book Circulation

Students are reading, reading, and reading! Currently over 700 books are checked out. English teachers have assigned new book projects.

7th grade teachers Ms. McGraw and Ms. D'Entremont directed their students to chose realistic fiction.

8th grade teachers Ms. Bemis and Ms. Stephen asked students to select fantasy, historical fiction, or non-fiction.

Ms. Stephen and Ms. Bemis require outside reading for all students. Level 1 are to read 4 to 10 books throughout the year and Level 2 students are required to read 4 to 7 books. Kids complete reader responses and maintain reading logs. Students select books from our library when accompanied by their teacher or on a pas during enrichment periods.

Library Activity

Ms. Bakarian led her 6th graders through a remarkable project. Students recreated familiar fairy tales in the culture of various African countries.

They worked in pairs and wrote stories and created displays for classroom presentations.

Ms.Grant began work on the Changemaker report. 6th grade students will be investigating people who have made significant contributions to society. They will be using books and databases to acquire information. Students will learn to cite sources accurately.

Popular Books

Teenagers are enthralled with "dystopia" books thanks to The Hunger Games. Here are some new and noteworthy titles.

Here is a student review of this popular book. It shows that being different is not always a bad thing. Action and suspense kept me reading until I finished it. If you like books about powers, evil plots, and friendship, this book is for you.

In an overpopulated world where all signs of nature have been obliterated and a wall has been erected to keep out plague-ridden animals, twelve-year-old Mika refuses to believe that his twin sister was killed after being abducted, and continues to search for her in spite of the dangers he faces in doing so.

Three teens embark upon a cross-country journey in order to escape from a society that salvages body parts from children ages thirteen to eighteen. 

8th Grade News

With the holiday season upon us, and the winter season officially underway, the 8th graders have continued to bring enthusiasm and leadership to JGMS and their individual classrooms. With the winter vacation a couple of weeks away, you can imagine that the excitement level has certainly increased in lower A Wing. We encourage parents to remind their children to work hard until the close of school on December 21st! We hope all of our JGMS families have a wonderful holiday season and a restful and enjoyable winter break!

Below are some of the academic highlights for both the Green and the Grey Teams:

English:

Mrs. Stephen and Ms. Bemis have introduced their students to Edgar Allan Poe and his philosophy of careful word choice and conscientious development of a single effect to create powerful writing. After a grammar review detailing when to use quotation marks or underlining and how to properly quote dialogue, we will be working on a personal narrative. The topic of this in-class writing assignment is to describe a winter memory based on change in you or someone around you. This two to four page story will be collected on 12/20 to provide us with some exciting reading over the winter break!

Social Studies:

Students in Mr. Casey's and Mr. Nagle's classes are continuing their study of the Middle Ages in Europe and are currently finishing their units on the Crusades and the Black Death. Coming attractions include a major technology project on the Renaissance period and the impact the Humanist Movement had on the development of the Western World. This project will begin before the December break and will be due sometime in mid- January.

Math:

The current unit of study in Pre-Algebra classes involves factors, fractions and exponents. In this unit, students use factorization of numbers and also factor monomials. Students find the greatest common factor and least common multiple of numbers and monomials and use these quantities to simplify, compare and order fractions and mixed numbers.

Algebra classes have recently completed a unit on functions. Students represented functions in a variety of ways, such as graphs, tables, equations or words. Students also explored when each representation could be particularly useful.

Finally, assessments for high school placements will begin taking place in January. All students will complete a midterm as well as program inventory, which will be used to help make recommendations for 9th grade.

Science:

On the Green Team, students have just completed lessons on Minerals and are beginning a unit on Rocks.

In the upcoming weeks students will learn how rocks differ from minerals. Students will be engaged in many hands-on activities throughout this unit. Together we will design an experiment to look at how mechanical weathering affects different types of rocks. Students will conduct the experiment in groups and do a formal lab report individually.

After rocks, we will move onto our study of the geologic history of our planet.

8th GRADE WASHINGTON D.C. TRIP

A reminder to all 8th grade parents that the deadline to register for the annual 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. trip is rapidly approaching. Students are expected to have their initial deposits and registration submitted to World Strides by January 15th. Parents who are requesting financial assistance for their child are asked to send the request to principal Kevin Tracey by January 2nd.

A mandatory parent meeting regarding the trip will be held for all in April, but parents who have any questions surrounding the trip are asked to contact Mr. Casey.

7th Grade News

We hope that you enjoyed a pleasant Thanksgiving! Paper copies of report cards were sent home with students the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving and posted on Aspen, so we hope you have had a chance to see how your child did for 1st Quarter. If you have concerns about a particular class, please contact the teacher. If you have general concerns about trends across classes, you can contact the team leader (Liz Cowles for Navy or Allison Hammer for Purple) and/or Diana Siegenthaler, the Guidance Counselor. The second day of parent conferences will be held on Thursday, 12/13, between 4:00-7:00.

Here is what has been happening in the 7th grade classes.

Social Studies
Students recently finished their study of early humans. Classes have studied the world's transition from hunter-gatherer groups, to agricultural villages, to cities and civilizations. With the introduction of the Mesopotamia Unit, students will begin their first major writing assignment of the year. Using the six characteristics of a civilization, students will be creating a small-scale research paper that answers the question, "What makes the Mesopotamian city of Ur a civilization?" Students will be learning the basic format for history research papers and will be using their textbooks to conduct their research, which will help them prepare for more complex independent research assignments later on in the year.

Math
All 7th grade math classes just finished an Algebra unit on solving and graphing linear equations. They also all put great effort into the cartoon graphing projects submitted before Thanksgiving. The cartoons make a colorful and vibrant display in the math classrooms. The 7th Grade Mathematics classes are starting a unit on fractions. The 7th Grade Pre-Algebra classes are beginning a unit on ratios, proportions and percents. Students will also be working on Part II of their cartoon enlargement project, which will be due in January. Please check in with your child to make sure that they are bringing a calculator, pencils, and paper to class each day. Testing for 8th grade mathematics class placement will begin in early February. Placement will be determined by the results on these placement tests as well as on current class work.

Science
Wrapping up the unit on Ecology, students learned first-hand how the abiotic factors of an ecosystem, such as Hurricane Sandy, can have a major effect on the biotic components in an ecosystem, including the people and trees in Bedford. Recently students began to explore the microscopic world of cells. They are learning about cell parts and will be using microscopes to observe plant and animal cells in the weeks to come. In term 2, students will also be doing an at-home project where they create a 3-dimentional model of a cell.

English
Seventh grade English is going very well so far this second quarter. Students are continuing to improve their knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. They are finishing the Folklore unit in which they read and write fables and tall tales and learn about legends. Students will have a culminating assessment that will include a character description from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow soon. After that they will be beginning their first novel (either Wednesday Wars or The Witch of Blackbird Pond). Their next book project involves historical and realistic fiction.

While we realize that December is an exciting time for students with holidays, family visits, and an upcoming vacation, we also have much to learn and accomplish during this time. In all classes, there will continue to be meaningful learning experiences through the last day of school prior to the December vacation, so we appreciate the help you give to keep your child focused on homework and studies. We hope you enjoy the winter break!

6th Grade News

General Announcements:

Parent / Counselor Coffee:
A reminder that on Thursday, December 6th at 8:15, during Mr. Tracey's Parent Coffee, the parents of 6th grade students will be splitting off to meet with the Guidance staff . Come and meet the Guidance staff, network with each other, learn what to expect as a Middle School parent and how to navigate through these fun-filled years.

Museum of Science field trip:
On November 20th the entire 6th grade took an exciting field trip to the Museum of Science. The students had a blast exploring exhibits such as the Chick Hatchery, A Bird's World, The Hurricane booths (experiencing winds up to 80 miles per hour!), Shipwreck! (Pirates and Treasure), T. Rex and more. After eating their own lunches in the Riverview Cafe everyone viewed the Imax file "Amazing Caves". The students impressed all of us with their great behavior. A good time was had by all!

Student of the Month:
The Orange Team would like to congratulate Noah Southard on earning the prestigious honor of becoming October's Student of the Month. Noah is polite, hard-working and conscientious. He comes to class every day both ready to learn and enthusiastic about learning. Noah has excellent students skills, is a kind person, and shows leadership in his learning group.

The Yellow Team would like to congratulate Madison Filosa on achieving October's Student of the Month award. She has shown consistent effort in all her classes and is an all around great student.

Curriculum Updates:

Math: During our Museum of Science field trip, the 6th grade students on the Yellow team researched a famous mathematician. They completed a writing assignment in math class on their chosen mathematician. Students were fascinated to learn new and interesting material about people such as, Leonardo Da Vinci, Issac Newton and Majorie Lee Browne and how they contributed to Math and Science.

Currently in math, students are completing a tessellation project with a Reflection and a Rotation, two of the major concepts of transformations on the coordinate plane. The entire 6th grade will now start a Fractions unit that focuses on Prime Factorization, Greatest Common Factor, Least Common Multiple, all Operations with Fractions and eventually Ratio and Proportional reasoning.

English: On the Yellow team, we have completed The Magician's Nephew and have begun our "Change-Maker" Research Unit by practicing note-taking strategies. An important "essential question" for this unit is: How do I give credit to the people who I learn from when I research? We are working hard to understand the importance of accurately recording data and always giving credit our sources.

Students on the Orange Team have been working diligently on understanding the structure of a short story and how to identify conflict. They have also been working to improve their ability to write descriptively so that they can help the reader better experience their writing. They will be combining these skills into a large project in which they will be writing their own short stories and reading them to seventh and eighth graders. Perhaps the next "Great American Short Story" will come from right here in Bedford. Stay tuned...

Help Wanted in Keeping the Peace
In English class (Orange team), we often push our desks together for partner and group work. This creates a lot of unpleasant and distracting noise for the classroom below us. One solution is to have the students pick up their desks as they move them. As you can imagine, some of these desks are quite bulky and heavy for some of our sixth graders. Another solution is to cut tennis balls and put them on the "feet" of the desks. This means 22 desks x 4 tennis balls...88 tennis balls need to be purchased and have slits cut in them to be placed on the feet of the desks. If any parents would be willing to take on or help with this process, it would be greatly appreciated! Please contact Ms. Breakall via email.

Social Studies: Sixth grade social studies classes have been keeping busy the past several weeks with two group projects. This week, the Yellow and Orange social studies teams came together and played Africa Bingo. This activity gave students an opportunity to see their own connections to the continent of Africa. Please ask your child who Nelson Mandela is, where the word "guy" came from and how tires connect us to the continent of Africa.

Who Will Lead Us?
Students on the sixth grade orange team completed a unit to help them better understand the election. This unit was a combined English/social studies project in which students worked not only on understanding civics content but also on improving their reading, writing, and presentation skills. Each student became an expert on one of five topics: Medicare, Social Security, income taxes, health insurance, and/or foreign policy. Students were then placed in groups in which they shared their expertise and brainstormed solutions to these difficult challenges that America faces. Each group created a candidate and presented his/her ideas in a campaign speech to two combined learning groups. Miss Mallott and Ms. Breakall were thrilled with the outcomes and have no doubt that the next President of the United States may just come from Bedford! We also thought that you might be interested in hearing the solutions to some of these problems. These ideas were brought forward by the president-elect from each learning group. Enjoy!

Medicare:

• 25% of the highest earning individuals' paychecks should be used to pay for Medicare.
• Raise eligibility from 65 to 70.
• Charge higher taxes on luxury items such as cigarettes and alcohol.
• Pay for Medicare by cutting down on military spending until we are involved in a conflict.

Foreign Policy:

• The US should work to keep a strong military and to spread democracy worldwide. We should also sponsor money to help countries around the world achieve economic growth.
• The US should not help other countries financially until we are completely out of debt ourselves.
• The US should make treaties with trusted nations who will help us in the future.
• We should try to stop wars by sending foreign aid and forming treaties with feuding countries.
• If the problem is occurring inside another country, the U.S. should not become involved.

Social Security:

• Social security taxes should be based on a person's pay, and we should make sure that social security continues.
• Put a tax on all clothing to help pay for the program.

Income Tax:

• People who are wealthy and middle class should pay the same amount of income tax (%). Those who are poor should be required to pay less.
• The rich should be required to pay "a tiny bit more".
• The government should come up with three income tax proposals every four years. The people should then be able to vote on which proposals they think are the best.
• Rich people should pay less tax so that they can make investments in the community.

Health Insurance:

• Health insurance should be free through the federal government, but they should come up with ways to help eliminate abuse of the system. The government should pay for health insurance only for the poor and should make sure that preventative care is a part of it.
• The government should spend less on the military and use that money to lower the cost of health insurance.

Following the presentations students were asked to reflect on the project. The following is a collection of their reflections.

" I liked that I worked with my friends to learn so much political information."

" I learned what Social Security is... I have always wondered what it was because you hear about it all the time. "

" I learned that it takes a lot of time, courage and education to be a candidate."

"I learned that these issues are tricky. It was hard to think of a solution for them."

" I liked creating our candidate and presenting it to the other class."

"I learned that in politics people have different opinions."

" During the project I learned that no matter who you are when you are working in a group, you have to learn to get a long."

" Before this project I did not even know what foreign policy was."

"I liked the teamwork in this project."

" I learned that there are a lot of problems and things to consider when you apply for the job of president."

"I liked that we got to vote on our learning group president."

" I learned that being the president is a hard job and you have to have a lot of knowledge."

"During this project I learned that I am a bossy pants!"

SOS (Student Owned Strategies): By the end of Term 1, students completed their Author's Craft Project and then had the opportunity to share them during a book viewing. Students did a wonderful job utilizing the components of Author's Craft, while composing their books, which helped them to understand how to use text features and convey a message.

During Term 2, students will continue to relate to the Keys of Learning. They will also be learning about several different types of "Thinking Maps" to help them visually organize information. Each "Thinking Map" will be linked to what they are learning about in other subject areas. Students will then be introduced to a variety of reading strategies such as, two-column notes, highlighting, using sticky notes, picture mapping, and many more.

Science: In science, we're wrapping up our introduction of some basic science skills such as making observations and inferences, using metric measurements and designing and conducting experiments. Thank you for all of the contributions of Diet Coke and Mentos to help with this process! The kids designed some great experiments using these materials and seemed to have a good time doing it. Over the next few weeks, we'll be beginning our study of chemistry by focusing on mass, volume, and density before we get into understanding our world on the atomic level.

Spanish News

6th Grade

By the middle of October, students started Unidad 1 lección 1 of our new book Avancemos 1. They have learned how to talk about activities, what people like and do not like to do, and how to say and ask where people are from. On the cultural side, students are learning what teenagers do in Florida and where they go during their free time. They are also learning how Latino performers and athletes affect popular culture in the USA and how people celebrate history and culture in Miami, San Antonio or where they live.

7th Grade

In seventh grade the Spanish students are currently learning how to say what people are going to do, and use regular and irregular –er and –ir verbs to say what people do after school. They are also learning to use sequencing words to create better transitions in a paragraph. This improves their writing noticeably. This is the final chapter in the unit based in Mexico City. The next unit is in Puerto Rico and will include learning to extend invitations, talk on the phone, express feelings, and say where they are coming from and what just happened.

8th Grade

Students in Spanish 8 have been studying and practicing the art of bargaining for items sold at outdoor markets in Oaxaca, Mexico. Talking about shopping, making purchases and giving gifts are also embedded in this context. They have learned the vocabulary to describe many handicrafts and other items offered for sale at these outdoor markets. Grammar points include a group of o>ue stem changing verbs along with the review of the e>ie stem changing verbs studied during grade seven. Students are also reviewing the use and placement of direct objects and they are being introduced to the indirect object pronouns in Spanish.

French News

French 6

In 6th grade French we are finishing up unit 1. We are practicing possessive adjectives with various nouns and learning how to match them up properly. We are also learning family themed vocabulary. We are using Google Apps to create documents and a presentation on family. The students are progressing nicely with writing skills and dialogue. We are finishing up our second Babar video.

French 7

In 7th grade French we are finishing up Lecon 10 which focuses on indefinite and definite articles, negative forms and expressions that use the verb avoir. We have read about Haiti and will listen to some traditional music form Haiti. We have also looked at French nursery rhymes and how they help us with language learning. We are continuing to work with our readers.

French 8

We are finishing unit 6 which covers many important grammatical points and theme based vocabulary. Making comparisons, using IR and RE verbs, using adjectives, and demonstrative adjectives are all part of unit 6. We are currently finishing up lecon 20 which focuses on giving suggestions and commands and what youth like to do during their free time. Students created slide shows to demonstrate comparisons between friends and family.

Music News

CONCERT! The first music department concert will be held on Wednesday, December 19th, at 7 pm in the JGMS auditorium. This will be a combined concert with the Bands, Orchestras, Choruses, the Jazz Band and the Guitar Ensemble. Each group director will announce their own arrival times and warm-up locations. We hope to see you there. Admission is free.

MUSICAL! This year's annual Spring musical is "Once Upon A Mattress" Auditions for lead roles were held during the week of December 3rd. There is still time to sign up to be in the cast and crew - the deadline is Friday, December 14th. Rehearsals start on December 20th. Students interested in participation should pick up a packet from Mrs. Budka in the music room. Email us if you have any questions.

JUNIOR DISTRICT! Music students interested in auditioning for the annual Eastern District Junior Festival should see their directors for more information. Students are chosen by audition to participate in a music festival conducted by renowned clinicians. Auditions are open to members of band, orchestra and chorus students in grades 7 and 8. Instrumentalist should see their Mr. Maff or Mrs. O'Toole for more information. Coaching for Junior District CHORUS auditions are held on Mondays after school in the music room. If that time is inconvenient, see Mrs. Budka for alternatives.

JAZZ BAND! is an on-going after school music opportunity for all instrumental musicians, directed by Mrs. Budka. See her for more information.

GUITAR ENSEMBLE! is an on-going after school music opportunity for electric guitarists, bass players and drummers. See Mr. Grunwald for more information.

Tech Education & Art News

Tech Ed News

In the 7th grade, students will design, build, and test balsa bridges during the 2nd quarter. With regard to math connections, students will evaluate the efficiency of their bridges with a efficiency formula. During this unit of instruction, students will learn how forces act on a beam, arch, and suspension bridge. Students will research bridge technology here.

In the 8th grade, students are designing home floor plans using home design software. Home designs are required to adhere to the constraints of a design challenge. Throughout this unit, students will study construction technology. During the school year, the curriculum will focus on communication, construction, transportation,and manufacturing technology in order to prepare students for the Science & Engineering MCAS.

Visual Art News

Grade 8 - Students in Ms. Banks' classes recently finished a monumental mural project based on current social and political issues in society today. These murals were team projects, focusing on imagery and concept defined by the students, researched as a team, and designed as a work of public art for display. Teams celebrated the final pieces in a "Gallery Opening" in Ms. Banks' room. Teachers, administrators, and students were able to visit the gallery openings, speak to individual artists, and enjoy the works of these talented students. The idea of art communicating ideas to the public, with the potential to make changes in society, was the basis for these projects. Check out these murals in the hallways near the SOS rooms and the Library and be prepared to be wowed!

Grade 7- 7th graders are working on studies in value scales and designs incorporating shading in their work. Design elements utilizing concepts in shape, form, and value are the concepts we will be working with this month in Ms. Banks' room.

In Mr. Harrington's classes, students recently finished layered relief boxes dealing with layering, light, and communication based on the works of Henri Rousseau. These beautiful designs can be seen in the downstairs display cases near the art roooms.

Grade 6 - Students in Ms. Banks' room have been studying architectural designs and currently are working on Medieval castle creations. These drawings incorporate imaginative use of architectural comoponents while also working with value, light, and form. Studying how to use color to create value and form is the challenge in this project!

Notes from the Gifted and Talented and Differentiation Instruction Program

MathCounts News

MathCounts has taken the AMC 8 competition, a challenging multiple choice competition. While our scores have come in, the students have not yet heard the results, so stay tuned to the next newsletter to hear the surprising (yes, surprising!) news! The top 10 students will be invited to take the AMC 10 competition in February.

The MathCounts school competition takes places on January 28th. Students will need to stay until approximately 5:30 p.m. to compete.

Students may join MathCounts at any time. Just show up in B219 on Mondays at 2:30 p.m. The setting is relaxed for students who wish to just play with math, with opportunities for more focused work.

After school social time for students with advanced interests

If you will excuse the messy title above, students who are interested in playing around with ideas in a relaxed social setting are invited to be a part of the Never Eat Red Doughnuts Society (it is an acronym). No official membership is required. Our first meeting will be Tuesday, December 11th from 2:30 – 4:30, location to be announced. Our first topic is strategy games. Students may feel free to bring games, or just come and play the games provided. The purpose of the Normally Eagles Rinse Daily Society is to provide a safe social setting for students who like to play with ideas, discuss concepts like infinity, the problems with time travel, the political implications of the books they are reading, etc. The Not Every Reality Divides Society will meet roughly once a month and is always welcome to any student interested in the topic.

Advanced Math Pull-Out Classes

The 6th grade advanced math pull-out class is just beginning our fraction unit. We will begin by experimenting with methods for finding greatest common factor and least common multiple, then we will explore how mathematicians have been playing with primes for years. 7th graders are working on ratios and proportions. We will soon begin working on compound interest, and will be doing a project where students get to spend a lot of money on credit cards, then figure out how much they will have to pay over time. 8th grade students are learning about functions as a way to think about relationships in algebra and will be researching or creating interesting functions.

Gifted and Talented E-mail List

The Gifted and Talented E-mail list is growing! The list provides resources, interesting websites, and out-of-school opportunities for parents of students with particular talents and/or passions. If you would like to be on the list, send an e-mail.

Out of School Resources

Hoagies' Gifted Education Page
This is an excellent resource page for parents and children in understanding the needs of gifted students. In particular, for this time of year, there is a great gift guide here.

News from the Superintendent's Office

Parents, please view the school's webpage calendar for upcoming events...

John Glenn Middle School

Upcoming School Committee Dates:

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

*May meet on Tuesday December 11, 2012 if needed  

A Message from our Lost & Found Bin

Attention parents! The JGMS lost and found has been growing over the past few months and NEVER seems to stop. Any unclaimed clothing: shirts, pants, coats, shoes, etc. will soon be given away to charity. If you know of an item your child may have lost/misplaced, please be sure to come take a look. The pick up, from a local charity, will happen the first week of January.