Monday, March 8
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!
Spring is FINALLY here and we took full advantage of it today using the outdoors as our classroom in science. Ask your student and MAYBE they will share their “bounty” with you! ( you will be well rewarded if they do)
NO HOMEWORK IN MATH! I was real pleased with 98% of the grades on our test Friday. You child knows their grade so make sure and ask them about it.
HAVE A WONDERFUL AFTERNOON!
WILL THIS SNOW EVER BE OVER! There, I feel better now! I cannot believe the winter weather has lasted this long. BUT there is a reason and it has to do with sun spots. Yes, you heard me correctly, SUN SPOTS. We will be studying about them over the next few days in science along with the beginning of our space race. This would make great conversation around the dinner table so ask your child about what is going on in science–you might be surprised at what you find out!
In math, we are completing chapter 8 which is their first “real” look at integers. ( that’s positive/negative numbers to us ole folk!–LOL). We have been plotting them on the Coordinate Plane along with adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. We will be having a test tomorrow on this chapter so FOR HOMEWORK–COMPLETE THE CHAPTER TEST ON PAGE 327; this assignment is for BOTH CLASSES!
Have a wonderful evening!
Monday, March 1
Hello HMS Parents!
I realize it has been several days since the last posting but I have had some family issues that I had to deal with which limited my time in the afternoons. I realize that is not your fault and all I can ask is that you forgive me! My dad is much better now and I thank those students and parents who included him in their prayers.
In math we are studying coordinate planes. IT IS IMPERITIVE THAT YOUR STUDENT HAVE GRAPH PAPER! Please get this item as soon as possible so they will be able to participate in class from this point on. We will be graphing coordinate pairs, creating angles, and doing several other things with the graph paper so they need it ASAP.
Students in my morning class (3-4) do not have homework tonight. Students in the after noon class will finish their classwork for homework.
We will be having a test on Friday of this week (chapter) so we will be reviewing for it all week.
In science, we are beginning an extensive study of the solar system. Students began creating their covers for their intergalactic book today in class. They will be placing information in this book as we proceed through the solar system studying each planet extensively. This will turn into their final grade for this section so no work is allowed @ home.
Thanks for all you do for HMS!~
This month is flying by! It is hard to believe that there are only 8 school days left in this month of February. After all the bad weather we have had this month, though, I am GLAD that some warmer weather is just around the corner~
For homework tonight, both math classes should finish their classwork. We are starting positive and negative integers so some of them may have questions concerning their homework. If you cannot answer them, don’t worry. Just have them mark the problems that they do not understand and we will go over them tomorrow in class.
In science we are studying the moon phases along with the moon’s trek around the earth. We will be analyzing the different phase names along with the reasons behind the phase formation.
Have a wonderful evening!~
Well, I can’t believe that it is already February! It seems that I put the Christmas decorations away yesterday; in fact, as I rode through Oneonta this weekend, I still saw remnants of this “holy”day on windows and ONE tree still up! Oh well, to each his own!
In math students are to complete page 268, Mid-Chapter practice test for Chapter 7. This will prepare them for the mid-chapter test tomorrow. We are working on fractions still; so if you help your child with their homework please make sure they simplify them! I have several students who keep forgetting this important step which will result in a wrong answer.
In science we are studying space; we haven’t don’t anything really exciting yet but starting on Wed. or Thursday you should begin to hear about some cool things that are happening in our science classroom.
If you need me just email and I will get back to you as soon as possible!
Have a great evening!
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/100103-night-sky-events-2010.html
Jan. 29 – Mars Close Approach
Mars will be only 61.7 million miles from Earth, closer than it will be again until March 2014. Peaking at magnitude -1.3, Mars will outshine all stars and other planets except Sirius and Jupiter. Opposition to the sun occurs on the 29th. It’s during January that Mars begins to become large enough to show, through telescopes, touches of dark surface detail and perhaps occasional white clouds or limb hazes in medium-sized amateur telescopes at the best moments on steady nights when it’s fairly high. With time and practice you may see even more. Despite any rumors you might hear, Mars will not be “as big as the full moon” or anywhere near that large. To the naked eye, it will remain a star-like point in the sky.
No, we are not studying Vincent Van Gogh and we’re not listening to pop music! What we are doing is investigating space. Today students had the opportunity to play with a new program called “Starry Nights” in science. This program gives students the opportunities to create scenarios with different celestial objects and watch the results. There is so much on the program to do that I don’t think we will ever reach the end! You should have heard the excitement during class as students discovered new views of space that is not available to the naked eye. In light of this discovery, I am going to post some interesting happenings in the night skies that will take place over the next few months. I am also posting a link for you to use with your child to investigate space happenings. We live in such a unique community–we have neighbors yet our night sky is not spoiled by big city light pollution. This allows us an opportunity that we should really take advantage of–go outside and look UP! I am heartily advising this; numerous memories have been made watching the night sky with children! The night sky post will appear on another page along with the URL.
In math, we are finishing our chapter on multiplication and division of fractions. I understand that some parents are having trouble with the concepts along with the students!! If you would like a refresher on this concept, please contact me. If we have enough interest, I will be willing to schedule a “parent fraction refresher” for you one night. I need at least 5 parents for this to work so contact me if you want to participate. We do not have any homework tonight as I will be attending a workshop tomorrow and will be absent.
for both classes if they didn’t finish in class. We have moved into multiplying and dividing fractions so they are completing these assignments for practice.
In science we are traveling to space–look for updates on this adventure soon.
Have a great evening!
What? Never heard of it? Well, your student certainly has. We have been researching this enchanting creature in science. Ask your child what they learned in the search–you will be surprised!
In math, we will have a test tomorrow on chapter 6. They have been given numerous opportunities to practice in whole group and in small groups the skills that will be on the test. My 7-8 period class might have homework tonight if they did not complete their class assignment.
HMS Beta Club is collecting money for Hati. We are asking for $1.00 from each student–if everyone of them give this minimum we will collect over $600.00 for the relief effort. Imagine not having ANYWHERE to go! This small island is in desperate need of our help. We are so blessed and should consider it an honor to give to these people.
Thank you, parents, for all you do for our school. It may not be said often but your dedication to your child’s education is noticed!
The new year has started off with a BANG–I mean TWO days off immediately after the Christmas holidays was really a surprise. All I can say is it will be a LONG time until our next official day out of school in March!
In math, we are continuing our study of fractions. This is a hard concept for 12 year olds so we are having to really take it slow and easy. Parents, you can expect some grades to slip a little during this time; however, I expect they will rebound quickly as the concept takes shape and they develop the skills to cope with this new numerical system. I PROMISE they are working as hard as they possibly can and I will let you know if that ever changes.
In science, we are excited to FINALLY have our new kits. We are traveling into the outer reaches of space with this unit. Be prepared to hear all about the sun spot cycle and its relationship to our weather, the shadow effect, the lunar cycles, and numerous other fun projects we will be completing in science. I will also be posting links for your child to use on their home computer to investigate further the concepts we are learning in our space unit.
We are in the computer lab today, so there is NO homework tonight for any class.
Have a WONDERFUL week!