Principal's Message

I would like to thank our students, staff, and parents for contributing to the East Middle School community that we are all so proud to be part of. We look forward to the students' return on Thursday, January 3. Please take time over the winter break to talk with your child about their experience at East and their goals for the second half of the school year. Have a wonderful winter break!

Giving Tree Thank You

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the students, families and staff members who so generously contributed to the Giving Tree this year.  Gift cards were donated totaling over $3,000.  Thanks to the generosity of our community, we were able to provide assistance to 15 families this holiday season. Thanks to all of you who donated and helped to make the holidays a little brighter for our students and their families.  We genuinely appreciate your generosity.

Thank You to Health Screening Volunteers

Math

What We've Been Working On

• Students experienced a self-paced learning plan on simplifying exponential expressions, including negative exponents and powers of zero and one.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• Did you like being to learn at your own pace during the most recent unit?
• Did you learn a new skill or learn anything about how you learn best during this experience?

What We're Working on Next

• Review and strengthen algebra skills while learning about arithmetic and geometric sequences.
  
• Use familiar strategies such as looking for patterns and making tables to write algebraic equations describing sequences of numbers.
  
• Develop shortcuts for writing equations for certain kinds of sequences. 

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• How are arithmetic sequences connected to what you have learned so far this year?

Accelerated Math

What We've Been Working On

• We have been working on completing the MAP testing and working on a mini self-paced geometry unit.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• What is an inscribed angle? What types of angles are formed when parallel lines are cut by a transversal?

What We're Working on Next

• After break, we will begin unit 6. This unit will explore linear regressions. This unit is very calculator dependent. Students will be using their graphing calculator daily.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What is a linear regression? How is a linear regression similar/different from a line of best fit?
  
• Is your calculator charged?

Language Arts

What We've Been Working On

• Students have been busy completing the final requirements for the science fiction unit. They finished writing their science fiction vignettes. Hopefully you were able to read and help revise them.

• Students also completed reading their science fiction book club books and participated in several discussions. 

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• Can I read your science fiction story? Tell me about the novel you read for the science fiction unit? What made it science fiction?

What We're Working on Next

• When we return from break we will be be diving right into our People of Prominence unit. We will first look at what it means to be prominent in a positive way and then students will make a list of people they would be interested in studying.

• We have some requirements as to who "qualifies" as a Person of Prominence for this project (school appropriate, adequately "re-searchable", will provide enough info to meet the speech requirements, etc.).

• We have a lottery process where students select their topics in the order of the numbers they draw since no two people study the same topic. We will then start researching and planning their speeches.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What does it mean to be prominent? Who do you think would be an interesting person to study?

Notes

• Please check your house for books loaned from school. We are missing many, many books from our classroom libraries. This would also be a great time to clean out backpacks and restock school supplies like pencils.

Science

What We've Been Working On

• The students have been working on weather predictions and the reading of weather maps.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• What kind of weather would you expect if a cold front was moving in?

What We're Working on Next

• We will learn about layers of the Earth, and start rocks and minerals.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What layer of the Earth do we live on?

Social Studies

What We've Been Working On

• Students completed their preliminary research on the country they chose for the Global Festival project.
  
• Students reviewed how to make a large-scale map, and then created a physical features map of their nation.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• What is one of the more significant physical features in your country for the project, and why is it important to the people?

What We're Working on Next

• Students will continue to analyze the physical environment of their country by collecting photos of the five most prominent features and writing detailed captions.
  
• Students will learn how geographers study the theme "Human Environment Interaction" and then they will analyze how the people of their country depend of the physical environment.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What five physical features did you choose for the Photos and Captions section of your project?

Communications

What We've Been Working On

• We have been studying the skills needed in writing a position paper. We are now working on applying those skills in our position papers.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• May I read over your essay and rubric so I can give you feedback?

What We're Working on Next

• We will begin to shift to our oral arguments/debates over the next week.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What will you be doing, an oral argument or debate? May I hear your part?

Health

What We've Been Working On

• Skill of Analyzing Influences
• CPR/AED USE

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• Who can receive Hands Only CPR?
• For what reasons did Hands Only CPR start being used?  

What We're Working on Next

• CPR/AED/Choking + First Aid

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What would you put in a first aid kit if you could choose the items?
• What medical emergencies would those supplies assist with?  

Notes

• The Minnesota State Survey will be administered at the end of January to all students during Health Class.

Phy. Ed.

What We've Been Working On

• Students have been participating in a games unit, fitness days and Badminton.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• Which fitness components are you working on personally for your own fitness/sport? Do these components align with your SMART goals? 

What We're Working on Next

• Half the students will begin the outdoor Broomball/Skating unit after break and half will start Basketball. They will get 4 days of each and then rotate. 

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• Are you planning to bring your skates for outside? Which group are you in? 

Notes

• Please make sure you have your student check which group they are in for the outdoor/ indoor units. They are posted in the hallway between the locker rooms.
• Also, many SMART goals are not turned in yet. 

Choir

What We've Been Working On

• Preparation for the Winter Concert

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• What was successful about the concert (facial expressions, diction, vowels...)?

What We're Working on Next

• When we come back from break, we will start our new repertoire. Within this, students will work on their solfege and sight reading skills.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What are you looking forward to for the Spring Concert?

Band

What We've Been Working On

• Congratulations to the East Middle School 8th grade band on a successful and memorable December concert.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• What song did you most enjoy playing in your December concert?

What We're Working on Next

• We will dive into our concert songs "Where The Sun Breaks Through The Mist" and "Torero!".

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• Show me your music for "Where The Sun Breaks Through The Mist". I hear this is a challenging song that has 6/8 time.

Notes

• 8th grade band students will be taking a field trip to Wayzata High School the afternoon of Friday, January 4. Students will leave at 1:00 p.m. and return and 3:30 p.m.

   

• Students should return their permission slip and $2 bus fee.

   

• Our next public concert is scheduled for Thursday evening, January 10 at 7:00 p.m. at the Wayzata High School Auditorium. We will be playing with the WHS Wind Symphony.

Orchestra

What We've Been Working On

• Concert Preparation

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• How have you demonstrated growth within your concert pieces over the last two weeks?

What We're Working on Next

• Concert Reflection
  
• Scale Testing

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What can you take from this concert to apply to your future learning?

Music X

What We've Been Working On

• Students completed our piano study of the melody "Skip To My Lou".

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• How did your piano test go for the song "Skip To My Lou"?

What We're Working on Next

• Students will be exploring the musical "The Music Man". 

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• Tell me about the musical "The Music Man".

Notes

• Students should have a three ring binder dedicated to Music X.

Art

What We've Been Working On

• In Art, students designed a slab box and learned hand building techniques, then built their slab boxes using clay slabs.   

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• What was the process of building your slab box?
• What techniques and tools did you use to roll out slabs, bevel them, and attach them?
• Did you carve your box or add details?  

What We're Working on Next

• Students will finish their artist reproduction and then start a zentangle landscape drawing.  

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• How did you show foreground, middleground, and background in your zentangle landscape?  

Tech Ed

What We've Been Working On

• Continued work on Table Body and Table Top

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• Describe the process for making the table top.

What We're Working on Next

• Winter Break

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What are you looking forward to on your time off?

Notes

• The following parts of the project should be completed and assessed by the end of the day Friday, Dec. 21: Table Legs, Table Body and Table Top

FCS

What We've Been Working On

• Students completed a self-paced unit on Interior Design using the Neybers app. We started our Global Foods unit on December 11 and have been learning about how culture influences food, and what families across the world eat.
• We made fried rice and baked wontons.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• What was the hardest part of making fried rice? What would you do differently (if anything) next time?

What We're Working on Next

• After Winter Break we will be learning about Italy and Mexico. We will make fettuccine alfredo and enchiladas.
• Students will then pick a country of their choice to research and complete a final project.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What are you most excited about making?

Notes

• Please check Skyward for missing assignments.

Spanish

What We've Been Working On

• Writing Assessment about Huilo Huilo in Chile
• Vocabulary about when you go places and questions you would ask about trips

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• What did you write about Huilo Huilo Chile? What questions would you ask about people's trips?

What We're Working on Next

• Speaking Assessment: inviting someone, declining invitations, asking follow-up questions, and accepting invitations

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What will you ask for the Speaking Assessment? What answers will you give to others' questions?

Gifted & Talented

What We've Been Working On

• We finished the 3rd Habit of Highly Effective Teens which is "First Things First" and have started Habit 2 (I know we are doing these two in the incorrect order) "Begin with the end in Mind".

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned

• What is your mission statement?

What We're Working on Next

• We will continue with Habit 2 "Begin with the end in Mind" viewing high school as our end product and learning as much as we can about high school registration.

Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material

• What is one class you really want to take at the high school?

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