Author: Hayley Cheshire

Alanson Middle School Monthly Newsletter

March 7, 2014

What Else is
Happening at
Alanson Middle School?

What’s Happening in the Classroom?

Mrs. Woodbeck
English Events:
English 6
We will be returning to the adventure genre by reading My Side of the Mountain. The main character, Sam, leaves his home to live by himself in the wilderness. He faces many challenges to survive. Does he overcome the challenges? What does Sam do to survive? Is he able to take care of himself? These are a few of the questions we will be asking ourselves as we read this book.
English 7
We are just finishing the novel Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs. This story is set in Cape Flattery, Washington which I had the privilege of visiting so we saw a slideshow of pictures actually taken from the cape. We will be completing a book report on the novel and a narrative writing piece.
English 8
We are now reading Touching Spirit Bear. This story is about a troubled young man and his adventures while banished on an island near Alaska. We are trying some different activities such as Tear Share, Ink Share, 11 minute essay, and Socratic Circles.
essay, and Socratic Circles.
Mrs. Morse
Social Studies 8 is working on their unit on the Jacksonian Era. This past month has been filled with historical enrichment activities. Students were able to attend a documentary on Native Americans and had a Titanic Expert speak to the class. We are very grateful for these opportunities and we will be moving to Westward Expansion in the next few weeks.
Mrs. Liederbach
Math Events:
6th graders have been learning how to solve three different types of percent problems. They are using proportional reasoning, as well as other methods, to solve these problems. Today they did an amazing job of applying their math skills in social studies, to learn the base 20 number system of the Mayans!
7th graders learned how to write an inequality to model a real-life situation. They also learned how to solve these inequalities and graph the solution on a number line. They are currently learning how to find the surface area of prisms and cylinders.
8th graders continue to investigate linear functions, focusing on the similarities and differences of proportional and nonproportional linear functions. As examples, they have compared the cost of cell phone plans and video streaming contracts. They have also learned how to graph a linear equation by finding the x and y intercepts.
Social Studies Events:
6th graders have turned their attention to Latin America. They learned about the geography of the region by completing a map project. Currently each student is researching one of the three early civilizations of Middle America. They are creating a brochure about the Incas, the Aztecs, or the Mayans with the information they gather.
Mrs. Cheshire
Science Events:
6th graders finished the Biome unit and are now learning about Michigan ecosystems. This includes how organisms interact with one another and their surrounding environment. So far students have created Michigan Adaptation Foldables and have examined producers, consumers, and decomposers of Michigan. In addition, they will be involved in Interactive Text Sets and creating models and diagrams showing the flow of energy and other materials in ecosystems.
7th graders continue to learn about cells, particularly the cell division process of meiosis. In addition, we have spent time looking into heredity and how genes are passed on from parents to their offspring. Students have considered their own genes and completed Punnett Squares to determine the probability of genetic outcome. In addition, they have used coins in a variety of activities to compare dominant and recessive genes.
8th graders have learned about the advanced rock cycle. During this unit students determined whether rocks were intrusive igneous, extrusive igneous, foliated or non-foliated metamorphic and more. In addition, they played games, created visuals, completed a simulation lab, and learned how plate tectonics impact the rock cycle.
Social Studies Event:
7th graders have concluded the cultural diffusion unit. Which included learning about the movement of music from Africa to the US , the movement of religion, and more. We now have begun the Asia unit starting with Asia’s geography. They have created maps, compared climates,

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences are Thursday, March 13th. We hope to see you all there. If you are not able to attend, but would like to discuss your child’s progress please feel free to contact us to set up a meeting.
Viking of the Month
Congratulations to the following students!
6th grade– Andrew Wekwert
7th grade– Samuel Lowery
8th grade- Lilly Armock
Dennos Museum
Today, March 7th we headed down to the Dennos Museum in TC (funding provided) to participate in Inuit games within their Inuit museum and created block print art.
Rewards Party
Students who turned in all their work on time in at least two classes will be invited to attend an up coming party during lunch. Congratulations to those students for this amazing accomplishment. Keep up the great work!
Winter Blues
Winter is on the downside and we are coming upon Spring. Students are feeling the doldrums of inactivity, including the inactivity of not completing their homework. Monday was the beginning of a new trimester, which is a great opportunity to start fresh in all classes.
Donations Please!
This seems to be the season for colds and we are going through Kleenex quickly. If possible please donate a box to the Middle School. Thank you.

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If the newsletter is distributed internally, you might comment upon new procedures or improvements to the business. Sales figures or earnings will show how your business is growing.
Some newsletters include a column that is updated every issue, for instance, an advice column, a book review, a letter from the president, or an editorial. You can also profile new employees or top customers or vendors.

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This story can fit 75-125 words.
Selecting pictures or graphics is an important part of adding content to your newsletter.
Think about your article and ask yourself if the picture supports or enhances the message you’re trying to convey. Avoid selecting images that appear to be out of context.
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Monthly Newsletter

Inside Story Headline

This story can fit 150-200 words.
One benefit of using your newsletter as a promotional tool is that you can reuse content from other marketing materials, such as press releases, market studies, and reports.
While your main goal of distributing a newsletter might be to sell your product or service, the key to a successful newsletter is making it useful to your readers.
A great way to add useful content to your newsletter is to develop and write your own articles, or include a calendar of upcoming events or a special offer that promotes a new product.
You can also research articles or find “filler” articles by accessing the World Wide Web. You can write about a variety of topics but try to keep your articles short.
Much of the content you put in your newsletter can also be used for your Web site. Microsoft Publisher offers a simple way to convert your newsletter to a Web publication. So, when you’re finished writing your newsletter, convert it to a Web site and post it.

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Inside Story Headline

This story can fit 100-150 words.
The subject matter that appears in newsletters is virtually endless. You can include stories that focus on current technologies or innovations in your field.
You may also want to note business or economic trends, or make predictions for your customers or clients.
If the newsletter is distributed internally, you might comment upon new procedures or improvements to the business. Sales figures or earnings will show how your business is growing.
Some newsletters include a column that is updated every issue, for instance, an advice column, a book review, a letter from the president, or an editorial. You can also profile new employees or top customers or vendors.

“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”

Inside Story Headline

This story can fit 75-125 words.
Selecting pictures or graphics is an important part of adding content to your newsletter.
Think about your article and ask yourself if the picture supports or enhances the message you’re trying to convey. Avoid selecting images that appear to be out of context.
Microsoft Publisher includes thousands of clip art images from which you can choose and import into your newsletter. There are also several tools you can use to draw shapes and symbols.
Once you have chosen an image, place it close to the article. Be sure to place the caption of the image near the image.

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Volume 1, Issue 1

Page #

Alanson Public Schools

Primary Business Address Your Address Line 2 Your Address Line 3 Your Address Line 4

Phone: 555-555-5555 Fax: 555-555-5555 Email: xyz@microsoft.com

Your business tag line here.

We’re on the Web!
example.microsoft.com

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Organization

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