Swann Lion Times
Your weekly update from your Lion Pride!
What Our Lions Are Learning
Be sure to talk with your Lions each night about what standards they are working on and what activities they are doing to master those standards! Here is some general information to get the conversation started.
In Math, students use the Open Up curriculum. Click here to see the Open Up lessons for all grade levels! Click here to see the Math 1 Open Up lessons. 6th graders are working with ratios, 7th graders are working with proportional relationships and percentages, and 8th grade is working with slope.
In ELA, students are working on their book studies. 6th grade is finishing reading Percy Jackson, 7th grade is reading Patient Zero, and 8th grade is beginning reading Omnivore's Dilemma.
In Social Studies, 6th graders are learning about ancient India, 7th grade is learning about global revolutions for Independence (American, French, 1800s Latin American movements), and 8th grade is learning about the War of 1812 and the Louisiana Purchase.
In Science, 6th graders are working on energy transfer, 7th graders are learning about kinetic and potential energy, and 8th graders are learning about the hydrosphere.
7th Grade PE
Playing indoor kickball
7th Grade Science
7th Grade ELA
Reading Patient Zero
7th Grade Acc. Math
Practicing the slope formula
6th-8th Grade Art
Assembling the gratitude tree
Spanish Immersion
Creating gratitude art
7th Grade Science
Kinetic energy lab
6th Grade Science
Ms.Montgomery's students presenting their Powerpoint presentations on conduction.
8th Grade Science
Unpacking the standard as they begin their lesson on Hydrosphere in Ms.Moore's class.
8th Grade Walk 2 Wendy's Event
Our 8th graders who qualified to attend the Walk 2 Wendy's event had a blast!!
6th Grade Math Moment
6th graders are working with ratios and tape diagrams. See if they can apply that knowledge to this scenario. Look at the tape diagram here. Describe a situation that could be represented with this tape diagram.
7th Grade Math Moment
7th graders are working with proportional relationships. See if they can apply that knowledge to the following scenario. A cyclist rode 3.75 miles in 0.3 hours. How fast was she going in miles per hour? At that rate, how long will it take her to go 4.5 miles?
8th Grade Math Moment
Noticias de Spanish Immersion
Before Thanksgiving Break, Spanish Immersion students celebrated a day of gratitude! They wrote thank you letters, created clay mosaic and mandala artwork, and painted canvases. We are so thankful for our Spanish Immersion students, families, and teachers! Muchas gracias por ser increible!
Announcements
Progress Reports
Your student will bring home their progress reports on Tuesday. Please be sure to ask them for the papers. You can also view your student's grades and assignments in PowerSchool. You can sign up for the Parent Portal to view them yourself, or you can have your student sign in to their account and show you their grades. Doing so can be a great opportunity to start dialog with your students about their progress in class and help them stay on track.
The Weather is Getting Cold
As the weather gets colder, please send your students to school with jackets and coats. We still go outside for PA time and transitions. Some classrooms are also cold. Blankets at school are not allowed for health and safety reasons.
AIG Newsletter
Families of AIG students, please click the link here to see the Quarter 2 newsletter from the GCS Academically Gifted Office.
After School Virtual Tutoring
Does your student need extra help with math, ELA, or science? GCS is currently offering virtual options for homework help and tutoring! Visit the website here for all the information: https://www.gcsnc.com/Page/79770
In January, onsite afterschool tutoring will begin. If you've already signed up for onsite tutoring, we will reach out when the schedule is available. We will begin a second round of registration in December. Until then, we encourage you to take advantage of the virtual options!
Family and Community Involvement Opportunities
Sharing our Lion Legacy
Our Swann Community Celebration Committee is planning many ways to bring the larger Swann Pride together throughout the year to celebrate Swann's final year as a middle school. One of those is to collect and share photos of Swann/Aycock's past. These could be historical photos or ones you've taken over the years. Use the link here to share them with us: https://forms.gle/6WLd4rboLBiZk1QH8
Parent Academy
GCS Parent Academy is a great resource to helps support families with a variety of things such as homework help, digital resources, resume assistance, homeownership, and much much more. Click on the link below to explore the many benifits of being a part of the GCS Parent Academy.
GCS Parent Academy <---Click Here
Join the PTA Today!
Swann is a proud PTA school! Click here to join our PTA as a parent, student, community, or staff member. If you are interested in serving on the Board, let us know and we will put you in touch with the current PTSA reps! School is better when we work together!
For more information, please reach out to swannpta@gmail.com.
Clothing Closet Support
Swann has partnered with a local Girl Scout to create a more robust clothing closet for our students. This closet will include not only gently used clothing and shoes that students can access when needed, but also support our students with clothing repair and cleaning and personal hygiene needs. To make this project sustainable, we are asking for a team of parent/community volunteers to staff the closet and to help collect donations.
If you would like to donate needed items, please use the link to our Girl Scout's Amazon Wish List
If you would like to volunteer, please contact Dr. Bocci at boccim@gcsnc.com!
Volunteering
We are excited to welcome Swann's family and friends into the school this year! Our focus is on increasing parent engagement. We have a list of teams we are looking for folks to serve on throughout the year. Click on the interest form below and let us know how you want to be a part of our Lion Pride this year!
1. Fill out the interest form for volunteers, and we will call you or email you when opportunities arise.
2. Register as an official GCS volunteer here.
Support Our Teachers!
Counseling Corner
Meet the Counselors!
Ms. Kelly is serving our 7th grade and A-M 8th grade students.
Because our counselors work with students all day, email is a good way to contact them when you need them!
Character Trait of the Month
In December, students will be talking about responsibility in their Friday SEL lessons. Watch this video about responsibility with your student: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gMi9mNtmBE. How can students show responsibility at school? At home? Among their friends? Why does being responsible matter?
Athletics
Winter Sports
It's Winter Sports time! Check the Athletics page of the website for times and dates of games. It's a few months away, but students interested in Spring sports, go ahead and make sure you have all needed forms now! All necessary forms are also posted on the website. Remember that any athlete must have a current physical on file to participate.
12/5 Virtual State of the School Night and Progress Report Distribution
12/15 7th and 8th Grade Winter Dance
12/21 PBIS Mid-Quarter Celebration
12/22-1/2 Winter Break
1/15 MLK, Jr. Holiday
1/19 Last Day of Quarter 2
1/22 Teacher Workday
1/31 Report Cards Go Home
5/24-31 EOG Testing
Keep in Touch!
Email: battlep@gcsnc.com boccim@gcsnc.com winsted@gcsnc.com
Website: https://www.gcsnc.com/site/default.aspx?DomainID=114
Location: 811 Cypress St, Greensboro, NC 27405, USA
Phone: 336-370-8100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swannlions
X: @swannmiddle
Instagram: @swannmiddleschool