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Greetings Husky Families!

Our teachers have been very busy creating and implementing learning opportunities for all of our students! Our classrooms and hallways are buzzing with excitement, laughter, questioning, and challenges to explore and learn. Herget also has a variety of clubs and activities as well as winter sports; please continue to read more in this newsletter to check out opportunities that are available to our students.

A strong school-to-home partnership is incredibly important. We look forward to meeting with you for parent-teacher conferences during the month of October.

As always, we wish to express our sincere gratitude toward our entire school community. We would not be the amazing school that we are without the help and support of all of you. Thank you and may you have a safe, healthy, and happy fall season!

Respectfully,

Ms. Larry

#hergetconnects

Hello Herget Families,

School is humming along!

We are in our first or second units for many of our courses. As you walk the halls, you see everything from plot diagrams to terrariums; lessons on menu math and decimals to how to use a coping saw; presentations on landmark cases to country projects in social studies; and, our 6th graders getting to know and play notes on their instruments! Our students are engaged and curious about their learning. We are seeing more opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and explanation of learning.

We also participated in a Status Walk on September 23, 2021. This Status Walk was designed to create an internal process that aligns progress in a building to our vision and commitments. Status walks are a joint effort between building and district administrators. This was an opportunity to get a snapshot of where Herget was at a given moment of time, to determine the best course of action moving forward toward our School Improvement Goals. Information collected will be used in collaboration with a building's school improvement plan. The overall purpose of a status walk is to review and assess progress and understanding of where our building is now so that we can determine the next steps.

Dates, Events, and Information to put on your radar…

• Parent-Teacher Conference:

• If you have not set up a Parent-Teacher conference, please know that you still can.

• Emails were sent home to set up virtual (zoom) meetings. We are using a system called Power PTC.

• If you have any questions on how to do this, please reach out to myself or the main office

• Dates of the conferences:

• Tuesday, October 5, 2021 (4:30-7:30 pm)

• Friday, October 8, 2021 (12:30-3:30pm)

• Half Day: October 8, 2021

• No School for students - Non-Attendance Day - 10/11/21

• First Quarter grades will be available on the Home Access Portal for parents and students - Friday, October 22, 2021.

6th grade has been studying the structure and property of matter. We will be doing experiments with melting, evaporation, and condensation. We will continue to investigate the particle motion, temperature, and states of matter. We will then be moving on to learning about density and chemical reactions.

7th grade will study and investigate heat. Students will be able to explain of how heat is transferred using radiation, conduction, and convection. Students will then become engineers and design a thermos using different materials to discover the best way to keep a can of pop cold.

8th graders will continue their ecology unit and learn how living things can influence and affect one another in an environment. Students will dissect owl pellets to learn about predator and prey relationships and the feeding habits of carnivores. Also, they will determine the population density of the prey based on the number and type of bones collected.

Happy October!

Hard to believe that the end of 1st quarter is almost here. Here are a few things that have been happening in ELA this year. We have been working hard to develop the curiosity, complexity, and joy of learning. The students have been engaging in meaningful dialogue about plot, character traits, and different types of conflict. The students have really enjoyed the dialogue activities. We continue to learn and apply our vocabulary words in a variety of ways. We have also been working on grammar rules, and how to use the different parts of speech in our writing. We like to remind the students that “Reading is like breathing in. Writing is like breathing out.”

Becoming a better reader takes time and work. We encourage our students to read daily. There are 1440 minutes everyday. Spending 20 minutes reading everyday can make a big difference in their future and it only takes 1.3% of your entire day. Take a few minutes to share about what you are reading and ask questions about what is happening in the book. Dialoguing with your student about their reading will encourage them to continue and make it a priority. It also is a great way to check in with what they are reading and make connections. Remember reading for pleasure is something that we want everyone to do. If you get a chance, sit down and read quietly with your student to show them that reading for fun is something we do even after we leave school.

Thanks for all your support, and effort to make this year as successful as possible. We look forward to continuing our work together!

Lots of great things are happening at Herget in the Social Studies department!

Sixth grade students have just concluded their study on early people, migration and Ancient Mesopotamia. Students are constantly analyzing the questions why and how early humans moved. Throughout Mesopotamia students analyzed maps and land features to determine why civilization was able to develop in Mesopotamia. Understanding these traits of a civilization are the key to sixth grade world history. All sixth grade students have been actively logging in to their Schoology accounts to participate in discussions, take quizzes, and monitor their grades online. We are looking forward to beginning our unit on Ancient Egypt in Quarter 2.

Seventh-grade students in Social Studies are wrapping up their studies about culture and religion. We are continuing to work on our country project and complete the thematic information as it is covered in class. In our new unit, we will learn about different government structures around the world. We will also learn some fundamentals of economics and the influence economics has on different societies. Students will explore real-world issues and build background knowledge to pave the way for our unit on developing and developed countries.

Eighth-grade students are continuing our semester-long unit focused on civics. We are continuing our second unit on the United States Constitution. Students are developing a clear understanding of how our government operates and how Constitutional Amendments influence their lives. Next, we will start our unit on political parties and elections. Being able to evaluate the outcomes and issues of previous elections will provide excellent current examples to accompany our curriculum. We will then shift the focus from government structures to civil rights issues. This unit helps students understand and connect with the government and its effect on society and how to effectively promote positive social change.

The electives classes are up to all kinds of interesting lessons this month. Read on to learn about how we are embracing the curiosity, complexity, and joy of learning!

World Language - Spanish & French A is currently finishing up their first unit. They are getting ready to work on interpersonal communication by having short conversations with their classmates. Meanwhile, French & Spanish B is in the middle of reading their first novel of the year, Brandon Brown Wants a Dog. Heritage Spanish A is learning to embrace their bilingualism and biculturalism while increasing phonemic awareness and practicing their writing skills. Heritage Spanish B is creating a recycled art project that goes along with their unit about Human-Environment interaction.

Choir: The Herget choirs are working hard on music for the first concert of the year scheduled for Thursday, October 14 at 7:00 PM on the stage in the cafeteria. Herget Choir concerts are always free. All three choirs will perform. Some of the music include: The Early Morning Choir will sing “I Gotta Feeling” from the Black-Eyed Peas. The Harmonix will perform “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. The 7th and 8th-grade choir will perform “Some Nights” by Fun, and the combined choirs will perform “Under Pressure” by Queen and “Ob La Di, Ob La Da” by the Beatles.

Ukulele Club: The Herget Ukulele club will start next week September 30th, from 3:45-4:45. This group is open to all students and will meet every Thursday. No experience is necessary but would be nice. Don’t have a ukulele, no problem. No matter if you want to learn to play the ukulele or learn to play better. Come see what it’s all about. For questions, see Dr. Glogowski.

Art: 7th and 8th grade Art Students are working on mini 4x5 art pieces to be submitted to the Chicagoland 4x5 Exhibit - "The largest SMALL Art Exhibit in the Nation!" Hosted by Oswego High School. www.chicagoland4x5.org

CTE:

• 7/8th grade CTE students are wrapping up their first woodworking project this week... on to the next!

• 7/8th grade PLTW Computer Science students are beginning their first team coding challenge this week.

• 6th-grade TECH students are busy at work building balsawood bridges as their first STEM challenge.

• 
  

Our Band is Stronger TOGETHER!

They have accepted the challenge of new notes, rhythms, and music!

Our 6th-grade band is doing a phenomenal job learning to play their new instruments. They are currently working on their first duet, playing different parts at the same time. Our 7th-grade band is celebrating the cooler weather with their newest song, called "Autumn Fanfare." Our 8th-grade band members and parents will be special guests of the Blackhawk Marching Band during their "Game Night Shadows" event on October 8.

We are looking forward to our first concert together in November!

The Physical Education students have been outside enjoying the nice weather and getting lots of exercise! Please remind your students to take home their PE attire on Fridays to get washed! Extra shirts can be purchase for $6 at any time. Please see your PE teacher for information. Heart rate straps are $16; ALL 6th and 7th-grade students will receive a Heart Rate strap in the upcoming weeks. New to the District 8th grade students will also receive a Heart Rate Strap.

Health students are still very busy learning about Body Systems, Diseases, and different types of drugs that can harm the body. Health students will be going to PE class on October 18th. Mrs. Eastlick will speak with the students on October 15th about PE class and the expectations. She will also answer any questions students may have about PE class since this will be the first PE class at Herget for many of the Health students!

Winter sports start in one week, please see the end of this message for first practice/tryout times! The earlier you sign up the easier it is to make sure athletes are ready with up to date physicals and helps coaches prepare for practice/tryouts. The first half of winter sports includes 6th boys basketball, 7th boys basketball, 8th boys basketball, 7/8 cheerleading, and 6/7/8 wrestling. You can register online at https://il.8to18.com/herget/. You must register online and have an up to date sports physical on file in order to participate in practice and tryouts. There is no sports fee for this year’s middle school athletics. You can find the practice schedules under the resources section of the athletic website as we get closer to the start of the season. Girls basketball and poms start in January, look out for more information about registration and practice/tryouts in December.

6th Basketball – Coach Beetham (jbeetham@sd129.org) First practice 10/12 5:30pm-7:00pm.

7th Basketball – Coach White (awhite@sd129.org) Tryouts 10/12 & 10/13 7:00am-8:30am.

8th Basketball – Coach Vernon (rvernon@sd129.org) Tryouts 10/12 & 10/13 3:45pm-5:30pm.

Wrestling – Coach Stauter (jstauter@sd129.org) First practice 10/12 3:45pm-5:30pm.

Cheerleading – Coach Mora (sara.mora@sd129.org) Clinic 10/12 3:45-5:30, Tryouts 10/13 stay after for shoe sizing, first practice 10/18 3:45-5:30

Health Office Notes October 2021

We are getting ready for Flu season. Here are some simple ways to stay healthy.

1. Keep your hands clean by washing them with soap and warm water.

2. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

3. (Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeves, not your hands.)

4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth and spreading germs to them.

5. Stay home and rest when you are sick.

6. Don’t share things that go into the mouth, such as straws and drinking cups.

7. Stay Healthy! Get plenty of sleep, exercise, drink lots of water, and eat healthy foods.

8. Maintain a safe distance, continue to wear your masks, and wash your hands frequently.

If your student is home ill please remember to call the safe phone every day that your child is absent from school at 630-301-5255. Provide specific information regarding the reason for absence such as fever, cough, sore throat, vomiting, or diarrhea. Keep sick students home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of fever without using fever-reducing medication such as Tylenol, Advil, or Motrin. A Fever is a temperature of 100.4 degrees or more. Students who experience vomiting or diarrhea are not to return to school until they have been 48 hours symptom-free. Covid-like symptoms require Covid testing within 24 hrs to return to school. Please call the health office if you would like to schedule testing at 630-301-5240.

Isolation and Quarantine Updates: Starting on October 4, 2021, if your student is identified as a close contact of a positive COVID case at school we are prepared at Herget to “Test to Stay”. Please know that you can sign for your student to participate in the test to stay program by completing a “Test to Stay” consent on our District 129 website.

Reminder: If your student is lacking the required immunizations or physical exams please submit these documents to avoid exclusion from school on Friday, October 15, 2021.

Submitted by:

Elizabeth Silva RN-CSN

Herget students made book fair history!! What a successful fair! Thank you to every student, staff member and parent who purchased something from the book fair. Your generosity blew our expectations out of the water! With the proceeds, Herget’s library received over 100 new books. The students cannot wait to see them pop up on the shelves!

Our students have been working really hard to find books that are at their instructional reading level. After the kids finished taking the Performance Series assessment in LA, the teachers shared the student’s Lexile scores with them. On their next library day, we calculated their range for them. Our students were given a lesson on how to look up books in their Lexile range through Destiny. Students then created a Google doc where they chose ten books that they would like to read this semester, including the title and call number of the books. Now when they come into the library, they can open their doc and have easy access to books that are “Just Right” for them. It’s great to see the kids take ownership over their learning! If you would like to search with your child at home, this is the link to Destiny, however, most students should have it bookmarked.

http://destiny.kaneroe.org/cataloging/servlet/presentadvancedsearchredirectorform.do?l2m=Library%20Search&tm=TopLevelCatalog&l2m=Library+Search

Happy October! Now that the school is in full swing and the first quarter is wrapping up, some exciting math learning is really taking place. At this point, our students are learning or reviewing whole number, decimal, and fraction operations. As a math department, this school year we are focused on dialogue. A great way to extend this learning at home is to ask your child to teach you what they learned in math class (even if you already know how to do it). Letting the kids verbalize their thinking will not only reinforce their math skills but also provide them with an opportunity to gain confidence and engage with you around a new topic.

We also value complexity and try to achieve it through critical thinking skills. One popular way to do this in our classrooms is through math picture puzzles. Looks like child’s play but is actually a gateway to algebra since symbols represent values much like variables. Have a try with the Halloween themed one to the left. If you enjoy it, there is much more free fun to be had at www.solvemoji.com and you don’t need an account! Have a lot of spooky math fun and stay safe this October!

Adversity is a natural part of life. At some point, we all face difficulties, such as family problems, serious illness, a personal crisis, or a painful loss. Being resilient is important to dealing with adversities like these. While most parents hope that their children never face extreme adversity, successfully facing tough situations can actually foster growth and give children the skills to be more resilient in the future.

Most people have a natural tendency to adapt and bounce back from adversity. However, parents can help their children learn to face challenges successfully, whether it is the stresses of everyday life, such as academic difficulties or problems with friends, or severe adversity, such as losing a home and being displaced from normal routines for months. Following are five ways to promote resiliency in your children and help protect them from long-term ill effects of difficult experiences.

1. Think positive! Modeling positive attitudes and positive emotions is very important. Children need to hear parents thinking out loud positively and being determined to persist until a goal is achieved. Using a “can do” problem-solving approach to problems teaches children a sense of power and promise.

2. Express love and gratitude! Emotions such as love and gratitude increase resiliency. Praise should always occur much more often than criticism. Children and adolescents who are cared for, loved, and supported learn to express positive emotions to others. Positive emotions buffer kids against depression and other negative reactions to adversity.

3. Express yourself! Resilient people appropriately express all emotions, even negative ones. Parents who help kids become more aware of emotions, label emotions appropriately, and help children deal with upsetting events are giving them useful life skills.

4. Get fit! Good physical health prepares the body and mind to be more resilient. Healthy eating habits, regular exercise and adequate sleep protect kids against the stress of tough situations. Regular exercise also decreases negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and depression.

5. Foster competency! Making sure that children and adolescents achieve academically is great protection against adversity. Children who achieve academic success and who develop individual talents, such as playing sports, drawing, making things, playing musical instruments or playing games are much more likely to feel competent and be able to deal with stress positively. Social competency is also important. Having friends and staying connected to friends and loved ones can increase resiliency. Social competency can even be created by helping others.

Protecting our children against all of life’s unexpected painful events is not possible. Giving them a sense of competency and the skills to face adverse circumstances can be a valuable legacy of all parents. Resiliency can be built by understanding these important foundations. The more we practice these approaches; the better able our children will be to weather whatever life brings.

Adapted from: “Resiliency: Strategies for Parents and Educators,” Virginia Smith Harvey, Helping Children at Home and School II: Handouts for Families and Educators, NASP, 2004

Website: https://herget.sd129.org/
Location: 1550 Deerpath Rd. Aurora, Illinois 60506
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HergetHuskies
Twitter: @HergetSchool