Swann Lion Times
Your weekly update from your Lion Pride!
What our Lions are Learning
Drum Line and Dance Team
The DDT at their Swarm game performance with School Board Member Khem Irby!
8th Grade STEM Lab
3D printing a keychain designed on TinkerCAD
Forensic Science
Presentations on careers in forensics
6th Grade Social Studies
Spanish Immersion presentations on Chinese Dynasties
6th Grade Science
Spanish Immersion students practice leaf identification
7th Grade ELA
Students share information from their research
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 on fractions, 7th graders are practicing with rational numbers, and 8th grade is getting ready to begin functions and volume.
In ELA, students are working on their second set of book studies. This unit they are reading informational texts. 6th grade is reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, 7th grade is reading Patient Zero, and 8th grade is reading Omnivore's Dilemma.
In Social Studies, 6th graders are learning about ancient China, 7th grade is learning about propaganda in 20th Century Wars, and 8th grade is exploring the industrial revolution.
In Science, 6th graders are working on waves, 7th graders are learning about the layers of the atmosphere, and 8th graders are learning about ecosystems.
Math Moments
6th Grade
In 6th grade, students are reviewing the foundations of division and how it relates to fractions. See if they can apply that knowledge to this scenario. A recipe uses 5 cups of flour for every 2 cups of sugar. How much sugar is used for 1 cup of flour? How much flour is used for 1 cup of sugar? How much flour is used with 7 cups of sugar? How much sugar is used with 6 cups of flour?
7th Grade
In 7th grade, students are learning about multiplying signed numbers. See if they can apply the concepts to these scenarios. Noah was assigned to make 64 cookies for the bake sale. He made 125% of that number. 90% of the cookies he made were sold. How many of Noah's cookies were left after the bake sale?
8th Grade
In 8th grade, students are finishing their unit on solving linear equations. See if they can apply that knowledge to this scenario. A farm has chickens and cows. All the cows have 4 legs and all the chickens have 2 legs. All together, there are 82 cow and chicken legs on the farm. Complete the table to show some possible combinations of chickens and cows to get 82 total legs.
We are halfway there! Semester 2 begins on Tuesday!
- Report cards will go home on Jan. 31st. You can also view grades at any time on PowerSchool.
- New Encores start on Tuesday. Students can view their classes in PowerSchool. If they need to make changes, they can get a Drop/Add form from the counselors this week.
- Now is a good time to review school expectations with students as we enter into the second half of the school year. This is a great way to help students stay on track and continue to show PRIDE
- Basic school supplies tend to have ran out by this time of the year. Teachers tend to need pencils, tissues, and wipes.
- Updated contact information: Please check PowerSchool to ensure your contact information is up to date. If you need to update your information you may do so through PowerSchool or send it to your child's homeroom teacher.
Interim Assessments
On 1/23, 6th and 8th grade students will take their Math Interim. On 1/24, 8th graders will take their Science 8 Interim Assessment. Interim assessments are an important part of our data collection process. They allow us to support students more accurately and make better instructional decisions. Please be sure your student comes to school with a fully charged Chromebook on testing days!
ACCESS for ELLs Testing Jan. 30-Feb. 2
WIDA ACCESS testing occurs each winter and let's us know how our English Learning students are progressing towards mastery of English speaking, reading, writing, and listening. This testing will primarily occur during their EL classes. Their scores on these tests determine whether they continue in or exit the EL program, so we want them to have the best chance possible of performing up to their potential. Please make sure students come to school ready and rested with a charged device! Contact Ms. Davis with any questions!
Quarter 2 PBIS Celebration
We will be hosting our quarter 2 PBIS Celebration on February 9th. Students will need 20,000 Classcraft experience points to attend, have less than 3 visits to ISS and no OSS. Students that do not attend the celebration will participate in a session on positive decision making.
Announcements
Overdue Library Books!
We have about 150 students with library books due back to the media center. Please ask your students about returning books and help us get everything accounted for! If your student is one of the ones with a missing book ,you'll receive a ConnectEd call soon.
The Choice Programs Window Opens Jan. 19
Do you have an 8th grader who's interested in a choice program for high school? Are you a rising 7th or 8th grader interested in learning about all the middle school choices GCS offers? If so, visit the GCS Choice Program website to learn more about the offerings, application process, and timeline: https://www.gcsnc.com/Page/2113.
*If you are a 6th or 7th grader currently enrolled in the Spanish Immersion or STEM Choice programs, you DO NOT have to reapply to continue those programs at your new schools next year.*
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
1974-1975
Superlative winners for "Most Attractive"
1977-1978
AV Club
1988-1989
Students with political signs
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 benefits of being a part of the GCS Parent Academy.
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.
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!
Schedule Changes
Ms. Kelly and Mrs. Dorsey are working on student schedule change requests for semester 2 starting January 19th. The deadline to request a schedule change is February 6th, all requests need to be submitted to either counselor. In the event students do not have two encore classes listed on their schedule, Ms. Kelly and Mrs. Dorsey will be making the needed corrections. Students requesting a schedule change should follow their assigned schedule in PowerSchool until they receive a notification from a counselor stating their request has been fulfilled.
Character Trait of the Month
In January, students will be talking about HONESTY in their Friday SEL lessons. Watch this video about honesty with your student: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XQIAEDaBbc. What does it mean when we say "honesty is the best policy"? How does being honest connect with trust? What do honesty and integrity have in common?
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.
1/22 Teacher Workday
1/23 Math 6, Math 8, and Math 1 Interim Assessment
1/24 Science 8 Interim Assessment
1/29 ELA 6-8 Interim Assessment
1/31 Report Cards Go Home
2/6 NWEA Reading Test
2/7 NWEA Math Test
2/21 NAEP testing for selected 8th grade students
3/5 7th Grade Raleigh Field Trip
3/12 Math 6-8 Interim Assessment
3/20 7th Grade Symphony Field Trip
4/4 8th Grade Civil Rights Museum Field Trip
4/9 NWEA Reading Test
4/10 NWEA Math Test
4/16 ELA 6-8 Interim Assessment
4/17 6th Grade Grasshoppers Field Trip
4/23 Science 8 Interim Assessment
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