Howards Grove Middle School
Family Newsletter V
At Howards Grove Middle School We Believe In:
Respect
Responsibility
Integrity
Appreciation
Important Events
1/20 - School Board Meeting 4 PM
1/21 - BBB @ Random Lake 4 PM
1/23 - BBB @ Home vs. Ozaukee 4 PM
1/27 - Boy Scouts 3 PM
1/27 - BBB @ Ozaukee 4 PM
1/28 - BBB @ Home vs. Kohler 4 PM
1/30 - BBB @ Home vs. Cedar Grove Belgium 4 PM
2/3 - BBB @ Home vs. Elkhart Lake - Glenbeulah 4 PM
2/6 - BBB @ Home vs. Oostburg 4 PM
2/10 - PTO Meeting 5 PM
2/10 - Boy Scouts 6 PM
2/17 - Staff Inservice Day - No School
Principal's Message
There are a few reminders I would like to pass along this month. 6th and 7th grade families please check your email for scheduling information for next school year. School attendance matters. State law and board policy allows a parent to dismiss their child from school for any reason up to five days each semester or ten total days each school year. When students are not in school they are missing an opportunity for learning. If your child is beyond this mark and there is any assistance we can provide in support, please feel free to contact us. We would love to help problem solve to remove the barrier(s) that is prohibiting attendance. We do send letters from the office when these situations arise and our goal is to work together on behalf of our students. Lastly, please be sure your student has appropriate winter clothing with them at school.
Next month's parent/teacher conferences on Thursday, February 27th will be by invite only. Staff will be reaching out to families that they feel would benefit from a conference. There will be a letter coming from the office soon about this process. Of course, if you would like to schedule a conference, please reach out to your student's teacher or the main office.
Please know if there is anything that we can do to strengthen our partnership in learning, feel free to reach out. We truly appreciate your support.
All my best,
Angie Houston
Counselor's Corner
Hello HGMS Families!
Welcome to 2025! We have hit the ground running here at the Middle School during the start of the new year. Our 8th grade students are already beginning the process of High School Class Scheduling. We will also have a field trip to Lakeshore Technical College in February for our 8th grade students, so be on the lookout for that information in the upcoming weeks!
Our Social Emotional Learning curriculum through Second Step is focused on Thoughts, Emotions, and Decisions. Students learn how strong emotions are interpreted by the brain, and in turn, the physical, mental, and emotional responses we have to those emotions. We also work on understanding how our decisions can be affected by our emotions in any situation, and we will learn about various healthy coping skills to manage our emotions.
We are also looking towards February and American Heart Month! Keep an eye out for upcoming information on various activities we will be participating in at Howards Grove Middle School to help spread awareness!
February is American Heart Month!
The HGMS Student Council will be organizing fun activities to support the American Heart Association in February. Cardiovascular diseases are the #1 killer in the United States (and it is the biggest health threat to women) yet is up to 80% is preventable.
Through knowledge and activities, our students are hoping to share ways to keep bodies, minds and hearts healthy while raising donations to support the American Heart Association’s mission. More details will be coming as we get closer to the fun and impact. In the meantime, we encourage you to sign up online and complete Finn’s Mission (in honor of a National Heart Ambassador who has had 18 procedures) to learn the life-saving skills of hands-only CPR and the warning signs of stroke. You can get started here = http://www2.heart.org/goto/hgms. Thank you for your support!
Intervention
What is the i-Ready Diagnostic?
The Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that identifies students’ strengths and opportunities for growth.
That information helps determine how to best support their learning. Watch this video to learn more.
How can I access my student’s iReady results?
1. Log in to your student’s i-Ready Dashboard i-ReadyConnect.com and log in using your student’s login & password. (your student can do this)
2. Click on the For Families dropdown and select the For Families report.
3. Enter your District’s Report Code 6BSKDK
For more information and support, visit the i-Ready Family Center: Understanding Diagnostic Results.
i-Ready Helpful Links for Families:
Understanding diagnostic results from i-Ready
i-Ready Central Resources | Family Center – Home
i-Ready Domains covered by Diagnostic
7th & 8th grade families RE: Scholastic Book Orders
SHOP OUR CLASS PAGE: https://orders.scholastic.com/KWG77
SHOP FLYERS: https://clubs.scholastic.com/all-flyers
Success in the Middle: Do you have a passion for giving back? Are you interested in helping students succeed? If so, Howards Grove Middle School is looking for dedicated, high-quality volunteers who are seeking meaningful opportunities to make a difference. Volunteer tutors, proven to make an impact on academic achievement, are needed in all subject areas from 5th through 8th grade.
Our volunteers;
Academic: Work one-on-one or with small groups of students with the goal of increasing their academic achievement.
Social: We are also looking for “grandparents” that would like to come for a social group where they have lunch together, chat and play board games, etc.
Receive professional training to prepare for working in a classroom.
Develop a supportive working relationship with teachers.
Student Council
8th Grade
ELA
8th graders recently read the book The Outsiders. Students analyzed character development and themes while reading the novel, as well as focused on new vocabulary that we encountered in each chapter. We finished the unit by watching the movie, while comparing and contrasting the book with the movie. It was cool to hear many students going home and discussing the book with their family and having them report back to the class that many students’ parents also read the book in middle school!
8th graders also took their iReady mid-year diagnostic the week of January 6. They are also intensively reviewing and working on grammar and sentence structure in anticipation of our next writing unit, position papers. We will be looking at a variety of primary and secondary sources to take a stance on an issue impacting the world today: Should teens have control over their own technology (social media, video games, computers, etc.)? Students will be able to formulate a thesis statement, support their ideas with evidence, explain and defend their position, and create a bibliography for their sources.
Algebra
Algebra students have been waist deep in a study of quadratic expressions and equations. These students began by simply adding, subtracting, and multiplying polynomials. Recently, they’ve discovered the ease of multiplying two binomials using the FOIL method. They’ve identified special product situations and how these may be efficiently multiplied. The last several weeks have been focused on factoring polynomials. How cool is that!
Math
The months are certainly flying by and so are the learning modules for 8th grade math students. These students are now able to determine the slope of a line and use it to find additional points. They know how to write equations of a line when given a graph or a table of values, calculate the unit rate, and determine whether the graph should be continuous or discrete. Finally, students have successfully learned how to identify and compare proportional relationships presented in different ways. Great job 8th graders. Make 2025 as great as 2024.
Science
We just ended our Space unit. We are now moving into talking about Atoms and the structure of atomic model when it comes to the difference between protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Social Studies
We are hard at work working on our "Great Depression and New Deal Family Projects". In this project students are researching their family members or people that lived through the Great Depression and using their experiences to communicate what life was like during that stage of American history. Stay tuned for pictures of presentations and Great Depression food items that students will be bringing in.
7th Grade
ELA
In 7th grade ELA we have wrapped up our unit on Investigating Characterization. Now students will be working in our Argumentative Paper Unit. We are working on finding evidence to support both sides of an argument. Our first argument topic is whether or not kids should be allowed to be in competitive sports. Students have done a wonderful job of finding information they have gathered by conducting a debate where they will have to argue both sides. Then students will get to choose an argument topic that is important to them. This will be the topic we will do more in depth research and writing about. Students are working to enhance our writing skills and using evidence to support their claims.
Accelerated Math
In accelerated math, we will begin the month by focusing on systems of equations, where students will learn to solve problems using graphing, substitution, and elimination methods. Next, we will move on to transformations and congruence and transformations and similarity, where students will explore how shapes change and relate to one another through translations, rotations, reflections, and dilations.
Math
For students in 7th-grade math, the focus will be on expressions, equations and inequalities. We’ll explore how to write, solve, and analyze these mathematical relationships. Later in the month, we’ll shift our attention to geometry by learning about the area of circles, circumference, and the surface area of irregular figures. Students will have opportunities to engage in hands-on activities to reinforce these concepts
Science
This month, students will be working on the following science standards:
Students will use arguments and evidence to explain how animal behaviors and specialized plant structures increase the likelihood of successful reproduction.
Students will construct explanations based on evidence about how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
Students will develop and use models to describe why genetic variations occur in offspring due to the processes of meiosis and sexual reproduction.
We’ll explore real-world examples, conduct experiments, and engage in discussions to help students understand how these standards connect to their lives. Be sure to ask your child about the fascinating sensory adaptations of animals and the factors affecting their growth!
Social Studies
In 7th grade Social Studies, we are very engaged in our Civil War Unit. We have covered the causes of the Civil War, and what the United States looked like at the time of the war. As we are learning and researching about each of the battle's students are creating a historical journal about a soldier in the war. They got to create a soldier and are writing about the facts that happened during the battles to explain how it felt to be a part of the Civil War. This will help us engage with our reading and practice seeing from the perspective of people in history!
6th Grade
ELA
Helping Sixth Graders Tap Into the Power of Nonfiction!
Our sixth graders are diving into the fascinating world of nonfiction reading! One of the key skills they’re mastering is how to hold onto what they read by summarizing. As they explore informational texts, students are learning to think critically by asking themselves, “What’s the most essential information here?” They’re identifying central ideas and pulling out the most important details, sharpening their ability to distill big ideas into clear, concise summaries.
Looking ahead, we’re about to embark on an exciting phase—the second and third bend of Tapping the Power of Nonfiction! In this phase, students will take on a more independent role as researchers. They’ll work in research groups to explore new topics, building on the skills they’ve already learned. As they dive deeper into their research, they’ll share their discoveries with classmates, practicing collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.
This is an exciting time for our readers as they become more confident and independent in navigating nonfiction. We can’t wait to see the amazing topics they explore and the insights they uncover!
Accelerated Math
The Block 3 math class is using ratio concepts to solve real-world problems. In addition, they have been working on writing and solving algebraic equations to model real-life situations. Soon, they will expand their skills by learning how to write and graph inequalities to represent various scenarios.
Math
The 6th graders kicked off the new year by practicing their protractor skills. This foundational knowledge was essential for helping students measure angles in circle graphs. Their work in Module 6 builds on their prior understanding of ratio reasoning, allowing them to find missing measurements in circle graphs and convert between customary and metric units. After mastering measurement conversions, the 6th graders will continue to apply their ratio knowledge to calculate percentages.
Science
6th grade scientists are starting 2025 with enthusiasm and a commitment to learning, continuing their study of energy, transitioning into a new unit on energy transfers. They’re honing in on thermal energy, learning how heat transfers through conduction, convection, and radiation. This unit is packed with exciting activities that help students connect these concepts to real-world examples!
Social Studies
The students have been learning about the structure of the United States government. They did a group project where they created a diagram to demonstrate understanding of the Three Branches in government and how the powers balance each other. They will begin the 3rd Quarter learning about the Amendments of the United States Constitution.5th Grade
ELA
I can't believe the second semester is here! It has been a joy working with your children for the first half of the school year. I love teaching 5th grade, and I am looking forward to the rest of the year. We have wrapped up Writers Workshop and I am very proud of our published personal narratives! Your child will be bringing home their personal narrative soon. Please celebrate their writing success. Writing is a complex skill, and they have worked very hard.
We will continue our reading growth spurt with our second Unit of Study in Readers Workshop, Tackling Complexity: Moving Up Levels Of Nonfiction. We will uncover what makes a main idea complex, learn strategies for determining implicit main ideas, use context clues to determine the meaning of vocabulary in complex texts, use morphology of words to tackle tricky vocabulary, and learn how to summarize complex nonfiction texts. We will have a cart of nonfiction books in our classroom from the library that students will work with daily, read various articles from our Unit of Study, and use digital resources such as Epic and Scholastic News. Our new mentor text will be, When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses, by Rebecca L. Johson.
Math
I can't believe how fast the year is flying. I know we all probably say that, but we are approaching the 3rd quarter already. Students in 5th grade are working hard in Math. I have appreciated their positive attitudes and willingness to "dig in" even when it seems like the curriculum is too challenging. Great job 5th Graders!!
Speaking of challenging.... we are tackling fractions! When the classes shared their thoughts and opinions about fractions, many did not give favorable reviews, however students are discovering that a fraction is a way to write a number smaller than one or larger than one. Fractions also mean division, which students are familiar with. Students are becoming more confident with the dreaded fractions, and it is so neat to see.
Currently, we are finding an equivalent fraction so we can add and subtract them. We will be multiplying and dividing soon. Stay tuned for an update.
Science
As the new year begins, our 5th grade scientists are diving into fresh topics and continuing to build their scientific knowledge through engaging lessons and activities. Students have started their new unit on matter and energy in organisms. They’ve been exploring how plants obtain the materials they need to grow, focusing on the roles of sunlight, water, and air. Next, they’ll shift their focus to animals, investigating how energy flows through ecosystems by studying predators, prey, and food webs. These lessons are sparking curiosity about the interconnectedness of living things and the energy systems that sustain them.
Social Studies
The students finished the 2nd quarter learning about the Age of Exploration. They will begin the 3rd Quarter with a project in which they will be assigned an explorer that they will research and report to their class about.Howards Grove Middle School
506 Kennedy Avenue
Howards Grove, WI 53083
(920) 565-4452
The School District of Howards Grove does not discriminate in the employment of staff on the basis of any characteristic protected under State or Federal law including, but not limited to, race, color, age, sex, creed or religion, handicap or disability, marital status, genetic information, citizenship status, veteran status, military service (as defined in 111.32, Wis. Stats.), sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, arrest record, conviction record, use or non-use of lawful products off the District’s premises during non-working hours, or any other characteristic protected by law in its employment practices. (Board Policy 4122)