Timberwolf Connection

Dear Tilden Community,

The strength of our school community shines through in every achievement this fall, from our engaging parent conferences to our cultural celebrations and academic initiatives. Our recent 4-star School Report Card rating reflects this powerful partnership between staff, students, and families. I share this news with deep gratitude as I prepare for my journey to India to spend time with family, particularly my mother. Mr. Courtot, assistant principal, would serve as acting principal in my absence.

In these final weeks of 2024, we have several important activities planned. On Tuesday, December 17, students will take the MAP-R (Reading) assessment, followed by MAP-M (Math) on Tuesday, January 7. Both tests will be administered from 8:15-10:45 AM, with students reporting to their homerooms. A modified bell schedule will follow the testing block. These standardized assessments are crucial in measuring student mastery of grade-level standards and help teachers adapt instruction to meet individual needs. Please support your child's success by ensuring they get adequate rest, eat a healthy breakfast, and arrive at school on time for the full testing period.

Before we depart for break, we will conduct our locker clean-out on Thursday, December 19, during 7th period (2:52-3:00 PM). Students should remove all food, drinks, and unnecessary items, take home any clothing or lunch containers, and return to their Period 7 classroom until dismissal. This organization will help ensure a fresh start for the new year.

This will be our final newsletter of 2024, with our next edition arriving on January 10, 2025. During this break, I hope you and your loved ones find time for rest, joy, and meaningful connections.

Wishing you a peaceful holiday season,

Sapna Hopkins

• December 13: Student Voice Forum Grades 7 and 8
• December 13 & 14: Tilden's Fall/Winter Show at 7pm
• December 16: Curriculum Night for Incoming 6th Grade Families at 7pm
• December 17: Curriculum Night for Rising 7th and 8th Grade Families at 6:30pm
• December 17: Winter MAP-R Assessment (Grades 6 - 8)
• December 18: Instrumental Concert at Walter Johnson HS
• December 19: Choral Concert at Walter Johnson HS
• December 20: Student vs. Staff Volleyball Jamboree
• December 23 - January 1: Winter Break (No School for Students)
• January 2: First Day of School after Winter Break

Dear Tilden Middle School Families of Incoming 6th and Rising 7th and 8th Grade Students,

The school’s leadership team will be hosting a virtual event, Curriculum Night on the following dates:

• Incoming 6th grade families (current 5th grade): December 16 at 7:00 pm
• Rising 7th (current 6th) grade and rising 8th (current 7th) grade families: December 17 at 6:30 pm

This kick-off event marks the beginning of the scheduling process for your student! We will be sharing important information regarding scheduling, core subjects, elective course selection, and essential information for students and caregivers for next year’s classes!

Please plan to join us via Zoom. The fliers below contain information about the Zoom link for the event. For questions, please contact Mr. Courtot at Richard_J_CourtotIII@mcpsmd.org or Jackie McKibben at Jacklyn_M_Mitchell@mcpsmd.org

We look forward to seeing you there!

We're taking important steps to strengthen our partnership with families through Scholastic's Family Engagement Survey (FEA). Research consistently shows that engaged families lead to successful students - from better grades and attendance to more positive attitudes toward learning. Through this assessment, we'll examine how welcoming our school is, both in our physical space and in our interactions. We'll evaluate our communication methods, information sharing, and family participation opportunities. Your perspective is valuable, and I encourage you to complete the Family Engagement Survey to help us enhance how we serve our Tilden community.

The Student Government Association (SGA) is excited to announce a special winter fundraiser in collaboration with Hello Neighbor, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of newly moved immigrants and refugees. Hello Neighbor helps families by providing essential items, housing assistance, and support in finding jobs. You can learn more about their impactful work here.

From December 2nd to December 18th, we invite Timberwolf students and families to participate by donating items from the list below. Donations will be collected in each 7th-period classroom, and the 7th-period class with the most contributions at each grade level will earn a cookie party courtesy of SGA!

What items we are collecting:

• Cold Gear

• Hats, gloves, scarves, thick socks, slippers, and like-new coats

• Blankets (new only)

Toiletries (full-size, new only)

• Shampoo, conditioner, bars of soap

• Feminine products (pads only)

• Hand soap, toilet paper

• Toothbrushes, toothpaste

• First aid kits

Boxes will be placed in all 7th-period classrooms to collect these items. Your contributions will go a long way in supporting newly arrived families this winter. Thank you for your generosity!

PE classes will begin the 2nd unit of quarter 2. Students will be in one of the following units:

• Table Tennis,
• Invasion Games,
• Polar Bear (an outdoor invasion unit requiring parent permission),
• Scooter Games,
• Archery, or
• Fitness

6th, 7th, and 8th grade health classes are well into their Mental Health Unit of study with topics varying by grade level. Some topics are repetitive with more depth, while others are new content.

All instrumental students are hard at work refining their performance skills for our winter concert on Wednesday, December 18th.

All Chorus students are hard at work preparing for their upcoming Winter Choral Music Concert on Thursday, December 19th at Walter Johnson HS. The concert starts at 7:00pm and is FREE!

Theater 1 students are starting work on a NEW dramatic scene, and after that will begin working on their Final Monologue Performance activity. Filmmaking is shooting music videos, and will start editing that footage when we return from Thanksgiving. Theater 2/Filmmaking students just completed performing their Duet Comedy scenes and will soon begin work on their next filming project – creating an original Movie Trailer.

Studio One: (6th Grade): This month students will be exploring sculpture in both found materials and ceramics! In the beginning of the month: Students will create a fun and personalized bobblehead using simple materials, exploring their creativity and learning about balance and proportion in design. Towards the end of the month: Students will create a ceramic pinch pot monster. Students will construct their monster by pinching, modeling, slipping, scoring and blending their clay into a 3D form.

Studio Two: (7th Grade): This month students are celebrating Native American Heritage Month! Students will work with weaving! Students will also be exploring ceramics by building a sculptural 'Alebrije' in recognition of October's Hispanic Heritage month. In the beginning of the month: Students will learn how to create a colorful woven design by weaving paper strips over and under, improving their fine motor skills, understanding of patterns, and creativity. Towards the end of the month: Be able to recognize explanatory myths and why human cultures require them. Design a creature that fits an explanation of a natural phenomenon or a natural disaster, or possibly a terrible accident (combine 2 mythical creatures into one). Possible focus: mainly on Alebrijes.

Studio Three: (8th Grade): This month students will be exploring the art of collage and will begin to segway into sculpture in both found materials and ceramics! In the beginning of the month: Students will create a colorful collage of a landscape or portrait using different types of currency (real or pretend) to learn about the variety of money used around the world and understand its importance in daily life. This objective encourages creativity while introducing basic concepts about money. Towards the end of the month: Learn about ‘Sculpture in the Round’. Measure, design, build and paint a 1⁄2 -1 foot recycled sculpture from plastic toys! The tower will be gessoed and have a successful 5 step value scale painted as the top layer.

Digital Art Digital Art & Photography I, II , and Digital Art III will continue to investigate digital art platforms. Students will explore digital art tools, basic concepts, and techniques to create digital art. They will identify the elements of art and the principles of design while creating digital, unique, and artistic projects.

7th grade resource is working on Executive Functioning Skills to set us up for success for the second quarterly marking period. These students are also working on multiplication. They are looking to strengthen students' skills with multiple digit multiplication and applying those skills to everyday life situations. Students are also working on organizing themselves through the use of agendas and planners. Whether these are digital or physical planners, we are teaching how to become more organized for classroom assignments and tests. Our students in our Connections program are continuing to work on Friendships. This means all areas of friendship including how to make a new friend, how to keep friendships, and identifying healthy and unhealthy friendships.

ELD 1-2 Grade 6: Students will continue with their second unit of study: You and Me. Students will finish the short story, “A Role to Play,” and write a well-developed paragraph. After that, students will continue their investigation of relationships with the poem, Teenagers, by, Pat Mora.

ELD 3 Grade 6: Unit 2 emphasizes the study of poetry and encourages students to consider the essential question: How do relationships shape us? Students will continue their exploration of relationships in poems such as “To my Librarian, Mrs. Long” by Nikki Giovanni and “Tableau” by Countee Cullen.

ELD 1,2,3 Grade 7 and 8: Unit 2 emphasizes the study of poetry and encourages students to consider the essential question: What do we learn from love and loss Students explore questions about how we see ourselves in the world

Students will be starting the nutrition unit and will learn about nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and how to make healthy food choices.

Spanish 1AB: Students will start Unit 1.3 which is about spaces of our home and family members. Moreover, students will learn the difference between ser and estar (to be) and -er, -ir conjugations. Spanish grammar is starting to pick up the pace!

Spanish 3: We are working and will continue to work on health-related terms. Students learned about Colombian gastronomy and they will work on modifying some dishes. We will also learn subjunctive conjugations!!

French 1AB: Students are working on creating mini books related to our Unit 1.3 on Family.

French 2AB: Students are wrapping up our Faisons les courses (Let’s go Grocery Shopping unit).

French 1B: Students just created menus for imaginary restaurants in our Le Repas (Meals) unit.

Students learned how to say and write the dates in Chinese, as well as their birthdays, and how old they are. They learned that the date system in Chinese is very much like the number system.

Montgomery County Public Schools is taking an active role in the prevention of child abuse and neglect through early prevention and intervention education. During the month of December, our school counselors and Health Education teachers will be presenting lessons on the topic of child abuse and neglect. The lessons are known as Personal Body Safety Lessons and their purpose is to help students to:

--Develop knowledge, decision making skills, and behaviors which promote safe living in the home, school, and community

--Learn skills for self-protection and identifying child abuse and neglect

--Learn skills for asking for help for self and others and practice reporting to a trusted adult

--Engage in positive and appropriate interactions with peers and adults.

If you have any questions or concerns about the topics that will be covered, please contact your child’s Health Education teacher, or your child’s school counselor.

The Division of Food and Nutrition Services (DFNS) has made it easier to view student’s school menus. MCPS students, parents, and community members can now view school menus with MealViewer, providing increased access to:

• School specific menu offerings
• Nutritional information for each meal
• View and filter by the top allergens

Click here for more information!

• Minority Scholars will be hosting a holiday light drive until Friday, January 10th.

  Please bring any holiday lights you would normally throw away during this time. All holiday lights are accepted. There will be a holiday light bin available to recycle your lights in the front hallway before school begins each day. What will happen to the lights? A Better Way Recycling collects all lights and then breaks them down to recover raw materials. These ra w materials are often used to create roofing and construction materials, piping, car batteries, other electronics, led wheel weights, flatware, jewelry, and more! All lights will be delivered for recycling to MOM's Organic Market. Questions? Please send an email to suzanne_hadidi@mcpsmd.org.

• Mrs. Park (amie_schwartz@mcpsmd.org) and Ms. Delett (jennifer_delett@mcpsmd.org) have started an English Conversation Club for students who want to have a casual environment to practice English or for native speakers who likes chatting and getting to know other students. It will be held on Wednesday’s once a month in the media center. Interested students can stop by the media center to let us know of their interest and to get specific dates.