The Spillway

Norris Middle will be hosting a Minecraft Summer School this summer during June. The program will be for any interested rising 7th and 8th graders. There will be no associated costs for participating in the fun and educational world of Minecraft. Keep looking for more information in future issues of the Spillway.

Math: Next week in math, students will discuss

• what it means to solve an equation and what is meant by a solution of an equation.

• that an equation with a variable can be true or false depending on the value substituted for the variable.

• that solving an equation means finding a value of the variable that makes the equation true.

• using substitution to show whether a number in a specified set is a solution of an equation.

• standards that were “most missed” from the benchmark and practice those standards on their new spiral review.

Math Important Dates:

Tuesday, February 11

• Mrs. Grisham’s classes need to turn in their Unit 4 Corrections

Friday, February 14

• I-Ready Pathway lesson due

• Spiral Review Quiz

Social Studies: This week, we continued our unit on Ancient Greece. It was an action-packed week of learning about the different wars that occurred including the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. We also took a deep dive into the similarities and differences between two city-states; Sparta and Athens. Ask your child which city-state they would have preferred to be a part of! We finished the week introducing and discussing the multiple Greek gods. Next week, we will lead into learning about the various Greek achievements.

Important SS Dates:

• Library Day: 2/13

• Ancient Greece:

• Unit Test: Tentatively 2/14

• Spring Benchmark: 2/28

Science: This has been a busy week of exciting hands-on activities! Students have been working through lessons/activities to successfully answer this week’s focus question: “How do organisms interact?” Students were introduced to the different types of symbiotic relationships and then reinforced their skills by visiting “Friend of Foe?” stations with specifically listed scenarios in which the students had to identify the type of relationships stated. We finished the week with a neat Owl Pellet dissection in which students worked in pairs and explored the contents of their very own owl pellet. Be sure to ask your child what they thought about the activity! We introduced students to their upcoming Biome projects. Presentations will begin next Thursday, February 13th. Students may choose to bring a pet native to their assigned biome as a visual aid to their class presentation. Any students hoping to bring a pet must complete this application and return it to their science teacher by Tuesday, February 11.

Important Science Dates:

• Population Quiz Corrections due 2/10

• Biome Presentations Feb 13,14,18

• Next science quiz: tentatively 2/21

• Science Spring Benchmark 2/28

ELA:

This week, we studied character’s POV during bellringer and looked at various fables to find the theme. Next week, we will be reading “The Gift of the Magi” and looking at how story structure impacts plot, theme, and setting. Additionally, students will study the theme, figurative language, plot, and characters within the story. Students will take a quiz over this text on Friday where they will be allowed to use their notes.

Important dates:

• “The Gift of the Magi” quiz and figurative language IReady quiz corrections due- Feb 14

Please do not send Valentine's to the school for students. Due to the overwhelming number of deliveries we cannot accept Valentine's on behalf of a student. Our Beta Club will have candy grams available instead. Thank you for supporting Beta Club.

In ELA, we are finishing up our CommonLit unit: The Debate on School Start Time. As we do so, we will switch the focus to reteaching and reviewing some of our more difficult standards. This will include an emphasis on comparing multiple sources with a shared topic and examining the development of central ideas.

Please continue to urge students to complete their assigned iReady assignments, and know that it is a tool for learning that can be used independently as well.

In math, students have been working on exponent properties and scientific notation. Next week, we will wrap up operations with scientific notation and students will take a Unit Test covering exponents and scientific notation. This unit involves a lot of rules and steps, so please encourage your child to continue reviewing notes and study guides in preparation for the test. Please continue to check in with your child about his or her weekly iReady lessons, as well.

In science this week, we learned about natural selection and how this plays a role in an environment. We also were able to connect natural selection with a past standard of common ancestry. Students will have a quiz on 2/10, as always quiz corrections will be available and will be due 2/17. We will move into the topic of artificial selection next week! Students will be using a variety of tools, including interactive worksheets, webquests, articles, and virtual labs!

Social Studies is diving into Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny. We took notes on President James K. Polk and Westward Expansion, we analyzed key choices and groups during the California Gold Rush, and simulated the Oregon Trail through an interactive activity.

Ms. Cornell's Related Arts classes will be hosting a guest speaker from Street Hope TN Friday, February 21 to share information from the curriculum Project POST: Positive Online Social Tools. All information presented will follow the Tennessee Health Education and Lifetime Wellness Standards for mental, emotional, and social health, technology safety, and human growth and development: relationships for your student’s grade level. Project POST focuses on internet safety, human trafficking, and how to eliminate the risk of being exploited online. Topics covered will include app safety, gaming safety, device safety (phones, tablets, laptops, etc), cyberbullying, and healthy relationships. We will emphasize practical ways to make healthy choices online that will help students accomplish their future goals and live happy and successful lives.

Thank you everyone for coming out to support our Norris Basketball team this past Wednesday! Our boys were able to hold off Chattanooga Prep and win the first Sectional Tournament game by 1. They will now play against Maury this Saturday over at ACHS at 3:30. Please come out again to support our boys so they can move on to play Vine on Monday (2/10).

Golf season begins shortly and there has already been an interest meeting. If you would still like to participate, please reach out to the school for more information. There will be an interest meeting for Track and Field on Monday for anyone who would like to attend. The meeting will take place at Norris Middle School in the cafeteria at 6:00 p.m. Softball tryouts will begin on 2/17 and Baseball will have a meeting soon. More information will be released soon.