January Academic Newsletter

SAVE THE DATE! JANUARY 12TH

Join us at the school for a Parent, Adult, Community Member presentation from The Stop Trafficking Project. All adults from Holt County and the Fairfax & Nodaway-Holt communities are invited to attend this adult education event.

4:45-5:45pm Spaghetti Supper

Help us prepare by submitting an rsvp for supper: https://forms.gle/FRhenq7QR2H8gP7k8

6:00-7:30pm Adult presentation with national speaker & CEO of The Stop Trafficking Project, Russ Tuttle

5:45-7:40pm Childcare provided for ages 1-13 by MCHS students in the lower elementary classrooms. Sign in & out with a valid ID is required.

JANUARY 13TH our middle school and high school students will be attending a student educational presentation from Russ Tuttle

Business Skills: This semester, students will begin their Business Skills class by focusing on Microsoft Office Word. They will explore the basics, such as formatting text, creating and editing documents, and using templates, as well as more advanced features like adding tables, charts, and images.

Accounting: This semester, students in the Accounting class will begin by learning about starting a proprietorship and understanding the changes that affect the accounting equation. They will explore how business transactions, such as expenses and revenue, impact the fundamentals of the accounting equation. This foundational knowledge will help them grasp the core principles of accounting, setting the stage for more advanced concepts in financial reporting and business management.

Personal Finance: As the second semester begins, students in Personal Finance will focus on career readiness by exploring various career paths. They will learn how to assess their interests, skills, and values to identify potential careers that align with their goals. The course will guide students through researching job market trends, understanding educational and training requirements, and evaluating earning potential in different fields.

Mass Media: As the second semester begins, Mass Media students will dive back into their work, focusing on completing pages for their ongoing projects. Whether it’s finalizing layouts, refining designs, or editing written content, students will collaborate to ensure each page meets the highest standards of creativity and professionalism. They will apply their skills in graphic design, photography, and storytelling to produce polished, engaging materials.

Future Business Leaders of America: Members are preparing for a district contest which will be held at the end of January. FBLA members will be having a Baked Potato Bar on January 10, 2024 in the Multipurpose Building from 4:30-7:00p.m (Free Will Donation).

Algebra 1 - We will start factoring quadratic expressions which will lead into solving quadratic equations.

Geometry - We are working on finding all of our centers of triangles and finding what special characteristics each one gives us.

Pre/Calc-Trig - We will be solving trigonometric identities. We will use some problem solving skills to find different ways to solve trigonometric equations.

Psychology students begin the semester discussing the principles and applications of learning. We'll discuss Classical Conditioning, including unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and the conditioned response. This includes Pavlov and his experiments with dogs. The class will follow this up with Operant Conditioning, and the reinforcements and punishments associated with Operant Conditioning. Finally, the class will discuss social learning, cognitive learning, and behavior modification.

Contemporary Literature students will begin the semester reading The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King.

Stats/Research class will dive into Basic Issues of Testing, focusing on objectivity, reliability, and validity. Then we'll discuss the research process and strategies used, hypotheses, and types of experiments. These basic, but important, principles will provide the background information necessary to discuss the remaining topics of research for the semester.

Composition and English Presentation students will continue writing essays and practice the grammatical and mechanical devices necessary to write in an academic manner.

We will blast off in my classroom to start the new year. In World History we will begin discussing the causes of World War I. In Government we will start examining the structure of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other amendments. The other half of sophomores will begin Sophomore Leadership. Current Events will continue examining different topics and events around the world.

Ag Science 1- Students will be starting our Animal Science unit with an emphasis on the Cattle and Swine Industries along with a review over Missouri Record books and SAE's

Ag Science 2- Students will be learning about the importance of shop safety

Greenhouse- Students will start to plan the Greenhouse sale that we will be having at the end of the semester. Plants are ordered, but they will start to make more "managerial decisions" for the greenhouse.

Ag Construction- Students will continue in the shop working on individual projects along with filling out applications for FFA

Plant Science- Students will start with the basics of plant science along will catching up Record books and filling out applications for FFA

FOODS:

We will be watching a few baking shows. I plan to do a cupcake wars project, where students will be given time to choose their flavor, design and present their cupcake. This will be timed and “judged”.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS:

We will be starting a new chapter about developing relationship skills. Students will learn how good friendships can help a person grow to maturity. Also, how negative peer pressure can hinder the growth of close friendships and how diversity can contribute to a strong community.

HEALTH:

I have a new group of students including a mixture of sophomores and juniors this semester. We will start on Unit 1 about Understanding Health and Wellness and the Risk Factors, including Genes, Behavior and Environment.

NUTRITION AND WELLNESS:

We are learning about kitchen safety. This can include the safety of cutlery, spills, fires, leaks, etc. The students will know how to prevent these accidents from occurring. Students will know what actions to take to control the situation they are in.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT:

Students will learn how children learn and develop important skills. They will be able to list the stages of development after childhood and also learn the importance of observing a child in the study of child development.

7th Grade:

This will be the first time these students have had me. They will get acquainted with my classroom and rules. I look forward to diving into a lesson where students will learn how to find their place in the world. They will learn how to work with their strengths and weaknesses to be the best individual they can be. They will also be looking at their developing personality and all the things that make them unique. We should end the month with a lesson over friendships, where they will learn to decode the qualities of strong friendships.

FCCLA:

I will be taking 8 FCCLA members to compete at the Regional level for STAR Events this month. I am also taking 2 members that will serve as volunteer evaluators or judges. Two parents are also volunteering to go as judges or evaluators. My officers will meet this month to discuss FCCLA week for next month.

Grades 9-10:

We are starting our new text: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. We will also be revisiting grammar and then studying rhetorical appeals.

Grade 11:

We are starting our new text: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. We will review rhetorical appeals and then look into logical fallacies.

Grade 12:

The seniors are starting their new non-fiction text: Scratch Beginnings by Adam Shepard. We will continue to look at author credibility as we study this response to Nickel and Dimed. They will be busy further developing their writing skills and focusing on life after high school.

Elementary & Middle School P.E. - Basketball Unit

9th Grade P.E. - Badminton Unit

Lifetime Sports - Bowling Unit

Integrated Science 9 (Physical Science) - Physical Science has two main components: Chemistry and Physics. Throughout the third quarter we will be wrapping up our physics component of the class. Kicking off with work, power and machines, then moving on to energy in the first month or so.

Chemistry - Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. We will review electrons in atoms and wrap up our discussions with electron configurations. This leads us nicely into the periodic table of the elements, focusing on the classifications, laws and properties of the respective groups.

Biology - Biology, or life science, will provide students with the knowledge of the nature of living things. The cell cycle, mitosis, and an introduction to genetics are on deck for the next few weeks. Expanding on previous knowledge by diving deeper into the "things" that make us!

Anatomy - Human anatomy is the study of the body, its parts and their locations. King Arthuritis, our trusty class skeleton, will be getting a workout this month as we continue our study of the skeletal system. There are 206 bones in the human skeleton, so we have plenty to learn!

Earth Science - Earth Science is the name for the group of sciences that deals with Earth and its neighbors in space. Earthquakes and tectonic plate movement is on deck for this month. This should be some exciting stuff since the New Madrid fault is in our state!

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a great holiday break and enjoyed their snow days! The Shipman family travelled to all the grandparents houses over break and had an absolute blast. I'm excited to get back and see everyone. I've missed seeing the students and the teachers everyday. I was definitely ready to get back into a routine. We are starting 2nd semester, which means the craziness begins! We are getting ready to start Academic Bowl next month (JH Starts this week), we will start having organizational competitions as well in February (FBLA), we will be rescheduling our Blood Drive that we missed due to weather (date will be sent out soon), and we will start preparing for our Courtwarming week (February 3-7th). We have a very important speaker coming to present on January 12th for parents about Human Trafficking, I encourage all parents to come and listen. A meal will be provided as well as child care for your convenience. Please see the link in Mrs. Radley's section for more information. On January 13th we will be hosting a Holt County student presentation over this topic as well. January is a month of new beginnings, and I'm excited to see what 2025 has instore for all of us. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns you might have. You can reach me by email or calling the office @ jake.shipman@mndcty.org or 660.442.5429.

Go Panthers!

HS Office: 660.442.5429

Email: jake.shipman@mndcty.org

Website: https://www.mndcty.k12.mo.us/