Dear Ballenger Creek Middle Families,
I hope that you and your loved ones are well. Since we’re in the month of Thanksgiving, it’s a pretty appropriate time to again reflect a bit on gratitude. Of course, none of us feel grateful all of the time--our lives all have rough seasons. However, if we are purposeful in trying to practice gratitude, we are more likely to feel grateful about different aspects of our lives.
As I’ve shared with anyone who will listen, among the most powerful and perspective-changing acts I have done so far in my life have been thanking people. Not just anyone, but those individuals who have helped shape me or put me on a better path. In my childhood and young adulthood, these people were certain coaches, teachers, close neighbors, and relatives who took the time to invest in me. I have written and sent many letters and emails to these people specifically thanking them for helping me and explaining what they did and what their efforts meant to me. In every instance, I received benefits that I hadn’t expected: a sense of well-being, gratitude, and in some situations, closure.
Last November, I was able to locate another former teacher of mine and send him a thank-you. This particular teacher, (now Dr.) David Doré, was at the right place and right time for me, and in my note I thanked him for a number of ways he helped me, including an important conversation he initiated with me.
During my freshman year of high school, a young Mr. David Doré, not long out of college, had a private talk with me—direct, honest, and kind—about me clowning around in another young teacher’s biology class along with a group of my classmates. He clearly and effectively communicated with me that what we were doing wasn’t funny and it had a real negative impact on the other teacher’s well-being. Mr. Doré told me that I was better than that, and I was. In retrospect, it was a wake-up call for me; I never disrupted a class or was disrespectful to another teacher again.
Several days after sending my thank-you, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email reply from Dr. Doré. It started out with “It is wonderful hearing from you and thank you for your thoughtful and kind email.” In response to me sharing what I’ve been up to since I was his student, he caught me up on his last 35+ years of life, including what he’s doing now--he was named the chancellor for the entire Virginia Community College System last year! That’s 23 schools, over 152,000 students, and thousands of employees! I knew he was a quality person when he taught me many years ago!
I urge you to consider communicating your thanks to someone who has helped you--write that letter, email, or make that phone call. Involve your children in the process when appropriate. Teach them the value of practicing gratitude--you won’t regret it.
Please have a good month--and if you need assistance with any element of your child’s middle school experience, please reach out--we’re here to partner with you to benefit your children!
Take care,
Jay Schill
Principal, BCMS
6th Grade Updates
It is hard to believe that we are done with the first quarter of the school year! Your students have done a lot of hard work adjusting to middle school and all of the challenges that come with it. Please congratulate your student on a job well done and reflect with them on how they can improve this quarter.
We would like to remind parents to continue to check your child’s Schoology accounts to stay up to date on their school work and encourage them to reach out to teachers and trusted adults in the building if they need extra help or support.
7th Grade Updates
The 7th grade team would like to congratulate their students for a productive term. Combined with conferences with their Homebase teachers, we are hoping for an even better second term. We would encourage students to reflect on their first term and focus on one area they could improve in, either with a class or a behavior that is negatively impacting their grades.
The 7th grade teachers would like to encourage all their students to practice advocating for themselves, either in class if they are struggling with a task or through Schoology/LanSchool for digital assistance. In addition, we’d also like to remind parents and guardians that students can be pulled during ELT time three days a week if they need additional help. Please message your teachers if you would like to be pulled for this educational opportunity.
We would like to remind families to check Schoology. All grades for this class will be available in Schoology as soon as possible. If you or your student have any concerns or questions about their grade, please reach out to your teachers.
8th Grade Updates
Can you believe it? We have made it through the first term and we are already starting a new term. Congratulations to students who met their personal goals regarding school and academia. If you did not meet your goals, here is a fresh start to try something new to help reach those goals.
Time management and organization is a big conversation the 8th grade team have been having with our students. This life skill will benefit them long after middle school so why not try out what works for you.
Maybe you should use the calendar in Schoology to remind yourself of assignment due dates and deadlines.
Another goal for our students would be to set alarms and work on arriving at school on time. The school day starts at 8:00am with the doors opening at 7:30 am for students. Please make sure to show your L.E.A.D by arriving at school and class on time everyday.
ELA Department
6th Grade:
We have recently started a unit titled Never Give Up. In this unit, students will read about people and characters who refuse to give up, despite the hardships they face. We will consider different ways to face challenges and stay strong. The texts we will read center on the Essential Question “What keeps people from giving up?” This open-ended question is intended to spark thoughtful discussion. You may wish to explore this question with your student at home as well.
Unit 2 includes the following texts:
- A Schoolgirl’s Diary from I am Malala: In this memoir, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai details events that led to her being wounded by members of the Taliban. She explains how—when the Taliban ordered girls to stop going to school—she came to record a series of BBC radio diary entries about her experiences. Students will analyze features of informational texts, and they will learn how to generate questions to help improve their understanding of a text.
- Speech to the Young: Speech to the Progress-Toward: In this poem, Gwendolyn Brooks presents a call to action for young people, encouraging them to seize the power of the moment and to disregard the voices of people who try to keep them down. Students will learn to analyze poetic forms and how to make inferences about theme.
- The First Day of School: This short story, set in 1954, explores internal and external conflicts faced by two children who are about to integrate a school for the very first time. As they consider the struggles of the characters, students will analyze plot, character, and setting.
7th Grade:
We have recently started our second unit titled Take Control. In this unit, students will encounter people and characters took control in situations of great risk and difficulty. We will consider ways in which we can overcome both internal and external obstacles. The texts we will read center on the Essential Question “How do actions define us?” This open-ended question is intended to spark thoughtful discussion. You may wish to explore this question with your student at home as well.
Unit 2 includes the following texts:
- Heartbeat: In this short story, a teenager struggles to change his body to win over his crush. Students will learn how to analyze characters and conflict in a story.
- Women in Aviation: This piece of historical writing recounts the true story of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn her pilot’s license. Students will learn how to determine an author’s purpose and how to cite evidence and evaluate details.
- Thank you, M’am: Langston’s Hughes short story shares how a boy learns a lesson about life after he is caught stealing a woman’s purse. Students will learn how to analyze characters’ qualities and how to analyze setting and conflict in a story.
- A Police Stop Changed This Teenager’s Life: This article by journalist Amy B Wang reports on how an encounter with police officer proves helpful to a teenager who was walking to work. Students will learn how to analyze structural patterns in a piece of writing.
8th Grade:
We have recently started our second unit, The Thrill of Horror. In this unit, we will explore the feelings of fear and excitement that many people enjoy when reading horror stories. The texts we will read center on the Essential Question “Why do we sometimes like to feel frightened?” This open-ended question is intended to spark thoughtful discussion. You may wish to explore this question with your student at home as well.
Unit 2 includes the following texts:
- The Tell-Tale Heart: Edgar Allan Poe’s famous story is told by an unnamed narrator who defends his sanity after killing an old man. Students will analyze narrative point of view and learn how to analyze how an author creates suspense in a story.
- The Monkey’s Paw: In this short story by W.W. Jacobs, a visitor gives the White family an object that will grant its owner three wishes. After Mr. White’s first wish is granted, the family learns hard lessons about the importance of being careful with wishes. Students will learn how to analyze themes and the use of foreshadowing in a work of fiction.
- from The Monkey’s Paw: In this clip from a film based on W.W. Jacob’s famous story, Mrs. White urges her husband to use his third wish to bring their son back to life. Students will learn how to analyze film adaptations and filmmaking techniques.
Math Department
6th Grade:
Students will be finishing Module 2 (Fractions, Decimals, and Percents) and starting Module 3 (Compute with Multi-digit numbers and fractions). Module 3 focuses on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals and connecting their skills operating with whole numbers to decimals. It will also connect what they know about multiplying fractions to determine how to divide fractions.
Students in 6th grade must be completing 1 ALEKS topic each day (5 topics per week). This builds a routine that supports students to meet their topic goal by May.
The deadline for assignments is the day of the Module assessment. After the Module assessment, assignments given before can no longer be completed for credit. Please check Schoology regularly to ensure students are completing assignments by the due dates so they don’t pile up.
7th Grade:
Students will be finishing up Module 3 (Operations with Integers), which includes building skills with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing integers with a focus on negative integers. They will then begin Module 4 (Operations with Rational Numbers), which focuses on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals, fractions, and whole numbers.
8th Grade:
Students will be working through Module 3 (Solve Equations with Variables on Each Side) and beginning Module 4 (Linear Relationships and Slope). In Module 4, students will be reviewing proportional relationships, then using Rate of Change to find the slope of a line and graphing linear equations.
Algebra:
Students will be finishing up Module 3 (Relations and Functions) and moving into Module 4 (Linear and Nonlinear Functions) and Module 5 (Creating Linear Equations). In Module 4, students will learn how to determine the difference between linear and nonlinear functions, as well as reviewing rate of change. In Module 5, students will write linear equations in various forms and determine correlation vs. causation.
History Department
6th Grade:
Sixth grade students are exploring the culture of Ancient Egypt and how that civilization was impacted by their important leaders and beliefs.
7th Grade:
Seventh grade students are learning about Medieval West Africa including the gold and salt trade as well as the prominence of West Africa as a center of learning.
8th Grade:
Eighth grade students are learning about the foundational documents to our nation and then analyzing the struggles and successes of the first four presidents.
Science Department
6th grade:
Students are working to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
7th grade:
Students are working to construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
8th grade:
Students are working to construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals' probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
Special Education Department
Thank you to all of the families who attended conferences last month. The key to every child’s success is parent-school relationships. Continue to reach out to your child’s case manager with questions that may arise throughout the school year.
Our special education department staff:
Case Managers (6th grade): Emily Pemrick and Tyler Britt
Case Manager (7th grade): Becky Schimel
Case Managers (8th grade): Elissa Grimm and Kelsey Summers
Program Assistant: Nancy Suray
Special Education Instructional Assistants: Noriko Cook, Shelly Sultana, and Michele Shafer
- School Psychologist: Julie Kaufhold
- Speech and Language Pathologist: Kellee Byun
Multilingual Learners
Happy Fall from your ML teachers, Ms. Webb and Ms. Birmanns!
We have some great events happening this fall. In November we will have dentists visit us right here at BCMS and your child can be seen and get a dental exam. Please let us know if you are interested and we can send home the form for you to fill out and return to school.
Have you been wondering when your child can get help from a content (ELA, science, history, math) teacher?
We have three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday) when students can work with their content teacher, get caught up in a subject and get help in general. All they have to do is message the teacher on Schoology and ask to be put on the tutoring list during homebase.
It is a good time to familiarize yourself with our school plans and grading platform, Schoology. You can check progress in any class any time and students, especially, should be learning to use this system to keep themselves accountable.
In Ms. Webb’s EWL2 class we have just finished learning about story elements and writing a new ending to a story. Students have learned a lot of new vocabulary and understand how the setting and events of a story affect a character's actions. Next we will be focusing on non-fiction.
If you feel your child needs extra support in learning English you can register your child for in person or virtual after school or weekend tutoring through the FCPS Multilingual Education Program. Your child can tell their MEP Teacher or you can register at tinyurl.com/FreeMLTutoring.
If you have questions or need support, please contact:
Sarah Birmanns - 8th grade and A - H 6th grade
Claudine Webb - 7th grade and I - Z 6th grade
5 Star Service Award
The 5-Star Service Award is for community use in recognizing FCPS employees who show excellence in one of the 5 FCPS goals. Community members are welcome to nominate any worthy FCPS employees. You can nominate here.
