Middle School News 6th Edition

A Note from Mrs. Greaves

I want to thank all the staff, students, and families for welcoming me to Concord School and to wish everyone a safe and restful break. Concord School is an amazing place and I am glad to be a part of such a warm and thoughtful community.

Warmly,

Kandi Greaves

8th Grade Fundraising Update

As of 12/20/24, fourteen items have been donated for the calendar raffle in February. The eighth grade class needs an additional fourteen items when they return on January 2nd to prepare the calendars and begin selling. If you have items to donate please bring them to the school no later than January 2nd. The Booster Club is sponsoring this raffle.

Thank you,

The Eighth Grade Class

Math News from November and December

Fifth graders have been working on multiplying and dividing in situations involving fractions. For example, if ¼ cup of popcorn kernels will make a single serving of popcorn, How many servings will 3 cups of popcorn kernels make?

In grade 6, students have been studying ratios and solving a variety of problems involving ratios. They have illustrated these number relationships using diagrams and double number lines, such as the ones shown here that represent the 4 to 3 ratio. Students are learning how to use a table of values as another helpful way to figure out equivalent ratios.

December: Sixth graders are solving problems with ratios and have learned how to use tables of values in situations where a number line is too cumbersome. They are solving a type of problem that we call “info-gap,” where some necessary information is missing, and they need to determine what is needed to solve the problem.

In grade 7 math, students are wrapping up their unit on circle measurement. In our next unit, students deepen their understanding of ratios, scale factors, unit rates (also called constants of proportionality), and proportional relationships, using them to solve multi-step problems that are set in a wide variety of contexts that involve fractions and percentages. For example, students might solve a problem that involves a percent discount, or a percent change in rainfall amounts from one year to the next.

December: Seventh graders have started a unit on proportional relationships. They are working toward understanding how percentages are used to show a change, either a percent increase or a percent decrease.

In grade 8, students have been working on linear relationships, including both proportional and non-proportional relationships. They are learning the interconnections between the different ways of representing these relationships: tables, graphs, and equations, along with descriptions given in words. They can figure out what the slope is, and what the vertical intercept is, and what they each mean in the context of the problem.

Art News: 11/26/24

5/6 Art- We have begun a unit on drawing the human face in realistic proportion. Both classes have completed two lessons, and are well on their way to being able to do this. Ask your child to show you where the eyes, nose, ears and mouth are placed on the average human face!

7th Art- We just started creating miniature animal sculptures using egg cartons. The students seemed excited to work in a new medium, and spend a class period hard at work on the beginning of this project. Ask you child which animal they are planning on creating!

8th Art- We just started a project combining our knowledge of how to draw 2-Point Perspective with sharing our future goals, hopes and dreams. So far I have seen a lot of great ideas in thumbnail sketches and even some students have already tackled their final drawing. I can’t wait to see how they all turn out. Ask your child what kind of sunglasses they are drawing, and what they are planning to draw inside each lens!

-Mrs. Huntington