Swann Lion Times
Your weekly update from your Lion Pride!
What our Lions are Learning
8th grade
Students are participating in learning walks in Social Studies.
8th Grade
Students are learning about sectionalism.
8th Grade
Students are learning about the ecosystem.
Be sure to talk with your Lions each night about what standards they are working on and what activities they are doing to master those standards! Here is some general information to get the conversation started.
In Math, students use the Open Up curriculum. Click here to see the Open Up lessons for all grade levels! Click here to see the Math 1 Open Up lessons. 6th graders are working on fractions, 7th graders are practicing with rational numbers, and 8th grade working on functions and volume.
In ELA, students are working on their second set of book studies. This unit they are reading informational texts. 6th grade is reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, 7th grade is reading Patient Zero, and 8th grade is reading Omnivore's Dilemma.
In Social Studies, 6th graders are learning about ancient China, 7th grade is learning about the 20th century, and 8th grade is exploring the industrial revolution.
In Science, 6th graders are working on waves, 7th graders are learning about the layers of the atmosphere, and 8th graders are learning about ecosystems.
Math Moments
6th Grade
In 6th grade, students are putting fractions to work in real-life situations. See if they can apply that knowledge to this scenario. A set of books that are each 1.5 inches wide are being organized on a bookshelf that is 36 inches wide. How many books can fit on the shelf? Write a multiplication equation and a division equation to represent this question.
7th Grade
In 7th grade, students are learning about negative numbers. See if they can apply the concepts to these scenario. Kiran drinks 6.4 oz of milk each morning. How many days does it take him to finish a 32 oz container of milk? Write and solve an equation for the situation. What does the variable represent?
8th Grade
In 8th grade, students are learning about functions. See if they can apply their learning to this scenario. Brown rice costs $2 per pound, and beans cost $1.60 per pound. Lin has $10 to spend on these items to make a large meal of beans and rice for a potluck dinner. Let B be the number of pounds of beans Lin buys and R be the number of pounds of rice she buys when she spends all her money on this meal. Write an equation relating the two variables. Rearrange the equation so B is the independent variable. Rearrange the equation so R is the independent variable.
Report Cards Go Home on Jan. 31st!
Interim Assessment
On1/29, students will take their ELA Interim Assessment. Interim assessments are an important part of our data collection process. They allow us to support students more accurately and make better instructional decisions. Please be sure your student comes to school with a fully charged Chromebook on testing days!
NWEA Assessments
On Feb. 5 and 7, students will take their mid-year NWEA assessment. NWEA assessments are an important part of our data collection process. They allow us to see student growth over time and make predictions about student performance on EOGs. Please be sure your student comes to school with a fully charged Chromebook on testing days!
ACCESS for ELLs Testing Jan. 30-Feb. 2
WIDA ACCESS testing occurs each winter and let's us know how our English Learning students are progressing towards mastery of English speaking, reading, writing, and listening. This testing will primarily occur during their EL classes. Their scores on these tests determine whether they continue in or exit the EL program, so we want them to have the best chance possible of performing up to their potential. Please make sure students come to school ready and rested with a charged device! Contact Ms. Davis with any questions!
Announcements
Quarter 2 PBIS Celebration
We will be hosting our quarter 2 PBIS Celebration on February 9th. Students will need 20,000 Classcraft experience points to attend, have less than 3 visits to ISS and no OSS. Students that do not attend the celebration will participate in a session on positive decision making.
Overdue Library Books!
We have about 150 students with library books due back to the media center. Please ask your students about returning books and help us get everything accounted for! If your student is one of the ones with a missing book ,you'll receive a ConnectEd call soon.
The Choice Programs Window Opens Jan. 19
Do you have an 8th grader who's interested in a choice program for high school? Are you a rising 7th or 8th grader interested in learning about all the middle school choices GCS offers? If so, visit the GCS Choice Program website to learn more about the offerings, application process, and timeline: https://www.gcsnc.com/Page/2113.
*If you are a 6th or 7th grader currently enrolled in the Spanish Immersion or STEM Choice programs, you DO NOT have to reapply to continue those programs at your new schools next year.*
Family and Community Involvement Opportunities
Sharing our Lion Legacy
Our Swann Community Celebration Committee is planning many ways to bring the larger Swann Pride together throughout the year to celebrate Swann's final year as a middle school. One of those is to collect and share photos of Swann/Aycock's past. These could be historical photos or ones you've taken over the years. Use the link here to share them with us: https://forms.gle/6WLd4rboLBiZk1QH8
1979-1980
AMS production of Camelot
1985-1986
Students posing in the courtyard
1976-1977
"Best All-Around" students (in front of yarn art that is still in the front office!)
Parent Academy
GCS Parent Academy is a great resource to helps support families with a variety of things such as homework help, digital resources, resume assistance, homeownership, and much much more. Click on the link below to explore the many benefits of being a part of the GCS Parent Academy.
Join the PTA Today!
Swann is a proud PTA school! Click here to join our PTA as a parent, student, community, or staff member. If you are interested in serving on the Board, let us know and we will put you in touch with the current PTSA reps! School is better when we work together!
For more information, please reach out to swannpta@gmail.com.
Counseling Corner
Meet the Counselors!
Ms. Kelly is serving our 7th grade and A-M 8th grade students.
Because our counselors work with students all day, email is a good way to contact them when you need them!
Schedule Changes
Ms. Kelly and Mrs. Dorsey are working on student schedule change requests for semester 2 starting January 19th. The deadline to request a schedule change is February 6th, all requests need to be submitted to either counselor. In the event students do not have two encore classes listed on their schedule, Ms. Kelly and Mrs. Dorsey will be making the needed corrections. Students requesting a schedule change should follow their assigned schedule in PowerSchool until they receive a notification from a counselor stating their request has been fulfilled.
Character Trait of the Month
In February, students will be talking about PERSEVERANCE in their Friday SEL lessons. Watch this video about perseverance with your student: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY-SCapwK3g. What does it mean to have grit? What was a time in your life when you showed perseverance? Share that experience with your student. Let them share an example with you? Why is persevering hard sometimes? How does this idea relate to students' experiences in school?
Athletics
Winter Sports
It's Winter Sports time! Check the Athletics page of the website for times and dates of games. It's a few months away, but students interested in Spring sports, go ahead and make sure you have all needed forms now! All necessary forms are also posted on the website. Remember that any athlete must have a current physical on file to participate.
1/29 ELA 6-8 Interim Assessment
1/31 Report Cards Go Home
2/5 NWEA Reading Test
2/7 NWEA Math Test
2/21 NAEP testing for selected 8th grade students
3/5 7th Grade Raleigh Field Trip
3/12 Math 6-8 Interim Assessment
3/20 7th Grade Symphony Field Trip
4/4 8th Grade Civil Rights Museum Field Trip
4/9 NWEA Reading Test
4/10 NWEA Math Test
4/16 ELA 6-8 Interim Assessment
4/17 6th Grade Grasshoppers Field Trip
4/23 Science 8 Interim Assessment
5/24-31 EOG Testing
Keep in Touch!
Email: battlep@gcsnc.com boccim@gcsnc.com winsted@gcsnc.com
Website: https://www.gcsnc.com/site/default.aspx?DomainID=114
Location: 811 Cypress St, Greensboro, NC 27405, USA
Phone: 336-370-8100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swannlions
X: @swannmiddle
Instagram: @swannmiddleschool