Greetings, Families of Colin Powell Middle School!

As we Fall into the month of November, there is so much for which to be thankful - in addition to designated days off to spend time with loved ones, we also have an extra hour of sleep. So, after you read about all the great things going on in the Eagle Nation, please remember to set your clocks back today, Sunday, November 5th.

School Year 2023 - 2024 Goals:

• By MOY benchmark, there will be a 10% improvement (51% to 56%) in school-wide meeting/exceeding reading standards as measured by NWEA.

• By MOY benchmark, there will be a 10% improvement (24% to 26%) in school-wide meeting/exceeding math standards as measured by NWEA.

• The goal is to demonstrate a neutral or higher rating regarding the Supportive Environment in the 5 Essential Survey.

• To reduce the number of disciplinary infractions regarding student-to-student physical conflict for the year by at least 5%.

NOTE: We have 38 School Attendance Days until the Middle of the Year (MOY) assessment for NWEA testing. Please refer to these goals with your scholar, consistently.

In Partnership,

Dr. Jason Black Streeter

Principal

The Colin Powell Middle School

Spotlight on SEL:

Our scholars continue to work through the Second Step curriculum each day. Currently, each grade level is working on Unit 2: Recognizing Bullying and Harassment, where students learn how to recognize bullying and harassment, stand up safely to bullying, and respond appropriately to harassment. This unit’s content helps students develop empathy, understand the impact of bullying and harassment on individuals and their communities, examine social and environmental factors that contribute to negative behaviors, and identify solutions for preventing those behaviors.

The goals of this unit include students being able to:

• Recognize bullying and harassment.

• Recognize bullying and harassment happen because of individuals, but social and environmental factors also contribute to bullying and harassment.

• Recognize how social and environmental factors contribute to bullying and harassment in the school and community.

• Be prepared to take safe and responsible action to disrupt the factors that contribute to bullying and harassment at school.

6th grade:

• Science: In Ms. Hutcherson’s class, scholars will utilize the STEMscopes curriculum as we explore systems and subsystems within Bundle 1: Systems and Subsystems in Earth and Life Science, composed of five scopes. Each of these scopes provides the students with an opportunity to build their knowledge and start forming ideas that will help them complete their mission at the end of this segment and build toward a complete answer to their Anchoring Phenomena question. Students will begin with their Anchoring Phenomena, which introduces them to their segment mission to develop a model that compares Earth’s climate system and the human body system.

• The students will then move through multiple scopes in which they will learn the following concepts:

• Living things are made of cells.

• Cells have different parts that contribute to the overall function of the cell.

• The human body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.

• The Sun’s energy and the force of gravity drive the cycling of water through Earth’s systems.

• Climate is caused by circulation in the air and oceans, caused by Earth’s rotation and uneven heating of land and water.

• The students will also engage in the Science and Engineering Practices and

• Crosscutting Concepts are listed above throughout the scopes in this segment.

• In Ms. Carter's class, scholars will continue to utilize the STEMscopes curriculum as we continue to explore systems and subsystems within Bundle 1. We will continue to explore the "Anatomy of a Cell" and "Bodies and Systems" as we obtain, analyze, and evaluate evidence that will help us with our Mission Performance Task of creating a model to compare Earth's climate system and the human body system. We will continue to engage in STEAM through SuperSTEM with a focus on enhancing mathematical/critical thinking skills and Illinois Ag Mag with a focus on earth science, social science/current events, and careers. Both STEAM resources will also be used to provide scholars with additional instructional focus in Data Analysis and Probability, Information Text, and Earth and Space science.

• With Anatomy of a Cell, we are building an understanding of structure and function by comparing the functions of plants and animals and using the functions of cell organelles to design a house.

• With Bodies and Systems, we will discover that systems may interact with other systems, may have subsystems, and can be a part of larger, complex systems. We will be able to use arguments supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.

• Math: As we begin module 2, Mr. Gant and Mrs. Kipp's math classes will work with fractions, decimals, and percentages. Students will use their prior knowledge of fractions, decimals, ratios, and rates to develop an understanding of percentages and find the percent of a number. Having a solid understanding of percentages will prepare students for their future as they calculate tips, understand taxes, and compare sale prices while shopping.

• With NWEA not too far off in the future, we are also working on Statistics and Probability. Students find the mean, median, mode, and range from Bar graphs. They will also be learning this month how to use data to create dot plots, histograms, and Box and Whisker plots.

• SS: In the month of November, we will be wrapping up TCi Unit 1 by exploring and learning about our early human ancestors and how we have evolved from hunter-gatherers to farmers. The essential questions that will be explored are:

• 1. What capabilities helped hominins (early humans) survive? (Lesson 3)

• 2. How did the development of agriculture change daily life in the Neolithic Age? (Lesson 4)

• Our second unit will be on the Rise of Civilization, where we will be exploring ancient cities and empires such as Sumer, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Indigenous empires in the Americas. Not only are we talking about empires, but also exploring their cultures, religions, and traditions.

• ELA/Lit: Literature: We are still reading our novel "Becoming Naomi Leon." We are making inferences about our characters and are excited to see if we are correct! Our study of POV (Point of View) will end, and we will move on to Text Structures. Please encourage your child to read informational text (newspaper articles; video game/game instructions) as this is our heavy focus!

7th grade:

• Science: We are continuing our lessons on natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable. Parents should ask students about the "Candy Collector" activity in class recently.

• Math: The 7th Grade Math Team is excited to announce that we will start Module 3, which covers operations with Integers. Please click the link to read about what will be covered in Module 3: 7th Grade Math Module 3 Parent Letter

• Social Studies: This month, 7th graders will begin our new History Alive Social Studies Curriculum. Some of the topics we will be exploring are the inquiry process, key themes in U.S. History, Indigenous People of North America, and European Colonization.

• ELA/Lit: 7th grade ELA is focused on teaching informational text to our students. We are using HMH, our current curriculum, small groups, and supplemental materials to support us as we teach text structure and text features this month.

8th grade:

• Science: The 8th grade science department is studying the first 2 Laws of Isaac Newton. Students are creating and testing theories on how to alter the path of a moving object. They also test theories on how mass or force can affect an object's acceleration rate.

• Math: 8th grade math will be wrapping up Module 2 with a footnote on the Pythagorean Theorem and introducing Module 3 concepts of solving equations. Students should be renewing practice time on Exact Path and ALEKS.

• SS: We are preparing for small group instruction on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a focus on informational text. We are also working steadily on our new TCI Curriculum, learning about how the geography, economy, technology, and transportation system have created differences between the North and the South. Students will soon start a research /timeline project focusing on the expansion of the United States in the mid-1800s.

• ELA/Lit: The 8th grade ELA and LIT classes are enjoying suspenseful, spooky short stories while in the middle of Unit 2: The Thrill of Horror, as part of their curriculum. Students are reviewing and learning new literary terms that can be found in the stories they are reading. Along with enjoying short stories, students in LIT classes are working in small groups to read the novel, A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness. Students are completing objective summaries, answering comprehension questions, and learning new vocabulary used in the book. The audio version of the novel is available on YouTube and in Google Classroom.

Explore Team:

• Art: This month in art class, we are exploring new ideas for the students to learn about the elements of art. In 6th grade, we are diving into the study of Negative Space to learn how simple shapes make up any image. In 7th Grade, we are working on drawing the different parts of the body as we start learning about character design and what makes different people unique. The 8th graders will work on portraits after we learn how to draw the human head and facial features correctly. We will also be starting up the Art Club after school for students who are interested in creating more and learning new techniques outside of our regular classwork.

• Music: I am excited to get to know the new students in my 2nd quarter classes. We are starting off learning the moods of music and how it affects us in our lives. We are also learning rhythms, and the students will create their own drumlines for a mini-performance at the end of the quarter.

• Band: Happy November!! It’s almost that time of the year- our Winter Band Concert is approaching on Thursday, December 14th, at 6:30 p.m. in the CPMS Main Gym. Concert Band members should have their band uniform: Black tuxedo pants (from School), Black Jacket (from School), white tuxedo shirt, and black dress shoes all picked out. We are almost done sizing the students who could not attend Parent Teacher Conferences, so you should see uniforms trickling home. If your child has NOT brought home their Band tux pants or jackets from school yet, please ask them to bring them home ASAP - otherwise, we won't know if we have to order more sizes in time for the Concert.

• Cadet Band (6th grade): After-school practices have been going well - keep the good efforts going! You should hear your students practicing at HOME at least 2-3 times per week, every week, for your child to show growth in their individual playing ability. Our next Google Classroom playing video is on the Bop-It Warm-Up exercise, due by Sunday, November 5th. Please also remember to go out & get ALL your Band uniform items well in advance before the December 14th Concert- White Tuxedo Shirt (long-sleeved, vertical pleats, wing-tip collar), Plain Black Dress Pants, Black Socks, and Black dress shoes. You can get the correct tuxedo shirt at Norman's Cleaners & Formal Wear, located on Oak Park Avenue in Tinley Park. See REMIND for more details!!

• Jazz Band has been asked to play at the Black History Showcase held at Governor State on February 6th, so please mark that date in your calendar. Our Winter Concert is on Thursday, December 14th, at CPMS in the Main Gym, starting at 6:30 pm, and we will have the 5th graders play during that concert for the first time!! Thanks for everyone’s assistance, and we are looking forward to the Concert in December already!

• P.E.: In PE, we have started our basketball unit. The students have picked teams, and we have started playing our games. We are also continuing with our physical fitness testing for the second quarter.

• Health: Health Education students are working through identifying how good SMART Goals and Dreams support and build good self-esteem and self-concept. They will then transition into Nutrition and complete the nutrition unit by researching and synthesizing a vitamin and mineral informational PowerPoint to be presented to their classmates. This will timely lead us into Thanksgiving break.

• Spanish: Students cultivate their understanding of the Spanish language and culture by applying interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes of communication. In real-life situations, they explore concepts of Introducing themselves and giving a brief description of themselves, using simple phrases in Spanish, and distinguishing words and phrases in a Spanish conversation. Learning Greetings and goodbyes, identifying themselves and others, expressions of courtesy, as well as nouns and articles. The basics of the alphabet and numbers, including how to tell the time, the days of the week, and the months of the year.

• STEM and Applied Tech: The STEM TECH and the Applied Tech Classes are working together to build Amusement Park rides using K'Nex building blocks. K'Nex, which is similar to Legos, teaches the students both engineering and collaboration, which are key components of STEM. Students were challenged to work in small groups across two classrooms, building Ferris Wheels, Boat Rides, Swing Rides, or Carnival Swings. During the building phase, students took pictures of their daily work and reflected on it. Their information will be submitted in a Google Slides Presentation summarizing their experience.
  

• 11/7: No School
• 11/10: No School, Veterans Day
• 11/15: BOE Meeting 7:30 pm Open Session
• 11/17 Progress Reports
• 11/ 20-24 Fall Break
• 12/4-12/7 Genius Week Hosted by the STEAM Team
• 12/13 Curriculum Open House 9:00 am -2:00 pm