Sandwich Middle School

We can’t believe September is already over! This year has already been full of new skills and routines. Remember that students should be working on all classes every day of the week. Here are some tips to stay on top of classwork!

• Check your e-mail daily

• Check your agenda for each class daily.

• Use your assignment notebook to write down what you have to work on for every class

• E-mail or talk to teachers if you need help outside of class time.

• Stay after school T-Th for BUGS where they can work and get help from 3-3:45.

We have been very busy in all our classes! In science students are taking on the role of scientists. They are analyzing data to figure out how a mountain can grow, shrink and move!

In Math, students have started the year off with reviewing the basic operations of whole numbers and decimals as well as multiplying and dividing fractions. Classes just finished with with integers (positive and negative numbers). Hope no one thinks “negatively” about the topic. :) In October they will be working hard on Order of Operations and solving equations.

In Language Arts, we have been reading fiction and learning all about the story elements and parts of a plot. We also are looking at figurative language and how it is used to enhance fiction writing. We are setting up our LA binders to organize our notes to use for reference throughout the year.

In Social Studies we will continue our study of ancient people by learning about the Phoenicians. After that, we will be heading into exploring the Egyptians and their amazing processes of pyramid building and mummification!

Congratulations to our first students of the month for this school year: Bonnie Hale and Harrison O’Neill!

Just a few reminders from the 7th-grade team: Please ensure that Chromebooks are charged nightly and brought to school with the charger. Please check Google Classroom and TeacherEase for work and grades. The TeacherEase program has complications with Google Classroom in terms of comments. If you are seeing an assignment marked as “missing” but it has a grade, please go to Google Classroom and hit “turn in” or “mark as done.” This will take care of the “missing” label.

The 7th-grade team is implementing the BUGS (Bringing Up Grades Successfully) program which began on September 11th. Students have the opportunity to stay after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 3:45. During this time, students are able to get extra help that may be needed in their classes. BUGS will take place in room 306 or 307. Students should look for the BUGS sign that will be located outside of the classroom where BUGS is taking place each day.

The Students of the Month for September are Hayden Hulse and Moises Diaz. They are exceptionally polite students who go above and beyond to help their fellow classmates.

It has been a pretty good start to the school year and I think we are all finally getting the hang of things! Organization is certainly the key. It is important that students understand they need to check into their Google Classroom every day. Assignments are posted in their “Classwork” tab and important announcements are posted on their “Stream.” Also, most teachers will post the weekly agenda so students can stay informed, especially when they are absent. Students are encouraged to check Teacherease at least once a day to stay on top of their assignments and their grades. Please email us if you have any questions. Below you will find a brief synopsis of what is happening in each of their core classes.

Language Arts: The language arts students are reading short stories to work on expanding their knowledge of fictional elements. We will also be working on studying the concepts of characterization as we write a Literary Analysis Essay, which will discuss the traits of a character from one of the short stories that we have read.

Instructional Language Arts: Students have been reading short stories over the past couple weeks and working on developing vocabulary and using context clues to identify unknown words. Students continue working on a variety of comprehension skills, we have finished up with main ideas & details, cause and effect, and comparing and contrasting skills. Next we are moving into sequencing and predicting skillst.

Math: In math we are working our way through Chapter 2 Equations in One Variable. We are solving equations with rational coefficients, solving two-step equations, writing two-step equations, solving equations with variables on each side, and solving multi-step equations. By mid month we will be going into Chapter 3 Equations in Two Variables. We will cover the constant rate of change, slope, and linear equations. It is important that all students bring their calculator and math workbooks daily to class as they will be needed.

Instructional Math: In instructional math, we are reviewing the basics: calculations, number sense, and functional math that we use in our everyday lives. We have begun our unit on algebra, starting Chapter 1 (Integers) and moving into Chapter 2 (Functions). Every week, we brush up our basic skills through our Daily Math Practice warm-ups as well as practice applying math skills to real-life situations using our Daily Word Problems assignments on Fridays.

Science: We will be working on the periodic table unit. Students will learn about elements and how to use the periodic table to gather information. This will give students a good foundation for our chemistry unit to follow.

History: We will be finishing up our study of the Progressive Era. Students will learn about the progressive movement, reforms, women’s rights and suffrage, and progressive presidents. We will move into chapter 22 - Overseas Expansion. This will include information on imperialism, expansionism, Spanish-American War, Philippine War, Panama Canal, and the Cuban Rebellion. We will begin our unit on World War I during the second half of the month.

Students of the Month: Our 8th grade Students of the Month are Katie Hernandez and Brandon Beverage. These are two hard working students who have great attitudes and are kind to others. They are great role models!

During the last few weeks of the quarter, 6th grade students will engage in the engineering design process as they work on the bridge design challenge. 7th grade students will apply what they’ve learned about design, technical drawing, and computer modeling as they complete their final two projects for the quarter. They will use TinkerCAD to design and 3D print their keychain design project, then finish the quarter with skimmer designs. Finally, 8th grade students have been learning to program using RobotC. As the quarter wraps up, they will be designing, building and programming their final automated projects.

The SMS Band and Choir students have been working very hard and getting ready for their upcoming concert. Between all three grades there are 102 students participating in Choir and 156 students participating in Band. That is a record for both groups!

The SMS Fall Concert will be on Thursday October 12th at the High School in the main gym.

The 6th Grade Band and Choir will perform at 6:30pm and the 7th/8th Grade Band and Choir will perform at 7:30pm. Come enjoy an evening of music!

Hello from the Phys Ed department! Our students are in full swing of P.E. and we cannot be more thrilled watching them in action. As we finish our Flag football unit, we will dive into our soccer unit and pair that up with fitnessgram testing. Our students have performed a few fitness tests already and we are proud of what they have accomplished already. We would like to congratulate our student of the month…..Emily Harrington! Emily gives outstanding effort each and every day and her positive attitude in class has quite the impact on her peers. Keep up the great work, we are so proud of you.

● All medication, including cough drops and over-the-counter products, require a

Medication Authorization Form to be completed and signed by a student’s

healthcare provider and their parent/guardian.

● Flu season is around the corner! Protect yourself and your family this season

with an annual flu vaccine for everyone who is 6 months and older. Seasonal flu

activity can begin as early as October and last as late as May. Visit www.flu.gov

or talk to your healthcare provider for more information.

● Some tips from the American Safety Council for a safe and fun Halloween:

Stay in groups

Costumes should be well-fitting and flame resistant

Always test makeup so it doesn’t irritate skin

Remember to look both ways before crossing the street

Examine all treats before eating

Stay on the sidewalk

Avoid dark houses

Flashlights and glow sticks for visibility

Enjoy with caution!

Our new Visitor Check-In System has been a welcome addition to our school. As you know, our number one priority is the safety of your students, and this impressive system is a great upgrade for our school. Using a visitor's ID (state ID or Driver's license), this system will complete a quick background check by searching the US sex offender databases & criminal databases. Now that we have a new visitor check-in system, we will no longer ask parents to fill out a volunteer packet.

The Sandwich School District needs your help! Please consider joining us as a substitute teacher. Did you know you can make $120 a day as a substitute teacher? You can create a work schedule that fits your availability through the use of our Frontline app. Earn $120 a day and work when you want to. Please click below for more information.

https://dekalbcounty.org/departments/regional-office-of-education/roe-services/educator-licensure/substitute-teachers/

Please feel free to follow our Sandwich Middle School Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/people/Sandwich-Middle-School/100044267353557/ This is a place where we share celebrations, community information and school reminders for various events. Please note that all important information and announcements will go home to you in our newsletter, classroom newsletters or in your student's backpack. The page is not intended to be your primary source for communication, but instead an extra one. Please avoid sending messages or posting school related questions as the page is only monitored intermittently. Instead, always contact our school office for school related questions or to communicate about your student. We appreciate it!

October 5th - No School Institute Day
October 9th - No School Columbus Day
October 13th - End of 1st Quarter (MS/HS)

October 17th - School Board Meeting - 7:00 p.m. SMS

October 18th - SMS Picture Retake Day

October 31st - Halloween