Friday, February 22nd
Math
Enjoy the break!  There are no new tasks for either 7th or 8th grades.  I will continue to accept corrections when we return.  The trimester closes March 11th and please remember to let us know your top three choices for conferences.

ALL HOUSE A STUDENTS

Reminder: Spring Conference Schedule letters have gone home. Please make sure you have seen this and have your child return it to an advisor or core teacher as soon as possible.

We are planning a fun afternoon tomorrow. Please dress warmly, as we will all be outside for about an hour and a half tomorrow afternoon.

We are also planning to have a small mid-year celebration after lunch. Please feel free to bring in a dessert to share with the team if you are able.

Thursday, February 21st
Math
Grades 7&8 have had time to finish their tests and work they submitted was returned.  Corrections for past assessments were requested as an opportunity to persever and demonstrate their desire to improve.  We are also working  on the Stock Market Game, versitiles, and puzzles. 

Science 7/8

Students received back graded quizzes yesterday.  The quizzes are called "Mid-Summative 3" and were about gases and the particle nature of matter.  Students are strongly encouraged to make corrections on this quiz if they scored less than an "M" or 3.  If you have any questions regarding whether or not your son or daughter has taken advantage of correction opportunities, feel free to send me an email. 

February 19th
Math
Tomorrow, the local assessments for 7th Comparing & Scaling
and 8th Looking for Pythagorus will be given.
Grade8
The tasks being collected are:
*page 38 #5-7 with equations and substitutions
*Page 32 with Labsheet for table and dot paper for right triangles
*Page 47 Wheel of Theodorus - labsheet with ruler and marks for perfect squares and irrational numbers
*Page 55#10 & page 58#28 30-60-90 applications
*Question #4 from check-up
*Page 35 with Labsheet, 3.3 Finding Distances

Grade 7
The tasks being collected are:
*Pages 36#&37 Comparing the Prices of CDs
*Page 22&23 Dietary Needs of Chimps
*Page 55#3, and page 57#18 proportions
* Picnic hand-out comparing prices
*Page 10#1-3 comparisons (1) Berry Blast (2) Cranberry Bog ice cream (3) curbs

Sixth Grade Humanities

• There will be no new homework this week.
• On Wednesday, come to school dressed as your Westing Game character! Then, we will watch the Westing Game movie.
• Thursday, students will be presenting their city research.

Monday, February 18th
Math
Both 7th and 8th grades are having local common assessments on Wednesday, Feb 20th.

Grade 8
*new tasks
work with 30-60-90 right triangles: page 55#10, page 58#28

Grade 7
new vocabulary: cross product
former assignments should be complete and will help prepare of upcoming assessment:
page40 #1-3, page 28 #20&21, page 27 #15&16, page 26#7&8,
Practice with comparison pricing (handout), pages 36&37  Comparing prices of CDs,
page 22&23 Dietary Needs of Chimps

Friday, February 15th, 2013
Math
Both grades 7&8 are having assessment Wednesday, February 20th.  The 8th grade is working with the Pythagorean Theorem. We have looked at it from various perspectives and are dealing with patterns for the 30-60-90 right triangle today.  The 7th grade is working with ratios and proportions, strategies to form them, and a variety of different context including scale factors and their relationships to area and perimeter in Stretching and Shrinking.  The goal of the tasks is to give them practice with concepts.

8th Grade
*new task: page 50 & 51 they have a hand out of these pages and are encourages to write on them

7th Grade
*new task:  -proportions page 55#3 & page 57 #18
                   - practice comparing prices handout  (picnic and comparison shopping)

Student-Led Conference Sign Ups

Greetings Families of House A Students,

It's that time of the year again!  Student-led conferences will be held on Monday, March 18th and Wednesday, March 27th.  Students will receive a sign up sheet to bring home in their first period classes tomorrow.  Please look over the form and have your son or daughter return it with your top 3 requested times.  Students have been working very hard in their respective classes and we look forward to having them showcase their work at the conferences!

Sincerely,
House A Teachers

Science 7/8

Students should complete the lab write up, "Heating and Cooling Gases" for homework tonight.  They've had 2 nights to work on this plus class time and it is due tomorrow.  I'm expecting quality work on this lab as it will appear on our T2 report card.

Valentine's Day!
February 14th 2013
Math
Both 7th & 8th grades will be having assessments next Wednesday, Feb 18th
8th - Looking for Pythagorus
7th - Comparing and Scaling
Grade 8
*new task: page 47 The Wheel of Theodorus
putting values including rational numbers on a number line

Grade 7
*new task: Comparing CDs (unit rates and rate tables)
pages 36&37 A-E

Sixth Grade Humanities

Students are working on a mini-research project on U.S cities that has an individual and a group component. The individual component is due on Friday. A packet of their class work and a Works Cited page will be collected for assessment. Most of this work should have been completed in class but if students are behind they will need to use some time at home to complete this work. Today they received a rubric that explains the expectations for scoring.

February 13, 2013
Math
Grade 8
*3.3 A Finding Distance with labsheet
*page 38 #5-7 missing lengths
*page 40 #13&14 dot paper figures and dPT
*page 40#15-17 are these right triangles?
*page 42#24 find lengths

Grade 7
*page  26#7&8 analyzing claims about Super Bowl
*page 27#15&16  multiple choice around equivalenc
*page 28#20&21 Super Bowl percents & fractions
*page 40#1-3 context (cars and trail mix) rate tables

Tuesday, February 12th
Math
Grade 8
*Don't forget corrections especially if you have 2 you should be doing
*Page 32 The table and right triangles with squares constructed on each of the sides using dot paper
*#4 class task:construct right triangle, find side lengths using squares on the sides
Tomorrow we will be doing page 35

Grade 7
*new task: The Dietary Needs of Chimps page 22 with Labsheet
*Vocabulary: unit rate, proportion, ratio
be sure you haave examples and characteristics along with a definition you can explain to others

Monday, February 11th
Math
Grade 8
*Assessments for Looking for Pythagorus Investigations 1&2 were returned today.  Corrections are expected if they were not proficient "3" and should be done on a separate sheet of paper and stapled to the original. 
*new tasks:
- #4 from a handout expecting students to create a triangle on a co-odinate plane and then find the side lengths.
-page 38 #3&4 using dot paper and creating certain lengths of lines
*Thinking with Mathematical Models still needs to be corrected by some of the students especially if they have a one in PowerSchool.

Grade7
*Vocab: new - unit rate, also ratio and proportion
*page 28 # 18 floor plan: scale factors and relationships of the areas
page 28#19 equivalent ratios

Sixth Grade

Humanities Core 1 Homework: Answer the questions on the back of this morning's land use vocabulary paper.

Sixth Grade Math Homework: Area page, due tomorrow.

Westing Game Parade: Wednesday, February 20th. Please come to school dressed as your Westing Game character.

Science 7/8

In addition to making corrections on the scuba diver test ( I haven't received a whole lot of them) students should fill out a learning log on what they've learned about particles over the past few days.  Class 7A was assigned a reading on Particles to catch them up with the other cohorts.  It is a 2-page reading and they should answer questions 1-3 on it.

Eighth Grade  Students and Families

The MHS Course Fair will be held tomorrow night, February 7, from 6:30-8:00 P.M., at the Milton High School. Eighth Grade parent orientation is from 6:30-7:00 in the library.

Sixth Grade Math

Homework: The fraction paper that was passed out yesterday will be collected tomorrow. Make sure it is complete.

Please continue to talk to your child about the Stock Market.

Humanities

Homework: Students have a short worksheet on verb tense.

Wednesday, February 6th
Today we started the Stock Market Game
www.stockmarketgame.org

Grade 8
*new task: vocabulary: right triangle, conjecture
*complete  25&26#36-4, page 22 A-C

Grade 7
**Test corrections by Friday,  please put them on a separated sheet and attach them to the original
* We have started a new booklet, " Comparing & Scaling"
-Ratio and Proportion handout
-page 5&6 survey with Cola taste test A-E
-page 10#1-3, page 13#11
are things we have started.

Sixth Grade Math Homework

Fraction worksheet

Sixth Grade Humanities (Core 1)

Finish three constructed response questions on urban and rural areas.
Remember to...

• Restate the question.
•  Include ALL relevant details from the text to support your answer.
•  Make sure the answer is in your own words and demonstrates that you understand what you have writtien.

Tuesday, February 5th
Grade 8
*new task: page 25&26 #36-41, lengths of lines
There is a check-up tomorrow on areas of irregular figures and lengths of lines as related to squares

Grade 7
*new task: page 10#1-3, page 13#11 practice with surveys, ratios which can be represented as fractions, proportions and decimals

February Calendar Raffle Winners

Here is the link for the February Calendar Raffle Winners.  Check it from time to time to see if you won!  Thank you for your support!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Mx65CVzRJ0fT-qgvCT5spR7LOyRSBMjoGlks4KSSwig/edit?usp=sharing

Monday, February 4th
Math
Grade 8
*new task: 2.3 Finding Side Lengths (page 22A1 is actually page 19)
do A-C radicals have decimal equivalents and they are lengths that can be represented on a number line, also work under the radical

We will be having a check-up on Wednesday.

Grade 7
* new task: hand out ( two sided) Ratios-Lesson 1& Proportions Lesson 2

We completed the local common assessment for Stretching and Shrinking, started choosing teams for the Stock Market Game, and reviewed the definitions of ratio & proportion.  These words should be in their vocabulary section.

Math 6

On Monday, Sixth grade math students will begin The Stock Market Game. If you have a chance, please have a conversation with your child about the stock market or the economy.

Humanities 6

Today, Core 1 Students reviewed unit vocabulary and had a mini-lesson on developing research questions.
Core 2 Students had a mini-lesson on evaluation criteria for web sources and practiced this skill. Both classes will be conducting research next week on one of four cities: New York, Boston, San Francisco, or Boston. They are welcome to investigate these cities at home as well. The essential question is "Why did people settle in these cities and how have these factors changed over time?"

We are planning a Westing Game parade and movie on Wednesday, February 20th. Students will be encouraged to dress as their Westing Game character.

There is no other weekend homework. Enjoy.

February 1st
Math
Grade 8
*Vocabulary: irrational number, square root
*page 26 #42 right triangles and area
*page 23&24 work with squares and square roots
* Page 19 with areas and side lengths represented with the most exact format
(square roots unless the sidel lengths are perfect squares)

Grade 7
We are taking the LCA for Stretching and Shrinking - most students finished but some will have more time on Monday.
Collecting:
*page 47&48 with Labsheet 3ACE exercise 8
*page 78&79 A-D  similar triangles applied to real life
*page 86&87 #23&24 similarity, perimeter and area