Newsletter April 18th, 2020

We are incredibly saddened to hear that we will not be back face to face with all of our amazing sharks this year.  The time we have spent with each other is treasured and not over, it will just continue to be through a screen for now or from a distance.  

Since we are not there to see our learning be implemented, please let us know if it is too much, too hard, confusing or anything else you have to report.  All of our lines of communication are open so that we can serve your learners, which includes phone calls, emails, Google Meets, letters or whatever else you may need.  These are difficult times, we are doing our best but know there is always room for improvement, as well as that it just may be too much right now. Just let us know, especially since this will be the way learning happens until the end of the school year.

A few announcements:

• Report cards are released this week.
• Infinite Campus gets updated very quickly, look there for missing assignments, grades and comments from teachers.
• Caregivers can be invited to our Google Classrooms, just shoot us an email if you would like to be.
• Every teacher will have office hours throughout the week,those can be found here

All assignments can be found here - this is our weekly calendar where you can see all assignments from each 7th-grade class.  Scroll down for the previous week.

English - Ripp
Thank you everyone for your well-wishes, I am in the slow process of recovery but not getting worse, having only gone to the grocery story before being asusmed Covid-19 Positive, it once again illustrates just how contagious this disease is.  I hope you are all safe and healthy. First round of Choose Your Own Learning is over this coming week and we start another round Wednesday as well.

Deadlines:
The first round of choose your own learning due Wednesday, April 22nd
Survey for next round of choose your own learning due Wednesday, April 22nd
The second round of choose your own learning starts April 23rd, due May 8th

Questions to ask:
Which book are you reading?  How is it challenging you as a reader?

Will you show me your choose your own learning project?

How are you challenging yourself in your learning?

Spanish (Landsverk):
As we continue with online learning, all students will be at different places. If any student is feeling anxious or behind, please feel free to reach out to me via email or Google Hangouts during my office hours (9am to 11 am). Students should check this week that 4.1-4.5 are marked as turned in (in Infinite Campus). Students who are feeling comfortable may spend 10 minutes on Quizlet if they feel they have time.

Math - Gratzl
Deadlines:
Finding the Surface Area and Volume of Any Prism Homework is due Monday, April 20th

Questions to ask:
-How do you find the volume of any prism?
-How do you find the surface area of any prism?

Health - Hartberg:
Deadlines:
Google Classroom: Complete video on Kids Health How the Body Works, Immune System WSQ Notes, Finish with Immune system quiz
Assessment: Immune System Quiz for assessment.
Both complete by April 17th at 3:30pm
Extra Ideas: Create your own schedule or video in a home journal/website to use each day to stay active (ideas: Yoga or pilates online lessons, bike ride in safe area, family walks, push ups, sit ups, etc.)

Questions to ask:
Have you stayed consistent on any dreams and goals that you had for this last week?  Check your dreams bucket list in GC and reflect.
What do you need to change to be successful and who do you need to get help from?
How are you SPECIFICALLY helping to make a difference in the world each day?  Are you keeping track in a journal?
Can you put the quote "HOW CAN I HELP OUT RIGHT NOW?" on your mirror to remind you to ask parents, others how you can help?
Did you create a daily schedule and stick to it this week?
How can we help you improve your level of health on the health scale 0-10?
#LessIsMore #WeGotThis
Mr H :)

German - Wochenske
This week students started a new unit - body parts. This unit will cover three weeks. The goal for this week is to acquire vocabulary for the head and face, and next week we will work on vocabulary from the neck down. Students were challenged to teach a family member five German words.
Deadlines:
Monster rough draft due Friday, April 24th.
Monster final draft due Thursday, April 30th.

Questions to ask:
Which face/head words in German sound close to an English word?

Which face/head words in German are challenging you? How will you push yourself to learn them? 

Whom will you be teaching vocab words?

Orchestra
This week students can focus on preparing their D minor scale for the Flipgrid assessment due on May 8th. If you feel you would benefit from some review, please schedule a time with Mrs. Black or with a classmate that is able to help you. Demo videos are coming in Google Classroom.

We will also continue our work on learning how to read key signatures. Knowing how to read all key signatures takes time and practice. It is an important "rite of passage" for musicians. We'll go through this process slowly starting with MAJOR key signatures that use sharps this week.

Questions to ask:
Am I listening to music? (According to our survey, over 97% of you are listening to music regularly!)
Does the music I am listening to affect my mood?
What do I notice about my state of mind after listening to music?

Geography (Stoller): 
Students spent time learning about the process of the US Census this week.  Hopefully, they shared some of what they learned with you and you have completed your census for 2020.  Next week, we will explore communities around the world using a cool website called Dollar Street. It explores economic factors of various places and how that places out for residents.  A colleague in Madison used it with her 7th graders and they loved it! 
Ask your learner:
*What did you learn about the census?  Why does the US Government complete the process every ten years?
*Do you enjoy the Week in Rap?  Why or why not?
*What is Dollar Street?  What have you learned about the value of currency in any given country or city?

Band - Jaeger/Dorn:
We will be starting Google Meets for small groups this week to check in with students by sections. Here is the schedule for those. The day and time will stay the same, so there won't be a rotation. 

Assignments:
Finish "We Are the World"
Practice 20 minutes: Aladdin
Create your Google Slide picture with your instrument

Ask your student if they'll share their "We Are the World" assignment with you. What can you, as parents, remember and share with your student about those musical events in response to global tragedies?

Howe - Geography
Research has been completed on World Religions and Project creation begins today until the due date of 4/23
Questions: What type of presentation are you choosing to make to share your learning?

Science - Krucas
This week students worked on mastering how to complete a Punnett square using the complete dominance model of inheritance. They were assigned a quiz on Wednesday to assess their understanding. By the end of the week students were learning about the other models of inheritance: incomplete dominance and codominance. They were assigned a quiz on Friday to assess how they were understanding the model of incomplete dominance.

Reminder: All work is assigned and collected through my google classroom page. There are tons of resources there to support students in their learning - including video instructions / walkthroughs for all assignments!

Questions to ask:
-Are the video instructions for science class helpful to you?
-How do you complete a Punnett square?
-How is the model of complete dominance different from the model of incomplete dominance? 

Putnam-Science

We will continue our work on genetics with more activities involving codominance and multiple alleles controlling a single trait. Remember all work, documents, and assignments are posted to Google Classroom. Also, I'm only an email away if help is needed.  

English (Gunst):  
We are wrapping up our first "Choose Your Own Adventure" project that is due on Wednesday.  We will have another long term project starting on Thursday. Remember your teachers are always available to answer questions or talk to.  Reach out to them! Fourth quarter starts this week.