Class Update

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Please expect progress reports at the end of the week. If you have questions, feel free to contact me via email or set up an appointment to discuss in person or on the phone. Generally, I’m very pleased with student work and progress in class though the overall homework return rate for this class is low. Please be reminded that your student has a Homework and Reading sheet with all their homework assignments written on it. Many parents have reported success in requiring their student to show them this paper and the finished homework every evening. There is usually one spelling and one writing assignment every week with math homework send home once or twice a week. Of course, reading should be done nightly.

This Wednesday we have our monthly awards assembly and it’s a half-day.

As part of our family life unit, 7th and 8th grade students will be receiving their mechanical babies on Friday morning. A few 6th graders have already stepped up to baby sitting tasks. I heard feedback from parents that the mechanical babies were ill timed. I hear your concerns and will try to adjust timing in the future. The baby delivery date was largely out of my control for various reasons (kind of like real babies!). There will be a parent response sheet going home next week to get your feedback. This program is used in many other middle schools and my goal was to provide students in our school with similar opportunities to the bigger schools. Our family life classes have been going very well despite the giggles. 

Students are currently practicing close reading of Black Ships Before Troy which is a middle-school accessible version of The Iliad, a 3,000 year old epic written by Homer. I’m so proud of their progress with this rigorous text on the battle of Troy in ancient Greece. You may see some chapters come home and your student may need help with certain words and/or phrases. 

We have also jumped into studying atoms, elements, and the periodic table in science. 

Students have kicked off their Genius Hour research projects again and as always, I’m blown away by their creativity. This time around some students are researching bamboo, foxes, how to build a bow, learning to read sheet music, and considering how to make a stop motion video retelling an ancient Greek myth. 

Onward and upward!



Maggie Orion