Middle School: Week in Review

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

It was an exciting week with both a field trip and a snow day! Our field trip to the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT, was a huge success. It is of no surprise that educators there were impressed not only with the knowledge of FWM students’ art techniques but of their critical thinking skills and ability to speak so profoundly about art.

Announcements:

  • Please continue bringing in weather-appropriate apparel. Thank you for your effort with this!
  • No School: Monday, 2/17 for Presidents’ Day
  • 8th Grade Internships: Monday, 2/24- Wednesday, 2/26

Humanities

It is Black History Month, so all humanities classes this month will begin with a brief presentation on influential Black Americans. They will also be working with Ms. Sara and Ms. Reid on a project inspired by contemporary artist, Nick Caves.

Additionally, all humanities classes began their research projects this week!

6th graders chose their topics for their research topics, developed goals, and wrote questions to launch their research. They also had lessons in finding reliable resources and well as taking research notes for the project. Next week, students will learn how to develop their thesis statements and complete their research. This is their only homework for the week, so they should be working on it each night.

7th graders also chose their research topics and completed topic proposals with rough thesis statements and questions to guide their research. They received a brief review in finding reliable resources as well as taking research notes. Finally, they are picking up their Utopia Projects and will complete those over the next week in conjunction with their research. Research is their only homework, so they should be working on it nightly.

8th graders finished their topic proposals and drafts of their thesis statements for Expert Projects. This is an exciting capstone project for FWM Middle School students that will carry them into mid-May. Students are also seeking out opportunities for their internships at the end of the month. Finally, in their US history class, 8th graders are studying the evolution of White Europeans beginning with the Age of Exploration.

Science

6th graders started a new unit this week, Earth’s Systems. The focus this week was Energy Transfer and the Water Cycle.  Students learned the roles the sun and wind play in the water cycle and how Earth has a specific amount of water that goes through a constant cycle. Next week, students will work on an experiment to demonstrate this cycle.
7th graders reviewed basic atomic structure and began exploring the periodic table. They learned how the periodic table is arranged into rows and columns, periods, and families. The class also discussed the major groupings in the periodic table: metals, metalloids, non-metals, and noble gases. Next week, students will conduct experimentation to explore the properties of each of these groupings.
8th graders reviewed the cell cycle and mitosis. Students reviewed the importance of Interphase in preparing the cell for cell division and discussed how cells spend the majority of their time in this preparation stage. They then reviewed the phases of mitosis and what occurs during each. Next week, students will work on an experiment looking at mitosis in onion root tip cells, and they will begin to discuss what can occur when cell division goes awry or unregulated.

Math

It was an incredibly productive and engaging week in Middle School math! After an action-packed January filled with the excitement of the Math Carnival and the Middle School Play, students in all four math courses were eager to dive back into the curriculum. The week kicked off with a fun review session that helped students refresh their math skills. Through whole-class discussions, students revisited key concepts learned prior to the Math Carnival, with plenty of opportunities to actively engage. They practiced problem-solving on their whiteboards, collaborated in pairs to tackle more challenging problems, and wrapped up the week with an independent “show me what you remember” assignment. This assignment will be invaluable for assessing which concepts have truly “stuck” and which will need further attention before moving on to new material. It’s been a great balance of reinforcing prior learning while preparing for the exciting challenges ahead!