WOODLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL VOLUME 15 - ISSUE 02 NEWSLETTER December 2014 FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK ‘Tis the season for bundling up and staying warm! As the New Year approaches, the staff at WMS would like you to know how privileged we are to have had the opportunity to work with your child/student so far this year. As things get hectic during the last few weeks of the holiday season, please make sure to take time to touch base with your child on their growth in the academic arena. Progress reports are being sent home today. Remember, progress reports are designed to give formative information to students and parents. This means that there is still plenty of time to improve a grade you may not like. Conversely, there is also time to celebrate academic achievement! Again, happy holidays! -Dr. Cari Thomson, Principal Calendar of Events Students of the Month October th 7 Grade: Melissa Boulette, Maria Ek, & Trace Logan th 8 Grade: Kylie Berghaus, Leslie Paez-Molina, Mason Schultz, & Esther Zagumennyy WMS WELCOMES NEW STAFF! DECEMBER 2014 12/01 12/02 12/03 12/08 12/11 12/13 12/13 12/15 12/19 12/2201/02 01/05 Wrestling @ Castle Rock/GBB @ home C-team GBB pictures in the MS gym Wrestling @ home/ GBB @ home Wrestling @ home/GBB @ Jemtegaard Wrestling JV Tournament Wrestling Varsity Tournament 8th GBB Tournament WMS Concert 7pm Boys Basketball paperwork due Winter Break BBB practices begin In our last two newsletters we introduced you to many of our wonderful new staff members. We would like to introduce the last three who have joined our team. We are so excited that they have joined our amazing staff! Mrs. Catherine Riley (Math Academy) Mrs. Riley is teaching in the 8th grade Math Academy this year. She graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. She has taught at the secondary level in Vermont, Texas, and Washington. Mrs. Riley has been married for many years. She has two grown sons and one granddaughter. She loves to read or watch anything science fiction related. Mr. Britt Jud (Science Teacher) This is Mr. Jud’s second year teaching. He is married with 4 kids and has a golden retriever named "Chuck Norris" His two girls are in high school and he has a son in middle school and a son in 5th grade. His family is very busy with 4-H and sports. He is the only person in his family who is not on a sports team. His children show rabbits, goats, and a horse at the Skamania County fair every year. He enjoys watching the planets and moon in his telescope. In 2012, he was excited to get some pictures of the transit of Venus across the sun, which is something that won’t happen again for about one hundred years. Mr. Scott Wiens- (Mathematics Teacher) Scott Wiens. enjoys basketball, soccer, swimming, bike riding, and running. Those last three together make a triathlon, his current favorite sport. He has competed in about 6 so far, the longest of which took 3 hours. He has three kids: a son in college, and a son and daughter in high school. They enjoy playing games, going to movies, and hiking in the mountains together. Scott’s favorite games involve as little chance as possible; two examples are chess and Go. He started playing chess when he was five years old, played on his chess teams in high school and college, and has played in many large tournaments including the Philadelphia Open, which had over 1,000 players. Lately he plays more Go, an ancient strategy game from China, which is about five times older than chess! He loves music and will frequently break out into song for no apparent reason. The problem is, he will almost always sing the wrong words. You may think he has trouble remembering names, but that’s nothing compared to his trouble with lyrics! In addition to singing, he plays classical guitar. He’s’ been at it since his son was in a crib. He can still remember his first practice sessions sitting next to his son while he slept. What a wonderful memory! The staff at Woodland Middle School believes     All students have the ability to learn and contribute positively to the learning environment. Student success is a partnership involving students, parents, staff, and community to promote students in becoming self-sustaining learners. Using data, educators will continually reflect on and improve instruction to implement best practices. Challenging curriculum will be developed collaboratively to meet standards while addressing students’ diverse needs. Attention any boys interested in participating in basketball, please turn your athletic paperwork and your athletic fee into the office prior to Winter Break (12/19/2014.) Practices begin 01/05/2015. This year’s LEGO robotics team is preparing for the state tournament qualifying competition that will be held at Salmon Creek Elementary School on December 6th. The team consists of Michael Gabalis, Lee Gilkerson, Frances Helling, Mckayla Shippen, Delani Stepper, Lexi Williams, Trace Logan, and Aaron Shaw. Only Michael Gabalis and Lee Gilkerson are returning from last year’s team that competed at the First LEGO League North American Championships in San Diego. This year’s theme is “World Class Learning Unleashed” and the research project portion of the competition requires the team to identify a specific group of students and create an innovative lesson that “improves the learning experience” for them. This innovative solution must then be shared with others. The team has chosen to do research about the “common core” standards that are being implemented nationwide, and to teach a common core type of lesson on how to calculate the volume of a cube, a rectangular prism, and a triangular prism to seventh grade students. This lesson was chosen in part because this is specifically one of the common core standards that seventh graders are expected to master. Before choosing this specific lesson, the students consulted with Mrs. DeBower on the standards, and listened to a presentation by Mrs. Lutz, the building expert on the common core. The team’s innovative solution started by reviewing calculating the surface area of squares, rectangles, and triangles, something that is covered in the 6th grade standards. The students were then given a short lesson on the famous mathematician Archimedes who discovered the idea of measuring the volume of a solid by measuring how much water it displaced (Eureka!). The team had used a 3D printer to make various sizes of cubes, rectangular pyramids, and triangular pyramids. These were then measured by the 7th grade volunteer students, and the volume was calculated by using Archimedes’ method. The 7th graders were then asked if they could derive the equation for calculating the volume of the various shaped by using the measurements they had made. This meant that instead of the students being given the equation for calculating the volume, they were expected to derive the equation based on observations that they had made. Common core curriculum emphasizes thinking skills, and analysis of data more than previous curriculums. For the robot game part of the competition the programmers and builders have developed two robots that do things like throw a ball with a catapult, activate pneumatic systems that hook objects to bring them back to base, run an arm with a rack and pinion gear, and fling LEGO pieces eight feet across the table. The latter is not required by the game, but is pretty cool. They are now concentrating on consolidating the two robots into one. During the Project portion of the competition the team will be given five minutes to present their research and the panel of judges will have five minutes to ask any questions they want. The robot game will be played three times with points being earned for each “mission” that the robot can accomplish within a two and a half minute run. The robot and its software will be judged by mechanical and software engineers, and the team will be graded on its teamwork and adherence to First LEGO League core values. The top three teams at the preliminary competition will advance to the Oregon state tournament in January. The Woodland School District complies with all federal rules and regulations and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. This holds true for all district employment and opportunities. Inquiries regarding compliance procedures may be directed to the school district's Title IX Officer : Deb Kernan, (360) 841.2725, and/or 504 Coordinator: Michael Green, (360) 841.2700. Middle School Concert Monday December 15th WHS Auditorium @7:00pm Come welcome in the holiday season with the Middle School Choir, Trojan Band, and Jazz II! The concert will be held in the Woodland High School Auditorium on Monday, December 15, at 7:00pm. Admission to the event is free so come and enjoy the music that has been prepared. The students have been working hard and we have an excellent program lined up for you. Make sure you bring your voice because we will end the concert with a combined band and choir sing along of some holiday favorites! Happy Holidays! Brent LiaBraaten, Paul Cline, & Bryana Steck Coat and Food Drive a Success! WMS held a Coat and Food Drive November 17-20.In that short time, students and staff donated 176 coats and 625 items of food! All donations stay in our local community to help those in need. The overall homeroom winner was Mr. Jud’s class, and Mrs. Royle’s homeroom brought in the most food. We are thankful to have such a generous school. Athlete Recognition Week 1:Athletes of the Week Wrestling-Logan Smith, Josh Birrer, Orion Hollar, & Brady Clayton Girls Basketball-Dakota Cobb, Lauren Kaiser, Carleigh Risley, Nicole Guthrie, Makylee Knight, & Taylor Foster Week 2:Athletes of the Week Wrestling- Nathan Balderas & Wyatt Nordwell Girls Basketball- Chloe Eddy, Gelina Wakefield, Payton Foster, Kelly Sweyer, Dakota Cobb, & Ashland Cobb COUNSELOR’S CORNER Happy Holidays Woodland Parents: I would like to share some wonderful resources with you that are both available locally and nationally. Please feel free to call me with any questions or assistance. Warmly, Joe Michaud Woodland Middle School Counselor 360-841-2850 [email protected] Toys for Tots www.toysfortots.org Goodwill www.goodwill.org Salvation Army www.salvationarmy.org Coats for Kids www.coats-for-kids.org Boys and Girls: www.bgca.org Toys and Household items www.freecycle.org Kids eat Free www.mykidseatfree.com/welcome.asp Food Bank www.feedingamerica.org/foodbankresults.aspx Public Libraries http://www.publiclibraries.com/ Electric and Home Energy help http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/liheap/ Woodland Community Service Center 360-225-9998 St. Vincent De Paul Longview 360-577-0662 Fish of Cowlitz County 360-636-1100 The staff at Woodland Middle School believes     All students have the ability to learn and contribute positively to the learning environment. Student success is a partnership involving students, parents, staff, and community to promote students in becoming self-sustaining learners. Using data, educators will continually reflect on and improve instruction to implement best practices. Challenging curriculum will be developed collaboratively to meet standards while addressing students’ diverse needs.