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CENTER GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL NORTH www.centergrove.k12.in.us

317-885-8800

December/January

Dear CGMSN Families, Our students have done many amazing things since our last newsletter! We had an outstanding band concert, a fantastic choir concert, and a wonderful orchestra concert. Our student council has been wrapping gifts for kids around our community. We had a talented quartet of students playing their clarinets at Kroger, and our band played at the Arts Garden. Our athletic teams are doing well, and we have several academic successes! We also celebrated that the number of discipline incidents this semester was significantly lower than that of previous years - every month has been a great celebration in this category. As you know, our school corporation has been discussing redistricting plans. I have provided an important redistricting update below. Thank you for your continued support and involvement at MSN!

Respectfully,

Dr. Davin E. Harpe, Principal

Dear Center Grove Parents, Guardians, and Staff: As we move toward the opening of Center Grove’s sixth elementary school (Walnut Grove) in August of 2019, we are working to create new boundaries for our schools. A committee of parents, staff, students, and community members have been meeting this semester to develop those new boundaries. Part of this process includes getting feedback from parents, staff, and community members. While you are receiving this email, community members without a student in Center Grove Schools will receive a postcard with this information. We invite you to attend a Community Work Session on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Center Grove High School cafeteria, 2717 S. Morgantown Rd., Greenwood. During this session, attendees will be asked to provide feedback on two potential boundary options. You can view the two potential boundary options, along with a locator tool to determine your school assignment, survey link to provide feedback, timeline, and FAQs on our website at: centergrove.k12.in.us/redistricting. If you cannot attend the January 8th Community Work Session, please take a moment to respond to the survey to share your feedback. We will keep the survey open through January 15th at 8:00 a.m. Thank you for your input in this process!

The MSN office hours are 7:00 am – 3:30 pm

Upcoming Dates

√ Dec 3 – 7th Grade Band

Rehearsal 2:45-4:00 pm

√ Dec 6 – 6th Grade Band

Rehearsal 2:45-4:00 pm

√ Dec 10 – 7th Grade

Orchestra Rehearsal

2:45-4:15 pm

√ Dec 11 – NJHS Meeting

6:45 am

√ Dec 12 – Winter Band

Concert 6:00 pm

√ Dec 13 – Student of the

Month Breakfast 7:00 am

√ Dec 13 – 6th Grade

Orchestra Rehearsal

2:45-4:15 pm

√ Dec 14 – All Pro Dad’s Club

Breakfast 6:45 am

√ Dec 14 - Ella’s Froyo sold

during lunch periods

√ Dec 17 – Winter Choir

Concert 6:00 pm

√ Dec 18 – Orchestra Concert

6:30 pm

√ Dec 20 – End of the 2nd

Nine Weeks grading period

√ Dec 21 – Winter Break

begins

√ Jan 3 – Classes Resume

√ Jan 11 – NJHS Meeting

6:45 am

√ Jan 14 – PTO Meeting

7:00 pm

√ Jan 15 – STUCO Meeting

6:45 am

√ Jan 11 – All Pro Dad’s Club

Breakfast 6:45 am

√ Jan 21 – No school

Martin Luther King Jr. (Possible Snow Make-Up Day)

√ Jan 25 –Orchestra Coffee

concert

√ Jan 31 – Student of the

Month Breakfast 7:00 am

Mission

We empower all

students to grow as

persistent learners,

exceptional

collaborators, and

responsible citizens.

Vision

All students succeed

as lifelong learners

and contributors in

the global

community.

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There are 15 students chosen each month by their team of teachers for our Students of the Month Program. The criteria used for students of the month: positive attitude, good citizenship, respectful to staff and students and gives maximum effort. These students were recognized at a continental breakfast on Thursday, November 29th.

Tucker Schornick 6 Black

Payton Naftzger 6 Red

Lauren Hopper 6 Silver

James Owen Hopper 6 Silver

Matthew Kolis 6 White

Lakshitha Sudhakar 6 UA

Lara Phipps 7 Red

Brennan Stockbridge 7 Red

Lillian Pagel 7 White

Christian Encarnado 7 White

Alita Fischer 7 UA

Brett Trammell 8 Red

Isiah Albertson 8 Red

Alora Johns 8 Silver

Zane Patterson 8 Silver

McKenna Holdeman 8 UA

PTO meetings begin at 7:00 in the LGI. 2nd Semester January 14 February 25

April 15 May 20th

Come and see how you can make a difference at MSN. Everyone is welcome!

Meetings are from 6:45 - 7:20 am in the Cafeteria at CGMSN.

2nd Semester January 18 February 15

March 15 April 19 May 17

For more information, check out their website

There are 15 students chosen each month by their team of teachers for our Students of the Month Program. The criteria used for students of the month: positive attitude, good citizenship, respectful to staff and students and gives maximum effort. These students were recognized at a continental breakfast on Thursday, December 13th .

Jaxen Rhoton 6 Black

Christopher Sutton 6 Red

Paisley Carter 6 Silver

Landon Gross 6 White

Eric Varney 6 UA

Carolynne Schott 7 Red

Noah Coy 7 Red

Tyler Cherry 7 White

Reese Harmon 7 White

Alexis Mar 7 UA

Haley Richardson 8 Red

James Feitl 8 Red

Emily Heaster 8 Silver

Finnegan Nowacki 8 Silver

Jessica Marqua 8 UA

Parents need to call the Attendance Hotline, 317-885-3392, before 10:00 am to report their student’s absence for the day.

If your child needs to leave school early for an appointment or other planned event, please send a note signed by a parent giving us the time and reason for the early dismissal. Your child must bring that note to the Student Services Office upon arrival to school. We will then write them a pass to leave class and meet you in the student services office.

If you are allowing your student to walk home after school, they must have a walking pass on file. Walking pass forms are available in the office. They should be returned to Laurie Long in the Administrative Office.

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Maximizing Student Achievement Means Minimizing Classroom Interruptions

One of the most important things that school administrators can do to maximize student learning is to minimize the number of distractions experienced by teachers and students within the classroom. Often even the smallest interruptions can spoil the flow of a lesson, or catch a student at a critical time in the learning process. In order to minimize classroom interruptions, we will deliver messages and/or materials to students twice during the school day. Please see the options for student deliveries below:

1. Deliver during my student's lunchtime. 2. Deliver during my student's last period. 3. My student knows an item is being

delivered and will pick-up item in student services - No notice needed.

In the event that a message is related to a family or medical emergency, please ask for an administrator so that messages of this nature can be delivered to your child in the appropriate manner. We appreciate your help as we continue to maximize student achievement at MSN.

State law requires the following: No student can be in possession of prescription or non-prescription drugs in school.

All medications have to be stored in the nurse’s office. Prescription medications have to be in their original container with dosage directions on the label.

Non-prescription medications (e.g. Tylenol/Advil) have to be stored in the nurse’s office with a parent note.

Parents picking students up after school must park along the curb in the lane clearly marked “Drop-off/ Pick-up.” No student is allowed to cross into the parking lot to a parked car. This policy is designed for the safety of our students/your child.

Students walking to and from school will need to have a note from their parents granting them permission. This note must be taken to the Administrative Office. Students are not allowed to ride bikes to school.

Make-up work is the responsibility of the student. A student will receive an equal number of days to make up work as he/she was absent from school. A request for make-up work can be made on the third consecutive day a student is absent by calling the Student Services Office (885-8800 ext. 5008) before 8:30 a.m. Requests received after 8:30 a.m. cannot be processed until the following school day. Assignment requests are prepared during the teacher’s preparation period; therefore, requests must be limited to extended illnesses. The make-up work and student’s books are to be picked up in the Student Services Office before 3:30 p.m. A student who is absent the day of a test is expected to take the test upon returning to school. Again, students are encouraged to record daily assignments, long-term projects, and upcoming events in their agenda.

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Hola!

The foreign language department has some exciting events coming up in December. We have

finals, fiestas, and finishing classes!

Finals: Spanish 1 has a semester final that includes a conjugation final, and a 2 part grammar final. Here are some study tips.

Study all quizlets/flashcards from the entire semester Follow the review packet given to you by your teacher Ask your teacher for extra help in connect! That´s what we´re here for :)

French 1 will also have a final, ask Mrs. Presley for more information!

Fiestas: 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Spanish Language and Culture will be wrapping up before switching classes after winter break with fiestas! Your teacher will let you know more details about that as it gets closer!

For 8th grade Spanish Language & Culture, if students have a log or D-Slip from now until the end of the semester IN SPANISH CLASS, they will not be attending the fiesta.

Spanish 1 will not have a fiesta before winter break, but some time in semester 2!

Finishing classes: 9 weeks and semester classes, we are sad to see you go, but you will be switching classes after Winter Break. It has been wonderful to have you in class this semester, and we wish you good luck in the new year and new semester!

Spanish 1 and French 1, see you after break! --Mrs. Washburn, Mrs. Presley, and Ms. Didelot.

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6th Grade Language Arts

Students have and will continue to learn about the importance of becoming a “Close Reader”. The

goal in close reading is to build useful knowledge as students analyze the author’s message and

appreciate the author’s craft. In addition to reviewing simple sentences, run-on sentences, and

sentence fragments, we will also focus on compound sentences and prepositions. We are now

moving full-steam ahead into Greek Mythology, which nicely enriches what students have been

working on in Social Studies. Informational text is a hot topic on the new Indiana test, iLearn. Thus,

students will have many opportunities to engage in nonfiction reading, including our various

Nonfiction Reading packets, ReadWorks, Scope magazine, NewsEla, Tween Tribune, and the Close

Reader.

6th Grade Math

The students are currently knee deep in our percent unit that will last through Christmas. We will then begin our Algebra unit when we return from Winter Break in January. We will decode this new mathematical “language” and solve one and two-step equations using the Hands-On-Equations learning system. As always, please make sure that your student is reviewing his/her basic math facts frequently along with fractions and decimals. Thanks for all of your support with this over the course of the year….it makes an ENORMOUS difference!

6th Grade Social Studies

Our CGMSN Veterans Day Program was a huge success! We really enjoyed visiting with family members and friends who served or are currently serving in our armed forces. We are finishing up our study of Ancient Rome. Some of our highlights of Rome include a change of government from a republic to an empire, Greek influences on Roman culture, and similarities between Roman and USA cultures and government. Next up we will explore the Middle Ages where we will be focusing on government, economy, religion, and customs.

6th Grade Science

In science this month, we continue our journey through space. We will be able

to look into the sky and correctly identify the phases of the moon. The

mysteries of solar and lunar eclipses, the seasons, and tides should no longer

mystify us as we can both explain and model the circumstances surrounding

these natural phenomena. After returning to earth, we will begin a new

adventure into understanding the energy that surrounds us and affects our

daily lives.

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7th Grade Language Arts

The language arts classes would like to thank our author, Ruta Sepetys, for an informative and exciting visit.

We have immensely enjoyed her novel, and we encourage students to continue reading her other books.

December will bring a study of text structures and a comparison of several versions of A Christmas Carol. In

January we will begin with reading argument pieces and learning about research techniques before we write

our own argument essays later in the quarter.

7th Grade Math

Students are now able to write and solve an equation from a word problem. We will begin working with fractions using all four operations. Your student should be a professional at calculating tax, tip, and discounts, so feel free to have them find the best deals on your upcoming holiday shopping!

7th Grade Social Studies

During December and January our students will be focusing their efforts on learning the basic of the 3

monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) and how they helped shape the Middle Eastern

Region. Our goal will be to highlight similarities and differences as we compare each religion to the others to

understand how society, economics, and, especially, politics have developed over time with religion at the

center of each unique culture. Also, highlighting the month of January will be our annual school-wide

Geography Bee where each grade level will have classroom champions that compete against the other grades,

with the school winner being invited to compete at IUPUI against other school corporations for the state

championship.

7th Grade Science

In 7th grade science, we have just completed our unit on Newton’s Laws of Motion. Ask your student how a

catapult shows each law! To conclude our physics unit, we will learn how heat is transferred through

radiation, conduction, and convection. Starting in January, we will begin discussing earth science. We will be

focused on processes that shape our planet. These processes include the rock cycle and plate tectonics. We

will also focus on geologic time and how different landforms have affected human settlements.

In 7th grade honors science, we will be concluding our unit on chemistry. Chemical reactions and chemical

bonding will be our focus as we use the basics of chemistry to help identify processes that take place around

us every day. To start the new year, students will begin studying the impact humans have on the

environment. We will touch on cycles of matter and other environmental aspects of science.

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…from our little corner of the school

This month students will continue to read about Anne Frank and the Holocaust. Honors will finish reading

the Diary of a Young Girl. The overarching question students will continue to address is this: How do humans

endure in the face of adversity?

Essential skills are always woven in with the literature and writing. Some skills we will continue to

reinforce are the following: theme, central idea, active/passive voice, and parallelism.

HW for all 8th grade students is posted by team teacher on the MSN website. Feel free to contact Mrs.

Carter (ext. 5233), Mrs. Bowser (ext. 5231), Mrs. Montfort (ext. 5235), or Mrs. Harmon (ext. 5230) if you ever

have a question.

Twitter @Msn8Red

@MSNSilverTeam8

Students loved hearing Ruta

Sepetys share the details

involved in writing

Salt to the Sea.

“How wonderful it

is that nobody need

wait a single

moment before

starting to improve

the world.”

Anne Frank

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8th Grade Math

As we wrap up our first semester, 8th grade math is finishing our unit on Linear Equations and Graphing. We've been diligently working with slope intercept form - graphing, writing, interpreting, and analyzing equations in slope intercept form. We are working with scatter plots and will end our semester with a cumulative final exam. We will also take our winter round of our NWEA tests in December. In January, we will move forward with Rules of Exponents and Scientific Notation.

8th Grade U.S. History

In the past month, 8th grade social studies students have “seen” the colonies rebel against Britain, win their

independence, and create the greatest form of government the world has seen. They have unwrapped the

Articles of Confederation, studied the Constitution of the United States and developed a new understanding of

why our Constitution includes the freedoms that we so enjoy today. They are beginning to understand the

importance of being aware of current events especially since many of our 8th graders will be eligible to vote in

the next four years.

8th Grade Science

As the thermal energy decreases and we enter the twilight of the calendar year, we are moving beyond the

wide world of chemistry in 8th grade science! We will continue to look at the Periodic Table and interactions

between molecules. Atomic bonding will cover both ionic and covalent bonds. After Christmas break, we will

look at chemical equations and chemical reactions. We will then begin looking at how human activities have

changed the land, water, and atmosphere. Honors science will continue with chemistry as we investigate

biochem and macromolecules.

In honors biology, we will begin looking at DNA more closely. We will learn how DNA is structured and how its

structure allows it to contain a blueprint for building proteins. After break, we will begin our genetic and

heredity unit. Students will study how genes interact to form the traits of organisms.

You can always get the very latest news by following us on Twitter at @msn8red, @msnsilverteam8, @petersonjeffrey…

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Stay connected

Team Links

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Ways to stay connected…

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Enter this number: 81010

Text this message: @6blackte

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https://gethomeroom.com/i/HMYEPTKL

8th Grade Twitter

You can get the latest news by following us on Twitter: @msn8red @msnsilverteam8 @petersonjeffrey @MSN_Carter