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Welcome to the 2023-2024 School Year!! December 7, 2023
Dear Parents, Today I ran the Kids Who Care Santa on the Rooftop Gift Shop, so I had a sub. I went over all the work the students were expected to. do today with them yesterday. I also went over the expectations and materials with the sub. I hope it was a great day of learning for them. The gift shop was a huge success. I hope the students all find things that they liked and could afford. They seemed happy! I appreciate all of the help from the Kids Who Care. They have worked very hard all year on many service projects. But I was especially proud of how hard they worked over the last two days. There is no way today would have been possible without all of their work. I appreciate all they did. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Zoromski December 6, 2023 Dear Parents, 4th Grade It was a great class. The students were all listening so attentively and working hard through the whole class. I wish you could have been a fly on the wall watching the magic. We have been talking about force, momentum and collisions and one of the students brought in a Newton's Cradle and demonstrated it to the class. They all loved it. I have been talking about energy transfering and the Law of Conservation of Energy. During this I have explained that some of the energy is transferred to sound energy and some to heat. They understood the sound because they hear it when you make something crash. Heat they were just believing because I said it, but they really were not seeing that part. I had a set of steel balls that burn paper when you collide them. Needless to say the kids loved it and they really understand the heat part! It was just a great day! 7th Grade The students made observations on their banana lab and I explained to them what was expected on their next project. They will begin working on it tomorrow. They are all creating food chains to display in the hall. I like when they can see the work of others and learn from that. We will have 40 food chains for them to study. 8th Grade The students had a lecture on Newton's Laws. We will be working on those laws over the next week. They will be writing a paper on Newton and his Laws tomorrow. They can use their notes from today's lecture to write the paper. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z December 5, 2023 Dear Parents, 4th Grade The students learned about energy transfer as i demonstrated it using two coke cans hanging on string. If you swing one coke can, after time the other starts to swing even though no one touched it. It swings because the energy was transfered from the coke can to the string and over to the other coke can. They were amazed but also it helped them understand the concept. We also talked about momentum and how mementum can build or decrease and the effect that has. 7th Grade The students reviewed food webs and food chains. They also learned about food pyramids. The students also made observations on their banana lab. I wonder will the bananas with the yeast be different than the bananas without.... We will see as the week develops! 8th Grade We reviewed forces and the students did some worksheets on forces. Sadly I had to leave MSW for about an hour today to go to the eye doctor. I woke up with an infection. The only time I could get in was during 8th grade. I did come back but their class was over. I hope they were good while I was gone! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z December 4, 2023 Dear Parents 4th Grade The students watched a series of demonstrations of cars in motion with weights on top. They are learning about collisions, energy, energy transfer and momentum,. They did a great job making predictions and observations during the demonstration. 7th Grade The students began a lab today that lasts all week. They are making observations comparing banana slices that have yeast on them and plain banana slices. As we went through the lab procedure the students reviewed many concepts that were taught on the scientific method. I was very pleased at how many of the terms and vocabulary words they remembered and understood. That is always my goal. It is not just learning for today. It is that they understand the material enough to apply it over and over in other situations. Great job 7th grade. 8th Grade I did not see the 8th Graders today due to Spanish. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 30, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day! 4th Grade The students finished answering the questions from their lab yesterday. They also working on finding the average of their results. They did a great job. I went over the lab for tomorrow and they are very excited to create a pendulum which will eventually cause a collision that will knock down their wall. 7th Grade The students finished creating their food web from the eco systems which we started yesterday. 8th Grade We reviewed what was taught yesterday on speed, and acceleration. Then we spent more time looking at the affects of forces and how they can affect the acceleration. They did a work sheet determinng the affects of force on objects. Take care and have a great night Mrs. Z November 29, 2023 Dear Parents, Another great day and a little warmer! 4th Grade The students did a lab today that they had a lot of fun with. This lab demonstrated the affect different speeds had on different cars in collisions. We will go over the resuilts tomorrow. Grade 7 the students looked at a diagram of an ecosystem and studied the organisms in the environment. Then they needed to create food chains in their eco system. I think they enjoyed learning about all the diferent habitats and organisms. Grade 8 Since I only see them four times a week, each moment is precious. They reviewed speed, velocity and acceleration and then added the new material on forces to that. They learned a lot about gravity, friction, pushes and pulls. It was a great day for 8th grade science! Take care and have a great night, MRs. z November 28, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day, chilly outside but lots of heartwarming moments inside. 4th Grade The students learned more about energy transfer, and we went over our lab for tomorrow. The students wrapped up the day with some collision practice. They worked in partners and each student had a car. One car was metal the other was plastic. The goal was to discover the different reactions to different types of collisions. They were very creaive in thinking up ways to demonstrate collisions and quickly noticed how much safer you would be in a large heavy vehicle. 7th Grade Again we are at two different spots. One class finally had Thanksgiving Science and I think they enjoyed the variety of food experiments! The other class moved into the next chapter on food chains, food webs and ecosystems. I hope by the end of the week that they are all on the same page. 8th Grade It was great to see the students. I had them work on a graphing assignment and that gave me a chance to have a few one on one and small group discussions with some students. Hopefully all of the students finised the graph project so no one had homework. Take. care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 27, 2023 Dear Parents, I had a beautiful Thanksgiving Day and break. My husband was in town and so we my daughter. That does not happen often. We headed to Wisconsin to be with my husbands family on Thursday, returned and I hosted my family on Friday. Both events were filled with family, tradition, food and good times. When I think of what I am thankful for of course my family comes first but a very close second is my experiences at MSW with your children. I feel very privileged and blessed to teach at MSW and it brings me great joy. Thank you for trusting me to teach your child. I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving and enjoyed the time with your child over the break. 4th Grade We began the final chapter in book one of 4th grade science. This chapter is on energy transfer. We demonstrated what happens to toy cars in collisions. They seem to be catching on to the idea the greater the speed the more powerful collision and the greater the mass the forceful collision. I enjoyed seeing their smiling faces as they walked in. They are young but they have captured a very special place in my heart! 7th Grade It was great to see the 7th graders again! One switch worked on their pixel projects. They have missed a few classes due to schedule changes etc. I am working very hard to get them caught up. The other switch finished Thanksgiving science. No one had homework. 8th Grade I did not see the 8th graders today because they went to Spanish. I look forward to being together with them tomorrow! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 17, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a full day even without the 7th graders because I had to pick up some new classes. I am working on Thanksgiving Science for the junior high so this will be short. 4th Grade Today some of the students finished their robot which they began balancing on their finger. I think they had fun with that! The others will finish tomorrow. 7th Grade No class today they are in Springfield. I did grage their tests. The did a great job! 8th Grade The students took their test today and I began grading them but have not finished. The test was 7 pages long with many short answers, diagrams and graphs. Those will take me awhile to finish. I hope to pass them back next week. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 16, 2023 Dear Parents, 4th Grade The students took their test today. When they were finished they began working on a robot STREAM balance project. I hope to finish that with them tomorrow. 7th Grade The students had time today to work on their microscope lab and their pixel project. I am very impressed with the excellent work they are doing on their pixel project. 8th Grade We reviewed for the test we are having tomorrow. I think they are ready and hope they are studying tonight. Take care, Mrs. Z November 14, 2023 Dear Parents, Again a busy day, a close friend is having surgery, so after school I stopped over to spend some time with her and am just getting to this. I am sorry it is getting to you a little late in the day. 4th grade The students worked on the review pages in the book with me. I hope that helps them prepare for tomorrows quiz. I do think they are ready! 7th grade The students took their test on microscopes. I have looked them over, but have not graded them. I may get to that later tonight. The tests I give are not multiple choice and it takes a long time to get through the pile. I hope to get grades out soon. I too want to see how they did! 8th grade Some students went to the Mass for Ms. Chilver's mom so they were late to class. This cut into my plans for the day, but we made the best of it. I reviewed with some students to prepare for the test on Thursday. Oddly, some students felt they were ready to take the test and did not need a review. That has never happened to me. I hope they made the right decision. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 13, 2023 Dear Parents, I am sorry I am writing so late. I left MSW and went to a wake for Kathy Chilver 's Mom. Kathy taught at MSW for 40 years and was the most remarkable teacher I have ever met. She has a very special gift in the way she treats and teaches little ones. I just walked in the door. 4th Grade The students worked on a project that identified kenetic and potential energy today. I think they enjoyed the project and I hope it helps them prepare for the test on Wednesday. They all seem to understand this chapter. 7th Grade The students began a project that demonstrates pixels, resolution and the clarity or sharprness of a picture. Today as they worked on the projects I think they saw the affect of a big number of pixels giving a much clearer and sharper image. That is part of the Test they are having tomorrow. They got a study guide last week. I hope they are studying tonight. 8th Grade I do not see the 8th graders on Monday. They too are having a test this week. It will be on Thursday. I announced it to them last week. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 8, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the day began with a beautiful Vertrans Day Assembly. Wow, it was educational for all and emotional. Great job Students Council, Hawk Harmonics and Janelle Daniel. 4th Grade The students worked very hard reviewing the material on work, energy, kinetic and potential energy and added the affect mass has on energy. They finished their lab which had a section of averages on it. They have not learned that skills yet in math, but they learned it today! SUPER WORK They will be having a test next week on the topics covered in this unit. 7th Grade The students did another section on their microscope lab. Today they saw color. To the naked eye it looks like a red apple but it looks very different under a microscope. They also looked at the edge of piece of torn paper to discover the fibers. They have been working hard and I love listening to their comments when they look look at the slides under a microscope. They too are heading to a.test next week on Tuesday. 8th Grade The students went over a review/study guide with me today wrapping up the chapter on speed, motion and direction. I hope they are all going over the material at home at night. Their test also is next week on Thursday. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 7, 2023 Derar Parents, Today was a great and very busy day of learning in all of my classes! 4th Grade They took their learning and understanding of work and enrgy and used that to write a paper. All students are asked to write a paper in every subject each month. I wrote the first paragraph for them to get them started on the whiteboard. They needed to copy that and then add to it. They needed to write out an example of when energy was potential and when it was kinetic. They found this assignment very challenging, but they stuck it out. Most students finished. If you child did not that is homework tonight. Also I asked them to try and use cursive. Some were very successful kudos to them. Some are still developing their skills, they had a much more difficult time. It will all come together for all of them. They are all trying! 7th Grade The students worked on the next part of the microscope lab. It is so exciting to watch their skills and understanding improve. Yesterday they learned the microscope tranforms images like a mirror, using the letter "e". Today they learned how the different lenses show different parts of what they are looking at. The higher the magnification the smaller part of the picture you see, but it is larger and there is more detail. They made a paper microscope and looked at an X then they made their paper microscope smaller and saw less of the X then they made it look like a straw and they saw very little of the X. Then they used the microscope to look at an "e" using the different magnifications and understood what what happening. They also looked at human hair and either salt or sugar. They are doing great. We will have a test on microscopes next week. No homework for 7th grade 8th Grade The students finished this section on speed and motion. This section explained velocity which is a change in speed and or direction. They will have a test next Tuesday. I gave them a study guide for the test last week. That needs to be completed by tomorrow. We will go over the material in class together tomorrow. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 6, 2023 Dear Parents, I am sorry this is getting out so late. I had a lot of errands to run after school and I just got home. I thought it was a good day to get those jobs done because the weather was so beautiful. 4th Grade The students did an excellent job on a very difficult lab. They have come a long way in a short time. I was very impressed with the way they followed the directions exactly trying to get the best results. They enjoyed the lab and worked well together with their partners. They made sure that everyone got a turn doing the "fun" parts. The lab was demonstrating the affect of motion and changing the mass. 7th Grade The students did a very complex lab with the microscopes. They needed to create their own slides both dry and wet mount. It was not easy, but they tried very hard. Also they learned that because of the lenses creating a mirror affect what they saw under the microscope turned upside down and was backwards. We will be working more on this lab tomorrow. It is a two day lab. Today they saw the letter "e" flip and tomorrow they discover what a microscope does with color. 8th Grade I did not teach the 8th graders today due to Sp;anish. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 2, 2023 Dear Parents, What a super day of learning at MSW in the science lab. It does not happen often but today was magic in all grades and all classes! 4th Grade Science The fourth graders continued learning about mass, friction, forces, kinetic and potential energy. They worked hard today learning the material and going through the concepts in their workbooks. At the end of class I pulled it all together with a fun activity. They loved it, got the hang of it and learned science. They lined up across from a partner and if I said no energy they just held the ball. If I said kinetic energy they tossed the ball and when I said potential energy they caught the ball. The were precious to watch and I saw the light bulbs of learning and understanding brighten the room. No homework given! 7th Grade Science Beyond magic -- it was science. Today was a BIG day! the students all got their own microscope and a pile of slides. It was their first time focusing and trying to see what was on the slide enlarged. They learned about microscopes last week and today I had them all charged and ready for hand on!. It was so great to see them use all the information I taught them on handling the microscope and in using it. By the end of class every student in every 7th grade class had mastered it! We will be using microscopes more as we continue learning biology! No homework was given! 8th Grade Science The students had a great time with wind up toys!!!! They marked a course and had ran many trials of their wind up toy tracking distance the toy went and the speed it traveled at. Then they used they used that information to discover the average speed using the equation they learned yesterday. They all loved the different cute wind up toys and I loved listening to them as they demonstrated the understanding of so many concepts that we have covered. If they had an answer that did not look correct they stopped and said, "That looks like human error, let's try that run again!" That demonstrated a very high level of thinking! Then they had questions to answer about their results and again their answers pulled in a lot of concepts we have been covering in lectures. I was thrilled. Some 8th graders do have a worksheet from Wednesday. It was a little long so I gave them two days to finish it. That is due tomorrow. Many have already completed the assignment. Kudos to all my super scientists, Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 1, 2023 Dear Parents, I am very sorry my site for the blog was being serviced so I could not write yesterday. I hope your child told you about science. I did 17 dry ice experiments in all of my classes in all of the grades yesterday. I hope your child enjoyed the Halloween Science experience. Grade 4 Today the 4th graders started the next chapter. I lectured on kinetic and potential energy. As we began they looked lost, but luckily I think by the end of class they were catching on. They did not get homework tonight. Grade 7 Today the seventh graders worked on their paper for the month. Each month the students are expected to write a one page paper. The topic was dry ice and the experiments I did yesterday. Some students may need to finish those tonight for homework. Grade 8 Today the 8th graders learned about constant speed, changing speed, and finding the average speed. Then they worked on word problems to figure out the speed, distance and average time. Some students may have that worksheet to finish. I told the students they could turn that in on Friday. Take care and have a good night, Mrs. Z October 30, 2023 Dear Parents, This will be a very short note. I just got home from school and it is already 6:20. I had to run and get some supplies for science tomorrow and my car broke. I am waiting for the tow truck now. Luckily I have another car at home! Tomorrow is Halloween and that is the perfect time for some very sppolky special science experiments. So I need to prepare. 4th Grade The students worked again on their STREAM projects. There are 6 activities and they are making their way through the rotation. It is amazing to see how creative the students are and how well they work together. 7th Grade I wanted to prepare the students for tomorrows Halloween Science class. They had a lecture on dry ice and carbon dioxide. I think they are very excited to see it all in action tomorrow. 8th Grade Sadly I did not see the 8th graders today, they had Spanish. I will explain the properties and science behind dry ice and carbon dioxide to them tomorrow during the demonstrations. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 26, 2023 Dear Parents, 4th Grade Today was a great day. There were 6 different STEM challenges that I put out for the students to work on. They listened well to the explanation and worked well in groups. It was a good day. 7th Grade The students did a VERY complex lab. I was pleased with how hard they tried to follow all of the directions so closely. The lab demonstrated photosynthesis with a water plant. You could see as the sunlamp hit the plant the release of oxygen. It was truly amazing. 8th Grade The students did a great job carving pumpkins with their Faith Partners. It is not an easy task. They have 45 minutes to get their Faith Partner, wash the pumpkin, clean it out, carve it and clean the gym! This is a special group of students they always far exceed my expectations. I hope they had fun. I know they were working hard. Take care and have a great nigh, Mrs. Z October 25, 2023 Today was a great day in 4th grade science, in 7th grade science and in 8th grade science! Dear Parents, 4th Grade The students and I completed a lab together as a class. Everyone had their own job and everyone was part of one big experiment. The students all cooperated and tried their best to do their part perfectly! I was so impressed with their teamwork and their great results. These students have come a long way in a short time! The experiment demonstrated the impact on speed using ramps. You should ask them about it for more details. No homework was given! 7th Grade The students did a very tricky lab that had amazing results. they blew into a dark blue liquid and it changed color right before their eyes. The liquid is blue in the presense of oxygyn and it turns green when they blow in it because they are not blowing out air or oxygen we breathe out carbon dioxide. They did an awesome job. They had gloves on and googles and not only looked like super scientists they were super scientists. No homework was given. 8th Grade I looked over their group work from last night and they had some super examples of a very complex scientific theory that we have been working on. I read the best ones outloud to the class. Then we moved into a review of distance vs displacement and I think it cleared up some misconceptions. Finally we began learning about constant speed and changing speed. They were on their toes today. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 24, 2023 Dear Parents All students in 4th, 7th and 8th grade who did not have a conference with me got a folder full of information explaining your child's progress. The power school print out that has my notes in it, needs to be returned. 4th Grade Today we discussed the experiment we did yesterday on friction. I went over how to get the best lab results and what the results meant. Then we did a chapter wrap up. the students are ready to move on tomorrow! 7th Grade The students took a quiz on photosynthesis and cellular respiration. We have been working on this for two weeks now, i am noping for some great grades. They also had an intro into tomorrows exciting lab. 8th Grade The students worked on being able to describe when objects are in motion and when they are not. They also practiced finding the destination using a reference point and direction and distance. They had a worksheet tonight for homework. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 23, 2023 Dear Parents, It was great getting to see so many of you at parent teacher conferences. Thank you for coming. My time slots filled up fast and I got to meet with many of you. For the parents of students I did not see I will be sending home some information for you to look over as an update on your child's progress. I plan on sending that home tomorrow. I hope you find it helpful. 4th Grade Today the fourth graders worked very hard as they completed a lab on friction. I was so happy to see that many of them remembered the concepts of posing a question, writing a hypothesis and creating a conclusion. I look forward to checking their work. They were very busy and engaged during the lab. Also I corrected their quiz from last week. I was pleased with their scores. Great job 4th grade! 7th Grade The students had a review to help prepare them for tomorrows quiz. They seem to have a very strong understanding of the material. They may need to look over their notes tonight to study. The quiz is tomorrow, Tuesday! We also began the unit on microscopes and they were very interested today as I explained how they work and how to use them properly. This wee should be a very exciting week of Biology in action! 7th Graders should study! 8th Grade I did not see the 8th graders today, they had Spanish. I will see them tomorrow. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 18, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a beautiful day! It was a pleasure to meet all of the grandparents and special guests. I hope your child came home and told you all about this very special day. Grade 4 I did not see. my morning classes. A few stopped in with their grandparents and I enjoyed getting to meet them. I was very busy though with the 8th graders so I did not get to talk to them long. The students have a quiz/test tomorrow I hope they are looking over the material tonight! Grade 7 I only saw one switch today I will see the other one tomorrow. We pulled together the information on photosynthesis that we have been working on and they will be having a quiz on this material next week. I think they understand the material. They do not have any homework. Grade 8 The students had a quiz on the material we covered on distance, direction, and displacement. I will be putting those scores in power school over the weekend. I am hoping for some great grades! One switch did not see me today they will have the quiz the next time we meet. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 17, 2023 Dear Parents, I hope to see many of you tomorrow at Grandparent's Day. I am sorry today is short I have a lot to prepare for tomrrow's exciting events. 4th Grade The students reviewed for their test tomorrow and they appear to be in good shape. They also had time to finish the graph from a lab we worked on earlier this year. I will not see the students tomorrow so I hope they take some time at home to review and study. They all have a study guide. 7th Grade The afternoon switch did not have class today due to song practice. I did not want the classes to get off and I had some work around the classroom to do to prepare for tomorrow. I had my morning class help me get ready. We do not do that ofen but Grandparent's Day is special. 8th Grade The students had a review of some key topics from the new chapter on distance and directions.. They used the lecture as a framework for a one page paper on Physics they wrote. The writing of the paper hopefully helps them prepare for the quiz they will be having on this material tomorrow afternoon for some and Thursday morning for others. Some students may need time to study their notes for the quiz. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 16. 2023 Dear Parents, I just read the update on Grandparent's Day and it looks like it will be a very special day at MSW. I am looking forward to meeting all of the special visitors that day. Grade 4 Today the students finished the chapter and I passed out the review sheet for their next test/quiz. That will be on Thursday this week. We did go over the material today and we will review again tomorrow. I will not see them on Wednesday due to all of the special events for Grandparent's Day. 7th Grade The students have been working on diagrams of photosynthesis and cellular respiration which will be on display for Grandparent's Day. If your child did not finish that in class they should finish it tonight for homework. Anyone who does not have it done, will have to work on it during lunch tomorrow so these can get hung. 8th Grade The students did not have class today due to Spanish. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 12, 2023 Dear Parents, 4th Grade Today the students finished up our lesson on robotic engineers. They used their own thoughts and information they learned and imagined they were a robotic engineer. I wish you could have heard the discussions so many great points were discussed. They thought about all the ways robots could help us and possible harm that they could cause. I was thrilled with their insight at such a young age. They wrote their October paper! The topic was If you were a robotic engineer what would you like your robot to do? When they finished they were able to draw a picture of their robot. ] 7th Grade The students learned about the process of photosynthesis as we are just begining the sudy of Biology. They understand the make up of a leaf and how that enables photosynthesis to occur. This process works in balance with cellular respiration. We are just beginning to put the two processes together. We also discussed the idea that all energy comes from the sun and the relationship between plants, animals and the sun. No homework was given. 8th Grade We went over yesterday's lab. Some students asked if they could redo their lab to improve their grades. I gave them a few minutes at the end of the class to redo that asignment. I was glad they cared enough to do that. They also learned the different bewtween distance and displacement. Tomorrow they will have a lab demonstrating displacement. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 11, 2023 Dear Parents, Today all of the students in all of my classes prepared their conference folders. It was a good chance for them to clean out their binder and I will use the papers they saved as a discussion point during conferences. If you did not sign up for a conference, it is ok. I will send you some comments on your child's progress and work for you to review with your child. There was no homework in 4th or 7th grade. One 8th grade switch has to finish a lab that they started in school last week. Some students were able to finish it in class. The lab is due tomorrow from all of the students in that switch. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 10, 2023 Dear Parents,, 4th Grade Today the students got many papers back. I went over the work with them praising them for the many things they were doing well, and spent some time going back over concepts that they many have been confused on. They took the papers home and they are now in their binder if you want to look them over. I hope that helped. Then we did a quick lab that they really enjoyed and did a great job on. The lab was dropping a ball of paper and a sheet of paper watching for the speed of falling. The concept they are working on is the more surface area the slower the fall. After they completed the lab following the directions they wanted to explore ideas of their own like putting the paper ball on the sheet of paper and dropping it or making a hole in the sheet of paper and seeing if that changed the speed. i was thrilled with their ideas and interest. Great job 4th graders! 7th Grade I passed out some papers that were grade and got some missing papers turned in. That was great. Sometimes when students are out, when they return they forget to get the missing work in. We are working on that. I also passed out their books and began the intro lessons to Biology. They are very excited to begin the study of life. We had a great class together. 8th Grade I was happy to have the 8th graders back and am so glad they had a great time in DC. What a special experience for them! I passed back many papers to the 8th graders and told them to look them over carefully. As I grade I make many comments both positive and in areas where they could improve. Some students need to work on effort and focus. Sometimes they are more concerned about getting done, then they are with writing a clear and complete answer to the question. I know their potential and sadly some of the work that I graded over the weekend had careless errors or incomplete answers. I hope they understood my message and come into class tomorrow ready to focus and work hard as we move through the very difficult material in physical science. I also passed out their books and we quickly moved into the first lab on motion and direction. Tomorrow we will go back over the lab and discuss the results. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 5, 2023 Dear Parents, 4th Grade Today the students worked very hard to learn and understand the forces of gravity and friction. After about 30 minutes I could tell I was losing them so I passed out the timers that we will be using in our lab tomorrow. I taught them what all the buttons did and how they worked. Then I let them practice using them by timing some physical challenges. I think they left happy and excited because we will be doing a speed and motion lab tomorrow with the timers! 7th Grade The students reported their findings today in class after their second rocket launch. They discussed what worked and the struggles they had. We made a huge class chart of the results and discussed the skills an engineer needed. 8th Grade The students worked on a physics lab that involved human error and analyzing results. I was so happy because they did a much better job this time! It kept them very busy and today that what just what they needed because they were very excited and nervous thinking about their trip to DC. I wish them all the best and hope they have safe travels. I will miss them tomorrow and cannot wait to hear all about it! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 4, 2023 Dear Parents, 4th Grade Today the 4th graders learned about the word tendency. They needed to understand that to understand inertia. Both are big words for fourth graders. This helps them to understand the idea that things at rest have a tendency to remain in place until a force acts upon them and things in motion have a tendency to remainn in motion until a force acts upon them. No homework was given. 7th Grade One class had an extra recess. It was a treat or a reward they earned by listeinng in class, working hard and being very successful on their last test. Great job. The other class had that last week on Friday. Now they are all on the same page. Also it was a way to celebrate these last few days of amazingly beautiful weather. The class that I did teach today finished the second half of their rocket labs. I am excited to go over that with them tomorrow to see what they learned about force, mass and motion. No homework was given. 8th Grade Last week the students did a lab to review the steps of the scientific mehtod, to understand a law in physics and to demonstrate how to evaluate observations that may include human error. We had a lecture on it and then the lab. Sadly I did not see typical lab scores, some were low. I retuaght that concept today siting many experiiment examples and we will see how they do on tomorrow's lab. No homework was given. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 3, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day! 4th Grade The students reviewed with me the defitions of motion, speed, acceleration and velocity. Then they created the beginning of a study guide. They wrote the definitions of the words, used them in a sentence and drew a picture to help them remember what the word means. I am thrilled with the amount they are learning, understanding and remembering. The 4th graders may have to finish that work tonight. 7th Grade We had song practice so I only got to teach one group of 7th graders today. That group redeigned their rocket from yesterday to see if they could improve on their results. Tomorrow we will discuss this lab. No homework! 8th Grade The students took their test on The Scientific Method. The test was long and has many short answer essay questions. I will get those grades in power school as soon as I can. I am so glad we were able to fit that in before DC and we will begin out study of physical science with Physics when they return. No homework! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 2, 2023 All Parents just a message to everyone. I do post as fast as I can after school and sadly sometimes it get is later, so if you come on and do not see a new post look again. Also FYI I take Friday night off! So there will be four posts each week Monday-Thursday.. Dear Parents, 4th Grade I gave the students a packet that explains how to get to this site. I also showed them in class using my computer how to find my blog incase you did not understand my directions. I hope that helps. The students need to turn the second page in signed tomorrow. Also it is school policy that quiz/tests get signed by a parent and return it to school. The students did very well on their first quiz/test and some have returned that signed. I hope the rest remember to get that back in. Today the students worked on some big terms. They learned about velocity and acceleration. We will review that again tomorrow at the beginning of class, but they seem to be picking up the concepts. 7th Grade Congrats to the 7th Graders! They did an excellent job on their Scientific Method test. Those grades are in power school and hopefully they remember to get that test signed tonight. They are due tomorrow. The scores show me their growth, learning and understanding of the Scientific Method. That is key since they will be using that information in all of their labs this year. I believe the scores were high because they are such good listeners. Active listening is a very important tool in school success. Today the students did part one of a two day STREAM lab on rockets. They built their first rocket and tested it. Tomorrow they will build a second one using what they learned from the success/failure of their first rocket. This lab is to help them understand the design process used in STREAM. 8th Grade I did not see the 8th graders today they had Spanish. They have a test on the Scientific Method tomorrow. I hope they remember to study. When I finish this I am going to put it in google classroom. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z September 28, 2023 Dear Parents, 4th Grade Today the students worked on learning skills needed to understand position and motion. They defined speed as how fast or slow something was traveling. Then we worked on m/s (meters per second) and mph miles per hour. They have a short worksheet with questions using the diagram on page 10 of their workbook. 7th Grade The 7th graders took a test on the Scientific Method today. I have not corrected all of the tests, but I looked them over and I am amazed and proud at how much they have learned since the first day of class. The test is long and has many short answers and a few essays. That will take me a while to correct. I like to get grades back very quickly, but I need Saturday to get these done. You can look on powerschool over the weekend, but as I said they look GREAT! Good job Grade 7. 8th Grade Sadly the 8th graders have had some difficulties lately in Science. Their work ethic has not been what I like to see, and their concern has been much more social than on learning science. I will talk to them about this tomorrow, and I need to see a change. I know their talent and potential. I am hoping for some changes next week. As always it is not everyone, (I am proud of the students that have been working hard), but sadly it is getting to be many that are not following classroom policies or listening attentively. This hurts their progress and success. Please support me in this effort to move the 8th grade in the right direction. I want it to be.a great year of learning for all. Just a reminder they have a test on the Scientific Method next Tuesday. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z September 27, 2023 To All Parents: I do not know who reads my blog but I have a visit counter and it is going up. That makes me so happy that means you are able to log in and check it fi you are interested! Great job parents, I hope you find this helpful this year. Dear Parents, 4th Grade Today the class was short. I introduced some new terms. Motion and Position. we will be working on these concepts again tomorrow. Today the students had three seconds each to see how fast they could move. We then made a chart of the data and the students lined up in position. Great start to a new unit! No homework in 4th grade. 7th Grade I went over their homework assignment with them clarifying answers that some students were still struggling with. Then I went through a lot of review questions to help prepare them for tomorrow. They have been working very hard. I cannot wait to see how they do on there test tomorrow. The students should study to prepare for the test tomorrow. 8th Grade The students went over their study guides and filled in the answers that they didn't know and corrected the other answers so they would all have the right things to study. Then I went over the directions and expectations for tomorrows lab that demonstrated human error and the steps of the scientific method. The 8th graders have a worksheet to fill out tonight. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z September 26, 2023 Dear Parents, 4th Grade Today the students worked very hard on a labl that demonstrated how mass affects an objects motion. They were very surprised to see that a heavy golf ball landed at the same time as a ping pong ball. They used the steps of the scientific method to complete their lab. I was very impressed with how well they were able to demonstrate their knowledge of the scientific method as they followed the lab procedure. Great job 4th Grade. 7th Grade The students worked hard going over the steps of the scientific method as they prepare for their test on Thursday. I think it is all coming together for them and they will be very successful on the test. They worked on manipulated and responding variable in groups and did well. I know they will be ready for Thursday! They have a paper that you need to sign that they need to give back to me showing that you know how to find my blog. I hope you find that the blog helpful throughout the year. They also have a packet of science information to give you if you did not see me at Back to School Night. 8th Grade The students have a paper explaining how to find my blog and that needs to be signed and returned tomorrow. If you missed my Back To School presentation your child also got a science info packet to give you. The 8th graders are working on the Scientific Method and are having a test on that material on Tuesday. We covered most of this material last year, but this year they are taking it all a step further. We have been working on deepening their understanding of manipulated and responding variable and they also have been introduced to human error in labs. the labs. They will do a lab on Thursday that will allow them to demonstrate and practice those skills in a live setting. They also got a review sheet to fill out for homework. We will go over that tomorrow. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z September 25, 2023 Dear Parents, I am wondering if anyone found my blog? This is new for the new school year. You can scroll down and see what I wrote last year if you want. 4th Grade Today the 4th graders watched a few video clips on sky diving and gravity. They were very interested and learned a new concept AIR RESISTANCE. I did a few more examples in the classroom to help reinforce the idea. We then did the pages in their workbook that corrolated with that concept. Tomorrow is a big day because we will do a lab extending their knowledge and understanding further. Today in 7th grade the students and I went through some examples of possible experiments that helped them to see, understand and remember all the concepts of the Scientific Method. They did great! Then they worked on the same concepts in groups. They have a one page homework assignment on the same ideas. I am hoping this helps prepare them for their test on Thursday. Today the 8th graders did not have science. On Monday they have Spanish. We will work very hard tomorrow to keep the expected pace of 8th grade. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z June 7, 2023 Dear Parents, This is my final letter. It is so hard for me to believe the year is already over. It all went by so fast. I enjoyed teaching this group of 7th graders and appreciate your support throughout the year. They have grown a lot this year and learned a lot! I am proud of each one of them. At the end of the year I always write a parody to a popular song and put pictures to it. It is my way of going back through the year with them and over the summer I take a day and watch all of my videos from all of the years and remember how special each student I have had the privilege of teaching is. Once you are in my class you remain in my heart and thoughts forever. You can watch the video if you want a sneak peak into your child's day in Biology at MSW. Type in youtube judie zoromski and you will get to my site, then look for the DVD from the 7th grade class of 2023. They are the soon to be 8th grade class of 2024 and that is very exciting. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z June 6, 2023 Dear Parents, I am so sorry I did not write yesterday or Thursday. Last week on Thursday night was the graduation dinner which was a very beautiful event, Sadly, it kept me too busy to write and by the time I got home it was after 11. I wanted to write yesterday also, but I completely forgot. I am sorry. The 7th graders have had a busy two days. Yesterday they completed their final project of the Body Systems unit with a big finish. The pig dissection which MSW has done for years. The students did an amazing job. I was impressed with both their skills at dissecting which is very difficult especially for the first time and for their skills at identifying and understanding the organs. They began by cutting the sides of the cheeks and looking down the throat of the pig to find the esophagus. Then they worked on portion below the diaphragm. They removed the large intestines, the small intestines, the stomach, the liver, the kidneys, the spleen and gall bladder from the lower section of the pig. Then they moved up and removed the lungs and the heart. They have a true understanding of how difficult open heart surgery would be. Then they cut out the spine to remove the spinal cord. Next the students cut open the skull to remove the brains and the eyes. That was a lot. We needed to change the junior high schedule so they could have a double period with me. Some students unraveled the small intestines and were amazed that they were really 8 feet long. How did that fit in the pig? It is all raveled up. A few students had a little trouble with the smell, but most eagerly dove right in . Great job and an amazing memory for the students. Today they learned a new method of tie dying using chromatography. that is the separation of a mixture by passing it in solution or suspension or as a vapor such as a gas through a medium in which the components move at different rates, this can cause the bleeding and blending of colors. They used sharpie pens to make marks on their shirts wherever they wanted and then used pipettes to drip alcohol on them to spread the colors. They all turned out a little different and it is an easy fun way to finish the year. Tomorrow I have a special treat planned for them and we are done! It is hard for me to believe that the year is over. It seems to have flown by. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 31, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 8th graders went to the Dogs game. I heard they had a great time! The 7th graders met with me and had a chance to play with the chick. It is amazing how fast it is growing. I also collected science books and got late work from students that were absent. It truly is the beginning of the end! Take care and have a graet night, Mrs. Z May 30, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 8th graders had their awards day and then went home so i did not teach them. Actually they will not have class with me again. they are done! I hope they have a great day tomorrow at the game! The weather should be beautiful. the 7th graders were at the awards ceremony so I only saw two of my switches. The students I did see had the final section of the pig dissection and played with the chick. Last week three of the 7 eggs hatched. I thought that was good considering the eggs had to fly to get here! One of the chicks was born with a yolk sack outside of his body. Usually this is inside of the chick. Another was born with a broken leg. Those two sick chicks kept me busy all weekend. The one with the yolk sack had a minor surgery and died then during the night. The one with the broken leg had hobbles put on his legs and is at the vet recovering. So we have one lone chick for the kids to play with and watch grow. The chick will be in my classroom until the end of the year and then will go to a farm. It has been a learning experience for all of us for sure. All of the students will have the chance to hold the chick, but it is not mandatory. It is up to each student. All students wash their hands immediately after interactions with the chicks. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 24, 2023 Dear Parents, I am very sorry. I was not able to write last night. Weebly, this site is only on my school computer and sadly I left my computer at school. I could not get my weebly to open on my old computer I have at home. The 8th graders started the day with a beautiful and very touching ribbon ceremony after Mass. I am very proud of this class and will miss them very much. Today looking them in the eye, I felt it. The good byes are coming way too quickly. They did not have class today they had play practice. I will see you tomorrow night to enjoy the show for the second time. In 7th grade I took the model of a human today and used that to go over the organs in the human body to help prepare the students for the dissection. They were all EARS! It is so easy to teach when they are engaged. The chicks should be hatching tonight. I am heading over to MSW to check on them now. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 22, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day! The 7th grade chickens are coming in and kudos' to you and your child for the work, time and effort put into that assignment. I know that it was a lot of work, but the final projects are ALL amazing. It is always fun to see how each one turns out. Just like the students they are all different, but all special. Today in class we had lecture number 1 in preparing for the pig dissection. All the students were amazing listeners. I think they are very excited for the dissection day!! The 8th graders did the final lab. It was on Non-Newtonian substances. These are substances that do not follow the laws of physics. Their state of matter can change even without a temperature change. An example of a Non-Newtonian substance is quicksand. They made oobleck and did a series of experiments with it demonstrating how it was a solid and a liquid at room temperature. Then they had some fun exploring the oobleck. Class ended the way it should, with all smiles. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 18, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the I got to see the final round of the speeches. The talent always amazes me. They all did an excellent job. Kudos to the winners, but in my mind they all were winners. I could have never been a judge for that! The work, time and effort that those students put in was incredible. Great job! The 7th graders did a lab that demonstrated digestion and the excretory system. I was so impressed with how much they remembered from the lectures and how well they did. Super job 7th grade. They have come a very long way this year. The 8th graders got to revisit their early years as they created structures out of Legos. I think they enjoyed the activity. I only saw one of my 8th grade classes today due to Life Skills, so I did not want to get one class ahead of the other. Tomorrow will be a big day for all of the 8th graders. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 17, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was another great day! The 7th grade students reviewed the digestive system and learned the excretory system. They will use that information to complete a lab tomorrow. They are really doing a great job learning about and understanding their bodies. I got another chicken today!!!!!! The flock is heading my way. Great job to all of you parents. Believe me I know how difficult this project is, so kudos to you for helping your child. Also I hope you have noticed during this time there have not been quizzes, tests or homework. I am really trying to give you a chance to work on it. The 8th graders did a stream lab. It is a long standing tradition that the 8th graders experience The Great Egg Drop. The students get 20 minutes, paper, tape, and an egg. They think of a way to protect their egg and then they drop it off the gym balcony. I was impressed with my first class 3 eggs did not break, then in my second class I was shocked that 10 did not break!!!! I wish you would have been in my classroom watching every 8th grader trying their own idea and wrapping away! I know they had fun. We worked hard all year, especially in this last month. These final days are all hands on exciting challenges. I hope they enjoy the end of 8th grade science. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 16, 2023 Dear Parents, Great day in the science lab!!! Today the 7th graders started to learn about the digestive system and the excretory system. They are finding this very interesting. The first chicken came in and it was awesome! Good luck to all of you who are tackling the project. Remember they do not have to be perfect, it is the combination of all the chickens that bring us a strong understanding of the skeletal structure. Thank you for your support. Remember I am here if you have questions. The 8th graders did a lab that has become a tradition. It is the sludge test. They all get a mixture and have to perform tests on it to see what was in their own mixture. Each group of two students go their own. They loved it and the learning was high! The 8th graders have a few fun labs left before they walk out of MSW. Tomorrow will be just exciting. I cannot wait. I have to run, lots to get to do at this point in the year. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 15, 2023 Dear Parents, As I type the new date, I see the reality that the year is ending. I have to be honest, for me that is a very sad thing. I wish we had more time together, but I know the 7th graders are ready for summer and the 8th graders are ready for graduation. It happens every year. The 8th graders worked on their last writing assignment for the year. They needed to explain what they liked and didn't like about science. Those papers are very important, and I told them to be honest. I read those and think about what they have said and use that as input on how I can make next year better. I also met with students who were missing assignments and a few students who did not do well on the last test. I am trying to help them prepare for a retake. If your child scored high on the test please take the time to praise them for their success. The 7th graders worked on their graphing skills. Often on standardized tests they use a graph as part of the question. Graphing is often worked on and reviewed in the science curriculum. I took the lab they did last week on heart rate and helped them learn how to create a chart with that information and then turn it into a graph. They worked very hard on learning the skill and then demonstrating it. Great job 7th grade. I have heard stories about the chicken project and I have had a few emails. Keep the faith and hang in there. I will help anyone who needs it and remember I am not expecting perfection. This is an attempt at the skeleton. Let me know if you need anything. These are busy days, so I must close here. Take care and I hope you have a great night, Mrs. Z May 11, 2023 Dear Parents, Wow, I just looked at the clock I have been working since I got home from school and still have a long way to go. These are very busy days as the 8th graders get ready to move on. Today the 7th grade soared as we reviewed everything we have covered on the muscular system, they are doing great!!!! Today they all had a chance to listen to their heart beat with a real stethescope. Tomorrow we have a great lab on our heart rate. The 8th graders took their final test on chemical bonds. I have not gone through them, they are very tim consuming to correct. There is a lot of detail in each question. I will get to it over the weekend. I could tell sadly, very sadly actually as they were taking the test that many were very confused. This bothers me a lot. I worked hard the last two weeks teaching them the material and having them practice the problems. This material for some is difficult, but they are almost in high school, they are ready for this, and they can learn it. I want them to know this material before they enter high school. Also I do want them all to have a strong finish to 8th grade science after they have worked hard all year. I will grade the test and then offer some sort of extra help and redo. I have not decided what that will be yet, I want to look the tests over first. I know some students scored very high and for them I am impressed and proud. For the others if I think if they are being completely honest they will admit that their focus has been in a million places during my lectures and that is what hurt their score. That bothers me, we still have time together in class and learning to accomplish. I want to make the most of these days. I get it, and I know the end is in sight (8th grade checking out syndrome), but these days still count. I hope when I correct the tests the scores are much better than I am imagining and that could be the case. All of the students worked and listened at some point each day as I was lecturing, but did they give 100% and focus for the full 45 min??? For some if they are being honest and owning their mistake, the answer will be No. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 10, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 8th graders beautifully honored Mary. I was so happy to see so many parents there. Well done 8th grade! The 7th graders learned about muscles, the types of muscles and their jobs. They have not been getting homework, tests or quizzes because I am trying to give you time to construct the chicken skeleton. I know that is a very time consuming project. The 8th graders only had a short class due to May Crowning and we reviewed for the test on bonds which is tomorrow. i passed out all of the work they turned in on bonds so they could look that over to see what parts they need to study. I hope they are taking advantage of that. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 9, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders and 8th graders all watched as I "candled" the chicken eggs. This lets them see how the embryo is developing. We are all getting very excited. It is amazing how attached I can get to an egg! The 7th graders also learned about the layers of skin, and the 8th graders learned about covalent bonds. Sorry this is so short but this is a very busy time at MSW with all fo the 8th grade events. I cannot wait for the May Crowning tomorrow that is always so beautiful. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 8, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders reviewed many parts of the skeletal system: muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, joints, bone marrow, blood cells, veins, and arteries. Then we began the study of skin. This is a great unit to end the year on because the content is so interesting to the students. The 8th graders did a great job learning how elements bond. We started today with ionic bonds and will cover covalent bonds tomorrow. I am anxious to correct their work from today to check to see how much they are understanding. The 8th graders are having a test on Bohr, Lewis, Ionic and Covalent bonds on Thursday. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 4, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 8th graders had life skills during science. The 7th graders worked hard reviewing for tomorrow's lab. It is the chicken wing dissection lab and I think they are anxious and excited for this big experiment. This helps them see the muscle, ligaments, tendons, cartalidge, and veins all things we have been studying. I hope it is a great finish to the week. I am sorry this is so short, but I have a lot of work to get done for tomorrow. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 3, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day from start to finish! I have enjoyed all the gifts and treats throughout this Teacher Appreciation Week. I was most thrilled today when I got to school and saw that my homeroom made a donation to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in my name. I know sickness is part of our world, but sick children really pull at my heart. I love living in a country that can have a hospital that is free for all the children who need it the most. What a burden that takes off of the already suffering parents. I was named after St. Jude and have always had a close relationship to the hospital. I am very grateful the my room mom and homeroom supported St. Jude's in my name. The feeling I got when I opened the card was overwhelming and will remain a cherished memory for me. Today one of my 7th grade switches got to put the chick eggs in the incubator! So in 21 days we should hear some peeping. I am very excited! The 7th graders learned about the skeletal system. The are learning about tendons, ligaments, the bones, and muscles. The 8th graders reviewed Borh and Lewis diagrams and learned some secrets of the periodic table that help them understand how to do the diagrams. I hope they take this information with them to high school chemistry, it will help them! I hope you all have a nice night, and I was thrilled to see the sun shine today! Take care, Mrs. Z May 2, 2023 Dear Parents, Well, today was the big day I announced the class pet to the 7th grade and 8th grade. It is really part of biology, but the 8th graders are in school and they too of course will share in the experience and excitement. I got 6 chicken eggs and hopefully we soon will have six peeping chicks in the classroom which will add to the excitement of the final days of this school year. I like to get a pet at the end of the year because it keeps the students excited about doming to school as summer vacation approaches. Also I try to pick a pet that they do not know much about so it can be a learning experience. I have hatched chicks before but each time brings new exciting moment. In my all of y classes we talked about chicks, their life, hens, roosters, the incubation process, the hatching and the care of chicks during their first few weeks of life. Then in 7th grade we began the unit on body systems and how they work. This week we are covering the skeletal system. In 8th grade the students moved on from the Bohr model to the Lewis model of diagraming the elements of the periodic table. There was no homework given. I hope you all have a great night, Take care, Mrs. Z May 1, 2023 Dear Parents, How is it possible we are at May already? The year is flying by, but I am trying to make the most of every moment. I know the 8th graders are very excited about graduation, but I will be sad to see this class leave. I will hold the memories of my time with them in my heart. Today was the first day of Teacher Appreciation week and I am very grateful to you all and FSA for making today and the week so special. I battled in my mind the idea of wearing pajamas to school, but I try to be a team player so I did.... The day started with a great breakfast and a very nice lunch. I feel like I am getting spoiled with this catering, but I really love it! Also, today I was treated to my favorite Starbucks coffee by my homeroom. I am very grateful. Today the 7th graders did a big lab. They extracted DNA from their cheek and preserved it in a vile that they can wear around their neck. It is a very complex lab and they did a great job. I hope they enjoyed the experience. The 8th graders worked on the Bohr method of diagraming elements as we are preparing to learn how to combine elements. I think they are finding this a little interesting.....it is tough to keep them engaged at this point. They are trying and for that I am grateful. For all of you who read this everyday. Here is an inside scoop. I have been working on a big secret project for awhile and tomorrow I am going to announce it to all of my classes. So when you see your child you can ask them what it is....... I hope you all have a great night, Take care, Mrs. Z April 26, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders reviewed for their test tomorrow. I am hoping to have all high test scores! The 8th graders began learning about how elements combine. I finished correcting their tests and put their grades into powerschool. Overall I was pleased the students show strong understanding of the material. Great job 8th grade. I hope you all enjoy the three day weekend! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z April 25, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders worked on their Alien Genetics project. They are turning out great and I am hanging them in the hall as the students finish. The students who did not finish in class today are supposed to finish them for homework tonight. It is time to move on. They will have their test on Thursday and review tomorrow. Students who have had trouble understanding this material have been reminded many times to see me at lunch for extra help. Tomorrow is the last chance. I did pass out the directions/information packet on the chicken project today. The 8th graders took their test on intro to chemistry. I am eager to see how they did! I will get those graded and post in power school ASAP. The 8th graders did not get homework tonight. We move into chemical equations and combining elements tomorrow. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z April 24, 2023 Dear Parents, It was a big big day at MSW. the 8th graders reviewed for their test on intro to chemistry. I think they are ready to take the test and move on! I hope they are looking over their notes, passed back graded papers and their study guides. Tonight they should look over that material. The big news was in 7th grade. The chickens arrived and were passed out. I hope yours made it home and is in the freezer. I am sure right now the 8th grade parents reading this are having flashes back to last year. I had planned on sending you a note along with the chicken, but sadly the copy machine was down today. I will send that at the end of this letter, but you will also be getting an email with some more information you may find helpful. The students in class today worked on what offspring aliens would look like to help solidify their understanding of genetics. The 7th graders will have their test on genetics on Thursday. Many are ready to take that test today. They were given a review sheet for the test last week. A few still have some parts they do not understand. In class I have told them daily to see me for one on one help during lunch or recess. Some students have taken advantage of that, there are a few more that I hope are planning on coming in for extra help tomorrow or Wednesday. I also wrote on their papers that I returned if they were low, see me, as a hint.... Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z The 7th grade letter will be uploaded in a few minutes so check back. I am going to add it now. Dear 7th Grade Parents, Today your child left MSW with a chicken to be used for a science project. I planned on sending you more information and directions with the chicken, but the copy machine at school was not working today. I will send you more information tomorrow. Your child was told today in school to go home with the chicken, put it in the freezer and that you would be getting more information soon. I hope you got that message. I remember doing this project as a 7th grader, it is a once in a lifetime experience that I hope will be positive for you and your child. This project works out the best when it is a family, or parent child project. I do not think the 7th graders are old enough to do this project without adult supervision. I know for some parents today is a big day because their child is excited about this project, and for some the reaction was different. I hope you and your child have a positive learning experience as you go through the process. To complete the project you need to boil the chicken, collect the bones and reconstruct the skeleton. This project goes along with the body systems portion of biology that we will be working on for the rest of the year. Surprisingly, there are only a few bones different between the human skeleton and the chicken skeleton. There can be a lot of learning for the students as they complete this project. I will be giving very limited other homework during this time to give you a chance to work on this. After the chickens are reconstructed we will be using the skeletons in class. The chicken skeletons are due on May 23, so you have some time to work on this.. Some important information that goes along with this project. If for any reason you do not want to do this project or have your child do this project. Just send me a note by Thursday April 27, return the chicken and your child will be given an alternate project. No questions asked and no points lost. Any child who attempts the project and turns in anything will be given an A. I know this is not an easy project and there may be obstacles for you as you do this. Students are graded for their ATTEMPT not their success. No matter how yours turns out it is a learning experience. If one student brings in a great spine, and another a great skull, and another great wings we will pull out the best parts of whatever the finished project looks like and work with that in class. If you have twins you only need to make one chicken. Each student was given one chicken in case they want to do their own. Each year twins handle this differently. If your child has worked on the chicken project when their older sibling completed the project, you can just send that chicken back in. Through the whole process please do NOT let your pets anywhere near the project. They could get seriously hurt eating the chicken bones. Please be VERY careful of this. You may want to put the project in the basement or garage. They sell dual temperature hot glue guns at Michaels and Hobby Lobby which are much easier for the students to use. Do not attempt to do the entire project in one day or one weekend. The bones will not hold together with the hot glue if they are wet. They need to dry out before you glue them. Decorating or painting the finished skeleton is completely up to you. Some students love that part and some are not interested in doing that. It is totally optional. It is fun to see all the different finished projects. They will be on display in the hallways and the whole school takes a look at them. I hope you found this information helpful and useful. This was discussed at Open House in Aug., but that was a long time ago! As you are doing the project you can contact me if you have questions (847)308-3480 and I will help you. You can also email me. Mrs. Z April 20, 2023 Dear Parents, I do not know why this is not storing and showing all of my notes. I hope this one takes. The 7th graders took their quiz on genetics. I am anxious to see how they did. Grades will be on power school soon. The 8th graders worked on their talent show act. It is the last act of the show so it should be close to 2:30. They also are working on building the periodic table in the hall. Just a reminder the test on this material will be next Tuesday. Take care, Mrs. Z April 18, 2023 Dear Parents, I am sorry but yesterdays entry did not make it in and I am not sure why. I typed and entered it. I hope today works. I hope you all had a wonderful break and that your children are ready for the adventures that lie ahead. There is not much time, so we will move quickly. There is still a lot of learning to fit in. The 7th graders have been working on punnet squares and genetics. I reviewed the material we covered before break and we started moving into more complex punnet square work. We are having a quiz tomorrow. They are very ready. The 8th graders are working on the periodic table and elements. Their test will be next Tuesday. We started to cover this material before break. We are reviewing and have a big project to do before the test. The students have also been working on a talent show act. It is easy and fun. They will close the show. It is a tradition that the 8th graders are the final act. The students can wear whatever they want. It is a country and western song so I got them all cowboy hats and bandannas for fun. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z April 6, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders reviewed what they learned before break on Punnet Squares and genetic possibilities. We will have a quiz on the material this Thursday. The 8th graders reviewed for their test on the Periodic Table which will be next Tuesday. We also worked on our talent show act. The 8th graders traditionally end the talent show with an all class act. The dance is short and easy and something they can have fun with. It gives them all the chance to participate in the talent show for the final time. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z April 5, 2023 Dear Parents, I am sorry I did not write yesterday. After school I went to the eye dr. and got my eyes dilated and I had a hard time seeing. Then I was left with a bad headache. But I woke up today as good as new! I hope your child filled you in. It was a big day of learning in 7th and 8th grade. Today we took a step back and just did a chemical reaction that turned out to be a slime Easter treat for all the students. They absolutely loved it and had a great time. I did this in all of my classes in 7th and 8th grade! Tomorrow I have another fun Easter assignment, but I only see some of my classes....I know the students that I do not see will enjoy the afternoon off. I hope you all have a Blessed Easter and a wonderful spring break. Enjoy the rest and take advantage of the time you get to spend together as a family. If you are traveling please be safe and I look forward to seeing everyone back on The Tuesday. What a great treat that we get that bonus day! I am very excited to spend the week in Arizona with my husband and daughter. What a treat that she is able to join us! I will be inputting grades during the break if you want to check. I have a pile of papers that I will be working on as I fly. We have a lot of learning when we get back in both 7th and 8th grade. So rest up, enjoy and take care. Mrs. Z April 3, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day of learning. A lot got accomplished. The 7th graders finished their STREAM project which was the National Flour Challenge. There is always a mix of hard times and failures, just like in any engineering design project. Everyone worked hard for sure and there was a lot of students encouraging and helping the teams that were struggling. The successes were amazing. Some students even beat the scores of the 8th graders!! Super job for all the students. Sometimes we learn more from our failures than from our successes. There are many challenges throughout the year. They have many chances to be successful! Tomorrow we are back to genetics! The 8th graders continued to work on their period table worksheets. The only way they can get familiar with the periodic table is by using it! They are doing a great job. Some good news maybe for you ........ I am moving the test until the first week we are back from break! So that lightens there load, pressure and tension right now. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z March 30, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders took a much needed break and began a stem project. They will be working on that for the next few days. This is the challenge the 8th graders completed last week. The 8th graders were submitted in the national challenge. I am anxious to see how we did. I do it with the 7th graders as a practice for them. They will have a new challenge next year, but this gives them a little practice. The 8th graders had Life Skills so I only saw one class. The class I saw did some more practice with the periodic table. All students received a conference folder that needs to be signed. Many students have turned that in but not all. I hope to get the rest soon. I left school a little early today because I was asked to be a judge for St. Eugene's Science Fair. It was a great experience. I love to see what other schools are doing and what they are learning. I am looking forward to seeing the Living Stations tomorrow. I used to teach religion to all the 8th graders and that was a big part the curriculum. I know this class will carry on the tradition and do an amazing job. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z March 29, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day of learning in both 7th and 8th grade. The 7th graders took their quiz, got some papers back and got their conference folders. I prepare a folder for each parent. Not everyone needed a conference at this time, but I do review all the students work in preparing for grades, comments and conferences. I send folders home to the parents who do not attend conferences, just as a little update. When you have time please go through the work and encourage your child to stay the course...............and finish T3 strong. In 8th grade the students got their conference folders on Monday. They should be returning them signed. The 8th graders used the information they put in their periodic table yesterday to complete worksheets today. I think they are enjoying this and I love to see them using what they learned in the lectures to find the answers. I have to cut this short. Oddly and this happens very rarely, my daughter just let me know she was on her way home for a few hours. She works at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, but she has a pediatric psychology conference in Chicago from Thursday until Sunday. She is squeezing us in tonight for a few hours. She knew she was coming in, but thought it would be fun to surprise us! So I have to close here, more tomorrow! Mrs. Z March 28, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders reviewed with me for their quiz tomorrow. They have a typed list of the words and definitions to help them. I did say they could use a notecard 3 by 5 one sided to write notes that would help them be successful. Today we discussed how it could happen that two offsprings from the same parent could have different traits. We will discuss that a lot in this unit, hoping that each time I go through the explanation more students catch on. The 8th graders worked on the periodic table. Together as a class they colored in three different periodic tables which they will use to answer questions over the next few days. One table distinguished which elements were solids, liquids and gasses. They easily could see that there were many more solids, a few gasses and two liquids. Then they filled out one that distinguished the metals, metalloids and non metals. Again they quickly discovered how many more metals there were then non metals. I also explained and defined the word metalloid for them. The last chart we filled in was distinguishing the different groups on the period table. That got to be a lot for them and that wrapped up the class. We will pick up from there tomorrow. They are working hard. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z March 27, 2023 Dear Parents, Today I went back over all of the vocabulary that is in the genetics unit which we have been working on for a week. I will do the same tomorrow. The 7th graders need to understand that vocabulary in order to move forward. They will have a matching quiz on about 15 words on Wednesday. The students really need to put some time in at home going over the material. I will help as much as I can in class, but they need to spend time at home working also. We also discussed how it is possible to have twins. I think with so many twins in this class, they were very eager to understand the concepts taught. The 8th graders reviewed the material in the Intro to Chem unit. They are understanding the material and the review helped make it even clearer. They are having a test next week on the material. The test will be on Wednesday. We will continue to go over it in class. They will also be completing worksheets and homework assignments that help them to understand this material. I did give an assignment today, which many finished at the end of class, but some may need to finish that up at home tonight. For both the 7th and 8th graders we still have a trimester to go. I know they are excited for spring break, I understand that, but these days count too! We will be making the most of each day as we move on towards break! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z March 22, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day! The 7th graders completed a lab with me that used information that was from the lectures. I wondered if the students would catch on, and in the beginning a few did, which gave me hope. The further we moved through the lab, slowly more and more began to catch on. In the end they all did a great job! I was so happy to see the progress! The 8th graders had a visit from two engineers, who judged the 2023 National Flour Challenge. The students had to build a device that lifted and moved a ping pong ball. They could only use paper, paper clips, tape and string. It was fun to see the different techniques the students used and to see how successful they were. The winners will be video taped and that will be sent in. I am hoping to win. Last year on of our teams came in 12th, which I thought was great........ Who knows where we will place this year. Of course they were all number one in my heart! No homework was given to anyone, Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z March 21, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders went through more very difficult vocabulary. They are taking notes and I am explaining away. I think they are catching on to parts of it. This is a process, but a big part of biology. Tomorrow we take a break and do a lab that uses many of the vocabulary words. This may help them. Remember, we are just beginning this unit. They will get it! The 8th graders worked on learning about elements and the periodic table. They are working hard. There was a homework assignment given, but I said I would extend the time due to tonight being 8th grade night. Take care and have a good night, Mrs. Z March 20, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders began the unit on heredity and genetics. This unit is full of vocabulary and words that have very similar meanings. It is a slow start to a fun and exciting unit. Be patient and I will be too! The 7th graders put together their papers from T2 which will be reviewed at conferences. the 8th graders started Intro to Chem. They seemed interested and ready for a change. They also created a folder which I will be using on Friday for conferences. No one had homework tonight. Take care and have a good night, Mrs. Z March 16, 2023 Dear Parents, I am very sorry I did not write on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday I was not in school. Sadly, somehow I got a virus and still am not 100 percent, but I am back. Hopefully I will be as good as new on Monday. Every day I notice improvement so that is a very positive sigh. I tested daily it was not COVID. The great news is when I got back I could tell the subs did a great job of filling in. The 7th graders had completed a project and understood the most recent science concept that organisms start with a cell, many cells turn into a tissue many tissues create an organ, many organs create an organ system and an organism is all of the organ systems working together. Also, the 8th graders moved along on their Flour project which will be completed tomorrow. It was obvious they worked on them when I was gone. They also were assigned a paper on a famous scientist. It is a one page paper, they have the directions and it is due next Wednesday. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. z March 9, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 8th graders had Life Skills so I only saw one class. The class that I saw worked on the STREAM challenge. The 7th graders worked on the first part of their "build a cell lab". They will finish it tomorrow. They made the cytoplasm for their cell. As the fill they cell they will review the organelles in cells and their function. Then they all take their cells and put them next to each other to create a plant or an animal. That is what we are discussing next week. How cells multiply and come together to create an organ or an organ system or person. No one had any homework in science tonight. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z March 8, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders took their test on cells. I am anxious to see how they did. The 8th graders worked on their STREAM projects. No one had homework tonight. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z March 7, 2023 Dear Parents, Today I worked at MSW leading a science presentation for the younger grades. So, I was not with your child. The 7th graders did the monthly writing assignment on differences and similarities in families. This was a kick off to the upcoming unit on genetics. The 7th graders should be studying for their test on Cells tomorrow. The 8th graders worked on their STREAM National Challenge. I am anxious to see how their projects are coming along. The 8th graders do not have homework. Take dare and have a great night, Mrs. Z March 6, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day. I made a new worksheet to be used as a study guide for the 7th grade. I also did some demonstrations as I went through the worksheet with them. This should really help prepare them for the test which will be on Wednesday. This is a very hard section for them, we have spent a lot of time on it and I hope they do well. The 8th graders worked on their STREAM National Challenge. I hope they do well. It would be so great if a MSW student could win. We made the list last year, but did not come in on top. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z March 2, 2023 Dear Parents, I am sorry to write so late. I had meetings after school and just got home. Today the 8th graders worked on the Flour National STEM challenge. They will be doing that for the next few days. This is a major event and usually the students score high and enjoy the engineering challenge. It is fun for me to see how the MSW students do nationally. The 7th graders will aso do the challenge because that helps them score higher next year. I only submit the 8th graders scores. The 8th graders test on energy will be tomorrow. The 7th graders worked on a lab simulation to demonstrate diffusion. I am eager to see how they did. Take care and have a great night Mrs. Z March 1, 2023 Dear Parents, The 7th graders did a lab today demonstrating osmosis and diffusion. I think them seeing the process makes it easier to understand, The 8th graders had a review for the test which I moved to Friday. They also watched the rules for the flour challenge which will start tomorrow! I am very excited to see how they do on this national STREAM challenge. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 28, 2023 Dear Parents, Sadly I was in meetings during many of my classes today. I left work for the 8th graders to do on energy, and I left work for the 7th graders to do on cells. I will be happy to be back in the classroom tomorrow and I will pick up where we left off. Because I did not see the 8th grade today I am moving their test until Friday so I can make sure they are ready. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 27, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders got many papers back to look over. I praise the success and will help those who have questions. If your child needs support they should see me at lunch, recess or after school. The students worked on their cell diagrams which helps reinforce the organelles of a cell. The 8th graders had a review of potential and kinhetic energy to help them prepare for their test on Thursday. We also went over the labs they did last week making sure they understand the concepts being demonstrated. The students finished class by watching some short videos of roller coaster while the narrator explained the forces of energy as the roller coaster moved. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 23, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders worked on creating a diagram of a plant or an animal cell and labeling it. This will help them be able to identify and name the organelles in a cell. They also finished their auto show paper if they needed more time and completed any late work. It was a very busy and profitable day. There test is set for MARCH 7. I feel much better about the pace we will be moving at and the time. This unit is a lot of material and I felt they needed more time. The 8th graders worked on a worksheet trying to figure out the amount of energy that is created by different size object moving at different speeds. When they were done I let them finish up their paper on the auto show or complete any missing assingments due to missing class. They worked very hard. Tomorrow they will demonstrate their understanding of kinetic and potential energy as they build huge roller coasters throughout the classroom. This is one of their favorite labs. I am looking forward to seeing what they create. Their test will be next THURSDAY. Taie care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 22, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders learned about osmosis and diffusion. As I was teaching them I noticed that we need to take a step back and slow down. Their test will be on March 5. They are working hard, but there is a lot of vocabulary and content in this section. The 8th graders did a lab demonstrating the more mass the more energy. I think they were surprised at how much energy is created with little force. They made pendulums and swung weights. I think they were surprised at how long a pendulum will swing with only one push. It was a short class and they finished in the 30 min because they were all working hard. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 21, 2023 Dear Parents, It feels like forever since I have written. The auto show was Thursday and I hope your child had a great experience. I had fun with my group and I appreciated the support of all the teachers who went and especially thank the chaparones Mrs. Barone and Mr. Rossi. I went to an all day off site seminar on Friday. The topic was "engaging middle school students"! I found it very interesting and learned a lot. I especially enjoyed talking to the other junior high science teachers from other schools. I it very interesting to learn about what they are doing and share experiences. Today the 7th graders took a deep dive into plant and animal cells. We will be talking about all the organelles in the cells and the differences between plant and animal cells. They will have a test on this material next Tuesday. They will take home a study guide tomorrow so they can start to study, but we will continue to work on this in class. the 8th graders continued learning about kinetic and potential energy. Today we focused on different types of kinetic and potential energy and using the math formulato determine how much energy there is. They too will have a test on energy next Tuesday. No one got homework tonight. Take care and have a good night, Mrs. Z Feb. 15, 2023 Dear Parents, Today I talked to the students about the auto show, EVs, technology, and safety. You will have to get the news from your child. I have too much to do to get ready for tomorrow's exciting field trip. I hope the students all have a great day. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 14, 2023 Dear Parents, Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend, and we have another one to look forward to at the end of this week. Today was a great day! I did Valentine's Day Science. The students learned how to make tatoos and transfers. I think they had a lot of fun and there was a little learning along the way. As I explained the difference in the chemical make up of dry erase markers and permanent markers. Today was something different and special for the, but tomorrow it is back to the books! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 9, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders had their quiz and completed the first half of their science lab. Great job 7th Grade! They have come a long way since August! The 8th graders were in and out of class due to pictures. I did a few Friday Finales today and will not be doing them tomorrow when I am able to have the whole group together. They looked awesome today. They look much older out of uniform in dress clothes. I hope they took great pics! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 8, 2023 Dear Parents, Tlday was a great day. The 7th graders learned what semipermeable was and went over a lab they will do tomorrow after they have a short quiz that demonstrates this concept. I think it is one of the most amazing labs they will complete. They do not have homework but they should review for their quiz. The 8th graders worked on a group Q and A on energy to check their understanding of yesterdays lecture. I am anxious to correct those and see how they did before we move on. They did not get homework. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 7, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day. I am battling a cold, very happy it is not covid but feeling a bit under the weather. I am grateful the activity and the students are a strong distraction. The 7th graders went into the hall and we discussed the kingdom and domain chart together. I think they have a very good understanding of how organisms are classified on that chart. It is such a great visual it makes the learning for the students much easier. Then we went over their notes with me checking that each student had their notes in their notebooks to help them prepare for the quiz. the quiz will be Thursday. It is short and not very difficult. It is only on kingdoms and domains. The 8th graders began a very short yet fun unit on energy. Today's topic in the lecture was energy, types of energy, the law of conservation of energy and the difference between potential and kinetic energy. They seemed interested and I think they were picking up the concepts. We will see tomorrow when they work in groups to demonstrate their understanding of the material. Sometimes working in groups going back into their notes and picking up key ideas helps them to organize, and memorize the material in their mind. I am closing here and going to bed early, hoping for a healthier tomorrow. take care and have a good night, Mrs. Z Feb. 6, 2023 Dear Parents, Today we started the day with the recording of We Are The Wold. It went well. I hope the video is a huge success. In 7th grade science the students worked on their paper for the month and the assignment using the display in the hall. We will be working on the kingdoms tomorrow again and then moving on. The papers are due tomorrow. Anyone who did not finish it in class should finish it for homework. The 8th graders worked on their papers and I met with students who needed extra help or had late work. Anyone who was unable to finish their paper in class should finish it for homework tonight. Tomorrow we start energy I am very excited. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 2, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders continued to work on their writing assignment for the month, late work, and the questions relating to the hall display. While they were working on their things I was able to meet with students that needed some extra support. I do not have that opportunity often, but when I can I grab it. A few minutes one on one can make all the difference! The 8th graders did their presentations on Newton's Laws and I hope they made an everlasting impression in their minds. If they can hold the three experiments that were demonstrated by different groups of students in their minds it will be a real aid when then they to high school. Great job 8th grade. I have to fly, tomorrow to celebrate the close of CSW it will be all Friday Finales. I know the students are excited and I have to pull some last minute demo's together. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Feb. 1, 2023 DearParents, Today sadly, I had an onsite meeting so I missed a few classes. Luckily today was short classes. The 7th graders are working on using the hallway display to understand the kingdom and domain charts. They are also working on their monthly writing assignments. I am also working with students one on one that need some extra help getting caught up due to missing school. I am also meeting with some students during lunch or recess who need extra help. The 8th graders had one more day to get their Newton presentation ready for tomorrow. I am anxious to see them tomorrow! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Jan. 31, 2023 Dear Parents, Today started with a very chilly blast of air outside, but the busy students kept the classroom warm. Today the 7th graders worked on learning how organisms are put in categories to be studied. There is a lot of vocabulary to learn in this section, but they are getting it. The are working hard. Today we also talked about the difference between a virus and bacteria. I think they found that to be interesting. They do not have homework. The 8th graders worked on a presentation lab they will do tomorrow. They were given different labs to learn that demonstrate Newton's Laws. They will show the experiment tomorrow and explain which law it refers to and how it demonstrated it. I am looking forward to seeing their demonstrations tomorrow. This is the final assignment in the Newton Unit. They do not have homework tonight. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Jan. 30, 2023 Dear Parents, Sunday was a great day! I thought the Mass we shared together to start the day and kick off Catholic Schools Week was beautiful. I was very impressed with the speeches given by the students at the end of Mass. The 8th graders came down to the lab and demonstrated 13 bubble experiments to the younger students of our school. They did a great job! The students worked very hard preparing for Sunday so today was a very special exception to our routine. On my way to school I stopped and bought the supplies for micro s'mores and I let the students make a special snack for themselves. I think they enjoyed the day. We are back to work tomorrow! The 7th graders reviewed the characteristics of life and began to learn about how scientist classify organisms using The Kingdom and Domains of Life. They took notes as I went through the lecture. It was also announced today that all the 7th and 8th graders would be attending the Chicago Auto Show. This is a fun, exciting and educational field trip! The students can come out of uniform and bring a lunch. More information will follow. They will all have a study packet to fill out as they view the show. There is so much new technology and engineering that is on display and explained at the show this fits in with out STREAM curriculum. I am excited to take the students to this event. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z an. 26, 2023 Dear Parents, I am extremley proud of the 7th and 8th graders. They have done a wonderful job woring on their projects to display for Catholic Schools Week. The 7th grade display which is on the wall right before the Science Lab. It is called the kingdoms and domains of life, This becomes a prop used to teach the students next week as the students begin to understand how Biologists organize organisms. It is very impressive. The 8th graders have work on Newton on display that they did as a wrap up to Newton's Laws which we finished last week. That display is right before you get to the science lab as you walk down the hallway. The 8th graders also did two displays with me one for outside Ms. T's homeroom and one for outside my homeroom. The 8th grade took the country Ukraine. The display outside of Ms. T's room is inventions that the world has all profited from that were created in the Eukraine. First the inventions that the Ukraine created for the world are amazing but even more amazing is the way the 8th graders built and presented them. Be sure to go see. them outside of Ms. T's homeroom. My homeroom did an amazing summary of what I consider the greatest act of kindness in the last 25 years!!!! St. Jude's Children's Hospital coordinated a way to move all children who were suffering with cancer in hospitals in Ukraine which were being bombed to safety so they could continue their treatment. It took the combined support of 21 countries and they rescued 1,119 children. Wow!!!! These displays are the best I have seen since CSW has started the study of countries. It was not me... It was the creativity and hard work of your child. The 8th graders will also be presenting experiments after Mass on Sunday in the science lab. I appreciate their help in the demonstrations and hope you can stop by and enjoy the show. We have had a terribly busy week. I am excited and proud to be part of the Catholic School Week at MSW! No homework, tests or quizzes..... Those will all be back in action next week. Thanks so much for all, Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Jan. 25, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the students in 7th and 8th grade worked on their Catholic Schools Week projects. We are making steady progress which is great. I am getting worried because of short classes that some children will not have anything hanging. so some students may need to finish their project at home. Take care and have a great night. Mrs. Z Jan. 24, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the students took the math portion of the IReady assessment. The students that I proctored during the test were on task, busy, silent and engaged. I hope that is reflected in their test scores. Due to IReady testing all of my classes were cut short. All the students in both 7th and 8th grade spent the day working on their CSW assignments. They again were busy and hard working. I am getting excited about seeing the final projects. I am not giving homework, tests or quizzes all week due to IReady. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Jan. 23, 2023 Dear Parents, I am very sorry I had internet problems last week, so I was not able to write for a few days. The 8th graders have been very busy getting together their projects for Catholic Schools Week. They will be working on this all week and there will be no homework, tests, or quizzes due to the importance of I Ready. I hope this helps your child get a good nights rest and be under a little less stress during this important testing time. I hope you are able to walk down to the lab and upstairs near Ms. T's homeroom to see what the students have been working on. It is amazing. They are working hard and are very talented. Their projects are coming along nicely, but we will need every minute to complete the displays. the 7th graders also will be displaying work they have been preparing. I am impressed with their work. They also will have no homework, tests, or quizzes this week from me. I Ready is a critical piece used in us evaluating curriculum and teaching strategies, as well as a means to evaluate each child who attends MSW. I hope our scores reflect the time and effort both on the teachers part and on the students. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Jan. 17, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day! FYI no homework was given tonight in any grade! The 7th graders finished the chapter learning about prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Big words......Biology is full of vocabulary. They are heading towards a quiz which will be Friday. It will be on the cell theory, the 6 characteristics of life and prokaryotes and eukaryotes. the 8th graders did an excellent job in their test. It was 8 pages long with a lot of math and many questions on Newton's Laws. Most of the scores were in the high 80's and 90's. Great job 8th grade. The 8th graders are taking a break from physics and we will be working on our CSW presentation. the 8th grade is studying the Ukraine. I am very excited about this and now that they know the ideas they are too. I do Ms. T's room decorations and mine. Ms. T's room will be inventions from the Ukraine which are totally amazing......who knew they came up the helicopter and CD's? There are many more. My room is doing the bombing of hospitals and the train of hope which brought children from the hospitals that were being bombed to safety in other countries due to St. Jude's international. It is an amazing story. It is so heartwarming to hear the story of kind acts during something as violent as war. You can google St. Judes Ukraine 60 minutes and watch it on your computer. When I showed it to the 8th graders the room was totally silent for 15 minutes.......that says a lot. Everyone was glued to the TV!!!!!! That does not happen often. I truly hope you can stop by on the Sunday of Open House to see the displays . When we finish this project we will move into Chemistry. The students and I are excited and ready for the change. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Jan. 12, 2023 Dear Parents, Today was a great day! The 7th graders reviewed the information taught on the characteristics of life and I went over their homework assignment which reinforces those concepts. I am anxious to see how they do. All 7th graders had a worksheet to complete tonight. The 8th graders are doing an amazing job on their posters demonstrating Newton's Laws. They are looking good and I will proudly hand them for Catholic Schools Week for you all to see! The 8th graders have a test tomorrow..... That makes me nervous. They know the material and understand it which i love, but they all should be looking it over tonight!!!!!!!!!! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Jan. 11, 2023 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders finished the characteristics of life. I had wanted to give a homework assignment that relates to that, but I did not have the time at the end of the class to explain it. They will do that tomorrow night. Wednesday classes go by very quickly. The 8th graders are working on a poster that explains one of Newton's Laws. They will finish that up tomorrow in class. I did not want to give them that for homework because I want them to use their time at home to study for Friday. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z January 10, 2023 Dear Parents, Today a letter was sent home stating a student from my homeroom tested positive for Covid. I do take health seriously and try to make the school environment as safe as possible. We begin every class cleaning off the pods, and I have a special hepa filter, but sadly nothing is flawless. Please watch your child closely during this time. Today in 7th grade we went over the results of the lab we did last week. Then we moved onto the characteristics of life. The students were engaged and seemed to have a good understanding of the new material presented. No homework was given In 8th grade we went over their review sheet so they know the content that will be tested on Friday. Judging on their answers given today in class, many seem ready to take the test now! I love to see that. No homework was given except studying.... Take care and have a great night, Mrs, Z January 9, 2023 Dear Parents, Today flew by. The seventh graders finished a very long lab they started on Friday and then we did the Friday Finale. We will go over the lab tomorrow together as a class to be sure they understanding the new material. So far though things are looking awesome! I went over some of the lab work and it is excellent. This seventh grade class has come a longggggg way since August! No homework in 7th grade. The 8th graders will have their test on forces and Newton's Laws on Friday. We will still spend the week covering this topic, but no new material will be given. Just reinforcement and review. They too are learning a lot and working hard. I gave them a review sheet to help them know what is on the test. That should be filled out for tomorrow so we can go over what they do not know. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z January 5, 2023 Dear Parents, I am sorry this is getting to you so late. I got lost in the world of science trying to find some new exciting Friday Finales for tomorrow. Those take time and research but the kids and I love that ending to our week. Today was a great day!!!!!!!! I am so very proud of the 7th graders. They have come a long way this year! They listen very attentively and are working very hard. The expectations I have set are high and they continue to push themselves to reach the top. It has been awesome watching their progress. Today they learned the difference between living and nonliving things.......The answer cells!!!! I went through a very complex lab they will do tomorrow looking at things under the microscope and discovering if there are cells or not! They will create their own slides and use the microscope properly. Both skills they learned earlier in the year, yet the still remember them. To me that is the goal of learning. It is not for a day it is forever. I am excited for tomorrow's class and I think/hope they are too! They are ready for the challenges that lie ahead. The 8th graders had life skills so one switch did not see me at all. That gets everything off and sometimes is very difficult to rectify. Some students were sick before break and some missed a day at the return. I decided to have the 8th grade switch that I did have use it as a catch up day. The students who were caught up and who had no work to do, did organizing jobs that I had in the lab. I appreciate the help. They will be back to WORK and the study of Newton tomorrow. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z January 4, 2023 Dear Parents, Happy New Year and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas holiday and break. I did, yet I was very happy to get back to my normal daily routine. I am very grateful for all the gifts from all of you. I sent Thank You notes, but they may not have arrived yet. Your thoughtfulness was abundant and very appreciated. Today the 7th graders began the next section of Biology. We are working on the characteristics of life. It is very interesting to hear their ideas as they try to explain what makes something alive or not alive. If you just take something as simple as fire or an apple seed, the conversation moves through many different ideas. This week they will solidify what is necessary for life. Remember it is for all life not just humans. They had a worksheet we started in class they may need to finish it for homework. Today I was very happy and proud of the 8th graders. We were unable to finish Newtons Laws before break so I was very anxious to see if they would remember the first and second law after the long break. There responses and recall were excellent. i love that because learning should not be just for a test or quiz it should be forever!!! Nice job 8th grade. I reviewed the first and second law with them and we did some math related problems demonstrating the second law. Tomorrow we move into the third law. They will be having a test next week. I am not sure yet which day it will be on. I want to see how tomorrow goes. The students may have a worksheet to finish on Newton's Second Law. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z December 19, 2022 Dear Parents, Today all the students did the same thing. It was Christmas Science. They learned about 3D holograms and I passed out glasses for them to look at the Christmas lights I hung around the classroom. I think they were amazed when they saw a Santa or candy cane in every light. Better yet, now they understand the science behind it. Then they watched me do a demonstration of colored fire. I think they enjoyed the red and green fire the most. I am heading off to the faculty party so I will end here. But before I do, I want to wish you all the wonders of Christmas and the joy of family time and as you celebrate the Birth of Jesus. This is truly the most wonderful time of the year! I hope you create a lot of memories to cherish throughout the year. May 2023 bring you only good health and God's blessings. See you in 2023, Mrs. Z 15, 2022 Dear Parents, Today was a great day! It may be cloudy but you do not even notice in the science lab! The 7th graders learned about food pyramids. My last two classes of the day will have to catch up tomorrow because they went to watch the 8th grade boys play the 8th grade girls in a basketball game. The 8th graders reviewed Newtons Second Law and did some worksheets to check for understanding. I think they are looking good! I hope you all have a great night -- no homework in science for anyone. Take care, Mrs. Z December 14, 2022 Dear Parents, Today was a short, but very busy day. The report from the sub. was great! I hope the students had a good time creating a flip book. I am looking forward to looking those over. Today the 7th graders went much deeper into the food web and learned about the food parymids and some new vocabulary. The big words are autotroph and heterotroph. We will wrap this up right after Christmas and move into cells. i can not wait! The 8th graders were introduced to Newtons Second Law, net force equals mass times acceleration. They picked it up easily as. math terms. Tomorrow we will see if they can make the switch to word problems...... As they do that, they will be applying the law to real life situations and understanding the deeper meaning on a much higher level. At the end of the class I passed out a worksheet that some students may need to finish tonight. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z December 12, 2022 Dear Parents, Today no one got homework from me. Also Merry Christmas there will be no more tests or quizzes from me until 2023!!!!!!!!!!!! I know this is a very busy time in everyones house, so I hope this helps and is a little treat for you. All the students in 7th and 8th grade took home their folder of work from Conferences until the end of T1. You can look that over, and please sign and return the powerschool print out. I hope you find that information helpful. I corrected a ton of papers over the weekend so if you look at powerschool which should be back open you can get a glimpse of where your child is now! This is only the beginning of the trimester, but it is an indication. Remember please as we move through the year in both Biology and Physical Science the concepts become more difficult. Also I went over the work for tomorrow and my expectations because I will be at school but not in class. I will be making sure the gift shop runs smoothly with Kids Who Care. Very sadly one of my best friends from when I went to MSW and high school passed away this weekend. Tomorrow after the gift shop I will be heading to the wake. I am going to stay at that for the rest of the night, because I do not want to take off for the funeral. So NO NEWSLETTER tomorrow, but I will be back at it on Wednesday. The 7th graders learned about graphing today. They are working on a line graph of animals and then we will discuss what could have caused the change in the population of the animals over time. The end concept will be extinction. The 8th graders worked on Newtons First Law which is sometimes called the Law of Inertia. I think they are getting it now, and I am ready to move into Newton's Second Law. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z December 8, 2022 Dear Parent's, Today the 7th graders did a nice job on a lab that demonstrated condensation of water. They also reviewed the carbon cycle and the water cycle. They are gaining a good understanding of this information. The 8t graders learned about Newtons First Law often referred to as the Law of Inertia. there was a lot of vocabulary and the concept as easy as it sounds often confuses them. We went through some real life examples to clarify the work and then they had a worksheet to fill out to check for understanding. I did not give homework to the students, but if they did not finish their lab worksheet or their Newton's First Law paper those are due tomorrow. In 7th grade there was a paper confusion in my first switch. They will do the lab tomorrow and they will have time to finish the lab in school. As always there is no weekend homework. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z December 7, 2022 Dear Parents, Each day as I add a number to the date I get a little more panicky about how to fit everything in before Christmas......... The days seem to fly by! The 7th graders learned about the carbon cycle and the water cycle. Tomorrow they will do a lab to demonstrate the water cycle. I think they found the carbon cycle very intetersting. The 8th graders were introduced to Newton's first law as we continue the unit on forces and motion. I am enjoying this material because the students seem to be understanding the concepts and vocabulary! Great job 8th grade. No one had homework tonight! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z December 6, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders did a lab on carbon dioxide to help them understand the carbon cycle. The students also did some corrections on their food webs that they turned in last week. Some may need to finish those tonight. The 8th graders took a quiz on balanced and unbalanced forces. I will be grading those soon. The 8th graders did not have homework tonight because it is 8th grade night. I hope they enjoy the big event. They have been very excited about it. I am sorry this is short, but I am heading over to watch the games. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z December 5, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 7th and 8th graders both put together their folder of papers that will go home from this trimester. They folder includes the paper work from conferences until now. I want you to have a chance to look them over. I think sometimes going over their successes gives you a chance to further encourage them as we start T2. Also, it gives you a chance to discuss possible areas that they could put more effort into as we move forward. Then the 7th graders learned about carbon being present in all living things and how that creates the carbon cycle. I also explained how to do tomorrow's lab and what it is demonstrating. The 7th graders did not get homework tonight. Then the 8th graders reviewed for tomorrows quiz. It is on balanced and unbalanced forces. It is only one concept and I am hoping for many great scores! The 8th graders should be reviewing that tonight from their notes to prepare. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z December 1, 2022 Dear Parents, Today was a great day! The 7th graders had time to work on their paper and their Food Web. This gave me a chance to help students with the food web that needed extra help. The work I am seeing is great, i am very excited to see their finished projects. I also see them really learning how a food web works. It is one thing to study a web already created and it is a much harder task to create one. That shows a deeper learning! Great job 7th grade. 8th Grade worked on balanced and unbalanced forces again to help prepare them for their quiz on Tuesday. Everyday they understand it a little better as they solve real life word problems using this skill. Both grades are doing a lab tomorrow. It is an easier lab, with a lot of learning and the students find it fun and engaging. It incorporates the learning they achieved as they wrote their paper on cohesion and adhesion. The students all need to be able to read scientific information from the book or form a resource and be able to understand that principal. This will demonstrate that learning. I like to preview the labs with the students so they can come in and get started. I will be in most of my classes tomorrow, but I do have to leave MSW for an important dentist appt. I will have a sub. Those students should be well prepared to handle the lab from start to finish without me. This lab is typically a high interest lab with high scores and that is how I like to start the new trimester, with a great grade! Take care and have a good night, Mrs. Z November 30, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the classes were short, but there was a lot of learning going on in my wing! The 7th graders took the first half of their quiz on the energy process. I am anxious to correct and return them. A few students did not have time to finish them so I have not corrected them yet. They still have the food chain to do and their paper. Both are due on Friday. They will have time to work on those in school tomorrow. I hope that helps them. The 8th graders added to their learning of force and motion as they were introduced to net force. They seemed to have caught on. I gave them some work sheets to complete to help reinforce the material. Some students may need to finish those tonight. I will go back at it tomorrow and next week (I am guessing it will be on Tuesday) they will have a quiz covering this material. I am so happy because they seem to enjoy this section and understand it. I love when I see them learning and understanding. I assigned a one page paper last week that is due on Friday. The paper is on adhesion and cohesion. They will be demonstrate their understanding of the material covered in the paper in a lab we will be doing on Friday. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 29, 2022 Dear Parents, Today was a great day of learning. I went over the study guide with the 7th graders and reviewed all of the material for them. I hope they were listening and that they study tonight! The second half of their quiz and paper are due on Friday. The 8th graders learned about forces and motion. They took notes on a lecture and then had a chance to practice the skill and then present it to the class. I think that helped to reinforce the concepts. The 8th graders do not have homework tonight, but the will have a quiz on Friday on forces and motion Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 28, 2022 Dear Parents, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and break. Today the 7th graders started to prepare for their quiz that will be on Wednesday. I wanted to have this quiz before Thanksgiving, but the students told me they already had too much on their plate. I hope this extension helps them. I gave them a short study guide for the first part of the test. We will go over that tomorrow. They also got the directions for the second part of the quiz and that will be a small project where they create a food web. I like to see if they can put their learning into action. That part is due on Friday and they may have some time in class to work on it. Also they have a writing assignment that many finished before break. Some students were not in school when that was assigned so all students have until Friday to complete that assignment. Again, there may be some time in class this week to work on it. The 8th graders had a review of speed and velocity. Today we moved on learning about acceleration and forces. They spent some time on a virtual lab to help them demonstrate those concepts. The 8th graders do not have homework, but their writing assignment is also due on Friday. It was assigned before break and some may have already completed it. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 21, 2022 Dear Parents, Wow, where is the year going? The first trimester is done! I have enjoyed working with the 8th graders that I knew from last year, and meeting the new additions to our school. Each student has made their own way into my heart. I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know this 7th grade class. The differences between each student make them each special. I love teaching and being at MSW gives me great joy. I hope that I have helped your child see science in a new light and that they are happy as they are all learning more about the world around them. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the break from school. In the last few days there have been so many students out sick. I worry about them, miss them, and pray for their speedy recovery! I love Thanksgiving and the time it allows me to sit back and think of all the things I am most grateful for. Very high on the top of my list are the memories created everyday that I am at MSW. Take care and have a wonderful night, Mrs. Z November 16, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders worked on their energy web lab. They are learning the connection between a food chain and an energy web. They did not have any homework tonight. We will wrap this lab up tomorrow in the classes that did not finish today and they will have a quiz next Tuesday. The 8th graders in one switch took their quiz, which the other switch took yesterday. In the switch that did not take the quiz, they went through the school and collected toys from the toy collection. I do not like to do that during science class, but I want the students to be at the same spot, class was short today due to the 2:00 dismissal, and many students were out sick. It has been a hard week with illness in 7th and 8th grade. Some students are returning after an illness, some students are leaving not feeling well and missing class, and some are trying to do their best while attending school not really feeling 100%. I hope that the long weekend helps the students get healthy. I always think health comes first and I am glad the students have a three day weekend. That extra day may give students a good chance to recover and get stronger. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 15, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders turned their food chain lab into a food web. Some students may not have finished the work in school and need to do that for homework tonight. One eighth grade switch had their Physics quiz today and the other had a Life Skills class so they will have it tomorrow. I am sorry this is so brief, I have another eye infection and cannot wear my contacts for awhile. This makes it very difficult for me to see the small print on the computer. Hopefully, the eye drops will help and I will be back to my old self soon. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 14, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders looked at their yeast banana one last time and recorded observations. Some students need to finish their lab write up for homework and others finished in class. So some students do have homework. Then they created food chains starting with the sun, then adding a producer and then consumers. We will use the webs tomorrow as we build on this topic creating energy webs. I think they are enjoying this. I had announced a qui\z for later in the week but the students were under too much stress already that I moved it until next week. I know things start to pile up at the end of the trimester, so I hope moving int helps them to be successful in all areas. The 8th graders had a review to prepare for their quiz tomorrow. It is on four pages in the book. i hope they are reviewing graded work that I passed out today and the material in their book because that will help them tomorrow. I also offered a study session to all at lunch. A small group of students came for the review. For some students physics is very difficult because it involves a lot of math. I cannot believe how fast the year is going the first trimester is almost over. The weather has changed and the holidays are approaching. Please remember that we are asking each student to bring in one toy for the poor. I hope we can spread a little magic to those less fortunate. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 10, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders made observations on their banana and yeast experiment. Then they took notes on a lecture about detritivores. Do you even remember what that is? Then they prepared the pieces they need for tomorrows lab. They worked very hard and there was no homework. The 8th graders took notes in the beginning on graphing changing speed, average speed and constant speed. Then they completed a worksheet practicing those skills. Some students finished and some did not. Those need to be completed by tomorrow. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 9, 2022 Dear Parents, The 7th graders had to work hard and fast we had a lot to get done today. They began the write up to their lab on Banana's. They will be making observations this week as we fill out the packet. They also finished part two to the lab they did on habitats. They are learning how all of life gets energy and how that is all dependent on other life. No homework was given tonight. In 8th grade the students covered the lecture on vectors, speed, changing speed, constant speed and velocity. That was a lot of material for them. They were such great listeners and participators I think they are getting the ideas! I gave them a worksheet to review the skills and some finished it in the last few minutes of class. Some students need to finish that tonight for homework. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 8, 2022 Dear Parents, In 7th grade the students need to remember to have their books covered and get their most recent test signed. Today we did a lab called Go Banana's.. The students cut banana slices and put plain slices in a baggie and then they put yeast on the other half of the slices and put that in another baggie. We hung them in the hallway to watch for the results. This is helping them understand decomposers. They also had a short lecture on how energy organisms get energy. They are beginning to see it all starts with the sun. This moved into the understanding of omnivore, herbivore and carnivore. See if your child can explain those words to you! We will be going over this and studying our bananas tomorrow. There was no homework given tonight. In 8th grade the students took their first physics test. I am anxious to correct them and see how they did! We are moving on tomorrow to learning some skills needed to graph data. Graphing and interpreting graphing is one of the most testable science concept on all standardized testing. I did not give the 8th graders any homework tonight! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 7, 2022 Dear Parents, Wow, today was a super day of learning. The 7th graders began their new chapter on, Energy Flow. This book starts every chapter with a question that the students will discover the answer to as we move through the chapter. Then we did an "investigation" those are more of projects than labs. This investigation was on exploring ecosystems and habitats. It was called The Great Race. In a group they looked at a picture of an ecosystem and had to figure out if the animals in the picture could survive by finding food. They had to google what the animals on the picture ate and then see if that was also on their page. I think they loved it once they got the hang of it. In one of my classes I told them to turn in their work, and they could not believe class was over already...... That is a great sign! I passed back their tests, and they should get those signed and return them. They did not have homework tonight. In 8th grade the students finished a lab. It is a big lab and their first true 8th grade lab, but it took more than one period. We will have to work on that. Labs should be completed in one period. If they are using their time wisely and understand the material it should be easy to complete in 45 min. I hope to see some improvement as we move forward. I did give them time today to finish it because it incorporated many important skills that we have been working on, and I wanted to see if they could demonstrate understanding of the skills. They do have a test tomorrow. I have moved it several times and I am glad we are finally able to fit it in. I hope they take some time tonight to study. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 3, 2022 Dear Parents, I am sorry this is getting out so late, but I wanted to correct the 7th grade tests. The test was 5 pages and there are almost 60 7th graders. Time got away from me. I was anxious to see how they did. I was thrilled. There were many very high scores, which is great to see, but what means just as much to me is to see how far the students have come in such a short time with me. Truly you all should praise your child for their success and encourage them to push even harder. I am very impressed with how hard they are working in class. Kudos to the 7th grade. I only saw one 8th grade today. During one class they had life skills. The class I did have worked on a distance time lab they are trying to get through. They have a test tomorrow and I hope they are spending some time studying tonight. Take care and have a great weekend! Mrs. Z November 2, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders did another section of their microscope lab. I also passed out a typed study guide with my answers on it which they may find helpful. I hope they are studying tonight. They have known about this test for a long time and they knew what to study so I hope they have been working on it so we have some great grades tomorrow! the 8th graders had a review for their test. Their test is Friday. Tomorrow they will work on a lab they did not finish next week. I hope they are studying tonight. Sometimes it takes two nights to prepare. We will see how they do on Friday. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z November 1, 2022 Dear Parents, I am sorry about yesterday and I appreciate the room moms sending the message for me. VERY IMPORTANT the 8th grade test is moving to Friday because of Life Skills on Thursday. Today the 7th and 8th graders reviewed and filled in a study guide for the test. One 8th grade switch has a quick worksheet assignment that is due tomorrow. Some finished it in class. I am heading out to a meeting so I have to keep this short tonight. More tomorrow! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 27, 2022 Dear Parents, It is 9:22 PM I just walked in the door from school. That was a long day. So sorry this is so late. The 7th graders finished the second part of the lecture on microscopes. Tomorrow they will have a lab that puts the lectures into action. I am excited to see how they are doing. There test will be next week Thursday. They can start to study if they want over the weekend. They should use their quiz which they will get back tomorrow on photosynthesis and cellular respiration. That is part of the test. They got a diagram of a microscope which they should study the names of the different parts. The final questions will be on a study guide that I will pass out on Monday. They do have a lot of the material if they want to start studying. The 8th graders finished their lecture on motion. They too have a lab tomorrow! The will put the lecture into action. They will get a study sheet to start studying from on Monday, but they all have notes from class that they can be looking over in the mean time. Their test will be on graphing, motion and changes of position. The 8th grade test will also be on Thursday.. A study guide will be going home on Monday. No one has homework tonight! I am sorry todays message is so short, but it has been a long day. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Oct. 27,2022 Dear Parents, October 26, 2022 Dear Parents, REMINDER tomorrow is bring in a dollar to support the food for needy baby project and come out of uniform. I am happy to announce my 8th graders have been SUPER GENEROUS! Thank you to all for your support. Today was one of the best days of the year. As a child I was very close to all of my grandparents. The loss of each one made the others more special until I had none. I wished so badly they had days like these when I was in school. My daughter went to MSW and she loved Grandparents Day. I am glad the tradition lives on. The love of a grandparent is such a special gift. I got to met many of my students grandparents and a few stayed and watched my science class. They found it very interesting. Other grandparents just stopped in to say hi or meet me. I really believe MSW is a very special place. I did teach all of my 7th grade classes and they took notes on the microscope. They will be having a test next week. I will try to announce the exact day tomorrow. I need to study the test schedule so they do not have too many on one night. It will not be Monday that is Halloween and it will not be Tuesday because they will be tired from Halloween. They had a quiz on photosynthesis and cellular respiration the test will be on that portion of the chapter and on the microscope. We are still working on this material in class. Everyday I find myself happier and happier being at MSW with this 7th grade class. I am enjoying getting to know them and teaching them. No homework tonight! I only had one 8th grade class today due to the Mass. That one class did a special STREAM Lab so I could keep both 8th grades in the same spot. I will do this same STREAM Lab with the other half someday when the students that had it today miss science. IT WAS AWESOME and they did a great job. They made two wooden structures and put raw spaghetti in different amounts to create a bridge then they put weights on the bridge to see how much weight the raw spaghetti could hold before a collapse. They kept adding more spaghetti to build strength. They were so engaged it was great to watch. Interesting to note 3 pieces of raw spaghetti could hold 87 pennies! I was shocked!! No homework was given! Take care and enjoy the night! Mrs. Z October 25, 2022 Dear Parents, I just got home from school. I was getting things ready for Grandparents/friends day tomorrow. MSW is one busy school. Just FYI the pink hair extensions was such a big hit we ran out and have ordered MORE!! Today the 7th graders practiced using a microscope and looked at a variety of slides. They drew what they saw and those pictures are hanging outside the science lab. I hope the Grandparents take a look! I think the students did a great job. The 8th graders reviewed as we prepare for a quiz, which was going to be on Friday. Then I found out they were having three quizzes already on Friday, so I am moving that until next Tuesday. Todays lecture was on distance and displacement. They seem to be showing strong understanding. NO homework for anyone tonight, Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 24, 2022 Dear Parents, I enjoyed seeing so many of you at conferences. I know it was tight scheduling. I was back to back for both days. I am glad I got to know you all a little better and go over the work your child has been doing. Of course you are always free to contact me in the future as needed. For those of you that I did not get to see I will be sending home a brief conference report to you tomorrow or Wednesday. Please look that over with your child. Today we took advantage of the weather and went outside for a quick leaf walk. The students picked a few leaves and came back into school to do a lab. They prepared a slide of the top and the bottom of the leaf and looked at it under the microscope. They then drew what they saw. I was hoping that they would see cells on the top side of the leaf and stomata's on the bottom. The stomata is the opening on the under side of the leaf that lets out oxygen for us to breathe and takes in our carbon dioxide. They have been learning about this concept in science as we studied cellular respiration and photosynthesis. They did a great job. The 8th graders did a STREAM assignment today. The R in STREAM refers to religion which is why we did the project. They carved pumpkins with their faith partners. The little second graders have been learning about pumpkins in science. I think they all had a lot of fun. This is a very hard task for the 8th graders and they did an amazing job. From start to finish they had to set up, clean out, carve , and clean up the mess in 45 minutes. AND even more amazing some students have two faith partners so they had to do it twice. Super job 8th grade. This is an awesome class. I am enjoying working with them. They have grown up in so many ways since we first met in 7th grade. NO ONE had homework tonight. Take care and enjoy the evening, Mrs. Z October 19, 2022 Dear Parents, We have half a day tomorrow and I will be at conferences so this will be my last note until next week. I am looking forward to seeing you at conferences and I hope you all have a great weekend. Today in 7th grade on switch needed to finish their quiz because of song practice. The other two switches began learning about the microscopes. We will be using them next week and the students are very excited. They did not have any homework! In 8th grade today I explained about the big pumpkin carving event with the second graders. That happens in school on Monday and the students can come out of uniform. Then I explained how to do the lab on motion and position that they will complete tomorrow. No one had any homework, Take care, Mrs. Z October 18, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 7th grade took their quiz on photosynthesis and cellular respiration. One switch will have to finish that tomorrow because we had song practice in the middle of the quiz. I am anxious to see how they did on it, but I am very busy preparing for conferences so those grades will not be in powerschool until the weekend. They did not have homework tonight. The 8th graders finished their tower project for STREAM and worked on calculating movement from one spot to another using reference directions. Some 8th graders may have a worksheet to complete tonight as homework. Other students may have gotten in finished in the last few minutes of class. I just got home from quiz bowl at ND. We had a last minute 8th grade team entry. It was out first quiz bowl experience and I think the students learned a lot from it. I know our scores were not great, but it was last minute and the questions are very random. It was good for them to see the format on how quiz bowl works. I hope to have some practices and then enter more quiz bowls. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 17, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 7th graders began class by making their conference folders. I look forward to seeing many of you on Thursday and Friday. I will be sending home a quick check in to the parents who are unable to attend at this time. The students were told last week on Thursday that tomorrow would be a quiz on Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration on Tuesday. I reviewed the material with them today, they should be studying their notes and their quiz is tomorrow. I am looking forward to great scores. We have covered this material with several lectures and two short videos. I hope they prepare. This is the first quiz of the year so I made it open note, but if they do not have notes or know what the notes mean this will be very difficult for them. No one has come forward asking for extra help so I am thinking they all understand the material. Class ended with a Friday Finale that I think they enjoyed. Welcome back to the 8th graders that showed up today and kudos to those parents who sent their child. I know the trip was a lot so today was very light. The students helped me get together their conference folders and told me about DC. All the reports were the kids were great and all the kids said they had fun! I am so happy for all. We will be back to work tomorrow! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 13, 2022 Dear Parents, Today was a great day of learning and excitement. The 7th graders had a big lecture explaining the concepts of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. I think it cleared up some misconceptions and they learned a lot. I will review this material on Monday and on Tuesday they will have a quiz. I am letting them use their notes from class on the quiz. They have no homework, but can begin to study if they want to. I only saw one 8th grade switch due to Life Skills. Luckily for me the students I saw today I will miss one day next week so the classes will be at the same place. The students I saw today worked on their STREAM Lab project of tower building. This was a perfect way for them to spend their class because as you can imagine they were not totally focused on learning! They are very excited about heading off on their trip to DC. I have been on that trip several times and I wish I was going with them. It is a wonderful experience! I went to Life Skills with them today and had a chance to talk to them about what to expect and how to act. I will miss them and be praying for them for their safety, and that they have a fun learning experience together as an 8th grade class. I cannot wait to see them next week and hear all about it. They did not get any homework. I was very happy that they all turned in the assignment I gave yesterday. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 12, 2022 Dear Parents, The 7th graders reviewed photosynthesis and were introduced to cellular respiration. I was impressed with how much they remembered about photosynthesis. We will continue to work on cellular respiration tomorrow. They will be having a quiz next week. Probably on Tuesday. I will let you know for sure what day tomorrow. They did not get homework. The 8th graders are beginning to show strong signs of excitement over the DC trip! That is awesome. One more day to get ready and send them off. They worked on a short assignment that pulled together the concepts from yesterdays lecture. Some students may have to finish that for homework. I know they are heading off to DC so if they did not complete it I will keep them in at lunch tomorrow to finish. No purple slips on this assignment! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 11, 2022 Dear Parents, I hope you all enjoyed the free day on Monday! I had a great weekend my daughter came in town and that is always a treat. Today the 7th graders started their book! Yipeeee! In order to begin the book there was a lot of prep work/learning that needed to be completed. We covered lab safety, learned the scientific method and discussed how to use evidence based proofs to support concepts. As we move forward in the book we will use those Today we began learning about Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration. The student books are still not in, they should arrive any day. Until they arrive I am using the teacher presentations they have provided and the students do have their e-books. For the first day I was very impressed with their understanding of the new terms and concepts. I did not give any homework today. The 8th graders also began their book! They too completed a review on lab safety, scientific method and an intro to how to use evidence based proofs to support concepts. I love this because how I am teaching two different contents each day. I love Biology but I also enjoy teaching Chemistry and Physics. The 8th graders began with position and motion. Luckily for them it is a very short and easy unit! No homework was assigned for the 8th grade. The students did a mini lab where they made up directions from one spot in the classroom to another and gave those to another student to see if they could follow them from the starting point which we now call reference point to the final destination. They did a great job! As they completed the mini lab I noticed students using skills already taught from STREAM labs lessons! I loved seeing them taking information already taught and applying that in a new situation. All in all it was a GREAT day! Take care and have a good night, Mrs. Z October 5, 2022 Dear Parents, Luckily I got to see part of the soccer game, and make it to the eye doctor yesterday. No glasses until next week, so it is still hard to read anything, but I have drops which will clear the infection. I hope there are not too many typos in this. I was so excited at how many hits I had last. night! Thanks for checking this out. NO HOMEWORK, NOW QUIZZES, NO TESTS for anyone in 7th and 8th grade! Today was a great day! I love when we start out with Mass and I love it even more when it is as special as the Guardian Angel Mass . I was happy and impressed to see so many of you there! One of my favorite parts of teaching at MSW is that we come together as a whole school in Communion with Christ. Kudos to the 8th graders they stepped up and did a beautiful job. It is so moving to see how kind and patient the 8th graders are with the little ones and how the little ones look up to them in awe with respect. In all my science classes we did the same thing today. I explained to the students that sadly I would not be in school tomorrow. I am on the MSW Crisis Team and we have an Arch meeting all day. I am very interested in keeping our students and school safe, but I really do miss being with the students. I wish the meeting was on Saturday. I explained to the students what to do tomorrow with the sub and I think they will have a great day of learning without me. I cannot wait to come in on Friday and see what they have done. We also worked on Evidence based Claims in small groups and as a class. One switch missed class yesterday because we had song practice so they got the Friday Finales today. During the Friday Finales I was very touched today by a 7th grader. While I was doing a Friday Finale one students was walking back to their pod. I asked them why they were leaving and they said, "To get a paper I want to write these down so I don't forget them." Wow! That has never happened before! That ended my day on a very high note! This will be my last blog until next Tuesday. I will not be writing tomorrow because I will not be at MSW. I never write on Friday, but I am very excited for our all school field trip. I hope it is a wonderful experience for all., and a great way to kick off this three day weekend. Enjoy the free time as a family. There is no science work for anyone! One last thing, I saw that parent teacher conferences were coming up. If you go on power school you can check your child's progress. I have been impressed with the students effort and work. Please keep in mind as we move through the year the material and concepts get more complex. I know you have many teachers to see and may not be able to fit me in. All parents are welcome to sign up for a conference with me, and those parents that I need to see for a variety of reasons will be contacted over the weekend by me. One last, last thing.......... Don't forget tonight is the big Chicago Fire episode filmed in Park Ridge at the Pickwick! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z October 4, 2022 Dear Parents, NO HOMEWORK, TEST or QUIZ are planned for the rest of the week. Enjoy these last few warm days. Today in 7th and 8th grade we did the same thing. That is very rare, but occasionally it happens. We did the Friday Finales from last week because we ran out of time on Friday and Monday. That was a fun learning event for all. Then I collected all of the paper work from the students. That was four things from each student. I was very impressed on how well they did, remembering to get it all done. Thank you for signing that you got all the information. I hope the packet and this website help keep you informed. Then we talked about using evidence to support a claim. Those terms are used in every section of the science book this year. I do not know if your child told you or not, but I was unable to wear my contacts today due to an eye problem. That hurt how much we could accomplish because my reading was very limited. The great news I got an eye dr. appt. for 6:15 tonight and I am sure I will be back to normal by morning! I am also keeping this short. because again my close up vision is not 100%. I am heading to the 8th grade soccer game now I so I will end here. Thank you for trying this out. More tomorrow. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z Dear Parents, It looks like we made it! Another year and time for summer! I have enjoyed this 7th grade class. There are many different personalities and many shining stars. Each child has been a gift in my life and has grown both as a person and a student. I am proud of how much we accomplished and how far they have come. Thank you for your support throughout the year. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the MSW school family and love my job. Today was the picnic and a big day for the ducks. I took them outside with a kiddy pool and they swam and played entertaining the entire school body as they took breaks from the inflatables. Then I brought them inside and they have been napping ever since. I hope your child had fun at the picnic and kudos and heartfelt thank you to the awesome team of parents that organized and put it all together. I saw many smiling faces throughout the day. There efforts were a success and well worth it. it is great to end the year with such a great day. Take caer, stay well and have a wondrful summer. Mrs. Z June 7, 2022 Dear Parents, Today was a workout, but all ended well. The 7th graders did an excellent job dissecting their pigs. I was very pleased that they were able to accomplish the entire dissection with such precision and seriousness. They worked hard the entire double period from start to finish. I know this was not easy for them, but they stepped up and learned a lot. The placement of our organs is the same. Now they have held a heart and lungs in their hands, they saw how all the abdominal organs were connected and how they lead into on anther creating our digestive system, they chiseled away at the skull to reveal the brain, and opened the spinal column to see how the nervous system is protected.. They did a great job identifying the organs and seeing how the organs are connected. When they were done there was nothing left behind but the hide. I look forward to enjoying the tie dye event with them tomorrow! There was no homework given. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z June 6, 2022 Dear Parents, Today I only had the 7th graders and it seemed very strange. I was at school and did other jobs, but their presence was missed and noticed. The 7th graders had their final lecture on the pig dissection. I passed out general instructions and went through them with the students. They seemed ready and that they understood all of the safety precautions. Then I passed out the lab sheet they were going to fill in as they did the dissection and went over that. Again they seemed to understand and had no questions............................. So I think we are ready! I hope tomorrow is a great day for each student, they have worked hard all year preparing for this. I am sure the morning will fly by and the afternoon will be spent cleaning up and getting the lab back together and ready for the events of Wednesday. There was no homework tonight, Take care, Mrs. Z June 2, 2022 Dear Parents, Thank you to all the seventh grade parents that worked so hard to make last night so special for all of the 8th graders and their parents. It was a beautiful night from start to finish. I did stay for the dance with the students and they had a blast. This class knows how to have a great time. They have worked hard and I am glad they are having such an incredible finish! As soon as I end this note I am heading back to MSW to help at graduation. This is my least favorite night. It is hard to say good bye to the students and to the parents. I hope they keep in touch. The 7th graders were my only students today so I helped out teaching a few first grade classes and loved it. When I started teaching I had second grade and I have always held a special place in my heart for the little ones! In my 7th grade classes I was surprised and amazed and how engaged they were in learning about the pig dissection. This is very hard and the experience of the chicken which is a little difficult for some to stomach, helped to prepare them. I have done this countless times and dissection day is very magical for sure. I am glad that MSW offers this opportunity to the students. We began going through a virtual dissection today and they saw pictures of the pigs, the mouth, where to cut, the inside of the area below the diaphragm. Today was the hardest for them because of the shock value. Tomorrow they have a better idea of what to expect as we move into the heart, lungs, brains and eyes. I think the students are getting excited, and I know some are apprehensive but it will all come together. Take care and have a great night i don't want to be late, No homework, Mrs. Z June 1, 2022 Dear Parents, This is a vry busy time for junior high teachers so sadly this will be short. I have to run over to the graduation dinner tonight for the 8th graders. I am excited to share in this very fun and special event. Thank you to all the 7th grade parents who worked so hard to put this night together. Next year it is your turn. Today the 8th graders were spirited to say the least! They went to say good bye to their Faith Partner and Guardian Angel. Then they had a grand breakfast together and headed off to Graduation practice. That was followed by a lively parade through the school halls and out the door. They are done and ready for the next step in their journey. One 7th grade class did not see me today, I was with the 8th graders. Mrs. Cushing took my class and the students did a balance practice lab to prepare for next weeks pig dissection. Just to be clear the pig dissection is Tuesday and the 7th graders come out of uniform for that. They will all have a double science class on that day. On Wednesday they need their white t-shirt and again they will have a double science class! Lots going on, No homework tonight, Take care, Mrs. Z May 31,2022 Dear Parents, Today started with a beautiful Mass and then the 8th grade award ceremony. Congrats to all the winners. I struggle with awards because there are so many great kids in the class I wish they could all win one..... I taught my first 7th grade class about body systems and the intro to the pig dissection. They, as well as me, are getting excited for it. A special thank you goes to the Bottari-Towers family who took all four ducks for the long weekend! The ducks have grown and are ready for a swim tomorrow. That will be fun for all especially the ducks. I coached the 8th grade volley ball game and it was close. The kids had fun but trying to fairily get 60 students a turn is a very hard job..... I was unable to meet with my second 8th grade class today I had an important meeting I had to attend. I look forward to seeing them tomorrow. There is no homework for anyone. Take care and enjoy the night, Mrs. Z May 25, 2022 Dear Parents, Today started with a beautiful Mass honoring the 8th graders. These days are hard for me because I do hate to see them leave, but they are ready! They also got their ribbons and wore them very proudly. I did not teach the 8th graders today because of play practice. I went to the practice and helped Ms. Daniels and watched. Get ready to take photos the show will be awesome! I cannot wait for tomorrow. I did have my 7th graders and they learned about the respiratory system. These lectures are the best because they are such high interest. It helps as summer vacation plays on their minds to have something they want to learn! The ducks went home today with two students. They each took two. I am excited to hear how things went! Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 24, 2022 Dear Parents, Today the 8th graders finished their bridge project. They didn't have much time to work on them this year because ionic and covalent bonds went a little longer then usual, but they got the idea of bridge building. They took all their individual pieces and added them together to make one class bridge. I think they enjoyed the experience we will judge them later in the week. Then they watched a video I made for them of the year in review. I think they really enjoyed that! The 7th graders finished their lesson on the skeleton -- human and chicken. I think they really get the idea of how similiar our skeleton is to the chicken! Then they all brought in the skeleton they built and evaluated each others work. I liked that they really got to see each one and write a comment to the creator that reflected their friends efforts. Class was great! No one has homework tonight. Take care, Mrs. Z May 23, 2022 Dear Parents, Today was a blur it was so fast and there was so much to accomplish. The 8th graders worked on building their bridges their final STREAM challenge. They have a lot to get done tomorrow! The 7th graders worked on comparing a chicken skeleton to a humans. It is a two day project but it helps them see and understand the value of the chicken skeleton they made. There are not many differences between their skeleton and ours. All the students are ready for summer. For me these are challenging and sad days. I hate to see the 8th graders leave, but I know in my heart they are ready. No one had homework from me tonight. Take care, Mrs. Z May 19, 2022 Dear Parents, Today was another super day! I felt bad the students did not have todays weather at yesterdays game, but they still had fun. The 8th graders completed a lab today that is an old tradition at MSW. They had the egg drop. They got 25 sheets of paper and could use tape to create a safety wrap for their egg. Then we headed down to Wisdom Hall and they dropped their egg from the balcony. The students were very creative and there were many different types of wrapping. Many students eggs broke, but about 1/3 of the eighth grade eggs did NOT!!!! Kudos to the talented 8th grade designers! They got a silly little reward for their success. They all had fun! The 7th graders finished their lecture on the digestive and excretion systems. They were very interested and now know many internal organs and their uses. Then they played with the ducks outside. The ducks loved it and so did the students. I am glad these pets are such a positive experience. I had robotics tonight and it is late. I still have a lot to do to prepare for tomorrow so I will close there. No homework for anyone. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 18. 2022 Dear Parents, Today was a great day. The ducks were very happy in their larger pen. I did not attend the field trip today with the 8th graders because I had obligations at school, but I am glad they got to go and I heard it was fun.......... The 8th graders had their MAP testing today, and then went on their field trip. The 7th graders did a great job on their chicken skeletons. It is always so interesting to see the variety. If you have a chance they are on display in the hallway near the science lab, stop by and take a peek! The students all did a great job and you all should celebrate the accomplishment! The 7th graders also got a note on home visits with the ducks. Please read through the information and think about if you want to be part of that experience. No one has to take them home. The students get time in school to care for the ducks. I also talked to the 7th graders about our year end projects. They will be dissecting pigs after the 8th graders graduate. This is usually the biggest memory for them in 7th grade. I look forward to sharing the experience with this group of students. For our last class I have all the seventh graders together for one final experience and that is to make tie dye t-shirts. The method uses the science of chromatography and is great fun! I like to end on a happy note. All the students should bring a white t-shirt to the last class. You will get an email from your Room parent with more information. I try to give you a little time, hopefully on your next shopping visit you can pick one up. We finished class discussing the digestive and excretory systems. We will finish that tomorrow. No homework was given. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 17, 2022 Dear Parents, Another beautiful day! I love the weather and sunshine makes everything better. I hope the weather holds out for the 8th grade field trip tomorrow. I know the students are all excited and looking forward to a fun afternoon. Sadly, I will not be attending. I have to meet with my 7th graders. I cannot wait to get reports from the students on how much fun they had. The 8th graders took their final quiz in science today and now we are left with STREAM and labs until graduations. I plan this out because I know they are getting tired of lectures. I cannot wait to grade the quizzes I was looking them over and they look great! I hope they all get 100! They will not have any more homework, tests or quizzes with me EVER!! Great job 8th grade, they worked hard all year. The 7th graders learned more about skin today. We also discussed the need to protect their skin from cancer. It is becoming more and more common. I just got home it is almost 7:00. I had robotics club with the 8th graders and they are having a great time! I enjoy working with them and the new robotic systems we got from the FSA grant. Then I stayed after to work on a new home for the ducks. I wanted to give them a little more space since they are growing so quickly. I think they are very happy in their new "pen"! I am very glad that all the students in 7th and 8th grade are enjoying this experience. The 7th graders have no homework tonight unless they are finishing up their chicken. Kudos to the 17 chickens that have already flown in . The are all different and they are all adorable! Amazing job to all of you and thank you for your support. This project has been at MSW since I went there!!!!!!!!!! I also remember making my first chicken skeleton in 7th grade. I have made many since then and believe me each time it gets better and easier. The great news for you all is there is NOTHING like this in 8th grade, but the memory (good or bad) lives forever. No one ever forgets the chicken project. Take care and have a great night, Mrs. Z May 16, 2022 Dear Parents, Wow the days are really going fast. The 8th graders reviewed ionic bonds and I went over covalent bonds to help prepare them for the quiz tomorrow. They have heard this information many times and hopefully will do great on this final quiz. The 7th graders finished their chicken wing lab. Today the wings were cooked and that makes the inside very different. They were able to remove the cartilage and rub away some of the ends of the bones. The ends are not as strong as the long part of the bone. They were looking for tendons and ligaments. They also needed to reconstruct the clean bones of the wing. They did a great job. I think they are done with CHICKENS! The 8th graders should go over their notes to prepare for the quiz tomorrow. The 7th graders do not have homework tonight. I hope you have noticed since the chicken project went home I have not given homework. That was to help you have the time to do the big project. Every day more of the chickens fly in. The students are very interested in seeing how they all have turned out. It is great because some have a great rib cage and others great claws and others great necks. They really can learn from looking at each others projects. We will be doing a big study of the finished chicken skeletons next week in science. I am looking forward to that. Thank you for you support on this project. Mrs. Z May 12, 2022 Dear Parents, This will be short because I just got home from robotics and am heading back to MSW to see the Hawk Harmonics perform. Today was a beautiful day -- warm, sunny, and a lot going on at MSW. The day started with the finals of the Union League Speech Contest. Wow, it was awesome, I am always amazed at the talent we have at MSW.. Congrats to all!!! I am glad I do not judge that event, because they are all winners in my book! Then we had science and the 8th graders worked on covalent bonds. I did not feel they were ready for the quiz so sadly I moved it until next Tuesday. I wish we could have fit it in tomorrow, but to be fair to them we are taking a little more time to review. My idea is to give the test when they have had adequate learning and practice time. I felt this week many classes were cut short due to extra events and I want to be sure they understand this material for high school. I think a little more practice and they will be more prepared and it will be a better judgement of their understanding and talent. The 7th graders began to learn about the skin. This is my favorite part of the year because they are so interested and engaged during the lectures. They also had time to play with the ducks. I think they will be heading to houses for overnight visits later next week. More info on that will be sent home. Also if you are not done with the chicken project FYI the dollar store sells finger caps which you can use to prevent burns from the hot glue gun. It may be worth the trip. We already have one done and I am excitedly waiting for the whole flock to come in. No one has homework tonight, Take care, I have to run, Mrs. Z May 11, 2022 Dear Parents,
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Mrs. Zoromski |
