TippecaNews

Tippecanoe Middle School Newsletter February 2017

Written By: Mrs. Lesher’s Advanced Language Arts Class

From the Principal’s Desk

We are very excited about a couple of events that will be taking place at the middle school during the month of February. The first is our final parent / teacher conference of the year. The date has been changed from Thursday, February 16th to Thursday, February 23rd. Individual conferences can still be scheduled from 3:00 to 5:40 by contacting the front office at 667-8454. We have altered our times so that we can introduce our next big event which is our Curriculum and Scheduling Night. Below is more information regarding that event:

Curriculum and Scheduling Night Thursday, February 23, 2017

TMS Gym

5:00 – 6:00 Current 5th grade parents 6:00 – 7:00 Current 7th and 8th grade parents

Topics that will be discussed:

· Overall scheduling process · What a typical schedule looks like

· Elective Courses · Pre-requisite courses

· Changes from our current classes · Parent Question and Answer

We are also moving our start time for our Winter Athletic Awards Program from 6:00 to 7:00 in the TMS gym on February 23rd as well. I look forward to seeing everyone here on February 23rd.

Important Dates In February Wednesday, February 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd - TMS Intramurals, 2:30-3:30 P.M.

Thursday, February 2nd, 9th, 23rd - STEM Club, 2:30-3:30 P.M. Monday, February 6th, 13th, 27th - Chess Club, 2:30-3:15 P.M.

Monday, February 6th, 13th, 27th - Yearbook Meeting, 2:30-3:30 P.M. Wednesday, February 15th - Seminar:“Guiding the College-Bound Athlete,” 7:30-8:30 P.M.

Friday, February 17th - Teacher In-Service-NO SCHOOL Saturday, February 18th - Outdoor Club-Ice Skating at Riverscape, 11:00 A.M.-2:00 P.M.

Monday, February 20th - Presidents’ Day- NO SCHOOL Thursday, February 23rd - TMS Winter Sports Award Ceremony, 7:00-8:30 P.M.

Thursday, February 23rd - Parent Teacher Conferences, 3:00-7:00 P.M. Monday, February 27th - Board of Education Monthly Meeting, 6:30-8:00 P.M.

Interesting Dates Thursday, February 2nd - Groundhog Day Monday, February 6th - Lame Duck Day

Sunday, February 12th - Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday Tuesday, February 14th - Valentine’s Day

Thursday, February 16th - Do A Grouch A Favor Day Monday, February 20th - Presidents’ Day

Wednesday, February 22nd - George Washington’s Birthday

February Interviews Language Arts and Reading Teachers

Ms. Phibbs Q: Do you have Valentine’s day plans, or any special tradition for Valentine's Day? A: “Hanging out with my dogs.” Q: Do you think Groundhog Day is pointless? Why or why not? A: “No, I think it is necessary, because if he sees his shadow then I get excited for spring!” Q: Are you excited about the new president? A: “No.” Mrs. Pierson Q: Do you have plans for Presidents’ Day weekend? A: “I plan to clean my house and hang out with my children.” Q: Do you think Groundhog Day should be a holiday or is it just pointless? Explain. A: “Yes I do think so, because my Dad was born on Groundhogs Day, and it is a fun holiday to predict how much winter is left.” Q: Do you have any Valentine’s Day plans or any special tradition for Valentine’s Day? A: “No, hopefully I’ll go out to dinner with my husband.” Mrs. Thomas Q: Are you excited for the new president? A: “Yes, very, I feel he will bring change.” Q: What’s your favorite chocolate? A: “I like milk chocolate with caramel in the middle.” Q: What are you doing in your class right now? A: “We are doing survival research reports.”

Mrs. Stucke Q: What’s your favorite chocolate? A: “Dark chocolate.” Q: Are you looking forward to spring? What’s your favorite spring activity? A: “Yes! My favorite spring activity is walking.” Q: What comes to mind when you think of February? A: “ When I think of February, I think of Valentine’s Day and my sister’s birthday.”

Current Events Have you ever eaten burnt toast? If you have, it probably tastes bad, and now, scientists

are saying that it is also bad for you. Burnt toast and over-roasted potatoes have a chemical that is made during cooking, called acrylamide, that scientists think can lead to cancer if you have too much of it. The effects have not been proven in humans yet, but scientists still believe that it can lead to cancer. So, whenever you are making some toast at home, don’t burn it!

Samsung had to do a mass recall of their Note 7 products. They originally thought software or hardware was to blame, but instead they established it was the batteries.

President Donald Trump has fulfilled a key campaign pledge by withdrawing the United

States from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership. He called this move, “A great thing for the American people”.

Souper Bowl Challenge Who: 5th period Enrichment classes What: Donate cans of soup When: January 30th-February 2nd Where: Tipp Middle School Why: Donate to Tipp City Needy Basket & Win Ice Cream

Sports

Track Track conditioning has started and will meet every Monday and Wednesday after school

2:30-3:25.

Basketball 7th grade boys (5-6) and 8th grade boys (8-3) are heading into their final stretch of games and will be playing Springfield (February 1st, 5:30), Springboro (February 6th, 5:30), and Beavercreek (February 8th, 5:30). 7th grade girls (11-2) and 8th grade girls (12-1) will be playing Piqua in their final game of the year on February 1st at 5:30 finishing up a great season. Boys’ tournament will be held on February 11th, 14th, and the 18th. Times are still to be determined. Girls’ tournament schedule will be determined. Go out and watch your Tipp City Red Devils finish out their season with a win.

Comics and Art

The winner for last month’s art contest was Alex Burkey for his great representation of the Mystery Machine. Congratulations!

This month’s theme is someone or something you love. Some examples for this topic are food, your family, or sports you play but feel free to use anything else that you love!

Guidelines ★ Entries must be hand drawn with NO stencils or tracing.

★ Don’t forget to write your name on your drawing! ★ Your entry must be colored.

★ Your entry MUST be turned in by Friday, February 24th. Please turn your comic in to Mrs. Lesher’s room. (Room 125)

★ Winner will be announced in the next newsletter.

7th Grade Update:

Mrs. Lesher’s 7th grade Reading classes recently finished their fictional book projects. Mrs. Lesher’s third and fourth period class had to find the main problem in the book that they chose. After reading, they had to plan, and design a solution to the main character’s problem. They finalized the project by going to the Design Thinking Lab to create solutions that would solve the main character’s conflict.

Mr. Koopman and Mr. Kinnison’s 7th grade classes recently finished creating their Rube

Goldberg machines. Students had to build a project consisting of two or more simple machines and three or more steps.They had to connect 8-10 projects which proved more difficult than it may sound. The students had to add more machines to their combined project. They split into groups and spent a week and a half connecting and adding to their machines.

Jokes Q. What does a pepper do when it gets mad? A. It gets jalapeno face! Q. As a scarecrow, people say I’m great in my field. A. But hay it’s in my jeans! Q. How did the hipster burn his mouth? A. He ate pizza before it was cool! Q. Why can you never see elephants hiding in trees? A. Because they’re really good at it!

History February 1, 2003 - Sixteen minutes before it was scheduled to land, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart in flight over west Texas, killing all seven crew members. February 2, 1848 - The war between the U.S. and Mexico ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . In exchange for $15 million, the U.S. acquired the areas encompassing parts or all of present day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas. February 3, 1870 - The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing the right of citizens to vote, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. February 14, 1929 - The St. Valentine's Day massacre occurred in Chicago as seven members of the Bugs Moran gang were gunned down by five of Al Capone's mobsters posing as police. February 25 - American frontiersman "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917) was born in Scott County, Indiana. He claimed to have killed over 4,000 buffalo within 17 months. He became world famous through his Wild West show which traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe for 30 years.

Birthdays Breanna Adkins Reece Angell

Nathaniel Bailey Andrew Baileys Jonathan Baileys

Julia Behm Zachary Clouse Andrew Cook Aaron Davis Gabriel Dean Kathren Diaz Liam Durcan Chloe Flatter

Alexandria Foster Bryon Fowler Meghan Gleis

Lily Green Evan Greth

Jayden Hatcher Emily Hegyi Sophia Hegyi

Ethan Henderson Matthew Henn

Ethan Hews Maggie Hocz Brandon Hood Rylan Jackson

Jackson Kleather Colin Maalouf Zoe Maggard

Kassidy Magill Evan Manes

Advice

Q. Dear Maurice Fernandez. I have been dealing with a lot of stress with sports, and when my practices are over I am

really tired. I can't find the energy to do my homework. What should I do? -Sports Player

A. Dear Sports Player,

I would suggest to do your homework right after dinner. That way you have a new burst of energy. This will allow you to get your homework done and help you get more energy after practice. If you have a game and get home late then save some homework for the morning or for fifth period.

-Maurice Fernandez

Q. Dear Maurice Fernandez, My parents have been getting on me to practice for band, but the only time I can practice

is on the weekend and even then I can only practice a few minutes. What should I do? -Student in a Tight Place

A. Dear Student in a Tight Place,

A suggestion is to create more time for yourself. If you have a practice then I get that you can’t miss it, but maybe instead of hanging out with your friends 24/7, stay home and practice. I realize you might not want to do this, but if you need to practice then this is one way to create time.

-Maurice Fernandez

Maurice Fernandez suggests

Song: Closer By: The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey T.V. Show: Supernatural

Book: Ender’s Game By: Orson Scott Card Movie: Sing App: Spotify