Quarter 2

At this point in the school year, routines have been firmly established. Students instinctively

navigate the halls during passing times; they know when to stop at their lockers and what

supplies they will need for each class; there is even a familiarity with where to sit in the

cafeteria and what snacks to buy. The end of the 2nd quarter marks the halfway point of the

2015-16 school year. This is a good time to examine routines – especially those involving

study habits and work ethic - and reflect on what is working well and what needs to be

improved. In many cases, routines are a good thing. But in cases where they are not, now is

the time to make changes that will guarantee success. I can’t wait to see what great things

you will achieve in the 3rd quarter!

Mr. John Mikulski

Grade 7 House Principal

Seventh Grade Trivia -- we are now in the middle of being in the middle grade of middle

school! Not only are we half way through the year, but half way through CMS! Recently I spoke

to students about scheduling choices for their eighth grade year. Choices include Math 8 or

Regents Algebra, Science 8 or Regents Earth Science and the choice of ensembles –

Band/Chorus/Orchestra -- or choosing a study hall. Students will continue in the Foreign

Language they participated in this year to receive a High School credit at the end of the 8th

grade year. Pink scheduling cards sent home with students on Feb 2nd need to be signed by a

parent or guardian and returned to your child’s homeroom teacher by February 10th.

Please feel free to contact me at 407-9214 or email, cpalmer@clarenceschools.org, if you have

any questions or concerns.

Mrs. Palmer

Grade 7 School Counselor

In ELA, seventh graders just finished a unit of study from a NYSED module. After reading Linda

Sue Park’s novel, A Long Walk to Water, students were engaged in an effort to raise money for

the Ugandan Water Project. We raised over $31,000 last year and are hoping to surpass that

total this year. James Harrington and his crew from UWP will update us before the end of the

school year to let us know which Ugandan communities are affected by our efforts. After that

three-week long study, we began an Interdisciplinary unit that centers on the American

Revolution. We are reading Gary Paulsen’s novel, Woods Runner; through a close reading of

that novel, we discuss the genre of historical fiction, examine themes of helping one another

and paying it forward, and analyze static and dynamic characters. Our culminating activity is

an in-house field day for all seventh graders in which they explore various aspects of life in

the 1770’s through hands-on experiences.

As the first semester comes to a close, we have extensively explored percent problems

involving real world examples such as simple interest, percent error, tax, tip, and discount.

Our focus now shifts to algebra and solving equations. We will focus on problems that involve

defining variables and setting up practical equations. Probability, Statistics and Geometry will

round out our units of study. The New York State Mathematics Assessment is scheduled for

Wednesday, April 13 – Friday, April 15. Students will need to have a Texas Instruments 30XA

or 30IIS calculator for use during the exam.

The students have begun their study of Genetics. They will learn about different human traits by

looking at their own physical traits through lab work and by incorporating what they learned into

a project about genetic traits. The students will then journey across the ages to discover how life

in all its breathtaking variety has relentlessly adapted itself through time. We will do this by

visiting the Galapagos Islands with our IMAX movie and in our lab work on variation, natural

selection, and adaptations of bird’s beaks and feet. In addition to this, we will follow through with

the Principles of Classification and continue study of different species within all the kingdoms.

The Advanced 7th grade science students have spent the first semester working on the study of

Chemistry and Physics. Atomic structure, matter, energy, and Newton's Laws are a few of the

topics we have been delving into. Our final unit is on electromagnetism and waves. Soon we will

begin the Biology portion of the course. The second half of our school year will be spent learning

about cells, ecology, genetics, and body systems.

The Seventh Grade History students have

just finished a unit on the American

Colonies. We are currently working on the

American Revolution. A key activity will be

the study of the novel Woods Runner, which

the students are reading in both ELA and

History. There will be an activity day on

Friday, February 13th that will give the

students a chance to experience many of the

things that they will be reading about.

Seventh grade art students have recently

created designs called

“Zentangles.” These designs are based on

the repetition of pattern; (one of our

Design Principles). We also focused on the

importance of planning out compositions

as well as controlling the materials with

which we are working. The formation of a

personalized journal or sketchbook is a

key part of the art experience, which

includes note taking, and the

enhancement of observational skills.

It’s hard to believe that the second

marking period has ended! During the

past ten weeks in Spanish and French

we have been working on our school

unit. We have learned how to tell time,

how to conjugate verbs, and how to talk

about school and our classes. Our next

unit will be on the family, and different

places in school and the community. For

those interested in the 8th Grade Quebec

City trip next fall, please see Sra.

Barone.

The 7th Grade Latin students have certainly

been busy this marking period! They have

been studying about famous Romans,

prominent buildings and places in the

ancient city, and the holiday of

Saturnalia. Latin students have also been

learning about the social and political

structure of this highly complex civilization

as well as the practice of slavery in the

ancient world. Introduction to singular and

plural grammatical constructions has started

them off into studying the Latin language

itself. Next marking period will add more

grammar and even more culture.

Second quarter got off to an exciting start!

Seventh grade met and exceeded the sewing

challenge The String Bag. We explored

numerous yet unusual careers and now have a

better idea as to what it is we’d like to do in the

future. As the food unit concluded we made our

own pita bread—fortified with the benefits of

whole grains. Leadership characteristics were

integrated throughout the quarter—including

proper etiquette. Be sure to ask your 7th grader

to demonstrate at your next family dinner!

Seventh grade music students have been

busy traveling through a time machine since

the beginning of the school year. They have

been listening to, reading about, and

performing music from the Baroque to the

Classical Era. They have also spent a great

deal of time learning about the history,

culture and music of Latin America. A

favorite was the musical theater unit…

students culminated the marking period by

studying West Side Story.

Congratulations to 18 seventh and eighth

grade chorus members selected to

participate in All-County after successful

auditions this January! We are very proud to

be so well-represented. Spring concert

season keeps us very busy! Our next concert

will be held on Tuesday, March 15. Our final

concert of the year will be held on May 19, at

7:30 PM. As always, thank you for your

support! The students work hard every day

to prepare their program for you!

The 7th grade Orchestra was busy in December performing their Winter Concert on the 23rd. The

Orchestra traveled to the Clarence Senior Center to share their music with the community. They

played several holiday songs, and also played the main theme for Star Wars in celebration of the

new movie. Several students auditioned at the ECMEA solo festival in Orchard Park on January 16th

and scored high marks – Congratulations to all who participated!! Please mark your calendars for

the following events: Mid-Winter Concert is March 17th, NYSSMA Solo festival is April 22nd-23rd,

and the entire ensemble will be competing at the NYSSMA Major Ensemble Festival on May 5th at

Amherst Middle School.

We are working hard towards our next

concert scheduled for Thursday, March

31st. Please encourage your child to

continue to practice 20-30 minutes daily,

and encourage them to visit my website

to listen to our band selections. Contact

Mrs. Runfola if your child may be

interested in private lessons; all students

can benefit from one on one attention!

The seventh grade Tech Ed students

worked diligently on their CO2 Car designs

to get ready for the final race-testing event

that was scheduled for the last two days of

the quarter! The beginning of the quarter

was spent learning how to refine their CO2

Car designs on the Auto-Desk Inventor

software. For the remainder of the quarter,

they focused on how to cut their cars out of

a block of basswood, sand, paint, and attach

the wheels and axles. The excitement of

race day was mounting as many students

chose to come in early and/or stay late to

perfect their CO2 Cars before the big race!

Health education students have been

studying substance abuse prevention which

includes tobacco, alcohol, prescription drugs

and other dangerous substances. Decision

making skills and refusal skills will be

practiced in class. The third quarter will

include topics related to stress management,

support networks and suicide prevention.

Personal safety skills will be discussed at the

end of the year.

SPRING SPORTS SEASON STARTS MARCH 14TH.

All Athletes must have a CURRENT Physical on

file in the Health Office to be eligible to try-

out/play Spring Sports. In order to be eligible, the

Physical must be dated MARCH 1, 2015 or later.

There are NO EXCEPTIONS. Check your child’s

Physical dates, posted on the Parent Portal or

contact the School Nurse at #407-9223.

NEW IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS-

EFFECTIVE SEPT. 2016

It’s not too early, check with your Physician’s

Office.

Physical Education classes are continuing their table tennis unit until winter break. Table tennis

intramurals are offered Monday and Wednesday mornings throughout the month of

February. Students should report to the N. Cafeteria by 7:50am for table tennis intramurals.

Physical Education classes will be starting their badminton unit after winter break. Students are

required to have safety goggles for the badminton unit. Safety goggles can be purchased at

Lowes, Home Depot, or any Dollar Tree store for a few dollars. Badminton Intramurals will also

be starting the beginning of March, sign-up sheets will be in PE class. Students may enter teams

of 4 players and should report to the N. Cafeteria b 7:50am on their game days. Students should

see Mr. Burgio or Mrs. Booker for any questions regarding intramurals.