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News from Simmons
Sim
mons M
iddle S
chool
6450 W
. 95th
Street O
ak L
awn, IL
60453
708/5
99/8
540 F
ax 8
015 (sim
mons.rid
gelan
d122.co
m)
Feb
ruary
20
12
/ New
sletter
Important Dates:
February 16th—Board of Ed Meeting
February 20th—President’s Day– NO
SCHOOL
February 23rd—PTA Meeting 7PM
February 24th—End of Trimester
March 2nd—Report Cards Distributed
School Hours:
7:50AM Arrival/Entrance Bell
8:00AM Class Begins
2:30PM Dismissal Bell
If your student is absent for any reason
please call the attendance office at 708-599-
8540 before 9:00am or leave a message on
the Simmons answering machine.
Dear Simmons Families,
It is hard to believe that half of the 2011-2012 school year is now behind us. We are so pleased that
our students have grown as learners and individuals. We are looking forward to a great second half of
the school year which promises to be filled with fun and educational activities and events.
Our students will be taking ISAT test in March. These standardized tests help us to monitor both indi-
vidual and group progress. While it is difficult to “study” for these tests, it is important that students
come to school prepared to take the test. We remind all students to get a good night’s sleep and eat a
healthy breakfast so that they can be at their best. We have also been working on The 12 Powerful
Words throughout the past few weeks. The 12 Powerful Words are the words that appear most fre-
quently on standardized tests and often can cause students difficulty if they do not understand the
meaning. We are sharing this list with you below and encourage you to post the list in your home and
talk with your children about the meaning of these words.
Please join us-We are having an evening PTA meeting in the Simmons Auditorium on February
23rd at 7:00. We will be discussing 8th grade end-of-year activities and we will begin planning
for our 8th grade Dance. All our welcome to attend!!! We need volunteers to help make this
event a success.
Yours for Children,
Mrs. Flood, Mr. Mc Dermott and Mr. Simpson
trace list in steps
analyze break apart
infer read between the lines
evaluate judge
formulate create
describe tell all about
support back up with details
explain tell how
summarize give me the short version
compare all the ways they are alike
contrast all the ways they are different
predict what will happen next
The 12 Powerful Words by Larry Bell
February is healthy heart month. Heart disease is the Number 1 killer of women in America. Sorry to give you the bad
news first, but the good news is we can prevent it by following seven steps to better health. Starting with our middle
school students and ourselves take these small steps for big results.
Get active
Control cholesterol
Eat better
Manage blood pressure
Lose weight
Reduce blood sugar
Stop smoking
Check out the website: heart.org/MyLifeCheck Here you will find ways to set goals for a healthier life style.
I have also sent home letters regarding the new tdap vaccine. Please be sure to call me with questions. Eight graders can get this vaccine
when they go to the doctor for their high school physical. All students from 6 th grade to 12th grade will need to prove that they have had one
tdap vaccine.
Mary Quinn, RN ILCSN
Simmons Middle School Nurse
Discipline/Traffic
We have received many phone calls regarding the traffic around the building during arrival and dismissal times. We understand your con-
cern, and appreciate your cooperation in making Simmons a safe place for all students. We continue to monitor the traffic situation, and
search for alternatives to ease traffic congestion. Please continue to be vigilant for students when dropping off or picking up your child.
As a reminder, Illinois law prohibits cell phone use while driving in a school zone. We have attached a copy of that law for your reference.
(e) A person, regardless of age, may not use a wireless
telephone at any time while operating a motor vehicle on a
roadway in a school speed zone established under Section
11-605. This subsection does not apply to (I) a person using a wireless telephone for emergency purposes, including,
but not limited to, law enforcement agency, health care provider, fire department, or other emergency services agency
or entity, (iii) a law enforcement officer or operator of an emergency vehicle when performing the officer's or operator's
official duties, or (iv) to a person using a wireless telephone in voice-activated mode.
Nurse’s Corner
PTA
The PTA along with Declamation and Peer Mediators sponsored
a 6th grade social on Friday January 27th! This event was a suc-
cess and all who attended had a great time!
There are many upcoming events as listed below and we can use
your help! Please volunteer to make each of these events memo-
rable for our students! Your help is truly appreciated!
7th & 8th Grade Social—Friday, February 10th 2:30pm-4pm
Scholastic Book Fair—Date TBD
8th Grade Dance—Friday, May 18th
8th Grade Breakfast—Wednesday, May 23rd
Promoting Positive Behaviors
Good Character, Good Decisions
PBIS is going strong here at Simmons Middle School. The
students are working daily on the 3 R’s (RESPECT SELF, RE-
SPECT OTHERS, and RESPECT PROPERTY). Donations for
PBIS rewards are being accepted all school year. Students can
bring their donations to their first period teacher. Every little bit
helps.
Page 3
PBIS
SIM M ONS MI DDLE S CHO OL
Spirit Week at Simmons was full of energy! Students started the
week with a SS project that got them thinking about what they were
proud of. Students seem to be very proud of their cultures, fami-
lies, talents and school, for just a start.
On Tuesday, students wore their sports clothes and some partici-
pated in a dodge ball and soccer tournament held after school.
Wednesday, many smiles filled the halls as the students partici-
pated in Gratitude Day. Student Council members produced a
video about gratitude under the direction of our IT teacher, Mr.
Abramczyk. Since the students viewed the video they are aware of
what gratitude is, who has it, and how you demonstrate it? Stu-
dents did all kinds of things with their hair on Crazy Hair Day. We
put Spirit Week to rest with Pajama Day on Friday.
Student Council truly believes that our school rocks after a fine
week of genuine Spirit!
Student Council Just Say No
The SWIC Mathletes competition is set for April 4th. The Math-
letes will be working hard to showcase their talents. Students who
excel at math, find math interesting, or are looking for an academi-
cally challenging competition are encouraged to
join.
Listen to the announcements and/or see Mr.
Kuzanek in room 250 for more information regard-
ing Mathletes.
January was a fun month for NJHS members. We finished off the
year with a very successful toy drive. We donated over 100 toys! A
huge thanks to Mrs. Brooks for her financial donation! We were
able to purchase over 10 toys for children in need! Thank you to
everyone that donated! We could not have done it without your
help! 8th grade was the most generous donating over 70 toys.
Great job 8th grade! The Toy Box Connection was very grateful!
T-shirts and sweatshirts are now for sale. T-shirts cost $8 and sweatshirts cost $16.
See Mrs. Velasco or Mrs. Garcia with any order forms and payment. Please make
checks payable to Simmons Middle School.
Preparations for inductions are well underway! All 8th grade NJHS members need
to send one baby picture and one current family picture to Mrs. Velasco NO LATER
THAN MARCH 1st. They must be scanned and e-mailed to Mrs. Velasco at
[email protected]. Pictures not received on or before will not be included
in the slide show. Please put your first and last name as the subject.
The Just Say No Club continues to promote positive
behavior and encourage students to make good
choices. We are meeting this month and next month
to discuss activity options for our club as well as
Simmons. Our meeting this month is Tuesday,
February 21st.
NJHS PE
The PE Department would like to thank the Megan
Hurckes Scholarship Fund for their incredibly kind
donation. Because of their generosity, the PE De-
partment was able to purchase a Wii, various games
and accessories. This purchase has allowed our
department to infuse technology into our curriculum
while the students are staying active and having fun.
Mathletes
SI MM ONS M I DDLE S CHOO L Page 4
Athletics
Our next drama meeting will be February 1st, after school. Auditions will begin the following week (Feb 7th and 8th). If your child is inter-
ested in the Spring Musical, please ensure that they are at the meeting. If your child is not cast in the play, we hope that they will still par-
ticipate in drama club on one of the crews.
Just Say No
Declamation
My name is Ms. Price and I am the Declamation Coach for this school year. You may be asking yourself, “What is Declamation?” The
Declamation Team is the Simmons competitive speech team. The students interested in the Declamation Team attended an informational
meeting on January 26. There are 14 spots on the team, so depending on the number of students interested, we may or may not have try-
outs. The official Declamation Team should be chosen and notified as this newsletter goes to press. Once the team is selected, a practice
schedule will be generated and performance pieces will be assigned.
There are two requirements for those students chosen as members of the Declamation Team. First, they must pay a $50.00 participation fee,
which goes toward our Southwest Interscholastic Conference (SWIC) fees. Secondly, Declamation Team Members must meet our eligibil-
ity requirements, by maintaining passing grades in all classes during the entire Declamation season. Students who are also involved in
Drama can be members of both activities. The Declamation Team competes at one SWIC conference meet against 11 other schools in our
conference. This meet will be held on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. at Orland Junior High School in Orland Park. The six cate-
gories in which we compete include: Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Oratorical Declamation, Prose Reading, Verse
Reading, and Humorous Duet. The students select or are assigned short performance pieces that can be acted out or presented in 3 to 7 min-
utes.
Although there is only one conference meet, the students will need a lot of practice. In order to provide this practice opportunity, Simmons
will be hosting the fifth annual, “An Evening with the Simmons Speech Team” sometime in April prior to the competition. If you have any
further questions regarding this activity, please feel free to call me at (708) 599-8540. If you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon
as possible. Stay tuned to our March newsletter for the official announcement of the 2012 Simmons Middle School Declamation Team and
any further details about upcoming Declamation events.
Drama
The boys basketball teams are working hard to
improve their teamwork and conditioning. The
boys are off to a rocky start, but are determined to
turn things around.
6th/7th grade teams are working on the funda-
mentals of basketball and trying hard to improve
their defensive efforts.
8th grade is working on getting out in the fast break and sharing the
basketball to get all teammates involved. We hope to see you there
to support these knights! Go KNIGHTS!
The Girls 8th grade volleyball team has gotten
off to a solid start with a win against Conrady Jr.
High. The girls are looking better after each
practice and are striving for a successful season.
Cheer on the 8th grade girls volleyball team as
they make their mark on the conference!
The 7th/8th grade girls’ volleyball is off to a good start. The girls
have two wins and two losses. Keep working hard Knights! Come
see our girls play and support our Knights. Also check out the web-
site for pictures and schedules to attend one of our many home
games. Go Knights!
In Literature, the seventh grade just finished an in depth study of the classic story "A Christmas Carol." A fabulous play was brought to our
school in order to give students an understanding of this story, as well as to add some comedy to the day! In Language Arts, we are working
in groups to figure out the meanings of common homonyms. Groups are compiling their own book about these tricky words, titled
"Holidays with Homonyms." In Science the students have just finished their unit on Newton's Laws of Motion and have learned important
concepts like why we need airbags, seatbelts, and why we can pull a table cloth from underneath the dishes and have the dishes still stay
there! Sorry to any parents for broken dishes! We will be moving right into our next unit which deals with
Simple Machines! In math the students have just taken their District Assessment and have done very well!
The test covered all the topics we have learned from the first 3 chapters of our book. We are now moving
into ratios and proportions and will start to prepare for ISAT time! YAY! In Social Studies the seventh
graders are studying for the Constitution Test. The test on the U.S. Constitution will be on February 16th.
Students are taking an in-depth look at government by creating their own laws and will be taking on the role
of various governmental officials. In Spanish students are working on places to go vocabulary. We are navi-
gating more complex sentences including the verb ir, and learning how to ask a variety of questions.
Page 5 SIM M ONS MI DDLE S CHO OL
8th Grade
7th Grade
Happy February! It’s hard to believe that we are more than half
way through the year and our lovely students will be graduating in
just a few short months! Here are some of the fun things we will
be doing in class this month.
In Language Arts students are analyzing various types of poetry.
During the month of February they will learn about the importance
of various components including imagery, symbolism, sound de-
vices, and figurative language. Students will interpret song lyrics
and famous poems, and then create their very own poetry portfo-
lios.
Literature students continue to practice using reading strategies to
increase comprehension along with using quotes and evidence
from the text to support all answers and opinions. They will con-
tinue to use these tools to interpret and analyze novels. Blue Team
will be reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor,
and Green Team will be reading The Uglies by Scott Westerfield.
Advanced Literature students will work together in cooperative
groups to discuss and analyze Night by Elie Wiesel (Green Team)
and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Blue Team). Along
with small group discussions and theme based projects, students
will also discuss questions and interesting points from the novel on
our Advanced Literature Blog.
Science students will learn about the organs of a cell, and will
make Facebook profiles for different organelles. Following this,
the students will be creating three- dimensional models of both the
plant and animal cell which will also include all the specific or-
ganelles.
In Social Studies students are studying the Progressive Era and the
many changes that took place during this time to eliminate corruption
and improve the quality of life for both the government and citizens.
Students will then be creating political cartoons to creatively explain
their opinions towards reform.
In Spanish students will be learning how to speak about completing
chores and participating around the house.
In the month of February the 8th graders will be working with expo-
nents and solving and graphing linear inequalities. When working
with exponents the students will learn to apply exponent properties
involving products and quotients. We will also be reviewing scientific
notation and of course…more graphing and equations! Check out
www.classzone.com for additional practice and even video tutorials.
The 2012 Graduation Ceremony is
scheduled for Thursday, May 24th at
Oak Lawn Community High School.
Daisy Magana
Diana Magana
Chandler Malozienc
Sarah Marek
Hussein Matari
Christopher McGuire
Abel Morales
Nicole Moralez
Bernard Muransky
Teryn Nicholas
Magdalena Nowobilski
Suha Odeh
Lucas Palacios
Jorge Perez
Jena Rayas
Jailene Retana
Heather Ritter
Yesenia Saldivar
Angel Sanchez
Zulai Santos
Carl Seibel
Nicholas Silver
Kamil Skibinski
Nicola Sowa
Amir Taha
Gerardo Torres
Kailee Vopelak
Wojciech
Michal Zasadni
Silvestre Garcia
Ariel Giuffere
Ailish Greene
Hannah Gushulak
Brandon Hollenback
Brandon Hoskins
Jozef Hyrczyk
Julia Janiszewski
Paige Jones
Natalia Kasprzyk
James Kean
Peter Knapp
Thomas Komperda
Michelle Labuda
Bailey Leora
Olivia Lizak
Selena Abdelsalam
Jenna Abed
Joseph Abusharekh
Alexandra Aguirre
Qussi Aldeek
Presley Alvarez
Cameron Anderson
Fahmi Arab
Nebi Besimi
Brianna Boseman
Katelyn Brown
Giovanni Caban
Kaitlyn Cornfield
Alex Correa
Jocelyn Delgado
Ronald Domino
Join us in wishing our students a Happy Birthday!
Feb
ruary
January Students of the Month
Blue Team— Brandon Straka
Green Team— Mia Loya
Red Team— Hippatallah Salim
Yellow Team— Aleksandra Stoch
Orange Team— Hammam Ahmed
Purple Team– Hadeel Yasin
6th Grade Purple Team is working on their final project in Art
Class, a paper mache dragon sculpture. Students were introduced
to China's historic cultural art that has included depictions of drag-
ons for thousands of years. Purple Team discovered that to the
Chinese, the dragon symbolizes goodness and luck, and are now
painting and decorating their dragons. We ended the year on a
great note. Both teams worked together to analyze three different
types of soil. We got to handle sand, silt and clay with water and
without. Each of the types of soil with water proved to be a bit
messy, but they had interesting textures! January was a great
month in Science! We have started our third book "Inside the
Restless Earth."We are very excited for all of the great topics we
have and will continue to learn about! It started off with rocks and
minerals. Did you know that some minerals glow with ultraviolet
light? We will continue on to the three different types of rocks.
This book gives us a more in depth look at what is all around us!
In math class this February, the 6th graders will be wrapping up
our geometry coverage and moving on to ratios, rates, and propor-
tions. The social studies classes will be heading to China to dis-
cover China's first dynasties and the Chinese empire. We are near-
ing the end of rivers and their impact on early civilizations, with
the ancient world right around the corner! In Literature last two
months, we have covered fictional stories and reviewed the spe-
cific strategies necessary to understand this genre. Now we are
again reading several interesting nonfiction stories such as the
biography of Louis Braille, Ancient China, and the Secret of An-
cient Chinese Silk Making. Students are honing their skills to mas-
ter nonfiction with practice on use of graphic aids in stories, text
6th Grade
structure, and locating information. We have covered many genres
this year in preparation for the state’s yearly assessment this March.
The sixth grade students are now working on their second book report
project which supports their independent reading at home. In Lan-
guage Arts, we have written several persuasive essays on their favor-
ite movie along with narrative descriptions on several creative topics.
We have now begun our research paper on a person of importance.
Our students will be learning about how to do proper research, format
this information into a paper, and finally present their information to
their classmates. Projects such as this help prepare our students for a
successful middle and high school experience.
6th GRADE
PURPLE TEAM
Mrs. Bentley
Ms. Cosich
Mrs. Kirk
Mr. Kuzanek
ORANGE TEAM
Ms. Korkosz
Ms. McGraw
Mrs. Skendzel
Ms. Stanek
Mr. Wichert
7th GRADE
RED TEAM
Mrs. Brooks
Mrs. Dasbach
Mrs. Poetz
Ms. Sauter
Mrs. Small
YELLOW TEAM
Mr. Blabas
Mrs. Chavosky
Mrs. Demma
Mrs. Valerio
8th GRADE
BLUE TEAM
Ms. Borchers
Mr. Gath
Ms. Hornik
Mrs. Valderrama
Ms. Wells
GREEN TEAM
Ms. Barry
Mrs. Chavosky
Mrs. Garcia
Ms. Price
Mrs. Vieni
PE/HEALTH
Mr. Burton
Mrs. Cherco
Mrs. Francis
Mr. Hunt
Mr. John
Ms. Rusch
Administrators
Mrs. Flood
Mr. McDermott
Mr. Simpson
Social Workers
Mrs. Daglas
Mrs. Wilson
Nurse
Mrs. Quinn
Speech
Ms. McNally
ELL
Ms. AbuRabah
Mr. Yasin
SIM M ONS MI DDLE S CHO OL Page 8
