M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 1

March, 2017 Ripon Area School District www.ripon.k12.wi.us

Ripon Area School District Bylaws & Policies

3122 – NONDISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

The Ripon Area School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, sexual

orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability or handicap or any other characteristic protected by law.

Upcoming Events!

March 3rd No School

March 14th MIOS Concert

March 16th RMS 7th Grade Fieldtrip

March 30th, 31st, April 1st

Play Performance

New Lunch Rotation

Our new lunch rotation will

begin on Monday, March 6th

and last for the remainder of

the school year.

First Lunch: All 7th graders

and RMS 6th graders

Second Lunch: all 8th

graders and Catalyst 6th

graders

Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri

Lunch A – 11:01-11:35

Lunch B – 11:55-12:29

Wed

Lunch A – 11:33 – 12:07

Lunch B – 12:19 – 12:53

March 30 & 31

7:00pm

April 1

2:00pm

Ripon High School Auditorium

Tickets are $3.00 for adults &

$1.00 for students

Free Sports Physicals

No Longer Offered

The Ripon Area School

District was recently notified

that ThedaCare-Ripon will

no longer be offering free

WIAA Sports Physicals for

students. We want to thank

our local Health Care

Providers for the many years

they were able to provide

this generous service.

Parents, please make sure

your student athlete’s

physical is up-to-date as

required by WIAA rules in

order for them to participate

in their sport.

M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 2

Dear Students, Parents and Staff,

We are halfway through the 3rd quarter already and SPRING

is just around the corner. Please keep monitoring your child’s

grades in Infinite Campus(IC) and talk with teachers if you

have questions or concerns. We want our students to finish this

term strong and have a positive start to the 4th quarter. Also, thank you to

those parents who attended the February Parent Teacher Conferences!

Just a reminder our students in grades 6-8 will be taking the Wisconsin Forward

Exam the week of April 24th-28th. If possible, please avoid scheduling

appointments on testing days so your child will not need to miss additional

class time to complete make-up testing.

Think Spring!

Mr. Rick Bunge

Principal

Principal’s Page

M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 3

Mrs. Mott and Mrs. Hinze’s 6th grade

class participated in World Read Aloud

day on February 16th, along with many

other Ripon Area School District

classrooms. They have been reading

PAX by Sara Pennypacker together

and collaborating with Ms. Lee’s 8th

grade students online.

8th grade students in Ms. Lee and Mr. McCulloch's

literature class read the short story, "The Scholarship

Jacket" by Marta Salinas for Read Aloud Day. The main

character in “The Scholarship Jacket” is a Mexican

American girl who lives in Texas. The history of Tejanos,

or Texas Mexicans, dates back more than 200 years. As

early as 1731, Tejanos established a ranch community

in what was then northeastern Mexico. About 100 years

later, Mexico invited immigrants from the United States

to settle in the region. The Tejanos and the immigrants

eventually joined forces to fight for their independence

from Mexico, and in 1845, Texas became part of the

United States. Mexicans continued migrating to Texas,

but they often faced discrimination. Today, over seven

million residents of Texas are Mexican Americans.

Students all took turns narrating the story and reading

the parts of the different characters. We were lucky to

have one student read her lines in Spanish for the class

where the story indicated to do so!

The annual Music in Our

Schools concert will be

held on March 14th in the

high school gymnasium.

The concert will feature

the 5th through 12th grade

music programs. The

annual event is a quick

view of the progress made

between each level in

both band and choir. It

will be an impressive

concern lasting

approximately 45 minutes.

Tell your family and friends

and come join in the fun!

The Middle School Musical "Anything Goes" stage crew is in

full swing building and painting sets. Students are able to

gain experience with building, painting, costume, lighting

and sound, as well as moving sets. Performances will

be March 30, 31 at 7pm and April 1 at 2pm in the RHS

Auditorium.

M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 4

Solo & Ensemble Results

Solo 1 Ashley Hernandez-Diaz 1 Bailey Long

2 Kasha Albaugh 1 Aaliyah Wilson

1 Macenzie Powers 1 Grace Ruedinger

1 Sebastian Crego 2 Avery Downs

2 Caitlin Gehrke 1 Hunter Workowski

1 Susan Kutz 1 Callie Smith

1 Austin Velie 1 Justin Mildebrandt

1 Katie Worthing 1 Cierra May 1 Hannah Yeomans 1 Emily Kasuboski

1 Daniel Zimmerman 1 Hannah Bond

1 Stephanie Ortega 1 Susan Kutz

Duet (Double Duet) 2 Aaliyah Wilson and Daniel Zimmerman

1 Grace Ruedinger and Macenzie Powers, Angela Millin, Ella Heiling

1 Callie Smith and Joslyn Godson

1 Nevaeh Treptow, Katie Worthing, Briana Blackburn, Hailey Portz

1 Justin Mildebrandt, Courtney England, Henry Walheim, Stephanie Ortega

2 NickTowne and Brexden Kivela

2 Faith DeMotts, Meredith Brantley, Payton Rands, Kasha Albaugh

1 Susan Kutz and Justin Mildebrandt

1 Meredith Brantly, Quintin Stephens, Tyler Bergemann, Payton Rands

2 Isabelle Osheim, Katie Skoog, Caitlin Gehrke and Nicole Sperger

1 Alex Jacobsen, Remi Mueller, Nick Cutts and Daniel Zimmerman

2 Chloe Gurke and Sebastian Crego

1 Grace Tobin, Ella Altnau, Haley Krumenauer, Lizzie Grewal

1 Susan Kutz and Hunter Workowski

1 Alexis Keeler, Artesa Elliott, Emily Edinger and Taylor Bruins

1 Daniel Zimmerman and Hunter Cook

2 William Clark-Bongert, Andrew Day, Breana Patzlaff

1 Hunter Cook and Grace Ruedinger

2 Christian DeYoung, Ethan Schneider, Quintin Stephens and TylerBergemann

1 Nicole Sperger and Hunter Cook

1 Cierra May and Nick Cutts

1 Alexa Halfmann and Mia Thiem, Madelyn Greer

1 Lizzie Grewal and Cassandra Jennings

1 Savannah Maczuzak, Hannah Silloway, Hannah Bond and Cierra May

2 Remi Mueller and Deanna Krahn

2 Aaliyah Wilson, Ashley Hernandez-Diaz, Cassie Huar, Cassandra Jennings

1 Hannah Yeomans and Lilly Schram

2 Kasha Albaugh and Nick Towne

1 Ethan Schneider, Christian DeYoung, Emily Kasuboski, Nevaeh Treptow

2 Bailey Long and Stephanie Ortega

2 Andrew Day, William Clark-Bongert, Justin Mildebrandt and Henry Walheim

2 Alex Jacobsen and Macenzie Powers 2 Kenzie Toombs, Kayla Plurkowski, Chloe Gurke, Deanna Krahn

2 Hunter Workowski, Austin Velie, Sebastian Crego, Noah Petasek

1 Austin Velie and Avery Downs

1 Avery Downs, Becca Bogucke, Susan Kutz, Samantha Stellmacher

M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 5

Solo & Ensemble Results

Trio 2 Alexa Halfmann, Caitlin Gehrke, Nicole Sperger

2 Susan Kutz, Hannah Silloway, Hannah Bond, Cierra May, Savannah Maczuzak, Cassandra

Jennings, Avery Downs, Becca Bogucke, Samantha Stellmacher

1 Bailey Long, Stephanie Ortega, Faith DeMotts, Meredith Brantley, Henry Walheim, Tyler

Bergemann, Quintin Stephens, Payton Rands, Justin Mildebrandt

1 Angela Millin, Grace Ruedinger, Macenzie Powers, Chloe Gurke, Deanna Krahn, Kenzie

Toombs, Callie Smith, Joslyn Godson, Ella Heiling

2 Aaliyah Wilson, Ashley Hernandez-Diaz and Cassie Huar

2 Breana Patzlaff, Abby Fox, Hailey Portz, Lily Huber, Nevaeh Treptow, Isabelle Osheim,

Katie Worthing, Briana Blackburn

1 Taylor Bruins , Artesa Elliott, Kayla Plurkowski, Ella Altnau, Alexis Keeler, Emily Edinger, Grace

Tobin, Haley Krumenauer, Lizzie Grewal

2 Amanda Beck, Abby Radloff, Jade Moreno-Valdez, Erika Mills, Avary Makarewicz,

Courtney England

M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 6

Annual 8th Grade Tour of Excellence

As an enrichment activity, the 8th

grade students will be taking a field

trip to three area colleges on April 6th

and 7th.

The trip is designed from the

comprehensive school counseling

model that sponsors the 8th grade

SPEC (Student and Parent

Education/Career) conferences.

Students will visit three prominent area

colleges and see for themselves the

opportunities that are available to

them.

More information will be coming

home soon. If you have any questions

about this field trip please contact Mr.

Arft.

Congratulations to the Stellar Spellers!

The 2017 CESA 6 Regional Spelling Bee was held in Oshkosh on February 14th. Approximately

40, fifth through eighth grade students from 15 school districts competed to determine two

finalists to advance to the state spelling bee in Madison. Four finalists from the Ripon Area School

District spelling bee competed in the CESA 6 Regional Bee:

Izaac Downie, RMS 8th grade

Dwight Koehler, RMS 8th grade

Delsoro Some, RMS 6th grade

Michael Nuenthel, RMS 6th grade

Spelling competition words ranged in difficulty from academy to croquette. In the end, two

female finalists were determined to advance to the state spelling bee in Madison next month.

Congratulations to our district finalists who competed at the regional level.

8th grade students from the WEB (Where

Everybody Belongs) Program accepted a

grant from the Webster Foundation in early

February. WEB is a middle school orientation

and transition program that welcomes 6th

graders and makes them feel comfortable

throughout the first year of their middle school

experience. Built on the belief that students

can help students succeed, the program

trains mentors from 8th grade to be WEB

leaders.

M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 7

Catalyst Charter Middle School held a Gallery Walk on Thursday, February 9th. Driving

Question: How do organisms play unique and important roles in their environment? After

receiving a request from a movie studio, students will work to create a model of a unique

organism and design its environment that will star in their next big sci-fi movie. Students will

investigate how organisms are classified, what types of behaviors or adaptations allow them

to survive, and the elements necessary in an environment to allow that organism to prosper.

Our thanks to the businesses and individuals who donated to help make the event a great

success!

M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 8

As part of their science class, Catalyst 8th graders are

learning about living organisms. The unit will include

examination, observation, and dissection of

preserved specimens obtained from commercial

science supply companies after appropriate

discussions and course work. Students will be

dissecting earthworms and frogs. This experience will

provide students with an appreciation for the

wonders of life and a wealth of knowledge related

to these organisms. The worm and frog have been

chosen to represent the various structures and

functions within the kingdom Animalia.

The physical education department recently

purchased new heart rate monitors through

the Ripon Education Foundation and are

beginning to use them in class. Each strapless

heart rate monitor features an electro-optical

cell to sense the volume of blood under the

skin and detect the heart’s true rhythm. Small

lights on the band flash colors during activity.

This light is an indicator for the user as to what

their current heart rate is. Green means “light,”

yellow means “moderate,” and red means

“vigorous”. With an iPad, the heart rates are

projected onto the wall so each student can

easily see the zone that they are in at all times.

At the end of class students can analyze the

following:

Date of their activity

Start time and duration of activity

Average/Maximum/Minimum heart rate

Calories burned

A chart displaying the percentage of

time spent in each heart rate zone

A real-time graph displaying activity

and heart rate zones

We had beautiful weather in mid to late

February. During this time, 7th grade RMS

students were investigating one of the main

signs of spring. Flowers were throughout the

classroom as we looked for their main

structures and investigated function of each

structure. Students also completed a

pollination and pollinator game to see the

factors that help plants reproduce.

In 7th grade RMS science, students wrapped up their

evolution unit. In this unit, we completed four

dissections of earthworms, crayfish, squid, and frogs.

In the dissections, students were able to investigate

the unity and diversity of these species. In addition to

the dissections, students completed mini-labs, made

Natural Selection Comics, went on a Google Trek to

the Galapagos Islands, and more.

M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 9

Organized by the Alliance for Excellent Education, Digital Learning Day was held on February 23rd.

This annual event, now in its sixth year, offers educators an opportunity to reflect and tell the story

-- and amplify the reach of these messages -- about how digital tools are empowering learning in

classrooms, schools, homes, and communities. RMS and Catalyst staff taught students how to

take action on the digital divide and bring digital learning to the next level!

So how and where to parents fit into this day? It’s not just for schools, that’s for sure! Parents are

encouraged to explore educational websites that inspire your child to adopt a mindset of inquiry.

Some websites are listed below.

www.wonderopolis.org http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/education/kids.html

www.flipsnack.com www.edutopia.org

M i d d l e S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Page 10

The 7th grade Catalyst students have

been busy learning the science

behind weather & water and their

impacts on groups of people. They

are tracking weather around the

world daily and will soon be creating

their own meteorology forecasts. They

also have been researching the

impact of climate & weather on some

of the ancient civilizations. They have

been paying close attention to the

roles that geographical features and

human interactions have on groups of

people and the world. The students

have been finding out first-hand all

that it takes for civilizations to develop

as they have been working diligently

in teams to create their own. We are

very excited to see the students'

creativity come through as they

continue to build their civilizations.

6th grade students have been working with printmaking.

The combination of using patterns, carving, and

professional printmaking techniques of using hand

pressed techniques and a printing press. 8th graders

have been combining ceramic techniques with research

of World cultures to create a ceramic mask.

Eating Healthy in Middle School

Eating healthy is vital and many

students do not realize the

importance. It helps boost

concentration and prevents

embarrassing stomach growls in

class. What can you do?

Pack your lunch the night before.

Mornings are stressful. Make things

easier by planning ahead.

Make a meal plan. Don’t eat the

same things every day. Try making a

weekly meal plan. Sandwich on

Monday, taco on Tuesday, etc.

Don’t forget to include fresh fruits &

veggies!

Don’t skip meals or throw away part

of your lunch. Even though your

friends might finish faster, take the

time to eat your lunch. Don’t talk too

much and try not to rush. Eat at your

own pace. Your friends will wait.