Important Dates
March 13 Daylight Saving Time change (don’t forget to change your clocks)
read more about it: http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/
March 15 8th grade vs. Faculty basketball game
March 21 Spring MAP testing begins (see below for schedule)
March 21 6th Grade Science Fair
March 22 Reading Games competition
March 29 Old Creamery Theatre (p.m.)
April 7 NICC STEM Fest (more info below)
8th grade vs Faculty Basketball Game
This game is a fundraiser- all money goes toward a scholarship for the 8th grade DC trip.
When: Tuesday, March 15th- after school until about 4:30/5
Where: DMS gym
Cost: $2 admittance
Additional info: option half-time half court shots- $1
Come cheer on the teachers, as they attempt to continue their winning streak!
Middle School Parents Still Make a Difference- NEW MARCH ISSUE
The Parent Institute (Education’s #1 Source for Parent Involvement Information) provides a free resource for parents of middle school aged students. The monthly publication provides articles relevant to issues middle schoolers (and their parents) face. Check it out out here.
Spring MAP testing
March 21-23 Language
March 28-31 Reading
April 4-6 Math
Safe School Reporting Form
Just a reminder- you can find a confidential online form to report bullying on the Decorah Middle School web site! Locate it here.
Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival
Families are invited to attend the Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival on Thursday, April 7 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Wilder Business Center, Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar. The festival is free and open to the public.
The goals of the festival are to promote, inspire and engage youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities and to introduce children and parents to STEM careers in their local communities.
More than 30 exhibits will feature hands-on, interactive STEM activities especially for 3rd-8th grade students and their families but all ages are welcome to attend. Attendees can travel a solar system in the digital planetarium, drive a robot, conduct amazing science experiments, explore the nursing field and much more!
Check out a quick promotional video: https://goo.gl/ZTlhwb
The Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival is a community-wide partnership led by Northeast Iowa Region Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at University of Northern Iowa, Northeast Iowa Business Network (in part, by the Iowa Economic Development Authority), Northeast Iowa Community College, Keystone AEA, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, IowaWORKS, and Upper Exploreland Regional Planning Commission.
CODING CONTEST (through NASA)
“Imagine Cup Earth” is open to ages 6-18 with two categories. There are two dates available to enter: March 31 and June 15. Tutorials and information are included when you visit the web site for more information and to register. https://www.imaginecup.com/earth?__af3b91cc=_af3b91cc Cash prizes are available. For more information contact Kathy Hay at [email protected].
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mr. Peterson: In science, we are beginning a learning unit in earth science. In reading, in 7th hour we are working on a whole class novel unit. In 1st hour, we are learning about how characters change over the course of a story. In writing, we are learning about complex sentences and have been working on some shorter writing assignments.
From Mrs. Nowack:
Science: This week we learned about net force, simple machines, motion, speed, velocity, and acceleration. We will have a test over Unit F (Forces, Motion, and Energy) on Monday, March 21st.
Reading: We have continued reading the Great Turkey Walk and our mini-lessons were focused on inferring.
Language: This week students researched their topics, took, analyzed, & organized their notes, wrote a rough draft, and turned in a final informational paragraph on Friday.
VIP: week of March 7- Brinley
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - We will have a quiz on Monday over Chapter 12. Chapter 13 is about the American Revolution.
Language - In language class, we will continue working on writing and proofreading skills. We will learn about words that are often confused.
From Mrs. Halweg: Your student took their Unit 8 math test today. I’ll be sending those home to share with you and get signed on Monday. Next week we’ll be learning about powers of ten and exponents. This is a very short unit. They will be assessed on this new knowledge either next Friday, March 18, or the following Monday, March 21, depending on how things go next week.
March 13 Daylight Saving Time change (don’t forget to change your clocks)
read more about it: http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/
March 15 8th grade vs. Faculty basketball game
March 21 Spring MAP testing begins (see below for schedule)
March 21 6th Grade Science Fair
March 22 Reading Games competition
March 29 Old Creamery Theatre (p.m.)
April 7 NICC STEM Fest (more info below)
8th grade vs Faculty Basketball Game
This game is a fundraiser- all money goes toward a scholarship for the 8th grade DC trip.
When: Tuesday, March 15th- after school until about 4:30/5
Where: DMS gym
Cost: $2 admittance
Additional info: option half-time half court shots- $1
Come cheer on the teachers, as they attempt to continue their winning streak!
Middle School Parents Still Make a Difference- NEW MARCH ISSUE
The Parent Institute (Education’s #1 Source for Parent Involvement Information) provides a free resource for parents of middle school aged students. The monthly publication provides articles relevant to issues middle schoolers (and their parents) face. Check it out out here.
Spring MAP testing
March 21-23 Language
March 28-31 Reading
April 4-6 Math
Safe School Reporting Form
Just a reminder- you can find a confidential online form to report bullying on the Decorah Middle School web site! Locate it here.
Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival
Families are invited to attend the Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival on Thursday, April 7 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Wilder Business Center, Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar. The festival is free and open to the public.
The goals of the festival are to promote, inspire and engage youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities and to introduce children and parents to STEM careers in their local communities.
More than 30 exhibits will feature hands-on, interactive STEM activities especially for 3rd-8th grade students and their families but all ages are welcome to attend. Attendees can travel a solar system in the digital planetarium, drive a robot, conduct amazing science experiments, explore the nursing field and much more!
Check out a quick promotional video: https://goo.gl/ZTlhwb
The Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival is a community-wide partnership led by Northeast Iowa Region Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at University of Northern Iowa, Northeast Iowa Business Network (in part, by the Iowa Economic Development Authority), Northeast Iowa Community College, Keystone AEA, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, IowaWORKS, and Upper Exploreland Regional Planning Commission.
CODING CONTEST (through NASA)
“Imagine Cup Earth” is open to ages 6-18 with two categories. There are two dates available to enter: March 31 and June 15. Tutorials and information are included when you visit the web site for more information and to register. https://www.imaginecup.com/earth?__af3b91cc=_af3b91cc Cash prizes are available. For more information contact Kathy Hay at [email protected].
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mr. Peterson: In science, we are beginning a learning unit in earth science. In reading, in 7th hour we are working on a whole class novel unit. In 1st hour, we are learning about how characters change over the course of a story. In writing, we are learning about complex sentences and have been working on some shorter writing assignments.
From Mrs. Nowack:
Science: This week we learned about net force, simple machines, motion, speed, velocity, and acceleration. We will have a test over Unit F (Forces, Motion, and Energy) on Monday, March 21st.
Reading: We have continued reading the Great Turkey Walk and our mini-lessons were focused on inferring.
Language: This week students researched their topics, took, analyzed, & organized their notes, wrote a rough draft, and turned in a final informational paragraph on Friday.
VIP: week of March 7- Brinley
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - We will have a quiz on Monday over Chapter 12. Chapter 13 is about the American Revolution.
Language - In language class, we will continue working on writing and proofreading skills. We will learn about words that are often confused.
From Mrs. Halweg: Your student took their Unit 8 math test today. I’ll be sending those home to share with you and get signed on Monday. Next week we’ll be learning about powers of ten and exponents. This is a very short unit. They will be assessed on this new knowledge either next Friday, March 18, or the following Monday, March 21, depending on how things go next week.