Important Dates
September 22- Instrument Recruitment Night/Parent Meeting- 7PM @DMS
(the “this is the instrument we recommend for your child” letter will come home on Wednesday)
September 23- Homecoming
September 26-27- No School (Inservice)
September 28- STEAM Day (we’re super excited about this….stay tuned!!!!)
Ala carte:
Students at the middle school can purchase food a’la carte. Lunch accounts are charged according to what the student purchases. These are items that would in addition to the regular meal charge. We are seeing many students purchase a’la carte. Please be sure to have a conversation with your child about a’la carte purchases as expenses add up quickly (and we don’t want you to be surprised!). There is a feature of the lunch account program that allows you to block or limit these purchases, if needed. You can log on to your account and make those changes. You may call Kristi Roffman at 382-4208 for assistance.
Planner writing:
Students have been learning about using the planner to keep track of assignments. At the middle school, we are moving toward independence and do not require parents to sign planners, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look at it to guide your student. We encourage parents to check the planner and encourage good study habits.
Middle School Parents Still Make a Difference- September 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.
Study Buddies:
All DMS students are invited to Room 220 (Mrs. Suhr’s room) after school Monday - Thursday until 4:00 to have a quiet place to do work. Staying for Study Buddies is voluntary; students come when they have homework to do and only stay until their work is done! If your child is interested, ask for or have them get a form from their PrimeTime teacher and return the form to school. Be sure to communicate with your child about where to go or meet you when they are done each day.
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mrs. Halweg:
Math- Your student completed their first math test this week. I was impressed by all of the skills they demonstrated to me on these! We started our second topic at the end of the week. Our new topic is adding and subtracting decimals to the hundredths. We’ll be learning about and practicing these skills for approximately the next two weeks.
From Mr. Kelley:
Social Studies - We began studying how American Indians adapted to different environments in North America.
Reading and Language: Students were taught how to peer edit in writing. In reading students began the routine of writing a reading response letter. Each week students will write a letter to the teacher explaining what they are reading, summarizing main events, and describing their thoughts about the story.
*Reading response letters and some of the students assigned work will be online using our learning management system (Canvas). Students have this website bookmarked. The url is http://decorah.instructure.com. Each student has a unique username and password.
From Mrs. Nowack:
Science: This week’s lessons focused on systems and subsystems. We’ve spent a few days learning about the Earth as a system and the biosphere as a subsystem. On Friday three high school students came to our class to teach us about how redworms work to recycle and turn waste into compost (which is all part of the biosystem)! We will have an assessment over living systems next Wednesday.
Reading: This week’s lessons focused on genre, setting, character traits, and plot.
Students are expected to read at least two good-fit “IR” (independent reading) books/quarter (most students will read many more than this). Books should come to school each day and go home each night.
Language: This week students finished their collaborate posters showcasing the six pillars of good character and we began a writing unit on memoirs.
VIP: Next week’s VIP is Alex
From Mr. Peterson:Science: We have been going to the creek to learn about ecosystems. Reading and Writing: We have been studying characters in narrative text. Check out our classroom website: peterson210.edublogs.org
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - The first test was great! Many students did well, and I am so pleased! We have started our next unit of study on Native American tribes in the U.S. before Europeans came to the continent.
Language - Spelling lists are always handed out on Friday for the next week. Spelling tests are always on the last day of the week. We are practicing grammar and writing skills through DLR and Daily Writing. The students respond to daily writing prompts using Google Docs. We have also started the first writing unit “Memoirs”. Students are hearing samples of Memoirs, discussing features of Memoirs, and brainstorming ideas of what to write about.
September 22- Instrument Recruitment Night/Parent Meeting- 7PM @DMS
(the “this is the instrument we recommend for your child” letter will come home on Wednesday)
September 23- Homecoming
September 26-27- No School (Inservice)
September 28- STEAM Day (we’re super excited about this….stay tuned!!!!)
Ala carte:
Students at the middle school can purchase food a’la carte. Lunch accounts are charged according to what the student purchases. These are items that would in addition to the regular meal charge. We are seeing many students purchase a’la carte. Please be sure to have a conversation with your child about a’la carte purchases as expenses add up quickly (and we don’t want you to be surprised!). There is a feature of the lunch account program that allows you to block or limit these purchases, if needed. You can log on to your account and make those changes. You may call Kristi Roffman at 382-4208 for assistance.
Planner writing:
Students have been learning about using the planner to keep track of assignments. At the middle school, we are moving toward independence and do not require parents to sign planners, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look at it to guide your student. We encourage parents to check the planner and encourage good study habits.
Middle School Parents Still Make a Difference- September 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.
Study Buddies:
All DMS students are invited to Room 220 (Mrs. Suhr’s room) after school Monday - Thursday until 4:00 to have a quiet place to do work. Staying for Study Buddies is voluntary; students come when they have homework to do and only stay until their work is done! If your child is interested, ask for or have them get a form from their PrimeTime teacher and return the form to school. Be sure to communicate with your child about where to go or meet you when they are done each day.
NEWS FLASH!!
From Mrs. Halweg:
Math- Your student completed their first math test this week. I was impressed by all of the skills they demonstrated to me on these! We started our second topic at the end of the week. Our new topic is adding and subtracting decimals to the hundredths. We’ll be learning about and practicing these skills for approximately the next two weeks.
From Mr. Kelley:
Social Studies - We began studying how American Indians adapted to different environments in North America.
Reading and Language: Students were taught how to peer edit in writing. In reading students began the routine of writing a reading response letter. Each week students will write a letter to the teacher explaining what they are reading, summarizing main events, and describing their thoughts about the story.
*Reading response letters and some of the students assigned work will be online using our learning management system (Canvas). Students have this website bookmarked. The url is http://decorah.instructure.com. Each student has a unique username and password.
From Mrs. Nowack:
Science: This week’s lessons focused on systems and subsystems. We’ve spent a few days learning about the Earth as a system and the biosphere as a subsystem. On Friday three high school students came to our class to teach us about how redworms work to recycle and turn waste into compost (which is all part of the biosystem)! We will have an assessment over living systems next Wednesday.
Reading: This week’s lessons focused on genre, setting, character traits, and plot.
Students are expected to read at least two good-fit “IR” (independent reading) books/quarter (most students will read many more than this). Books should come to school each day and go home each night.
Language: This week students finished their collaborate posters showcasing the six pillars of good character and we began a writing unit on memoirs.
VIP: Next week’s VIP is Alex
From Mr. Peterson:Science: We have been going to the creek to learn about ecosystems. Reading and Writing: We have been studying characters in narrative text. Check out our classroom website: peterson210.edublogs.org
From Mrs. Suhr:
Social Studies - The first test was great! Many students did well, and I am so pleased! We have started our next unit of study on Native American tribes in the U.S. before Europeans came to the continent.
Language - Spelling lists are always handed out on Friday for the next week. Spelling tests are always on the last day of the week. We are practicing grammar and writing skills through DLR and Daily Writing. The students respond to daily writing prompts using Google Docs. We have also started the first writing unit “Memoirs”. Students are hearing samples of Memoirs, discussing features of Memoirs, and brainstorming ideas of what to write about.