Middle Years Newsletter February, 2012

On a daily basis, the Mackintosh teachers, students, and parents are struck by the power of our community. I am a Middle Years lead teacher, and yet I am daily in awe of the connections that I feel with all of the students at Mackintosh. I love that a primary student runs up to me in the hallway to show me her new shoes. I love that a second grade girl drew a picture for me that is on my bulletin board. I love walking into the 3-4 classroom only to be greeted by fifteen waving hands wanting to share their latest science project with me. I love the morning salutations that the 5-6 students give me daily in the Middle Years locker room. Most of all, I love the camaraderie and bonds that have developed in my 7-8 classroom. This newsletter is dedicated to sharing glimpses of some of the memorable community moments from the last few months. ~Portia Hinshaw, Middle Years Lead Teacher

The Thrill of Community When Parent Representative Sharon Keck contacted our team of teachers about a creative solution for the 5th through 8th grade Halloween party, we absolutely loved her idea. Her proposal was to invite a dance instructor to come to our party and teach our combined classes the moves to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. When Mrs. Hinshaw told her students about this plan, she was met with guarded enthusiasm. On the day of the big event, we all entered the auditorium, and our students started their warm up to “The Monster Mash”. Our instructor, dressed in a cat costume, worked her magic. Students who initially balked at this idea were entranced by the music and the dancing. Within minutes, we were all learning the dance moves step by step. Within thirty minutes, we looked like a professional dance troupe. Everyone – students, parents, and teachers – simultaneously moved across the dance floor. This spirit of community left all of us beaming with delight!

Cal-Wood In December, the 7-8 grade classes from the Boulder and Littleton Mackintosh campuses spent four days together at Cal-Wood. This was a week of growing together through team building exercises and remarkable science lessons. Our motto of “One Vision, Two Campuses” resonated as the Mackintosh teachers watched our two groups bond. Though our trip was cut short due to a snowstorm, our spirit of community was strengthened by this positive experience!

CAL-WOOD DECEMBER, 2012

Romeo and Juliet

On February 3, we had yet another opportunity to connect with our Littleton 7-8 grade compatriots. Our class attended their fantastic production of Romeo and Juliet. This display of perfection was a huge inspiration for our students who are currently rehearsing for their performance of Excalibur! The Story of Young Arthur. As we left the theater, many of my students asked, “Do you think the Littleton students will come to our play?” My reply, “I am 100% sure that they would not miss it!”

Our Mackintosh Mountain Lion Basketball

Our 5-8 grade basketball team is the epitome of community! This team, under the leadership of Chad Bloehm, has been one of the greatest joys of the year for our students, teachers and parents. Watching these students cohere as athletes is amazing. For those of us who have watched them from the sidelines, we have seen a group of students who have improved their game every time they are on the basketball court.

Mrs. Hinshaw and Mrs. Steklac

Humanities, English, Science and Math

Alan (pre-haircut) created a power point

presentation about his trip to Egypt and presented it to our class.

Humanities In Humanities class, the 7-8 grade students are immersed in writing an essay on the Ripples of Religions. Each student is currently researching the history, tenets, social aspects, leadership and global impacts of Hinduism, Buddhism or Judaism. In addition, the class is steeped in our current unit, the Ripples of Human Creation, as we study the ancient cultures of India and China. As a teacher, I am continually impressed with my students’ interest in gaining knowledge of our global community; they are very much in line with the IB way of thinking. Our daily discussions are full of richness!

Mrs. Hinshaw’ Math Groups Both of Mrs. Hinshaw’s math groups are creating stock market portfolios. Mrs. Hinshaw “gave” each student $5000 to invest. After researching and choosing 3 to 5 companies, the students began the process of checking their stocks and recording data for a two week period. They will then make posters complete with graphs and spreadsheets that will show their overall profits and losses. Everyday students come into class buzzing about how their stocks are doing. One student who invested in Hershey has asked that I extend the project for an extra week, as she is sure her stocks will soar during the week of Valentine’s Day! Algebra I is studying exponent operations and exponential functions. PreAlgebra is learning about rates, ratios, and proportions.

Mrs. Steklac’s Math Groups Our Algebra I group is exploring proportions and examining the relationships between linear, square and volume scale factors. Our question is “Are you just a small giant?” In Geometry, it is all proofs and nothing but the proof as we move from the properties of quadrilaterals to similarity. Last but not least, in Algebra II we are looking at quadratic functions and the binomial theorem.

English In the month of January, the Middle Years students prepared for their trip to see the Littleton production of Romeo and Juliet by reading the book in English class. The depth of our class discussions was phenomenal. Whether discussing fate, star crossed lovers, family involvement in our relationships and the many layers of family dynamics, the class was willing to explore the lives of the Montagues and Capulets, as well as their own lives. I left class every day excited about my students’ ability to express themselves with such ease and clarity! All of the 7-8 grade students are rehearsing for Excalibur! The Story of Young Arthur. In class, we are reading Merlin, the Lost Years by T.A. Barron. Our next writing project will be to write a prequel for one of their favorite books. Weekly we study the mechanics of our English language through the process of diagramming sentences. I LOVE teaching students how to diagram sentences, as I enjoy watching them develop a better understanding of and appreciation for how to write expressive, clear sentences. My heart swells when my students say, “This is so much fun!”

Classroom News

Our 5-8 grade students are building the sets for our upcoming play. The Mackintosh teachers are so very proud of the work they are doing!

Upcoming Events

February 20, 2012 Presidents’ Day – No School March 1, 2012 Excalibur! The Story of Young Arthur – 10 am and 1 pm at the Dairy Center for the Performing Arts

Is it possible to support a textbook with only 7 sheets of newspaper? Our students can do it!

Science

In science our students have spent much of the last few moths discussing how to feed the world. We examined population growth and trends around the world and related these to our knowledge of agriculture to make predictions about the world food supply. Did you know that many scientists predict that we are currently at the planet’s carrying capacity? Recently the students wrote essays that were submitted to the “Dupont Challenge”, a North American contest for students. This experience allowed us to explore ways in which to make science interesting for a reader. Our students submitted essays on a range of topics including backyard chickens, the Paleolithic diet and teleportation. We are currently looking at human impacts on our earth and will be studying the importance of biodiversity. As a class we completed an ecological footprint survey. It turns out that if the entire world lived as we do, we need 6.5 planet earths to support us. Students were surprised to learn that our biggest contributor to this footprint is transportation. We have continued to use our wonderful lab facility as we have learned about the design cycle in technology and completed various labs on environmental impacts in science.