South Lake NewsSouth Lake Middle School • 655 West Yale Loop • Irvine, CA 92614 • (949) 936-6700 • http://www.southlakems.orgWinter 2010 Vol 16.2

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents:

I hope this winter newsletter finds your family healthy, happy, andrested and enjoying the start of our New Year. As we approach themid-point in our academic year, I would like to share how inspiringand delightful I continue to find our South Lake students. This istruly a marvelous place to come to “work” each day.

Having just concluded another holiday season, I would like to sharea gift idea that we may all think about and consider, but too oftendon’t act upon frequently enough. That idea, of course, is to give ourkids the gift of our time and attention. While the holidays are alreadypast – this seems like a good time to re-introduce an old idea for aNew Year’s resolution.

Even though our middle school age kids may at first act a little bitembarrassed or reluctant, the truth is that nothing is as memorable asa parent’s time and undivided attention. It is a flexible gift suitable

for any age, scheduleand budget. This year,along with the giftsyour child may havealready received, whynot ask your child tochoose an additionalgift that will bring youtogether for a time youcan all share and smileabout in the years tocome. So, here aresome personalfavorites that youmight find rewarding– and if your child stillseems too reluctantabout taking you upyour offer of somegood, old-fashioned,“bonding time,” youcan always share thisnews letter article andblame it on me.

For the studentinterested in art:Plan a visit to a localart exhibit or museum.Over this last year, mywife and I have takenfriends to our localBowers Museum inSanta Ana to see thespecial exhibits thatcome to town. Wehave been incrediblyimpressed with the

quality and high interest of the exhibits, and wondered why wehaven’t spent more time at this little gem, right in our own backyard.After visiting the museum, browse in the museum gift shop, and letyour child select postcards or prints of favorite paintings or items thatare on display.

For the student who loves to cook (or eat): Offer to help your childplan and prepare a meal or special dessert for the family or friends.You can plan the menu, look up recipes, do the shopping, and thenhelp your child create that favorite gourmet feast. I have been amazedat how much both of my sons have loved cooking and how much funthey have had in putting something special together. The experiencecan also be a bit hilarious if everyone is in the right mood.

For the student who enjoys family games: Buy your student one ofthose great new board games, or stick to an old favorite likeMonopoly or Scrabble. Even if it’s only a simple card game, kidslove the opportunity to compete against their parents and other fami-ly members. If you want to consider one of the many new computergames on the market, then chose one that’s interactive and involvesplaying with other members of the family. Just remember to laugh alot and have fun, and think of some goofy prize for the winner andloser.

For the student who enjoys music: Scan the newspapers for localconcerts or dinner theater offerings. In Irvine, our high schools offerevening performances that are truly close to professional. Call eachhigh school’s Activities Office for details. Everybody loves music.As a way of staying in touch with my two sons’ musical tastes, whenthey were young or when they now come back to town, we still makean evening of playing our favorite CDs for each other. And whetherI download it off the net or buy a CD on-line (or at one of the fewmusic stores that are left), I ask them to find a compact disc or twothat they not only want, but that they think I will enjoy as well. It’sgreat to come home and listen to the music together. You might besurprised at how much new music is out there that both you and yourkids will enjoy.

For the student who loves nature: Spend an afternoon with yourchild at a local nature center or wilderness park – the Turtle RockNature Center, Casper’s Park, and the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary area few that come to mind. Of course a fishing trip out on one of theNewport Beach or Dana Point fishing boats might not only put foodon the table, but an opportunity to observe whales, sharks, seals andsting rays as well. And of course there’s always surfing, and there is hardly a better experience then paddling out with your child, which isan activity that you can continue for years to come. You might wantto set up a bird feeder in your yard and give your child a bird identi-fication book. Irvine is located right next to two of the finest birdwatching areas in the Western United States – the Upper NewportBay and the Irvine Marsh.

For the student who likes to read – or who should read more: Visita bookstore together and pick out several books and magazines thatyour child will enjoy. While looking, try to find some good readaloud material for those long car rides.

For the child who’s crazy about sports: The opportunities here aremany and can fit any budget. Take in a game at one of our IUSD high

In This IssuePrincipal’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1

Mile Challenge Fund Raiser . . . . . . . . . page 2

PTSA President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . page 2

Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

2009 Fund Raiser Supporters. . . . . . . . . page 3

Extended Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Counseling Dept. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Red Ribbon Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Home Hospital Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Principal’s Honor Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 5

Asst Principal & South Lake

Honor Rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6

Harvest Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7

Patriot’s Pen Youth Essay Contest . . . . . page 7

Middle School Youth Conference . . . . . page 7

Irvine Hoops Classic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7

Irvine Chargers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7

Science News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 8

Color Guard Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 9

Physical Education News. . . . . . . . . . . . page 9

Family Life Parent Preview Night. . . . . page 9

Community Notice of Qualified Staff . page 10

Each One Teach One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 10

Spanish News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 10

ASB Answers the Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 11

What Does the Library Mean to You? page 11

10 Hot New Titles for Reading . . . . . . page 11

Humanities News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 12

Math News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 13

English Language Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . page 14

Performing Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 15

South Lake School Calendar . . . . . . . . page 16

Active Parenting of Teens . . . . . . . . . . . . Insert

(Continued on page 2)

South Lake’s AnnualMile Challenge Fund Raiser

The Seventh Annual South Lake Mile Challenge FundRaiser is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, February 23,2010. The Mile Challenge is held as an opportunity for students and staff to improve their cardiovascular and muscularendurance while raising much-needed funds for South Lake!

On February 23, during their physical education classes, students willrun one mile in preparation for their final physical fitness tests later thisspring. On this special day, in addition to running the mile and improv-ing upon their “personal best” times for the year, students also partici-pate in fundraising by donating “pledges” they have collected for thisevent. Proceeds from the Mile Challenge will support our physical edu-cation program, lunch time sports program, academic competitions,technology support and other engaging curriculum enrichment activitiesat South Lake.

Students who participate in the fundraiser will have an opportunity towin some great raffle prizes! Your student will be receiving more infor-mation about the Mile Challenge and raffle soon.

South Lake would also like to give a very special thanks to our PTSA,especially Mile Challenge Committee Chairs Carol Howard and BrendaManos, along with our parent volunteers for helping to make ourfundraiser a success.

We look forward to a great day of fun and exercise!

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PTSA President’s MessageWelcome back from Winter Break! At South Lake weare so fortunate to have a winning combination of dedicated staff, talented students and enthusiastic parents. As we begin a new year, it’s amazing to lookback and see all that we have already accomplished byworking together. Many thanks are due to MaureenParker and Carol Howard for all of their hard workwith our Direct Donation Drive. Our drive was ahuge success, with our South Lake families contribut-ing over $18,000 with the highest participation percentage we’ve ever had. We are grateful to you all!

In upcoming PTSA events, our student participationevent, The Mile Challenge will take place onTuesday, February 23rd. For this fundraiser, students will collect donations and then run the mileduring their individual PE periods. Money raised fromthis event will be used immediately to support schoolactivities and programs. Students will have an oppor-tunity to win some great prizes for collecting donations. Watch for a packet of information to comehome in February.

To update everyone on PTSA News, the nominatingprocess for the 2010-2011 PTSA Board is currentlyunderway. Lori Beresini is our Parliamentarian andwould love to hear from you if you are interested inbeing an officer or committee chair. Any of the current officers or chairs would be happy to tell youabout their position. Give them a call. Their namesand numbers are in the front of our school directoryand on the South Lake website. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to make a difference for SouthLake and your child. We are always looking for newfaces and fresh ideas!

Also, mark your calendar for the upcoming parentnight with School Board President Sharon Wallin onWednesday, March 3rd at 7:00 p.m. As some of youmay know, the Irvine school district is looking atanother level of unprecedented cuts in the budget.Sharon is not only this year’s school board Presidentbut also was the first PTSA President at South Lakewhen it opened. As a result she has a special place inher heart for South Lake and its parents, staff and students. Come join us for an informal discussion onwhat is going on at the district level and how yourchild’s education might be impacted.

Finally, everyone is invited to attend the next generalPTSA meetings which will take place on Wednesday,February 24, 2010 at 9:00 am. We will meet at SouthLake in the Professional Conference Room.

Once again, thank you for making South Lake such anamazing place for our children to grow and learn.

Sincerely,Cathy HaneySouth Lake PTSA, President

schools, or go to one of the manyprofessional games located nearby.Of course, you can always watchan important game on televisiontogether. And even if your childplays for one of the many Irvinesports leagues, still insist that youboth set aside time for some parent/child play time – whetherbasketball, baseball, soccer, foot-ball or tennis. (I use to tell my sonsthat they could only play on asport’s team if they still set asidetime just to play with me.)

Thanks for letting me share somefavorite ideas. On behalf of theentire South Lake staff, we wishyou all a healthy and joyous NewYear full of the most precious giftof all – a time of laughter and sharing with your child.

Sincerely,

Bruce BaronPrincipal

Principal’s Message(Continued from page 1)

PTSAReflectionContest

This year’s PTSAR e f l e c t i o n sProgram was a

great success. There were over 1,000student entries throughout the IrvineUnified School District. The theme,Beauty is…, was represented by thestudents of South Lake with entries inthese three categories: literature, photography, and visual arts. In litera-ture, Catherine Manning placed 1stwith her entry entitled, “Haiku,” ChuliZeng took 2nd place with her entryentitled, “What is Beauty?” For photography, Keely Hamilton placed1st with her entry entitled, “Make aWish,” and Ryne Nakama took 2ndwith her entry entitled, “Beauty isNature.” Lastly, in the visual arts category, Bryan Jun placed 1st with hisentry entitled, “The Prominent Player,”Rae Holcomb took 2nd with her entryentitled, “Beauty in the Eye of theBeholder,” and Alitzel Coll took 3rdwith her entry entitled, “BeautifulSwans.” Congratulations go out to allwho participated in this year’s program! Thank you to Kari Hamiltonand Deinyell Vollucci for coordinatingthis activity for our students.

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A Huge

Thank YouTo our Direct Donation Fund Raiser Supporters

It is with sincere appreciation that we thank and recognize the contributors to our Direct Donation Drive. Together, we raised over $18,000dollars to be used for programs that directly benefit our South Lake Middle School students. Our school is so very fortunate to have such awonderful community of caring and dedicated supporters. In addition to 41 donors who wish to remain anonymous, we thank:

Adam Chandler’s FamilyAhmady FamilyAidee SuarezAlan & Rosita PetersonAlex & Sainab OwenatiAmir Asgarynejad & Ladan KamalalAna Nelson’s FamilyAndrew Hong’s FamilyAntonio & Aurora GomezArlin & Allison NeserBabayi FamilyBahram Esfahan & Regina LopezBalboa BrandsBonnie SharpBoyul Kim’s FamilyBreckenridge FamilyBryant & Ay GearyCartersChad SharpDavid & Jeremy HellierDavid BakerDavid Guhin’s FamilyDebbie & Michael SagorinDeinyell VollucciDiana TabataDiane JeshurinDsng TrinhEriko YoshidaEru Dikic & Savas DikiciFator FamilyFrei Family, Teresa & MichaelGirlie & Aurelio YuGloria LoHardcastle FamilyHongsup & Hyebin KangHussam & Danielle DarwishIan & Alicia LepatanIra & Barbara ForkishIrene Kort & William UgaideJain FamilyJames UlwellingJessica CasseseJiwoo FamilJohn & Marie ParkJonathan Grahl’s FamilyJong-Lay & Woo Suk ChoJoseph & Jan TerranovaJoseph PaivaJoy & Jonah BonnerJustin Park’s FamilyK. EbrahamianKai Ming Shang & Yue-Qin YaoKaren BlurtonKatie Mukai’s FamilyKeely Hamilton’s FamilyKelli Robinson’s FamilyKent & Bebelyn Egenberger

Khoi TrinhKiana Panbechi’s FamilyKimberley BrileyKimberly LawKoan Hoang-LassaKyeung KimLam TrinhLee & Oh FamilyLien Chelsea BrandonLuis Eduardo & Dawn RamirezLynn & Jeff KruegerM. Tadahide KadonoMakhi Hornyak’s FamilyManos FamilyMaria ParkMaria-Lourdes ZamoraMarie and Jim FormbyMasafumi NakaMichael and Toni LavacotMike & Arlene StokesMorteza YadollahiMr. Akihiko MutoMr. Eran VinerMr. Frank GuMr. Jeral HerbertMr. Kulasekaran DasarathanMr. Monalito SoifuaMr. Nobuo YoshinoMr. Parveez ShaikhMr. Parviz ArefianMr. Sheik ShahabudeenMr. Thomas NguyenMr. Wen-Ching ChangMrs. Anna-Liza TupasMrs. Kathy EnsafMrs. Serina Dutcher-CentersMrs. Tammie FoliakiMs. Nancy Turner EconomMs. Tracie RobeckNaima ArifiNancy McGinnNicholas Irvine’s FamilyNicole & Maria BatesNora GriegoOrlando & Caridad SalongaPamela & Bryan BrundellParker Hannifin FoundationPaul & Michong KimPenny SandzimierPeter & Peggy AmmermannPhil-Joong/SekyungPrice FamilyRae Holcomb’s FamilyRay & Jennifer DiazReza YadollahiRomy & Dinah BrucalRose Sanders

Ruben & Monica RojasRukshana ManelyRyan Leuteritz’s FamilySachin & Madhuri DatarSalem FamilySam and Mary SuSam Hasday’s FamilySangun Cho & Kyunghee HanSaqib BokhariSara Hasday’s FamilySarah Hood’s FamilySchultz FamilySharon GrahamShelly Van AmburgSherwin RuoffSierra Langager’s FamilySophia Seo’s FamilySquyres FamilySue and J.D. FallonTakayuki Hori & Cathy ChouTalia Azadian’s FamilyTatiana Mojica’s FamilyTe Schneble FamilyTeresa Ho’s FamilyTeresa YadollahiTerri KerrThe Abe FamilyThe Alonzo FamilyThe Aminian FamilyThe Astrup FamilyThe Ayala FamilyThe Badea FamilyThe Bartell FamilyThe Beresini FamilyThe Branin FamilyThe Branin FamilyThe Brown FamilyThe Bruss FamilyThe Bruss FamilyThe Bushey FamilyThe Chang FamilyThe Chen FamilyThe Chiha FamilyThe Christensen FamilyThe Clayfield FamilyThe Dallas FamilyThe Dingess FamilyThe Duke FamilyThe Eisendrath FamilyThe Falcone’sThe Feinerman FamilyThe Fitzgerald FamilyThe Franklin FamilyThe Fukase FamilyThe GhummansThe Giberson FamilyThe Goheen Family

The Griffin FamilyThe Haney FamilyThe Hartmayer FamilyThe Hattori FamilyThe Howard FamilyThe Howard FamilyThe Hozumi FamilyThe Kerr FamilyThe King FamilyThe Klopfer FamilyThe Lark FamilyThe Leigh FamilyThe Lenardson FamilyThe Lenney FamilyThe Manning FamilyThe Manship/McNatt FamilyThe Manship/McNatt FamilyThe Merritt FamilyThe Milligan FamilyThe Mindiak FamilyThe Mishra FamilyThe Muller FamilyThe Myong FamilyThe Nakama FamilyThe Nguyen FamilyThe Nino FamilyThe Numamoto FamilyThe O’Keefe FamilyThe Omiya FamilyThe Pan FamilyThe Parker FamilyThe Ragland FamilyThe Reidy FamilyThe Sadlik FamilyThe Schiazzano FamilyThe Schiller FamilyThe Sheparovich FamilyThe Stallings FamilyThe Suh FamilyThe Taylor FamilyThe Tran FamilyThe Tsai FamilyThe Tully FamilyThe Ulwelling FamilyThe Verma FamilyThe Vliss FamilyThe Ward FamilyThe Zhuang FamilyTodd & Judy SilverbergTom RossiTony & Dana FahrVickie SineVickie SineVincent Le’s FamilyWagh FamilWonbin Jo’s FamilyXiao Nan Liang

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Counseling and Guidance DepartmentThe South Lake Counseling Department continues to expand its Guidance program to include presentations on Goal Setting, calculating gradepoint averages, reading a transcript, high school preparedness, career awareness, cyber-bulling, effective study skills and test taking strategies.

This month, counselors, Mrs. Kaminsky and Mrs. Holcomb, met with all eighth graders to review the process of transitioning to high schooland to explore school to career opportunities. Using California Career Zone www.careerzone.com , eighth grade students took interest inven-tories and garnered information on high school pathways and career options Guidance lessons reviewing Test Taking, Internet Safety andCareer Education are planned later in the school year.

The South Lake Counseling and Guidance Department hopes that these varied classroom activities provide ALL students with essential infor-mation to assist them both academically and socially.

IUSDIn-Home and Hospital Teaching

Due to Illness or InjuryOccasionally, students fall victim to a seriousillness or sustain a serious injury during theschool year. When this occurs and it is antic-ipated that the affliction will keep the studentout of school for a period of three-weeks orlonger, the parent or guardian should contactthe school and inquire about In-Home andHospital (H&H) Teaching Services. If H&Hteaching is deemed appropriate, theparent/guardian and school principal (or their designee) will com-plete fully their portion of the H&H Teaching Request Form andthe parent will take the Request Form to the student’s attendingmedical doctor for completion. A critical step in the process: theparent must secure the medical doctor’s full completion of theRequest Form and immediately deliver the original document tothe H&H Teaching Services Office for home teaching services tobe initiated. Incomplete requests will delay initiation of H&HTeaching. The H&H Teaching Services administrator must reviewand approve all requests for H&H Teaching Services. If therequest is approved, the office staff assigns a specific teacher toprovide services, notifies the school office of the initiation of H&HTeaching, and notifies the parent. The H&H Teacher then contactsthe parent to arrange an appointment schedule with the student andparent in the home. Additionally, the H&H Teacher contacts thestudent’s neighborhood school teacher(s) to acquire appropriateinstructional materials, lessons for the period of the student’sabsence, and any additional guidance or directions. The H&HTeacher’s primary role: serve as a conduit between the student’steacher(s) and the student to guide, assist, and instruct the studentwith their studies during their absence from class(es). The goals ofH&H Teaching are two-fold: 1) to help keep the student currentwith their studies while they are absent from class(es); and, 2) tofacilitate a smooth transition back into class(s) at the end of theabsence. Another critical step at the end of the process: the parentmust secure the attending physician’s completion of the Physician’sRelease to Return to School indicating the student can return toschool and with whatever limitations or accommodations, if any,the student and school must adhere to upon the student’s releasefrom H&H teaching and return to school. A special note: Studentson H&H Teaching are actually withdrawn from the neighborhoodschool during the time of their absence and placed on the H&HTeaching Services roll. This action is done in accordance withState of California attendance-keeping practices; however, it doesnot sever the relationship of the student with their neighborhoodschool and teacher(s). The H&H Teaching Services Office islocated on the Creekside Education Center campus at 3387Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA 92606.

Extended LearningSouth Lake Middle School offers an ExtendedLearning program that assists students who areacademically at risk or need additional support.Students who have not yet scored at the proficientlevel on standardized tests in mathematics or reading, or who are not making satisfactoryprogress in these subject area classes, qualify forExtended Learning opportunities. Many SouthLake students have been attending after schoolclasses since early fall and continue to makeprogress towards proficiency as they take advantage of this opportunity.

There is no charge for Extended Learning classes,although consistent attendance is imperative. Ourclasses meet weekly and are taught by credentialedSouth Lake staff. If you are interested in findingout more about Extended Learning, please contactthe school counselor, Lynn Kaminsky at949.936.6713.

South Lake Middle SchoolRed Ribbon Week

South Lake celebrated Red Ribbon Week duringthe month of October. Students participated in avariety of activities including student pledges to bedrug free and activities focusing on healthy choices.Additionally, several of our students participated inboth the Red Ribbon art and essay contests.Honorable mentions went to: Catherine Kang,Joanne Kim, Tristan Lee-Jones, Bryan Jun, SaraSarpas and Eugene Lee. Our finalists, Chuli Zeng,Sara Zhara, Katie Eisendrath, Neha Sheik and TyChristensen, were honored at Irvine City Hall.

The ASB leadership class and our City of IrvineYouth Action Team (YAT) also planned additionallunchtime activities encouraging healthy choices.

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Principal’s Honor Roll

These students qualified for the principal’s Honor Roll for the 1st trimester of 2009-2010.

These students earned a grade point average of 4.0. This is a remarkable accomplishment!

Congratulations!

Hideyuki AdachiKrystal Mae Aldaca

Christian AlonteAlexander Babayi

Anthony BadeaEmilie Birchler

Madison BradleyDylan Bruss

Trevor BusheyMichaela CanlasKayla Cassese

Breana CervantesAli ChaudharyCatherine ChenBenjamin ChenTy Christensen

Brahmam ChunduriJessica Dallas

Sana DatarAmit David

Katelyn EisendrathAleene El-Khoury

Nicole GentileTinarpan Ghumman

Min Dao GoheenSierra Griffin

Kevin GuYalda Haidrey

Keely HamiltonMackenzie HaneyJames HardcastleSagiv Hartmayer

Sara HasdayIbuki HattoriGavin Heim

Jang-Hwan HongAndrew HongAyaka Hozumi

Jun Sang HwangMiki Ikoma

Tahlil IslamAashi Jain

Mona JajiehJae Hyun Jang

Wonbin JoJong Min Jun

Shinya KadonoCatherine KangMi Hyeon Kang

Sarah KentNika Khoobiyary

Yewon KimJoanne KimSharon KimBoyul Kim

Lauren KimRobert King

Jennifer KodiaYuta Kondo

James LavacotQuoc Viet LeEugene Lee

Anna LenneyCharisse Lo

Alexei Mc AllisterShayan Mehrshahi

Nicole MilladoMadeline Milligan

Belinda MoKatharine MukaiAyana MurakamiCatherine Myong

Nahoko NakaNicolaus NeserKaitlin Nguyen

Kimberly NguyenRomina Nouri

Scott NumamotoJethro Ray OgenaSamantha Omiya

Kiana PanbechiJoseph Park

Elisabeth ParkJi Ah Park

Divya PrajapatiSojung Pyun

Hannah RaglandClaire Reidy

Roberto RojasChandler Ruoff

Romi SadlikIsaac Salvatierra

Johnathan SchiazzanoChelsea Seelig

Larisa SheparovichChris ShinAustin Sly

Huimin SongLauren Su

Andrea SuhRyan Taylor

Snaheth ThumathyAlexander Tran

Anna Nicole TupasKylie Turi

Kalina VelikovaMahima Verma

Thorvaldur VilhjalmssonJulius Vo

Nicholas VollucciCatherine VuAdam Weiner

Courtney WidermanYasmine Yadollahi

Risa YoshidaAlyssa Mykee Yu

Chuli ZengLucy ZhuangBelma Zigic

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South Lake’s Honor RollThese students qualified for the South Lake Honor Roll for the 1st trimester of 2009-2010, earning a grade point average of 3.0 to 3.49, andno more than one "N" and no "U" in citizenship and work habits. Congratulations!

Daisuke Abe

Matthew Abrams

Vasila Ahmad

Leyla Akansel

Ryan Alonzo

E. Henry Ammermann

Ansh Arora

Deziree Ayala

Atawulla Azimi

Michael Baker

Zachary Bartell

Jovan Berry

Gabrielle Bozmarov

Truman Brown

Ariel Bruss

Alyssa Camarena

Kevin Chavez

Corey Cheser

George Cheung

Tamara Chiha

Hyun Cho

Alitzel Coll

Zion Crosby

Selen Dikici

Hiram Dunn

Rachel Eichelberger

Tatiana Estrada

Thomas Fallon

Kelly Fator

Timothy Ferido

Breanna Fitzgerald

Nicolas Foguet

Noah Forkish

Nicholle Frei

Anthony Galustyan

Michael Garcia

Jonathan Grahl

David Guhin

John Henderson

Mariah Jackson

Kristofer Jati

Madeline Jeshurin

Haley Jewell

Clarissa Jurado

Valentin Kaigorodtsev

Rachel Kelly

Andrea Kerr

Rayna Kerr

Bakhtiar Khataw

Louis Kim

Parker Kirsten

Caitlyn Krueger

Folasade Lawal

Heather Lenardson

Ryan Leuteritz

Laura Lodin

Aaron Mandler

Kristen Marshall

Jefferson Mc Linden

Courtney Mc Natt

Jessy Melchior

David Mendoza

Aarya Mishra

Briannan Mitchell

Kyle Mohan

Emily Moon

Kiyan Mullen

Dara Muller

Quinton Murray-Conn

Shamsedeen Nahidi

Nathan Nguyen

Irma Ortega

Fatima Pineda

London Pinkney

Natasha Pishchenko

Dion Rad

Austin Rae

Walid Rahyab

Marissa Remington

Ivanna Rodriguez

Gabi Sagorin

Elijah Saldana

Rachael Savage

Alexander Sherman

Austin Silva

Nicholas Sine

Andrew Sjostrand

Anastasia Smith

Matthew Sparks

Benjamin Stallings

John Stevens

Jake Strand

Aaron Suzuki

Amanda Tarwater

Dylan Tran

Emily Tran

Tanner Twork

Omar Uraizee

Rishabh Wig

Sephora Zinzun

Assistant Principal’s Honor RollThese students qualified for the assistant principal’s Honor Roll for the 1st trimester of the 2009-2010 school year. These studentsearned a grade point average of 3.5 to 3.9. Congratulations on your fantastic work!

Ramin Aminian

Amir Aref Arefian

Carolyn Astrup

Talia Azadian

Tianna Barton

Parmida Behmardi

Kalantari

Peyton Beresini

Ben Berkow

Jonah Bonner

Brandy Bowman

Tyler Branin

Casey Branin

Christine Breckenridge

Ellison Briley

Lauren Brown

Jan Brucal

Adelle Bunch

Analis Carrillo

Adam Chandler

Reilly Chang

Chih-Sen Chang

Andrea Chiha

Shang Qing Chuah

Alexa Clayfield

Taaj Darwish

Alexandra Dingess

Timothy Dinh

Jacob Duke

Seth Dunn

Adrian Eastman

Heather Egenberger

Ryan Eisendrath

David Esquibel

nthony Falcone

Malalai Fazilat

Eliana Feinerman

Joshua Foliaki

Madeline Franklin

Taiga Fukase

Christopher Garibay

Chayla Gedega

Leandra Gharabegi

Nicholas Giberson

Sara Graham

Wesley Heston

Brandon Hightower

Teresa Ho

Alexandra

Hoevelkamp

Rae Holcomb

Sarah Hood

Emily Hori

Alexander Howard

Hannah Howard

Ching Hsi

Leo Hyodo

Nicholas Irvine

Kyle Ito

Corey Ito

Iman Jaberi

Arad Javaheri

Zoie Johnson

Raza Khataw

Hamza Khwaja

Kathleen Killion

Suk Kim

Hannah Kim

Dong Woo Kim

Yeon Ju Kim

Daniel Kim

Jessica Kim

Ye Jin Kim

Armand Kirshman

Jared Klopfer

Shlok Kulasekaran

Sierra Langager

Khalia Lark

Vincent Thien-Tri Le

Seo Lee

Alexander Lee

Seoho Lee

Hyun Lee

Tristan Lee-Jones

Taylor Leigh

Michael Lin

Ethan Lynch

Makeez Manely

Catherine Manning

Emily Manos

Dallin Mask

Megan Merritt

Michael Mindiak

Brian Moghaddam

Tatiana Mojica

Isaiah Montenegro

Emely Morales

Jazmine Moreno

Claire Nagel

Ryne Nakama

Anastassia Nelson

Brian Ngo

James Ngo

Cindy Nguyen

Lina Nguyen

Kevin Nguyen

Juan Nino

Andrew Nomura

Sydney Oda

Yoo Na Oh

Morgan O'Keefe

Gabriela Olmedo

Lizzette Olvera

Reya Owenati

Maggie Pan

Justin Park

Yae Eun Park

Michelle Parker

Darren Parkison

Alan Peterson

Khanh Linh Phan

Inna Pishenko

Ashlind Price

Star Prince

Michael Pritchett

Tristan Ramirez

Abrahim Razzak

Peter Rossi

Sabrina Routher

Megan Rupard

Mahtab Sakiani

Kyle Salem

Erica Salonga

Samantha Sandzimier

Sara Sarpas

Jennifer Schiller

Rachel Schneble

Jennifer Schultz

Heejeong Seo

Lydia Shahid

Tzu-Hsuan Shan

Neha Sheik

Nadia Sine

Laree Soifua

Karen Sous

Colin Squyres

Janani Srinivasan

Samantha Stephens

Matthew Sun

Isabel Szkiba

Michelle Thorlund

Jessica Tsai

Elise Ulwelling

Roger Villanueva

Evelyn Villanueva

Dean Viner

Julian Vliss

Jalen Ward

Aria Yadollahi

Rhiannon Yager

Paul Yang

Hong Yoon

Sakiko Yoshino

Nerwel Zhao

Sarah Zhara

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South Lake Athletes Score Big in Annual Harvest Cup

Soccer TournamentSouth Lake students put in anoutstanding performancewhile participating in thisyear’s Annual Harvest CupSoccer Tournament. Our stu-dents came in with great attitudes as they gave up someof their valuable “after-school”time to participate in organizedpractices. We would especially like to thank Coaches TeresaFrei and Parveez Shaikh for supporting our athletes and increating lasting memories for our soccer players in thisyear’s tournament.

We want to extend huge congratulations to our girls for winning the Harvest Cup this year. With their awesomeplaying skills, they took the gold by beating Lakeside 3-0and Rancho 3-1. South Lake Girls Team members were:Mena Ahmad, Carolyn Astrup, Lauren Brown, JessiDallas, Katie Eisendrath, Nicholle Frei, GraysonGalbraith, Sierra Griffin, Kenzie Haney, BrittanyJenkins, Hannah Howard, Andrea Kerr, AnastassiaNelson, Sami Sandzimier, and Lydia Shahid. South Lakewishes to extend a special thank you to Anna Chin for assisting Coach Frei.

Our South Lake Boys Team played with tenacity and skill aswell. South Lake Boys Team members were: TrumanBrown, Taaj Darwish, Taiga Fukase, Kyle Mohan, JakeStrand, Shinya Kadono, Ryan Eisendrath, Gavin Heim,Eugene Lee, Shayan Mehrshahi, Bazil Shaikh, BenBerkow, and Colin Squyres. Our boys made South Lakeproud by their excellent play and great sportsmanship.

Congratulations to all of our athletes for games well played!

Middle School YouthConference

On November 12th, the City ofIrvine and the Irvine UnifiedSchool District collaborated tohost the 6th annual MiddleSchool Youth Conference. Theconference brought togetherover 250 students from each ofthe city’s seven middle schoolsfor a day-long program focus-ing on the essential role youthplay in creating a healthy com-

munity. Students attended workshops that included PreventingViolence, Positive Choices, Diversity in Leadership and Fitness.

School district and city staff were responsible for the design, devel-opment and production of the event. Student participants returnedto their school sites with ideas for future student activities andevents to strengthen our positive school culture.

Special thanks to the Irvine Public Schools Foundation, the City ofIrvine and IUSD Guidance Resources Safe Schools for supportingthis program.

South Lake GirlsParticipate in the 2009Irvine Hoops Classic

This fall, South Lake Middle School studentsshowed their talent in the 2009 Irvine HoopsClassic Basketball Tournament.

Our 7th/8th girls’ team participated in the 2009Irvine Hoops Classic Girls division. The teamwas coached by Bur Robinson with players:Maddie Franklin, Kaitlin Nguyen, KelliRobinson, Breanna Ferentz, Ashley Sanchez,Laura Lodin, Sade Lawal and Andrea Kerr.Congratulations on the great playing and taking second place in thetournament!

South Lake StudentHonored by Irvine Chargers

The Irvine Chargers is one of 26 teams thatmake up the Orange County Jr. All-American Football and Cheer league. Eachyear, each city chapter has the ability to

honor its own players who demonstrate acommitment to both football and

education. The Irvine Chargers believes it is very impor-tant to not only emphasize success as an athlete, but toreward a child’s demonstrated commitment to education.Each year, players turn in their report cards and their atten-dance and academic achievement is reviewed. Two play-ers from each Irvine Chargers football team and cheersquad are selected who exemplify excellent scholastic rep-resentatives for our city, and they are nominated to theOrange County Jr. All-American Football All-Scholasticteam. It is a huge honor, recognizing commitment, achieve-ment, and pride.

We are very proud that for the second year in a row, SouthLake student Nick Neser, was selected to be on the 26-cityAll-Scholastic team.

South Lake Student WinsCalifornia Patriot’s Pen Youth

Essay Writing ContestCongratulations to Chuli Zeng, who was selectedas the winner of the State’s Patriot Pen YouthEssay Writing Contest. The essay contest is spon-sored annually by the California Department ofthe Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.As the contest winner, Chuli and her family wereflown to the VFW Mid-Winter Conference andAwards Banquet in Sacramento, where Chuli waspresented with her award on January 22.

Congratulations Chuli. You make us proud.

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Seventh Grade ScienceIn December, 65 of our seventh grade students attended a Career Science Options Conference at UCI, organized by IUSD for middleschool students. Students were able to select 4 workshops to attend based on their personal interests. Workshop presenters includedprofessors, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and medical doctors. Career fields discussed included astronomy, environmental education, forensics, geology, medicine, entomology, aeronautics, genetics, and engineering. Each presenter shared details of his/herinterests and inspiration to pursue science, his/her education and career path, as well as specifics about his/her job working in the fieldof science today. Students who attended the conference were excited to learn about these exciting career opportunities and agreed itwas time well spent.

All seventh graders have been studying Genetics and DNA during the first part of the 2nd trimester. Topics that will soon be coveredinclude Evolution and the History of Life on Earth, as well as a unit on the Structure and Function of Living Things in which the studentswill explore light and the nervous system. In the latter part of the trimester, students will have the opportunity to perform an actual dissection, as well as a DNA extraction. During the upcoming third trimester, students will be introduced to concepts in the Science &Health curriculum, such as nutrition, substance abuse prevention and human growth and development.

Eighth Grade Science Eighth grade science students have just finished their unit on chemistry, in which they learned about the atom, the periodic table, someof the basic chemical reactions, and what part carbon plays in living systems. During this section, students created an element squarethat displayed many fun facts about the element. They also had fun learning about acid and base reactions, and finally, students had toconnect what they have learned in chemistry with what they learned last year in Life Science. In the coming weeks, students will fin-ish reviewing metric conversions and dimensional analysis and begin to learn about speed, velocity, and acceleration in our Physicsunit. One activity they will enjoy is the “Speed Challenge,” where they will find the speed of various activities such as hopping, walk-ing backward, and speed walking. Soon students will begin studying and using mathematical formulas to describe forces and motionas part of their Physics unit. At the end of the unit, the students will have fun designing, building, and testing their own roller coasters!

Science EnrichmentScience Fair is a great way for students to use their deductive skills to explore concepts in a field of science that interests them. ScienceFair students have been working on their projects since early October. This year’s Science Fair will be held Wednesday, March 3rd atNorthwood High School. All entries were due to each student’s science teacher by Wednesday, January 27th, 2010. Many of ourScience Fair students have also participated in the 8-week PTSA-sponsored After School program, Science Fair Whiz Kids, to furtherenhance their skills at completing a Science Fair project with more individualized and in-depth teacher instruction. In addition, manystudents also participated this year in Science Fair Day, in which students were provided time in the Library Media Center during theschool day to do research on their project and get individual assistance from the science teachers. An added bonus for several of theparticipants in Science Fair Day this year was receiving a free project board for their Science Fair project, courtesy of a generous dona-tion of project boards to SLMS from the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science & Technology Outreach Foundation in San Rafael, CA. Thisevent was such a success last year, that the Science Department increased Science Fair Day to 2 half-day work days this year. Severalstudents remarked, “Having time like this to work on our Science Fair project at school during Science Fair Day was great! It was veryhelpful having one-on-one time with the science teachers to get our questions answered about our projects.” This year, twenty SLMSstudents will have the chance to compete at the IUSD District Science Fair. If selected at the District level, some may have the oppor-tunity to continue competing, first at the county level at the Orange County Science and Engineering Fair, and then, perhaps on to theCalifornia State Science Fair competition in Los Angeles. Best of luck to all of our Science Fair participants!

Astounding Inventions is another great way for students to incorporate their creativity and inventive abilities into everyday life.Astounding Inventions is a voluntary competition open to both 7th and 8th grade students, where students create an originalinvention or modify an existing invention, all designed to solve a common, everyday problem. SLMS will be sendingnine student projects to the competition this year created by four 8th grade students and five 7th grade students.The Astounding Inventions competition will be held at Irvine Valley College on Saturday, January 30, from9 AM to 1 PM. Best of luck to all of these students at the competition!

Students of A Greener Tomorrow, a new pilot after-school program funded by a grantthrough IPSF, have been creating the change they want to see in our environment. Inthe 1st Trimester, students split into two teams, with both teams focused on creatinga website to educate the public and our community about local ecological issues. Onegroup focused on the importance of picking up after our dogs. Leftover dog wastemakes its way into our city’s run-off water, our creeks, and ultimately, ouroceans which lead to a host of other problems. The second student teambuilt a website regarding proper disposal of household hazardouswastes, and spoke about the importance of recycling to a class of6th graders at an elementary school. Currently, the students areworking on educating the student body on the importance ofreplacing “disposable” recyclable materials with itemsthat can be safely reused for prolonged periods of timeand thereby reducing energy and material usage.

Science News

9

South Lake Students Perform on Color Guard Team

Color Guard is a team activity that involves spinning flags and“rifles”, but also includes dance. Some may know a little bit aboutColor Guard from watching the half-time shows at the local highschool football games. Being a part of the middle school colorguard is a great way to meet people with the same interests and toalso establish memorable friendships before entering high school.Joining the middle school color guard also gives an advantage toour students who may want to be a part of a high school color guardin the future. Members of our South Lake Color Guard Teaminclude McKenna Jones, Michelle Su, Ashley Lopez, Leah Perez,Claire Nagel, Sierra Langager, Nerwel Zhao and Kalina Velikova.

Family LifeParent Preview

NightOn Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 6:30P.M., the South Lake Science/HealthDepartment will present an overview ofour Family Life Unit in the Library

Media Center. All seventh grade parents are invited toattend this informational meeting.

Family Life is taught throughout the district as part ofthe seventh grade science curriculum and includes thetopics of human reproduction and adolescent develop-ment. The curriculum is biology based with an empha-sis on abstinence and good decision-making.

If you have any questions, please call Ms. Ahnn or Ms.Chambers in our seventh grade science department oryou can contact Lynn Kaminsky, our school counselor.

Physical Education NewsFirst trimester was quite successful for South Lake physical edu-cation students. Students participated in racket sports, a mambaball tournament, became proficient volleyball players, and devel-oped strong football skills. As a main component to our fitness dri-ven program, all students run routinely to strengthen their healthand fitness. Students record their mile times each month in theirstudent planners so that they are able to track their cardiovascularprogress.

The South Lake Miler Club provides students with an extra incen-tive. Students can earn a blue shirt for a seven-minute mile (girlsonly), a purple shirt for a six-minute mile, and a red shirt for a timeof 5:59 or lower. South Lake students are challenging themselvesto improve their personal fitness levels. We currently have 215students participating in the Miler Club. Parents are encouraged tomotivate their children to run on their own to prepare themselvesfor the March fitness testing.

During the second trimester, physical education units will includebasketball, fitness center and fitness test conditioning. Our fitnesscenter is now up and running. It provides a unique learning envi-ronment that allows for a variety of fitness related activities.Students will participate in step aerobics, resistance training, lowimpact aerobics, floor mat workouts and much more! Health/fit-ness topic lessons will be integrated daily. South Lake is very for-tunate to have this state of the art fitness center. In addition, all stu-dents are preparing for fitness testing in March by running daily toimprove their conditioning. South Lake fitness patches will beawarded to all students after they complete the six fitness tests aspart of our fitness driven program. Last year, 91% of our SouthLake students scored in the Healthy Fitness Zone for the six fitnesstests that we administer each year. The fitness standards representa level of fitness that protects against diseases resulting from inac-tive living. It is our goal that students will learn healthy habits andmake good personal health choices that will last a lifetime.

Our lunchtime sports program continues to be an important part ofour culture at South Lake Middle School. We started off the yearwith a “Mamba Ball” tournament. Next, our students participatedin a volleyball tournament. Both of these tournaments concludedwith playoffs and medals for all students on our top teams. TheSouth Lake football tournament began in January. Captains werechosen and a draft was held to pick teams for this very populartournament. Over 170 students have signed up to play in thisannual tournament! Promoting sportsmanship and fair play is ourmain emphasis during our lunchtime intramural sports program.

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Community Notice ofQualified Staff

(Official Title 1 Attestation Notice)

We are pleased to report that for the 2009-2010school year, 100% of the teachers at our schoolare “highly qualified” as defined by the federal NoChild Left Behind law. Federal law gives parentsthe right to request information about the certifi-cation of teaching staff. Please direct yourinquiries to Principal Bruce Baron.

EACH ONE…TEACH ONEThe PTSA sponsored program, EACH ONE TEACH ONE, islooking for South Lake parents to help other South Lake parents learn English as a Second Language.

4No special skills required… it’s just conversation4Flexible schedule… you decide when & where4No-cost, volunteer program… we’re all parents like you 4Support provided… just call us with any questions4Only an hour a week or less… and it’s lots of fun!

If you would like to know more about this program or areinterested in joining, please contact: Michal Peri 733-1661 orSue Fallon 847-476-1784.

Intro to Spanish and Spanish 1Three weeks into the new trimester, students in the Intro to Spanish class, which is a trimester class,have learned the Spanish alphabet, the vocabulary and expressions that go with the themes of Color andGreetings. They learned these by watching Power Points, completing many worksheets, playing gamesand doing projects to practice them. By the end of the trimester, students will have learned the followingthematic vocabulary and expressions: Numbers, Telling Time, Days & Months, Seasons and Weather,Body Parts, Clothing, Action Verbs and Adjectives, all of which will help them greatly in Spanish 1.Students also did a cultural project, called Flor de Fiesta (party flower), which is used in Mexico as partydecoration, much like our paper chain decoration. Students also had 3 mini social studies lessons bywatching a Power Point to learn all about Argentina and two movies to learn about Mexico and Spain’s

rich histories and cultures. They filled out information sheets for these countries and colored the countries on a world map andcolored their flags. Time permitting, we will try and learn about all 21 Spanish-speaking countries.

The students in Spanish 1 started the second trimester studying vocabulary and grammar associated with arriving at school andgoing to classes. Previously they had learned the vocabulary of greetings, telling dates and time, names of seasons, adjectives,numbers, school subjects, nationalities, shopping for school supplies and clothing. Students continue writing their autobiogra-phy in Spanish, adding to it with every chapter. At the end of the first trimester students were filmed during their oral presen-tation titled: The Fashion Show. This presentation is only one of the many wonderful projects the students have done so far inSpanish 1.

Because technology is such an important part of education today, and it is used extensively in all Spanish classes, students willsoon be attending the computer lab to use the many External Links on the Spanish 1 Blackboard site to practice the vocabu-lary and grammar of Spanish 1. They will also be using technology to do some of their grammar and vocabulary projects.

The units that we will be studying for the rest of the year are: food, restaurant, supermarket shopping, family, home life, sports,health, travel, and daily routines. Students will be doing a variety of activities including projects, skits and oral presentationswhile studying the vocabulary and grammar structures associated with these chapters. The oral presentations will be done ingroups, as well as individually, and will be filmed by the students so everyone can enjoy them and learn from them. Some ofthe projects will be done by hand and some by computer, using Power Points, etc. to familiarize the students with technologyand prepare them for high school. All of the wonderful student work will be displayed for everyone to enjoy on the class bul-letin board as well as during the Open House. Come by and see how amazing South Lake Middle School students are!

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What does the librarymean to you?

I used to go to the library all the time when I was kid. As ateenager, I got a book on how to write jokes at the library, and that,in turn, launched my comedy career. Comedian Drew Carey.

The free access to information is not a privilege, but a necessity for any free society. One of my favorite things to do as ayoung man was wander through the stacks of my hometownlibrary. I’d just browse until I found something interesting.Libraries have definitely changed my life. Actor Edward Asner

I think the Library Media Center means a lot for me becauseI can finish my homework and also get many books for informa-tion and for projects. It has helped me to get my homework finished during school so I have more time to myself after school.Abe Razzak, 7th grader

A library can change someone’s life by giving the person newideas and new places to visit, explore, and learn about!Anonymous, 8th grader

Thinking about all those stories hidden under the coversmakes me excited. I love books that keep you enchanted undertheir spell, full of adventure and mysteries. I also come to thelibrary to be able to relax and concentrate on my homework and toread. Doing my homework early helps release the stress. TahlilIslam, 8th grader

The library is a wonderful place in which we have a great techperson named Mr. Fratantaro and we have all sorts of computerprograms and books to help us. The library is a universal meetingspot where I know that I can find all my friends and can also findhelp if I do not get something. I go all the time and have a greattime in there! Anthony Badea, 7th grader

I love the library, mostly because it’s open before and afterschool. I always go there during snack and lunch because it givesme time to write and do my work. I suggest going to the library asoften as you can! Hans Kelsen, 8th grader

10 Hot New TitlesThat Will Make Your Kid Go

Gaga For Reading! Hunger Games + Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins –

Think of the reality television show Survivor but instead ofgetting voted off the island you have to compete to the deathagainst your opponents. Now imagine being only a teenagerand having to face off against other fellow teenagers whilethe rest of the world watches your every move on their tele-vision. This is the book you should read if you only read onebook this year.

! Million Dollar Throw, by Mike Lupica

! I am a genius of Unspeakable Evil and I want to be YourClass President, by Josh Lieb – I don’t always laugh out loudat books, partly because it can create an awkward momentwhen people are around, but I found myself laughing out loudto this book more often than not. If you liked Diary of aWimpy Kid then you will probably love this book.

! Art & Sole – Written and Designed, by Intercity – If you likesneakers or collect sneakers then this is the book for you.This book has high quality images of some of the coolest andstrangest sneakers on the market.

! The Softwire – Virus on Orbis 1, by PJ Haarsma

! Masterpiece, by Elise Broach

! Here, There Be Dragons, by James A. Owen

! Ghostgirl, by Tonya Hurley

! The Good Neighbors Book One and Two, by Holly Black

! Skeleton Creek, by Patrick Carman

***Thank you to the PTSA giving our students a new and updatedselection of materials that will spur their curiosity and make themlifelong readers.

ASB Answers the CallThis year, ASB has led South Lake in answering the call to action. Theyear started off very quickly with a canned food drive in honor of 9/11.We wanted to not only remember that day but also perform a service to

our community and South Lake students stepped up to help us with this cause. We were ableto collect almost 200 cans in a span of 3 short days. Starting in October we began imple-menting one spirit day a month in which Advisements competed and participated in a variety of activities including the first ever South Lake Haunted House, three legged plaidrace, marshmallow toss, and a cherry toss.

South Lake continues to step up and take action in the community. Following our cannedfood drive for 9/11, South Lake students have collected toys to donate to children in OrangeCounty through the Toys-For-Tots program during Thanksgiving. We have also partneredwith Heifer International to raise enough money to send a goat and 2 chickens to a familyin need in Russia. Next, we look forward to writing letters and cards for veterans and pos-sibly raising awareness and money to help support a search for the cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

Finally, our first dance was a great success. Focused on a glow theme, students were ableto bring or purchase glow sticks and snacks at the dance. We are looking forward to anotherASB sponsored event in the future.

ASB Eventsfor Januaryand earlyFebruary:

Jan. 14-15 Advisement Tug-Of-War competition

Jan. 15 LemonAID sale atsnack and lunch

Jan. 22 Sports Day

Jan. 22 Half Court basketball shot at lunch

Feb. 12 Valentine gram

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History - Social Science

Seventh

Prior to winter vacation, our students completed units onthe Fall of Rome, medieval European society, and therise of Islam in the Middle East. Through a variety ofactivities including direct instruction, projects, simula-tions, mini plays, activities, and a guest speaker onIslam, students had the opportunity to discuss and investigate each of these units of study. Every unitincluded a Qwizdom assessment, which often consistedof student videos explaining concepts.

During our second trimester studies, students will travelthrough the histories of Sub-Saharan Africa, China,Medieval Japan, and Renaissance Europe. Each socialstudies unit is enhanced through a variety of interactiveactivities, and is accompanied by our student handbook.While the content is different with each unit, seventhgraders are investigating common themes and questionsthat can be carried throughout the year. As part of theiroutside reading requirement, students must choose a historical fiction novel from a provided list that pertainsto our unit of study.

Eighth

At this point in the year, eighth grade social science students are in the process of finishing up a thoroughstudy of the Constitution with a more recent emphasis onthe Bill of Rights. Students had the opportunity to delvein and investigate actual Supreme Court cases in aneffort to gain greater understanding of their rights as citizens of the United States. Acting as attorneys andSupreme Court justices, students were required toresolve historic Constitutional dilemmas that have facedour country. In support of this unit of study, fifty students visited the Orange County Juvenile Court wherethey met with an Orange County District Attorney and anOrange County Juvenile Court Judge. In order to givestudents a real world application of our governmentstructure, a District Representative from Senator TomHarman’s office spoke with all 8th grade students aboutthe process of how a bill becomes a law, the currentissues facing California, and how students could becomeinvolved in politics.

Prior to the study of the Constitution, students com pletedunits and gained an understanding of the foundations ofthe United States from Colonial America to the AmericanRevolution. Students will be continuing their journeythrough the developments of our new nation as theystudy the evolution of the United States’ governmentalpolicy from the 1790s to the period of Manifest Destinyin the 1840s and 1850s. We will finally end the year withan in-depth look at the Era of Industrialization andImmigration while making connections between ournation’s past, present, and future.

More News – National History Dayand Chapman University HolocaustArt and Writing Contest

Under the direction of Tim Leavey, as well as receivingsupport from the social studies department and Mr.Baron, many students have been participating for thepast three months in National History Day. “NHD” is aprogram that engages students in the process of discov-ery, research and interpretation of historical topics.Students have been creating dramatic performances,imaginative exhibits, web sites, multimedia documen-taries and research papers based on this year’s theme:“Innovation in History: Impact and Change.” Finalistsfrom South Lake will compete at Orange County HistoryDay on Saturday, March 13.

South Lake students recently had the opportunity tocompete in Chapman University’s 11th AnnualHolocaust Art and Writing Contest. Each middle schooland high school is invited to submit the work of threestudents, a total of three entries, consisting of eitherprose, poetry, works of art or a combination thereof.These three students will be selected from the nearly 100participating South Lake students and will be invited toattend an awards ceremony and have lunch with actualHolocaust survivors on March 5.

In connection with the Holocaust Art and WritingContest, South Lake was extremely honored to haveHolocaust survivor, Mr. Jack Pariser, come and talk withstudents. Mr. Pariser’s story of determination impactedall of us.

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Math News

South Lake students have been preparing to participate in several national math competitions this year. All Algebraand Pre-algebra classes are participating in the Continental Math League that consists of 5 different competitionswithin 5 months. The top students after 3 months, in Algebra are: Andrew Hong, Alex Babayi, Ayaka Hozumi,Bryan Jun, and Hamza Khwaja. Our top students in Pre-Algebra are: Ali Chaudhary, Jennifer Kodia, ZacharyLeBlanc, and Divya Prajapati. The Math Olympiad, American Mathematics Competition and California MathLeague competitions are (and have been) after school for anyone who wants to participate. The Math Challengersclass meets on Thursday from 2:45-3:45. Contact Mrs. Leong for more information.

“MathCounts,” another math competition, is made up of a team of our top South Lake math students. We had manystudents who put in numerous hours after school to prepare, practice and try-out for the team. We had so many tryout for the team this year that we will have twelve students participating in this year’s competition. We appreciateeveryone’s efforts and positive attitude. They will be competing against other teams from Orange County at UCIon Saturday, February 20th. The “mathletes” representing South Lake this year are: Henry Ammermann, Ali,Chaudhary, Taaj Darwish, Taiga Fukase, Andrew Hong, Bryan Jun, Jennifer Kodia, Yuta Kondo, AlexLavacot, Catherine Myong, Nahoko Naka, and Kimberly Nguyen. Congratulations to these top students!

South Lake math students are engaged in a rigorous program designed to build confidence and prepare them forhigh school. Algebra students have been writing and graphing equations of linear functions using slopes and y-intercepts, and are beginning work on solving simultaneous equations and inequalities. Transitional Algebra students are learning to use the properties of equality to solve linear equations. Later in the trimester, students willlearn to solve inequalities and will investigate linear relationships by graphing linear equations and computing theslope and intercepts of a line. In Pre-Algebra, our students have been focusing on ratio, proportions, and similar-ity and will begin work on rational numbers and percents. Introduction to Pre-Algebra students recently finishedwork on solving equations and inequalities. These students will also begin working on exponents and will finishthe trimester with square roots, and the Pythagorean Theorem.

South Lake offers several extended learning opportunities to support all our students in math. The TransitionalAlgebra class (for 8th grade students) is taught by Mrs. Barrett; the Introduction to Pre-Algebra (for 7th grade students) is taught by Ms. Prasad. Both of these classes are held on Thursdays. The ALEKS class is taught byMrs. Leong and Mrs. Zimmer. The ALEKS classes are held on Mondays. The classes began in the fall and willcontinue through the first week of May. They meet right after school for an hour. If you are interested in extendedlearning, please contact your child’s math teacher.

South Lake students are encouraged to maintain good work habits by regularly completing their homework, participating in class, and asking for help when needed. An emphasis in all courses is on a variety of problem solving and test taking strategies. Students have also received additional practice computational workbooks. It isimportant that students continue to build math skills in order to be successful in future coursework.

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English Language Arts

As we progress through the academic year in English Language Arts, students continue toreflect on their prior knowledge and skills as a way to develop a deeper understanding ofthe elements that constitute meaningful reading and writing. By making a personal con-nection to what we are learning, students expand their social and academic experiences.This makes learning more significant and fulfilling.

Seventh

In 7th grade, writing continues to be a major emphasis in our curriculum. Studentscontinue to sharpen their writing skills, which will be assessed in March with the STAR2010 Writing Augmentation to the California Standards tests. Students experience thedifferent genres of writing in a creative and meaningful way. For the persuasiveessay, the topic is chosen by the students and there is an integrated technologycomponent in which students create a website that hosts an electronic portfolioof writing about their chosen topic. In the personal narrative unit, the focus for students is on developing a cohesive plot so that the building blocks are set inplace for this genre of writing when they expand on these skills in 8th grade. Inthe response to literature essay, the students will primarily learn how to address the compo-nent of theme, specifically heroism, based on a novel study. Students will read The Outsiders,by S.E. Hinton and The Giver, by Lois Lowry. In addition to formal reading and writingassignments, there are a myriad of units and activities to help students enhance their skills.They work on on-demand writing, summarizing skills, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary devel-opment to help prepare them for their endeavors in 8th grade and beyond.

Eighth

In 8th grade, short stories were used to review elements of figurative language as studentsgeared up to write their own descriptive narrative in an assignment called, “The MemorySnapshot.” Further enhancing their writing abilities, 8th graders focused on such strategiesas inserting dialogue and interior monologue, showing-not-telling, and providing sensorydetails. After enhancing their own reading and writing skills, students were then morethoroughly able to identify similar writing tools like literary devices within a text. Theseskills were utilized as our students read the classic novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. Inreading this novel, students were challenged with sophisticated vocabulary, detailed description,and thought-provoking themes. Students also analyzed how the time period during which an authorwrites can truly influence his/her writing. Students continue to enhance their spelling and grammarskills, and they also work on vocabulary development through homophones, etymology, and wordanalysis within context. Additional genres and domains of writing are the persuasiveessay and career related writing. During the Career Unit our school counselors,Mrs. Kaminsky and Mrs. Holcomb, presented seminars on the transition to highschool and career exploration. The final product of that unit will be a Letter ofInquiry which students will actually mail out to an individual that is in theoccupation or field of study in which they are interested in for his/herfuture. In addition to these two formal pieces, students will continue topractice writing in their personal journals and practice on-demand writing.In other areas of literature, students will spend time analyzing several dif-ferent types of poetry – further honing their understanding of figurativelanguage and the importance of word choice. At the end of the year,they will also read a historically relevant and engaging novelentitled, The Glory Field, which is a novel about an AfricanAmerican family’s personal and social plight throughout sever-al generations. This year will continue to be a challengingopportunity for our students to further their preparation asthey look towards high school next fall.

15

Performing Arts

Here’s a few of the exciting things happening in the Performing Arts Dept this year:

Dollar-for-Dollar Matching Donation Fund Drive: It is my pleasure to announce that a very generous offer has been made to our South Lake Music Department. From nowuntil the end of our Second Trimester Concerts (March 18th), a local non-profit group is sponsoring a Dollar-for-DollarMatching Donation Drive. Every dollar donated to the South Lake Music Department during the second trimester will bematched, creating some much appreciated funds for our students.

Funds from this drive will be used to purchase class sets of audio-enhanced music books, new music for our RepertoireLibrary and instrument maintenance.

Home Practice Resources:This year we are continuing our online student support services. At our website Performing Arts Department Page:(http://www.southlakems.org/performingartsdepartment_08.htm) students and parents will find several study tools such asan Online Rhythm Counter, an Online Metronome, Interactive Chromatic Tuner, Sight-Reading Skill Builders andStudio Recording Software. All services are free of charge and are available for both school and home use.

Expanded Blackboard Resources: Parents and students logging into their Blackboard account will find several features for their music home practice sup-port. In the Course Document section, students will find recordings of many of our ensemble songs. Students may listento, analyze and play along with these recordings at home. Sheet music is also available. Homework is posted on Fridayof each week through the Announcements section. Registered users of Blackboard will receive an e-mail reminder of thehomework announcements.

Please don’t forget that students should practice at every day.

The South Lake Musicians Perform at City Hall: On February 10th, 2010 students from our South Lake Chorus will represent South Lake at a special performance for theMayor of Irvine’s State of the City Address, at Irvine City Hall. This performance can be heard on Irvine Public Accessand online at the following link: http://www.cityofirvine.org/depts/citymanager/pio/ictv/city_council_meetings.asp (FindFebruary 10th, 2010 in the list of videos and click on view video. The performance should begin just after the recess, aboutan hour and a half after the start of the meeting.)

On March 10th, 2010, student representatives from the South Lake String Orchestra will also perform at Irvine City Hall,for the March City Council Meeting. This performance will also be available on Irvine Public Access as well as online(following the same directions listed above).

Congratulations to our South Lake Singers and String Players!

The South Lake Artist Project: We continue our podcasts this year. The South Lake Artists Project is a resource for students to record and post music,both from our classes as well as from solo student works. It’s available worldwide at www.southlakems.podomatic.comCheck us out!

Disneyland Performing Arts Soundtrack Session: This year our String Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Chorus will travel to Disneyland to participate in a professional record-ing studio workshop. As described by the Disneyland Guest Talent Programs: “Students step into an actual sound studioand take part in a simulated film recording session, complete with video playback, headphones and click track.” This willbe a very exciting educational event! The date of the event has yet to be confirmed. Please watch for announcementsabout this trip made through Blackboard as well as notices sent home with students.

South Lake Concert Series: All Music and Theater classes have concerts at the end of each trimester. For a list of times, dates and loca-tions of upcoming performances please refer to the South Lake Calendar section of the Student Planner, theSouth Lake Special Events Calendar on our South Lake Website, Blackboard (in the Announcements sec-tion) and your Performing Arts Class Syllabus.

Irvine Unified School District5050 Barranca ParkwayIrvine, CA 92604-4652

Shark NewsletterSouth Lake Middle School

Feb. 8 Holiday

Feb. 15 Holiday

Mar. 2 STAR Writing Test for 7thGraders 7th graders report to school at8am; 8th graders report to school at10:15 a.m.

Mar. 22 Minimum Day (8 to 12 noon)

Apr. 2 Minimum Day (8 am to 12 noon)

Apr. 5-9 Spring Break

Apr. 27 6th Grade Parent Information

Night

May 13 Minimum Day (8 am to 12 noon)

OPEN HOUSE (evening hours)

May 28 Holiday

May 31 Holiday

Jun. 7 Minimum Day (8 to 12 noon)

Jun. 18-21 Student FINALS Schedule

Jun. 19 8th Grade Promotion Dance

Jun. 22 Minimum Day (8 to 12 noon)

Last Day for 7th Graders

Jun. 22 8th Grade Knotts Trip

Jun. 23 8th Grade Promotion: 10 am

SOUTH LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL CALENDAR 2009-2010Check on-line for any changes at http://www.southlakems.org

Note: Remember that every Tuesday, school starts at 9:15 a.m. ________________________________________________________

Discount for South Lake Families!$20 for 7 week class! The Irvine Family Resource Center presents

Active Parenting of Teens A seven-week video/discussion series with the information and skills you need

to parent effectively during the pre-teen and teen years

Being a parent today seems more difficult than ever before, with kids and families facing social and family issues that are far different than in the past. Active Parenting of Teens is a highly

acclaimed, award-winning, 7-week video based workshop for parents and others which will help you gain the knowledge and skills needed to provide positive effective parenting with pre-teens

and teens. Join us for this series and learn effective ways to instill courage and self-esteem, deal with negativity, develop responsibility, win cooperation, give consequences, increase positive

communication, and deal with challenging topics like values, sexuality, alcohol and other drugs. If you have children ages 12 or older, give yourself the gift of this workshop to gain confidence,

make sense of your teen’s behavior and get real, practical skills to put into practice.

WEDNESDAY EVENINGS 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm – 7 Weeks

Starts January 27, 2010 Led by Cheri Wood, IUSD Guidance Resources, Certified AP Trainer

TO REGISTER: Call Susan Holt at 949-936-7502 LOCATION: Guidance Training Center – Room N25 - Creekside Education Center, corner of Barranca and Harvard REGISTRATION FEE: $20 per person for 7 weeks/$35 for couples (includes book and handouts) for all South Lake Families – A great deal!