Today's Monarch

Thank you to the parents who chaperoned at the Pacers game.

In Mr. Heneghan’s class...
• This is National Poetry Month, so we have been exploring poetry, specifically the poetry of Shel Silverstein. Amazing how his poetry and cartoons still make our classes laugh!
• Look for your children to be writing their own poetry.
• Ask your child what their favorite Accelerated Reader book has been in the last month. Ask them why? Get involved in their reading, and tell them about what you read too.

In Mrs. Bryant’s class...

• On Monday, Terry Gallagher and Mr. Ellyson from the Marion County Department of Health were our guest speakers on mosquito biology. Sixth and seventh grade students were able to observe mosquitoes in various life stages through a microscope. Students also learned methods to prevent the number of mosquitoes around their homes this summer. Be sure to ask your son or daughter what diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes.

• Many sixth grade students did not score as well on the cell test as they had hoped. We discussed ways to improve their mastery of the concepts; making a foldable or flashcards and note-taking were all suggested. The key to any method working well is to keep up with the daily assignments and review each day what was presented in class. I explained to the students that in science it is important to read more slowly and for detail, as compared with the type of reading one uses for literature where they may want to grasp the overall idea.

• Seventh grade students will be visiting Marian College’s Eco-Lab the afternoon of Friday, May 16th. If you would be able and willing to chaperone and/or carpool students to this event, please let me know. Please call me at home: 841-3952 or send me an e-mail: sbryant@sjoa.org

• Eighth grade student tests over thermal energy are in their take home folder today. This is the first test of our last quarter. Please take time to review the test with your son or daughter.

• This week students received a book from NIH titled Inside the Cell. You may want to save this as a resource for future high school science classes. The photos are incredible and the illustrations are excellent.

In Mr. Carlstedt’s class...

• 6th-8th grades have their capitals and map quiz on Friday.
• Tech terms for those classes on Friday as well.

In Mrs. Groves’s class...
• The latest in Sports Connections is that we have moved on from March Madness to baseball. The middle school students are learning how to keep a box score during a baseball game. They are also learning how to apply some of the mathematical formulas such as H/AB to find the batting average. That is “hits” divided by “at bats.” We will be attending the Indianapolis Indians Education Day on Wednesday, April 30th. Permission slips will be coming home soon.