It is hard to believe it is the final quarter of the school year! I have seen great changes in our 7thgrade students this year. Many of them are taking more responsibility for their own academicprogress. It is important that students continue to remain focused and work hard both inside andoutside the classroom. This is especially true as the end of the year approaches and the nice weatherbecomes an easy distraction. Students should begin to plan out their final exam review preparationsso that they are studying a little at a time and not rushed as finals approach.

Most of our 7th grade teachers use Schoology. I encourage you to remind your student of this greatresource when they are absent, need class materials, or are unsure of when an assignment isdue. Students should continue to utilize our various supports such as the Learning Center andSuccess Lunch for help.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Ashley Dreibelbis

Principal’s Message

Seventh graders only have a quarter of the school year left and it is going to fly by. Just a reminder that this could be the most important quarter for students. Please encourage your child to continue to work hard when it comes to homework and studying. I understand that outside activities are starting up. With the nice weather it is harder to focus, but focusing is exactly what we need from our seventh graders.

Find a designated time each night to complete assignments and study for tests. Regarding final exams, students should start looking over previously assigned quizzes and tests and use them as study guides; the sooner the better. Cramming doesn’t work. Students need to look over their “study guides” over time. Research states that looking over notes for short daily periods (20 minutes) over a long stretch of time (2 weeks) will increase students’ recollection of the material. Happy studying!!!

Kara ElvinSeventh Grade Counselor

Student Services

Health Office

Every school year the following MUST be renewed:

– all medication orders, including Epi-Pens, inhalers, insulin, Tylenol, etc.

– any and all Phys. Ed restrictions (ex. No swimming, physical activity restrictions)

ALL the necessary forms are available on the District Web site. If your child has any medication in the Health Office, it will NOT be saved, it gets destroyed if not picked up before the last day of school JUNE 21, 2019.

If your child gets a Physical/Health Appraisal done over the summer, it’s always a good idea to keep a copy at home and send a copy to the Middle School Health Office.

It is hard to believe the end of the third quarter is here! The Nurtured Heart Approach Workshop at Clarence Center Elementary is underway. Due to high demand, we are now offering a second session at the Middle School, April 30th, May 7th, 14th, and 21st 2019. If you are interested, please register by email to info@parentnetworkwny.org or by calling (716) 332-4170. Please check out our webpage for further details.Please continue to reach out if you or your family is in need of any support.

Thanks,

Kevin Modlmayer Lisa CampioneFSC Coordinator FSC Clerk320-4808 407-9244KModlmayer@ClarenceSchools.org LCampione@ClarenceSchools.org

Family Support Center

Fort Niagara Field Trip Info

On Monday, May 13, 2019, 7th grade students will visit Old Fort Niagara. Permission slips were handed out in social studies classes and need to be returned no later than Thursday April 18th.

Lunch is not provided at the fort, students will be required to pack a bagged lunch.

This past marking period has been a whirlwind for seventh grade ELA students. Students participated in Woods Runner Day, an in-school immersion that allowed students to explore many aspects of Revolutionary War life. After reading Gary Paulsen’s novel, Woods Runner, and studying the Revolutionary War in social studies, the disciplines came together - and came to life - as students participated in both outdoor and indoor activities, such as baking, dancing, catapulting, creating art, decoding, and studying the diseases that affected so many soldiers during the war. Fun was had by all, but we weren’t done yet! This year, thanks to funding from CMS’ PTO, our students celebrated National Poetry Month a little early this year with a visit and workshop given by a local poet, Sherry Robbins, who inspired them to stretch their thinking and find their inner poet. We are now studying the strength and perseverance in people like Misty Copeland, Jackie Robinson, and Branch Rickey as we discuss what it takes to make our dreams come true despite overwhelming odds. As the year comes to a close, we’ll be wrapping up with an author study project and a study of one of America’s favorite authors: Mark Twain.

English Language Arts

Students are focusing on the Age of Homespun and WestwardExpansion, which is the era when the Town of Clarence wassettled. As part of the unit, students are doing research on localhistory and creating projects to show their knowledge of WNY’spast. Projects are due Wednesday May 1st! The year ends withunits on the Civil War and the beginning of the ReconstructionEra. All classes will receive final exam review materials whenwe get closer to exam week.

Social Studies

All aspects of geometry will be explored this quarter as students find volume, surfacearea, and transform shapes around the coordinate plane. The ideas of congruence andsimilarity are introduced and extensively applied to reflections, rotations, translations, anddilations. We will also study linear functions and solve systems of equations. A journey toAncient Greece will help us learn Pythagoras's theorem as well as all different trianglerelationships. Students will need to have a Texas Instruments 30XA or 30 XIIS calculatorfor use during the final exam and the New York State Assessment.

Math 7

Pre-Algebra

As the third marking period comes to a close, we have just finished experimenting withprobability. Statistics focuses on appropriate ways to present data and how data canmislead. Our geometry unit will explore circumference, area, volume, and surface area,with an emphasis on real-world problem solving. Students will need to have a TexasInstruments 30 XA or 30 XIIS calculator for use during the final exam and the New YorkState Assessment.

Life ScienceIn this final quarter, students will learn about human body systems. We will spend timelearning about the different groups of organs and how they function together. We willtravel through the human body and students will discover how all the organ systemsinteract with each other to make the body work properly. As our year comes to a close thestudents will be given review sheets to complete in preparation for their June exam.

During the third marking period, we finished up the Physicsportion of the class by studying Heat and Waves. We began theBiology unit with a study of cells and their processes. We lookedat plant and animal cells and learned how to differentiate betweenthem. As we enter the fourth marking period, we will be studyingEvolution, Ecology, and Body Systems. We are looking forward to avery busy end of the year!

Advanced Science

Latin students have finished learning about verb forms and vocabulary words for objects in the classroom. We have also done an in-class project on Roman homes and have learned about leisure activities for all classes of Roman people. We are really looking forward to learning about subjects and direct objects as we continue learning about Latin grammar. We are also excited to talk about Roman food and dining habits. Ancient occupations will also be an interesting part of our culture studies.

Spanish & French

Latin

This quarter we will be focusing on the family. We are learning the vocabulary words forfamily members, professions, and animals! Our topics for the fourth quarter include houseand home, and various culture topics. We have also been adding entries to our InteractiveNotebooks. The students will be taking their "INB" to 8th Grade.

Home & CareersThird quarter got off to an exciting start! Seventh graders metand exceeded the sewing challenge, The String Bag. Weexplored numerous yet unusual careers and now have abetter idea as to what it is we’d like to do in the future. As thefood unit concluded we made our own pita bread—fortifiedwith the benefits of whole grains. Leadership characteristicswere integrated throughout the quarter—including properetiquette. Be sure to ask your 7th grader to demonstrate atyour next family dinner!

Concert Band & Symphonic BandOn March 26, the students performed admirably at the annual Spring Concert. Congratulations to all band students for a terrific performance!

Upcoming performances:

April 11 Concert Band Performance @ Ledgeview 8:00AM

April 16 Clarence Jazz Festival @ Shea’s 710 Main Theatre 7:00PM

May 9 Symphonic Band Performance @ Sheridan Hill 8:00AM

May 27 Memorial Day Parade 11:00AM

June 4 Clarence District Band Spectrum Concert @ CHS 7:00PM

Congratulations to the following Symphonic Band members who were selected to the Erie County Junior High All County Band or Orchestra: Joseph Buckley, Katherine Cappellucci, Nathan Czopp, Justin Fan, Andrew Faust, Lucy Hereth, Amy Isaacson, Caroline Johnson, Anthony Magera, and Logan Tendorf. Congratulations to Anthony Magera for his selection and performance with the NYSBDA Middle School Honor Band.

General music composed and performed PercussionCompositions using instruments of Latin America. Workingin groups, the students wrote rhythm patterns, layered therhythms together, and performed for the class. Each studentalso successfully played a melody in both the Baroque andClassical styles on a piano. The music lab was filled with thesounds of Bach’s Minuet in G Major and Papa Haydn’sSurprise Symphony.

Music

Congratulations to seven 7th Grade Chorus members who were selected to perform in the Erie County Music Festival this March! They were wonderful representatives for our school and performed well. Our final concert of the year will be held on Wednesday, May 29 at 7:30pm. All choruses, Show Choirs, Guy's Choir and Voce will perform!

Chorus

The 7th grade Orchestra presented a wonderful concert on March 19th at the CMS Auditorium. During this past quarter they have been focusing on 6/8 time and played Irish tunes that use this meter: Sea Chantey by Doug Spata and Shores of Ireland, by Susan H. Day. They also prepared a Concerto Grosso,Op. 6, No.1 by Handel and the familiar Lord of the Dance by Hardiman. For the end of the concert, the 7th grade Orchestra and Chorus joined together to perform the pop song, Wake Me Up.

Please mark your calendar for our upcoming performances:

April 17, Wednesday, 6-7:00PM Small ensemble performances for the Art Show at CMS

May 3-4 Friday and Saturday NYSSMA Solo Festival at Frontier Senior HS, for those who registered

May 23, Thursday, 7:30PM Spring Concert with the 6, 7, 8 Orchestras and Sinfonietta- CMS

Summer lesson forms are available at the end of May.

Orchestra

ArtSeventh grade artists began quarter three by heightening their awareness of space. Space is a design element that refers to the distance between, around, above, below, and within things. We discussed the importance of negative space and its impact on composition. As we progressed through the quarter, we experimented with color mixing using tempera paint. Combining the Design Elements, we created an abstract name design by using imaginative letters drawn on paper with sharpie. After the letters were filled in, they were cut up into 2-inch squares. The squares were randomly arranged onto another piece of paper to create the abstract design. Other projects included clay gnome, fairy, leprechaun, or ogre doors, Zentangles (complex doodles), and paintings of plants from observation.

Library

All 7th grade students visited the CMS Library Media Center with their Social Studies classes to gear up for Homespun research. We started off with a lesson that let the students have hands on experience with the print resources that were set aside for the Homespun project. Once students were on their way with their project, we met again a few weeks later to learn how to use the CCSD subscription service, NoodleTools, to create a works cited for their final project.

Technology

The seventh grade Tech Ed students worked diligently on their CO2Car designs to get ready for the final race-testing event that wasscheduled for the last two days of the quarter! The beginning of thequarter was spent learning how to refine their CO2 Car designs onthe Auto-Desk Inventor software. For the remainder of the quarter,they focused on how to cut their cars out of a block of basswood,sand, paint, and attach the wheels and axles. The excitement of raceday was mounting as many students chose to come in early and/orstay late to perfect their CO2 Cars before the big race!

Health

Health Education classes have recently completed decision making and refusalskill practice. Currently, topics relating to stress management, supportnetworks, and suicide prevention are being discussed. May and June will focuson items relating to skin cancer prevention, personal safety, and HIV and AIDSeducation.

Physical Education

The seventh grade boys and girls just finished agreat volleyball unit in PE class. Badminton is thecurrent unit in physical education. All studentsneed their own safety goggles.

7th and 8th Grade IntramuralsCoed Volleyball Intramurals are currently in session. Afterspring break, coed badminton intramurals will beoffered. Sign up for intramurals with your PE teacher.