Anthony February 2012News

News for the Anthony Middle School Community

Dear Anthony Families,Conferences are coming!Please join us for Parent/TeacherConferences on Thursday, March 1 from5:00 - 8:00 or Friday, March 2 from8:30 – 12:00. Conferences are in thearena style in the lunchroom. This is agreat chance to connect with theteachers and check on your student‛sprogress. It‛s also a good time to checkout our lost and found. Items that are not claimed will bedonated after Parent Teacher Conferences.

Family ToursOur student ambassadors are doing a phenomenal job ofwelcoming visiting families and sharing all of the wonderfulthings that happen within our walls. I listened during thelast tour given by students and I have to say that I heardover and over about how our students connect with theirteachers, are challenged in their coursework, and feel greatpride in their school. I am so proud to be part of thisfabulous community.National African American Dinner and ShowcaseOn February 1st we celebrated at Anthony by having a SoulFood Dinner and Talent Show. We had a great turn-out andeveryone enjoyed some fabulous student talent and deliciousfood. Thank you to all of the parents who joined us for thisvery special evening.

From Principal Jackie Hanson Calendar

continued on next page

Page 1 ­ From Principal HansonPage 2 ­ Perfect AttendancePage 3 ­ Anthony Middle School Peer MediationPage 4 ­ Anthony Geography Bee ­ AVID UpdatePage 5 ­ Model United Nations Conference

Page 6 ­ Science and Art UpdatesPage 7 ­ History and Humanities UpdatePage 8 ­ Meet Officer O'Connor!Page 9 ­ Counseling CornerPage 10 ­ Personal Safety Tips

Table of Contents

Wednesday, February 29 ­School Request Cards DueThursday, March 1 ­ 5:00 ­8:00 pm ­ Parent TeacherConferencesFriday, March 2 ­ 8:30 ­ 12:00­ Parent Teacher ConferencesFriday, March 2 ­ No SchoolWednesday, March 14 ­ 6:30pm ­ Anthony MusicalThursday, March 15 ­ 6:30 pm­ Anthony MusicalFriday, March 15 ­ 6:30 pm ­Anthony MusicalSaturday, March 24 ­ DistrictHistory Day at South HighFriday, March 30 ­ End ofThird Quarter ­ No School

Anthony February 2012News 2

Academic excellence isthe goal for the AnthonyMiddle School Community.Based on the middleschool philosophy, coreteams work together tocreate smaller, caring,learning environments forstudents. Through ourfocus on respect, readiness,and responsibility,our students will reachtheir highest potential. Weprovide curriculum with thehighest of standards wherethey are actively engagedin the learning process toprepare them for the worldahead.

5757 Irving Avenue SouthMinneapolis, MN 55419General Phone:612­668­3240Fax:612­668­3250Attendance Line:612­668­3271Minneapolis School District:612­668­0000

Website:anthony.mpls.k12.mn.us

Our National African American Parent Involvement Day,February 13th, was also well attended and we had aninspiring conversation with parents about their students.The Annual Book FairOur annual Scholastic Book Fair will be held during theweek of March 14 - 16. English teachers will visit thebook fair with their students during the week.Thinking about next yearAlthough we are only a few weeks into the secondsemester, it is already time to begin making plans for the2012-13 School Year. Budget and needs for next yearseem to dominate our conversation. Our sixth grade classwill be smaller and our 8th grade class will be larger nextyear. Our total projections are at 800 which is 81students less than we have enrolled today. We havepriorities to set as a staff and as a community.Here‛s to a Healthy and Happy Spring!Jackie Hanson, Principal612-668-3241

Perfect AttendanceWe would like to congratulate these Anthony students for perfect attendance

Semester 1:Sixth grade = Jack Pham, Quinn Siebers, Kelly McNamer, Allegra Abrams, JuliaStuart, Natalie Lileks, Claire Romano, Malone DeYoung and Katherine PedersonSeventh grade = Jeselina Artola, Melissa Campos­Camacho, Will Smith, DimitraRothweiler, Diarra Traore, Madeline Guillery, Tenzin Wongmo and Rickayla Day.Eighth grade = Taylor Jackson, Amelia Grace Clauss, Autumn Lebeau, BenjaminPekala and John PembertonAlong with our teachers and Support Staff: William Clark, Beth Esposito, SaraGoldammer, Christen Jechorek, Dan Magnuson, Satomi Olmsted, HeatherRasmussen and Katherine Vogel, Natalya Chasteen, Barbara Lowery, andCollette Guyott­Hempel.We honored each of these perfect attenders with ice cream sundaes last week!Way to go!

continued from page 1From Principal Jackie Hanson

Anthony February 2012News 3

On Friday, February 3, 2012, student mediators completed the final phase of Peer Mediationtraining. The mediators spent the entire day learning the essential skills needed to conductsuccessful mediations. Washburn Football Coach/Dean of students, Giovan Jenkins, brought five(5) Washburn students to assist with the training. Students engaged in various activities, such asbrainstorming sessions, role playing, active listening exercises, problem solving strategies andmock practice. All thirty­five (35) of the students signed contracts agreeing to serve not only aspeer mediators for the remainder of the school year, but to also conduct themselves as rolemodels/leaders as they pledge to make Anthony a school where everyone feels safe andcomfortable as they deal with their conflicts.Congratulations and good luck to our new mediators:Grade 6:Jayzee Brown, Maria Chiang Rebatta, Julia DeGeorgeo, Charlotte DeVaughn, Lily Dutton, JuliaHackett, Eli Lange, Spencer Rasmussen, Libin Shek­Yusuf, Jordan Starks, and AnnikaWennerlundGrade 7:Suad Aden, Jacqueline Boarman, Alexis Gregory, Omalkheyr Farah, Kadar Abdulle, TonyMartinez, Evan McHenry, Drakeia Owens, Brennan Riley, Andrew Strom, and Cora WyvellGrade 8:Sam Abrams, Mukhtar Barkdale, Margaret Breen, Noah Burke, Tess Dutton, Jaylen Franklin,Noah Herrera, Joe Jenkins, Zaria Jett, Annessa Pedersen, Hazel Rojas, Kavon Wilborn, andEllerson SmithMrs. Pittman

Anthony Middle School Peer Mediation Program

Anthony February 2012News 4

2012 Anthony Geography BeeOn Friday, January 13th, eleven very talented students competed to be the Anthony MiddleSchool National Geographic Bee 2012 champion. To qualify for the finals, students had towin their class competition and perform well on a qualifying test. The 6th grade wasrepresented by John Schwalback, Ben Wadman, Bryce Maples, and Margaret Walker. The7th grade was represented by Claire Pince, Brennan Riley, Yaqoub Yusuf, and GiselleDurand. The 8th grade was represented by Jacob Hanson, Meenah Keenan, and MaxDegree. After several rounds of tough competition the field was narrowed down to our twofinalists, Ben Wadman and Jacob Hanson. The championship round was close to the end butthe Geography Bee Champion for 2012 was Jacob Hanson. Jacob will now take the NationalGeographic qualifying test to see if he qualifies for the state competition later this year.

AVID UpdateThe students in AVID have shown great progress this year. Tutorials are taking off. Many ofstudents ask higher level questions about their core content classes. Some struggling studentsare getting the help and reinforcement they need, while other students are asking questionsthat go above and beyond the curriculum. Many students are really being leaders by asking thestudent presenters good questions to lead them in discovering their answers. The inquirytaught in AVID shows up in other classes. Sixth grader, Lashaundriel, has been asking good,specific questions in her math class. Another Math teacher really likes having AVID students inher class because they are the most prepared for class, and get more of their homeworkcompleted.On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the 7th and 8th AVID students have been working on writing 10%Summaries of current event articles. They then condensed the information down to about 10%of the article's original length. Then we spent time debating the issues in the articles. Sixthgrade students have been working with Visual Thinking Strategies, brainstorming the elementsof a narrative, and then used an illustration for the basis of their narrative.We will continue to have community guest speakers each month to talk to students about theircollege and professional experiences. Seventh and eighth grade students have been to DakotaCommunity and Technical College, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and will be going toMankato State University in April. Sixth grade AVID students have toured NormandaleCommunity College, and Augsburg College.We are always looking for more motivated students to take the AVID class. Right now, thereare openings in 6th grade this year, and openings for 7th graders to take AVID in 8th grade.Thanks,Jim Sanders ­ AVID Elective Teacher ­ Anthony Middle School

Anthony February 2012News 5

As part of the Global Classrooms Model United Nations Program Anthony 7th gradeHumanities 2 classes studied the history, function, and structure of the United Nations.Students researched the country they would be representing at the school conference.They also learned United Nations procedures, presentation skills, and negotiation skills.The conference topic was: Burden­Sharing and Durable Solutions Concerning Refugees.Students were members of a delegation and were assigned to meet with one of thefollowing groups: General Assembly (Auditorium), UNHCR: UN High Commissioner forRefugees (Media Center), and the Security Council (Room 307). Students spokeeloquently at the microphone to the large group, advocated for their countries, andnegotiated with each other. The day was a big success and Anthony students did anexcellent job in their roles as UN delegates.

Model United Nations Conference

Anthony February 2012News 6

Sixth grade science has been focusing on energy. We have talked about thebasics of energy and have learned that everything has energy. After thebasics we focused in on sound and light energy. We ended the light unitwith the cow eye dissection. Students were energized and very focused onthe learning that has occurred during this unit. It has been hard work,because they are being assessed with the Science MYP criterion, but theyare becoming great communicators and risk takers. Most importantly I haveseen them grow as students who are caring and supporting each other asthey learn. Ask them about the new science language they now have a greatunderstanding of. Our last mini unit for energy – Heat‐ will begin onTuesday. Look forward to an end of the unit MYP assessment project wherestudents will be able to combine all their learning into one project that theywill present to the class.

Sixth Grade Science

Art Room UpdateHELLO from the Artroom and Ms. SpeidelProjects are moving along as the Introduction students are putting the final touches on theirpaintings and the Advanced students are completing their artist research papers and art piece tocompliment the artist. I am always amazed with the many talents that my students display in theirworks and the variety of ideas that they put on paper!!!This past week I brought 3 students, Rachel Kantzes, Sophie Clark and George Petermeier to theCentral Library, downtown Mpls. to participate in a workshop just for the art students. Theycreated small art business cards, traded them with others, talked about the art work in the Viva CityExhibit located on the upper level, and listened to a local artist explain and talk about his ownwork. Next week on February 22nd, there will be an awards ceremony and reception. The exhibitwill be on display until the 29th, then changing to the High School display. If you are able to,please visit the display and see all of the talented students work for yourself.

Anthony February 2012News 7

During these past weeks, we've completed our investigation about how power & cultureaffect group interactions. We've compared past issues with power & culture betweendifferent groups during the fur trade, treaty signings, settlement, Civil & Dakota Wars. We'vealso looked at how differences in power & culture groups at Anthony affect groupinteractions and compared them with past occurrences. For a culminating project, students inboth Yale & Harvard Humanities classes prepared mix it up games for homeroom classes.The overall goal of these activities was to help students overcome some of the power andculture barriers that keep groups of students apart.We are currently beginning our unit on the Industrial Era of Minnesota, which will take usfrom sodbusting & farming, through the beginnings of the flour, mining and lumberindustries, onto Progressive Era reforms, and ending with World War I. The MYP focus ofour unit is Human Ingenuity. At the end of the Unit, students will be asked to answer ouressential question: How does change happen? Which change of the Industrial Era ofMinnesota had the greatest impact on our state? Feel free to send in your thoughts andchallenges ­ it's a fun unit that can go in many directions!Peace,Paul SommersHumanities 1 / Minnesota Studies TeacherPaul.Sommers@mpls.k12.mn.ushttp://anthony.mpls.k12.mn.us/Paul_Sommers.htmlvoicemail: 612.668.7912

History

Humanities I ­ Minnesota Studies

Eighth grade students are working on their history day projects in Humanities 3 classes. Thetheme for history day this year is, “Revolution, Reaction and Reform”. Topics range from sports,“Title Nine”, “Free Agency” and “Willie O’Ree”, to the arts, “Pablo Picasso”, to science,“Copernicus”, “Norman Borlaug” and “Nuclear Medicine”, to the more traditional history topics,“The Black Panthers”, “The Little Rock Nine”, and “The 1968 Democratic Convention”. Projectswill be on display in the media center for Parent teacher conferences. Please have a look at thescholarly research going on at Susan B. Anthony. And please e­mail me if you are available tojudge a few or several projects on Tuesday or Wednesday, February 28th and 29th. Thank you,parents, for supporting your students with this in­depth assignment.Margaret Taftmargaret.taft@mpls.k12.mn.usRyan Olsonryan.olson@mpls.k12.mn.us

Anthony February 2012News 8

Featured Support Staff ­ Officer O'Connor, School Resource OfficerI am the school resource officer (SRO) at Anthony Middle School. This is my first year working in thisrole, and I am really enjoying finding my role/fit in helping the children at this school succeed. As anSRO I work as a team with the rest of the staff, be it a teacher, a principal, a dean, or social worker, tohelp provide a safe and comfortable learning environment for the students here. It is very rewarding tohave so many positive contacts, in a positive setting, with so many students. Second only to thecontacts with the students is the positive relationships I have been able to develop with many of staffhere at Anthony. It was challenging at first but it has been an excellent education to see the perspectivesfrom so many walks of life come together for the same common goal.Officer David O'ConnorMPD Juvenile UnitSchool Resource Officer612­919­1556

African American Dinner and Talent Show

Anthony February 2012News 9

Standardized Testing & DatesThe Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments MCA II’s in reading, math, science (science isfor 8th graders), and the ACCESS Reading/Writing (for ELL students), are fast approaching.MCA III Math ­ March 26th thru May 18thMCA II Reading ­ April 17 & 18MCA II Science ­ March 26 thru May 18thACCESS (for ELL students) ­Feb 6th thru March 23rdQuestions and Answers about the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments IIHow can I help a child prepare for these tests?In general, familiarize him or her with the test directions and the format. You can downloadItem Samplers from the state website. Encourage him or her to participate in practicesessions at school and home. Have the child get a good night’s sleep and a nutritiousbreakfast before taking a test. Encourage the child to answer all test questions he or sheknows for sure. Have the child put a small mark by those that give him or her trouble. TheMCA­IIs are not timed, so he or she can go back to the questions that are marked.Reading

•Read to your children and encourage them to read to you.•Try crossword puzzles and news quizzes in your local newspaper.•Discuss the events and stories you read about in the newspaper.

Math•Encourage your children to use math every day. They can practice by creating

a grocerybudget, explaining charts and graphs from newspaper and magazine

articles, dividing foodportions, using rulers to measure objects, measuring a recipe, or adding

prices on a shoppingtrip.

•Play games that involve numbers or computation.•Encourage them to connect what they are learning in math class to their

hobbies, otherclasses, and everyday life.

For additional information and questions go to the Minnesota Department of Education website athttp://education.state.mn.us (click on Assessment & Testing under Accountability Programs)mde.testing@state.mn.us

High School Applications

Counseling Corner

Anthony News February 201210 February 2012

Personal Safety Tips from the MPS Office of Emergency Management, Safety & SecurityPERSONAL SAFETY IN AND AROUND YOUR VEHICLE• Pay close attention to your surroundings• Try to park your car under or close to a light• LOCK your vehicle at all times• Do Not cover or leave valuables sitting in plain view. Place valuables in the

trunk prior to arriving at your next destination• Never get out of your car if you feel the situation is not safe• Report suspicious persons who are casing vehicles in the lot or on the street• Call 911 with the description of the person and the direction they are headed• Have your keys in your hand when approaching car• Scan the area before opening the door. This is the most vulnerable time• If you are being followed, drive to a busy place, i.e. a gas station, police or fire station.PERSONAL SAFETY IN AND AROUND BUILDINGS• Walk to and from the building in pairs/groups if possible• It is a good practice to have someone know your daily schedule• Scan the area, pay attention to what you are hearing and seeing• Place your personal belongings i.e. purses, wallets, laptops, etc. in a locked

desk or cabinet• Limit the number of credit cards and cash that you carry• Do Not carry your Social Security card with your credit cards/or checkbook• Try to keep at least one hand free when walking to and from the building.• Have your cell phone handy in case you need to call 911• Display a confident and strong posture, look people in the eye when passing by them• Do not engage in conversations with strangers that would lead you into a

vulnerable situation• Establish good boundaries; reduce the opportunity for someone to “bump” into

you. This is a old trick used to pick pockets• Feel free to share this information with friends and family for personal safety

outside of the work place• Consult with your School Resource Officer for additional safety tips at your

location

Reminder ­ All medical appointments must be verified. Medical appointments will be excused only if thestudent brings in a note/card from the doctor/clinic verifying the appointment which caused yourstudent to miss school. A written note or phone call from a parent will no longer excuse the absence. Askat the desk for a card or receipt acknowledging the visit.

Medical Appointments