October 2023: WNS Inflight News: Middle School Newsletter

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2: OCTOBER 2023

INFLIGHT NEWS The WNS Middle School Newsletter

Message from the Director October was a very busy month in the middle school as you will soon read. Our students traveled outside of the classroom on their grade level retreats to bond as a community and stretch themselves.

Meanwhile, back in the classroom, the academics ramped up and students developed their skills independently and in groups.

Throughout it all, we have continued to send a message to our students about the importance of WE over ME thinking in all facets of their life. From the little things like picking up their trash after lunch and not chewing gum at school to the big things like being a positive leader as they connect with the grade level buddies or speaking up in class to make the classroom a better place. The choices students make every day - big and small - have a massive impact in our community.

INFLIGHT NEWS

In this issue Curriculum Highlights PAGES 2-9 8th Grade DC Trip PAGES 10 7th Grade Joshua Tree Retreat PAGE 11 Buddies PAGE 12 6th Grade Catalina Retreat PAGE 13 Upcoming Dates and Announcements PAGE 14

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6th grade In 6th Grade ELA, we are on a journey to understand the year-long theme of "POWER." We began the year exploring the themes and connections from the summer reading selection Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes.

The students refined how to find deeper meanings and write thoughtfully about a very delicate time in history: The 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in NYC. From there, the focus shifted to reading a literary classic, Animal Farm by George Orwell. We are refining our understanding of literary devices like satire and allegories to creatively bring lessons to light for readers. Along the way, sixth graders also practiced their grammar and punctuation skills, creatively wrote about their "living history" during the pandemic, and continue to have lively class discussions about the readings. Sixth graders are learning with their minds on fire and discovering their POWER as critical thinkers as well as engaging writers.

7th grade Students have been reading The Giver and going into deep discussions of RULES: do we need them, why do we need them, and what happens because of them?

To support our passionate stances, we are practicing annotating, quoting text evidence, and writing objectively as well as creatively. Once we wrap up The Giver with a cool, musically creative project, we will put our reading and writing practices into the year’s upcoming first essay.

8th grade Students started the year diving into the summer reading book Pet, analyzing the character development, and how those characters affected the identity and individualism of our protagonist. We practiced annotating a text, close reading, and grammar.

Later we began We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and discussed themes of repetition, family identity, and its effect on the main character.

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6th grade Sixth grade students started their year focusing on topics surrounding whole number operations, including a deeper dive into order of operations and properties. While the first unit included many review topics from fifth grade, the second unit of the year introduced a new concept for students...integers! Integer operations will be an invaluable skill for students throughout their time in middle school and beyond, so students learned a variety of tools to assist them with this challenging new concept. Beyond traditional lessons and assignments, students learned to reinforce and solidify their new understanding through various games and in-class activities like scavenger hunts, puzzles, Blooket reviews, and coordinate plane art. A general goal through the first two months is to help students develop an organized approach to showing their work. While there can be many ways to approach a problem or arrive at the correct answer, we always want our students to think about how to "show their thinking" through their work. In the coming weeks, we will cover operations involving rational numbers and students will start their first project of the year that centers around creating their own number system that does not follow a traditional base-10 system.

7th grade The first two months of school for seventh graders have been jam-packed. Whether in Pre-Algebra or Algebra 1, students have spent time reviewing key lessons on integer operations, rational numbers, the real number system, properties, and algebraic fundamentals. Some of the most challenging topics covered so far this year have been exponent rules, which require students to have a strong command of each rule and to think critically on how to apply their understanding of all rules in challenging examples. Through thought-provoking warm-up activities or engaging classroom discussions, students have been challenged to not only show how they arrived at an answer in their work, but to communicate their understanding to the class. Facilitating conversations around how students might arrive at the same answer via different problem-solving strategies has helped students recognize the value of flexible thinking in math. While many problems have one correct answer, the paths to the answer can be different and we love to see our students defend how they arrived at an answer and look for the similarities and differences in the strategies used by their peers.

8th grade The final year of middle school math has challenged our eighth-grade students in so many ways. Whether continuing to hone their algebraic thinking by developing new problem-solving strategies in Algebra 1 or working on their deductive reasoning through proofs in Geometry, students are leveraging the lessons learned in sixth and seventh grades to tap into their full-potential as mathematicians. Our students in Algebra 1 have been focusing on equations, inequalities, and related word problems, which are all topics they were first introduced to in seventh grade. Next, students will be introduced to functions and the relationship between independent and dependent variables, which will be a major building block for future units. Geometry students started the year by learning about the building blocks of Geometry: points, lines, and planes. Recently, they have been reviewing parallel and perpendicular lines, which also included slope, which had been a focus in the prior year. Regardless of class placement, students understand the lessons being learned in math will be critical for life beyond WNS. This is the year we want to see it all come together for our students, especially in the area of independently studying for assessments and being proactive to get extra support outside of class.

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6th grade Thus far in 6th grade science, we've covered the basics of thinking like a scientist, and we are just now delving into the foundations of our planet. We explored various models of earth's layers (including a highly inquisitive deep dive into the layers of a milky way bar) and we've just finished exploring plate tectonics & the water cycle.

Students can look forward to continuing our exploration of meteorology (and its distinction from climate), and some in-class investigation of natural disasters. Our next lab will include jello, simulated earthquakes, and the chance to hone the engineering design process.

7th grade The seventh-grade science students completed a unit on scientific thinking and skepticism. They designed their own controlled experiments to figure out the cause of the color change in a mystery liquid. The experiments provided the first experience with writing lab reports. The students also completed myth-busting projects where they researched topics ranging from the 5-second rule to the safety of microwave ovens. The mythbusting project posters are currently on display in the 12901 (North Campus) hallway. Now the class is working on a unit about the characteristics of living things. They just finished a lab activity to determine if yeast is alive and able to carry out metabolic processes.

8th grade

We started off the year with our chemistry unit. With a quick introduction to matter and atoms, we jumped right into the periodic table of elements. While it may look daunting to the students at first, they quickly realized that they only needed to learn 46 out of the 118 elements (phew!), and they already knew a good chunk of them. Students worked through a variety of paper and pencil, hands-on, and digital activities to help them recognize patterns within the table, create mnemonic devices for memory retention, and games (because who doesn't love games?) to engage multiple parts of their brain. As a teacher, it is so satisfying to see them work through their challenges when it comes to this unit and hear them say that it wasn't as hard as they thought it would be. It's also one of the things alumni talk about when they visit because it prepared them so well for chemistry in high school.

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Social Studies 6th grade We're laying the groundwork for the year by establishing skills that make us more effective historians and thinkers.

We have applied the idea of periodizing history to our own lives by creating personal timelines, explored scale and the value of zooming in and out to understand the big picture and analyze small details, claim-tested ideas using logic, intuition, authority, and evidence, and tried out some nonfiction reading strategies.

Next up, we will look for similarities and differences in creation myths and origin stories from around the world!

7th grade

We've kicked off the year in seventh-grade social studies by studying the development of early human agrarian societies and the powerful states that arose to rule these increasingly complex civilizations.

Students completed a project examining a variety of early agrarian societies, discussed the common elements and interesting differences between different regions of the world as they developed agriculture, and debated how powerful governments arose to create order in a changing world.

Did humans join together cooperatively to establish rules, or did power-hungry elites use force to make ordinary people do their bidding? (Or maybe a little of both!).

Students have also been studying world geography, starting with a unit on world regions that will help us situate both historical and current events as the year goes on.

8th grade

The start of the year in eighth grade social studies was all about Washington, DC! Why was the city founded? How did its designers lay it out? Why did they set aside spaces for monuments and memorials? Why, who, and what do we choose to build monuments and memorials for and what does that say about us? We also learned the basics of how the US Government is supposed to operate before boarding a plane to see the place where the US Government operates, look at the monuments and memorials we researched up close, and learn about US history in some of the country's finest museums.

Now that we're back, it's time to learn about early American history and the lead-up to the American Revolution.

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Music

6th grade Students are learning and reviewing the fundamentals of music literacy skills through singing and playing instruments, and employing essential vocal technique skills while preparing for the upcoming Performing Arts Showcase performance in December. Each grade level is learning one song from the Motown Era in preparation for the concert.

6th Graders will be singing "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas.

Some students will be the "Marthas" and some will be the "Vandellas."

7th grade Seventh graders have been diving into music concepts such as beat, rhythm, melody, and harmony. They are learning how to become an ensemble. Seventh graders are also working on sight reading with instruments.

7th Grade will be singing "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" by Stevie Wonder.

It involves a lot of syncopation (singing on the weak beats instead of the strong beats).

8th grade Eighth graders are learning about clear diction and getting in the groove. They are building essential skills to listen to one another and are preparing for three part harmony by the end of the year. 8th Grade has two songs. Their gradelevel song is "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," featuring soloists, and their K/8 Buddy Song is “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder.

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Theatre Arts 6th grade In theatre arts, students started the year building an ensemble, or team. We played a few improv activities to build and challenge our collaborative skills as a group. We also kicked off the year by spending an afternoon at the famous Hollywood Pantages Theatre watching Disney's Aladdin to help inspire our year! We then stepped into the world of physical theatre, learning how to use our body on stage. Students learned about pantomime (acting without the voice) to tell short stories. Students were tasked with creating a 1 minute pantomime scene with a partner set to underscoring music. Students will finish their physical theatre unit with a lip sync performance project

7th grade Students began the year immersing themselves with an introduction to Shakespeare. Students read and researched about his history as one of the most prolific theatre practitioners. We dove right into Romeo and Juliet, getting an incredible synopsis by Shakespeare enthusiast, Dr. Cameron. After the brief retelling, students dissected the R&J prologue and were then tasked to adapt and create their version of Romeo & Juliet's prologue. We swiftly moved to one of Shakespeare's most celebrated comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Students saw a new, exciting production in Pasadena at A Noise Within theatre company. After seeing the show, students will take a deeper dive by staging some of the more memorable scenes and writing their own short versions in a reality TV format.

8th grade Students are working on developing skills needed to write a show from scratch. From having an incredible playwriting workshop in September with a social justice playwright, this month, they had the opportunity to work with dancer and choreographer extraordinaire, KJ Wade.

Based on their understanding of social justice issues, and their experiences in DC, KJ taught a stepping routine to each section. We are currently planning on using it as the closing of our eighth-grade show. In class, students are learning how to write short scenes with strong characters and a clear plot. They’ve been writing individually and in small groups to get a variety of possible material for our show. In November, we would like to select our top scenes for each section and begin the casting process before Winter Break.

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Visual Arts 6th grade

In traditional art, sixth graders have plunged into their Tasty Ceramic project! For their inspiration, they viewed and discussed the importance of food as an ongoing theme for artists throughout history.

They have decided on a theme, which will include three different foods, printed these out as a reference, and are now exploring hand-building techniques to create their life-sized yummy sculptures.

In digital art, students design and create their very own digital character, along with their own personality. The goal of this project is to tell a story using imagery and to be familiar with Procreate.

Sixth graders have been learning how to build shapes and transform shapes into realistic figures.

The students will switch classes at the semester point.

7th grade

Seventh-grade students have been exploring Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) through mixed media art by creating skull masks. They have designed and are painting skull masks made out of paper mache. The historical significance of Dia de los Muertos was introduced and discussed with 7th-grade students. In collaboration with Spanish class, they also created altar frames to honor a person who has passed. They placed these frames on our community ofrenda (altar).

After finishing their skull masks, their masks will also be placed on the ofrenda to celebrate Dia de los Muertos.

8th grade For inspiration for their Human Meets Nature project, the eighth graders have viewed and discussed the art movement Surrealism, which sought to challenge ways of thinking and create art that taps into the unconscious mind and is dream-like. Their challenge is to combine two objects, one found in nature and one human-made, and create one ceramic sculpture that is unified and harmonious. They are currently in the planning process: figuring out the two objects to “fuse” together, which is the biggest challenge!

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6th grade The students learned/reviewed the months of the year, the seasons, and the days of the week by learning songs and playing games. At the end of the unit, they created a project where they had to plan a 4-day family vacation. They had to choose a location to research sights and attractions.

They had to explain each activity and how much it would cost. The presentation included pictures of each chosen location and the activities they planned.

In sixth grade Spanish Immersion, students created a Google Slides Project on a Hispanic country. It was the first project of this type they had ever done.

7th grade The students reviewed vocabulary associated with friends, family, home, school, and sports, and grammar concepts, such as regular verbs, irregular verbs, and stemchanging verbs. We played games, did representations with the vocabulary words, and practiced making sentences and writing small paragraphs using grammar concepts. Students did speaking, writing, and listening checks related to those concepts and then applied them in their Día de los Muertos frame project. The students wrote a paragraph about a family member they chose to put at the altar at the school's main entrance.

In 7th grade Spanish Immersion, students did an interview with a partner in which they asked them questions about themselves, their family, and their home. They then took the information and wrote a paragraph about the person they interviewed.

8th grade The students reviewed the vocabulary and grammar concepts from last year through games, writing short paragraphs, and reading short stories related to each vocabulary topic they studied. They practiced speaking and listening by having short conversations in Spanish about topics for each unit. They assisted with the Día de los Muertos workshop, where they learned how different cultures grieve depending on their beliefs and environments and the origin of Día de los Muertos. The students learned to make "papel picado," an essential item at the altar that people set up for Día de los Muertos.

In 8th grade Spanish Immersion, students are learning reflexive verbs which can be a difficult concept for some of them. They created a Google Slides Project using the verbs in the Preterite Tense. In the process, students were introduced to the Imperfect Tense which is another past tense. They will soon learn the differences between both past tenses.

Eighth graders also had the special opportunity to learn about the Day of the Dead from guest José López.

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8th Grade DC Trip, October 1-6

The near-week-long trip to the nation’s capital provided a meaningful opportunity for students to connect and learn together outside the classroom. Against the backdrop of iconic memorials and museums, they gained a deeper understanding of American history and government.

Throughout the year ahead, teachers will refer back to the trip as they dive into projects and curriculum topics in English, social studies, SWIM, and theatre arts.

The 8th graders now share memories of gazing up at the Washington Monument, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, and debating issues that are discussed in the Capitol chambers.

These experiences will serve as a springboard as students apply what they learned in DC to their studies all year.

With tight bonds established and new knowledge in hand, the 8th grade is prepared to make this year at WNS their most successful yet.

Since our return, they’ve continued to reflect upon their learning and make connections to the curriculum and their own lives.

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7th Grade Joshua Tree Retreat, October 4-6

Students enjoyed three days of hiking, rock climbing, bouldering, and exploring the desert ecosystem in Joshua Tree. WOLF leaders along with seventh-grade teachers, Mr. Harlan, Mr. McLaughlin, Ms. Huerto, Ms. Zeinab, Ms. Reimann, and Mr. Wright, guided students on a memorable journey. This was a special opportunity for the 7th-grade students to strengthen their friendships and come together as a class. The chasm of doom, as it’s so lovingly referred to, was a highlight, along with campfire entertainment and general shenanigans. We all returned stronger, physically and mentally, and have become more resilient.

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Buddies, October 12

First and Sixth Grade Buddies

Third and Seventh Grade Buddies

Kindergarten and Eighth Grade Buddies

1st graders had selected a book from their classroom libraries that they wanted to read with the help of their 6th-grade buddies, so once students arrived, they greeted each other, read their books, and shared their thoughts on the stories.

Seventh graders drew "portraits" of their buddy(ies). If they were uncomfortable drawing, they could do a heart map. The students were quite engaged and did not want to stop when time was up.

Kindergarten students told spooky stories while their eighth graders wrote it down. Then, they illustrated their story together. They loved spending time together and being creative with one another.

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6th Grade Catalina Retreat, October 25-27

Tucked inside the protection of Long Point, just 5 miles from Avalon, Fox Landing was the perfect place to explore the ocean.

Students in groups of 8-10 had their own cabin with a WNS faculty chaperone in a private cove facing the mainland of California.

Although only 26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, it felt like a whole other world! Students experienced an intensive ropes course, night rock climbing, and a mini ecology hike. Students also dove into oceanography, getting steeped in plankton and tide pools. A major highlight was snorkeling during the day and at night.

They not only made new memories, but grew closer as a class, enjoying time in nature, with one another, and away from technology!

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Upcoming Dates + Announcements Every Wednesday is Spirit Day! The entire community is encouraged to wear WNS gear to celebrate community and belonging. Feel free to wear any kind of WNS gear every Wednesday.

The Book Fair is coming! Monday, November 6 - Wednesday November 15. We will host a Family Fun Event at the Book Fair on Sunday, November 12 from 12:00-3:00pm.

Friday, November 17 - Fitness for Fun and Breaking Bread Fitness for Fun is an annual event for all students, faculty, and staff that promotes lifelong fitness and health. Wear your WNS gear or clothes suitable for physical activity and comfortable athletic shoes. The community will participate in a variety of activities that get their bodies moving and blood pumping, all while having loads of fun!

Breaking Bread is a long-standing WNS tradition where Family Groups meet around an oilcloth signed over the years by past members of that family group, share a moment of gratitude, new members sign their name on the cloth, and then we break bread together.

Mid-Semester Reports: These will go live in OnCampus on Friday, November 17. These are a snapshot in time and not a formal report.

Fall Break - Monday, November 20 through Monday, November 27 School Resumes - Tuesday, November 28

Coming up in our next issue

You’re invited to see Clue on November 15 at 6:00 pm in our Black Box Theatre.

Please RSVP here

Halloween Pictures 7th and 8th Grade Dance First Student Affinity Groups Book Fair Clue on Stage Buddies Breaking Bread Fitness for Fun

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