Epsilon Newsletter
Sept 28th – Oct 1st
Math:
7th graders finished their equations and inequality units this week. They worked on application problems on Monday, took an open note quiz on Tuesday over just inequalities, completed their study guide on Wednesday, and took the check-in on Thursday. The check-ins will come home in their P&P folders Monday. Algebra students started their linear equations unit. They had lessons over finding slope from a graph and two points, and graphing linear equations from slope-intercept form and standard form. Both classes will not be taking another check-in until after Fall break and will be assessed over these partial units in Quarter 2.
Humanities:
Epsilon students wrapped up Johnny Tremain with a close look at Chapter 12 and its key vocabulary. As we prepared for our final evaluation, students worked outside of class to create possible test questions and vocabulary examples, reviewing the novel’s major characters, events, themes, and ideas.
Students also began their first Literary Essay of the year, focusing on Johnny’s transformation throughout the novel. They are using specific events and experiences from Johnny’s journey to examine how he changes, matures, and develops from the beginning of the story to its conclusion. We will be ending our quarter with a check-in next Thursday.
Social Studies:
The Declaration of Independence: The Argument Begins!
This week, students began a deeper analysis of the Declaration of Independence, first exploring the document’s purpose and the Five W’s surrounding its creation. We then broke down Part One, examining the basic rights of people, the role of government in protecting those rights, and the social contract between a government and its people.
To prepare for the debates ahead, students took on different perspectives within the argument for independence, including Patriots, Loyalists, and those who remained neutral. Next week, the classroom becomes a Revolutionary-era Town Hall as students prepare to meet none other than King George III and defend their assigned perspectives in a lively discussion about the future of the colonies!
Our quarter will end next Wednesday with a quick Check-In but our topic of US History will not. In Quarter Two, we will move through the Revolutionary War and into the Constitution and the rights it promises.
Science:
This week we reviewed the four cycles: water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. On Tuesday we took notes to compare all four cycles, played a four corner game, then began our crossroads posters. The crossroad posters showcased the four cycles and where they crossed. Each group had to chart the same cycles, but had a different disturbance that affected their ecosystem. This project was finished on Thursday after they organized their Ecology binders.
Spanish 1A: Explorando mundos:
This week in Spanish we kicked off Unit 2: Mi clase y mi mundo escolar!
Students learned some new classroom vocabulary and started working with subject pronouns — basically, figuring out who we’re talking about in a sentence. Then on Day 14, we officially introduced SER (to be) and connected it to phrases they already know like Yo soy… and Él/Ella es…
We also started our Día de Muertos portfolio project! We’ll be building it little by little over the next several classes, so students can keep learning new Spanish while creating something meaningful.
At home, students should be practicing SER and choosing the person they’d like to feature in their project.