Care and Share Drive

We officially kicked off our Care and Share Season this past Friday at our Care and Share Pep Rally during Wrap-Up followed by our after school Care and Share Dance.

For over two decades Walton Middle School has provided food packages to families in need during the December holiday season. Those packages include food we collect from our students and faculty, as well as, other items we buy with money donated or proceeds from the Care and Share dance. Through the years over 700 food packages have been distributed to our Walton families and families in the Walton community. Please help us continue this tradition by encouraging your student to bring in non-perishable food items during the next two weeks. Monetary donations are welcome.

Mike Hansell

7th Grade History Teacher

Baking with Fractions

“When are we ever going to use this?” is a question middle school students frequently ask. To answer this question, I am having my 6^th grade math students bake cookies on Friday. The students are going to apply what they have learned about multiplying and dividing fractions by calculating the amount of each ingredient if they cut a recipe in half. Making and then eating the cookies will help them practice measuring skills, following directions, and will allow the students to evaluate if they did their calculations correct based on how well the cookies turned out. Thanks to all the parents that let their child bring baking supplies to school and to the parents that are coming to help!  If you have any recipes that you need to double or triple for Thanksgiving, have your child do the calculations for you. I hope all students, their families, and staff have a safe and happy Thanksgiving break next week.

~ Mrs. Deering

    6th grade math 

8th Grade Blogs

Think about what you would spend more time crafting: a paragraph for your teacher on a topic she has assigned, or a note to friend about the boy you have a crush on?  Authentic audience and topic choice make a tremendous difference to students when they write.  Because of the motivating effect of finding an authentic audience, 8th grade Language Arts students have been working on building a personal blog.

Topics have run the gamut from Monticello football game recaps to the differences between glitz and natural pageants.  Some of the best entries have been reviews of video games, droll accounts of boring weekends, and recaps and reactions to television shows.  We've even had an entry about the most serious of topics: sushi!  As the year goes on, we hope to find our voice as writers and take care in crafting the best entries we can, both in terms of expression and conventions.

Dear Walton Families,

This has been such a great year in the band room.  From dodging the already arriving yard sale items to walking through the cat’s mouth to enter the doorway to have class on spirit week, the fun just keeps going.

I cannot think of a better place to be than in a band room full of young minds just waiting to learn.  I love it when the students feel so good about what they have accomplished. It is hard work and still it is having fun. I can also promise you that the students that are practicing at home are doing better and having a lot more fun than those that do not…

PRACTICE   PRACTICE  PRACTICE  PRACTICE   PRACTICE

 

If you ask for directions in New York, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”….The answer is practice practice practice

I do not want Carnegie Hall, but a great winter performance would be wonderful.

·      All classes have practice charts now and know how they work

·      All charts are due on  the week they have Friday band

·      6^th grade: start with 10 minutes, 5 to 7 times a week, and work to 15 min. by November 15^th

·      7th grade needs to buckle down pretty quick and give a minimum of 30 minutes, 5 to 7 times a week.  1 hour is ideal.

·      8^th grade should be at 45 minutes to 1 hour, 5 to 7 times a week

Practice is not an option it is an expectation and considered homework.  I have had students tell me they are not allowed to practice because it annoys mom or dad.  If they do not do their math homework, they will fail math. Same goes for band.  Practice is their home work so have your child…

*hold a concert for you after dinner

*play for the grandparents

*have a set practice time each day

*record them and play it back together

         *make it fun!!!!

Come by our band room any time and we will gladly play a tune just for you.  Are door is always open and we love to display are talents.  Hope to see you all soon!

Peggy Haluska

Band Director

7th Grade Word Study

                A big focus for middle school Language Arts classes is giving students the opportunity to study and learn new and advanced vocabulary.  Having a vast knowledge of vocabulary can help make reading more enjoyable and make student’s writing more advanced.  One of the ways that we address this in the classroom is by teaching root word study.  We focus on a root for a week or two at a time and try to develop as many words as possible to go with that root by using numerous prefixes and suffixes.

                At the beginning of the school year, we spend time focusing on the meanings of various prefixes and suffixes.  Then, we take a root word, define what the root means, and then add the prefixes and suffixes we have learned to make new words.  We will complete other activities to practice meaning and usage of these words as well.  As students become comfortable with this process, they start developing words and recognizing meanings of words in their reading quickly.  Since Language Arts is very cyclical, we come back to the same prefixes and suffixes again and again, which makes the learning easier for students that are struggling, while those that get it right away are able to go on their own to create and identify words they previously didn’t know with ease.

                During the last two weeks, 7^th grade students have been working with the root word Phobia, which means abnormal fear of.  We have looked at prefixes we’ve had earlier this year, such as zoo- (animal), hydro-(water), and photo- (light), while adding new prefixes, such as bronto-(thunder), pyro-(fire), and xeno-(alien). 

                To help students work on understanding and expand their knowledge and vocabulary, we’ve completed various activities.  Two of these activities have really been interesting to watch students participate in.  The first activity involves students working with a partner and looking at a compiled list of 1,500 recognized phobias.  After reading through this list, they compiled their own top 20 list of what they would consider to be the worst phobias to live with every day.  After compiling all of the lists, the number one phobia that the students thought would make life most difficult was panophobia, the fear of everything.

                The other activity that has been interesting to watch came from a NPR program that another teacher read about (thank you Rachel McElroy!).  Students have chosen either a phobia they have or one that they find interesting and then they have completed artwork and writing that go with it.  It has been amazing to see what students have created.

Will Matics

7th Grade Language Arts Teacher

November 13, 2013

Hello from 8^th grade science!

So far this quarter students have been working hard learning about motion and Isaac Newton.  Combining new material with lab experiments helps engage students while also increasing their level of understanding.  In studying average speed, students used bubble gum to gather data about their chomp speed and then graphed their results using Microsoft Excel.  In studying mass and momentum, students measured the time it takes for gravity to accelerate balls of various masses down a ramp.  They then related that data to momentum when they measured the distance the balls would push a cup.  In learning about Isaac Newton, we have had great class discussions about gravity, rockets and inertia.  Students competed in a lab to see which group could accelerate a golf ball with the most force, using Newton’s second law which says force = mass x acceleration.  We will transition into talking about simple machines later this week when students will draw their own “Rube Goldberg Cartoon” to demonstrate their understanding.

To the parents of rising 9^th graders: I want to draw your attention to 3 academies that Albemarle County Public Schools offers next year for your child.  They are: MESA (Math, Engineering and Science Academy) at Albemarle High School, HMSA (Health and Medical Sciences Academy) at Monticello High School and the new Environmental Studies Academy at Western Albemarle High School.  While offering all course work necessary for graduation, each academy also offers a rigorous curriculum in their area of concentration.  Check out the academy webpages (from this link: http://www2.k12albemarle.org/acps/schools/Pages/default.aspx) if your child is interested in applying.  There you will find applications and information to answer any questions you might have.

Thanks!

Heather Kepple

8^th grade physical science

Greetings from 6^th grade social study. As we head further into fall, we can hardly believe that we are more than halfway through the semester. What a semester it’s been. A few weeks ago, students were assigned reports on key individuals from The Revolutionary War.  Students had a choice in which to present their projects.  While we expected the projects to be good, we were honestly blown away by the overall creativity, hard work, and attention to details that the students showed.  Some students presented in the old faithful Power Point while some used innovative programs like Plotogon . Well done!

 

 In other news, we are currently studying American government and once again, the students are showing off their curiosity and intellect by asking some great questions about how the US government works. Before the holiday break we will have cover two favorite topics of students and history teachers alike: Westward Migration and The Civil War.

Well, it is Monday again and I am writing this blog as I wait for my next session to begin at Making Connections.  Talk about diversity!  I started with an informational session about the three high school academies, a student presentation on Minecraft, and the afternoon incudes a presentation on Shakespeare Alive! 

I really wanted to write about the student vs. faculty basketball game Friday afternoon.  I have never seen so much enthusiasm and talent in one small middle school gym.  We had numerous three-pointers, body bumping, hollers, high-fives as well as multiple cartwheels.  All of the players, both student and faculty, showed off some pretty fancy moves and kept the scores very close during each game.  I can’t wait to hear what my sixth grade homeroom has to say about the game on Wednesday.  I must say though, in the end, there was no doubt in my mind which group should be presented with the “BIGGEST HAMS” award.  Congratulations faculty!!!

I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow and perhaps I will see you at the polls.

Great SPIRIT week at Walton

Good morning Walton!

We have had a wonderful SPIRIT week at WMS.  Yesterday the SCA had costume day and the Prevention Team handed out candy to all students.  Today, the SCA is judging the Door decorating contest and hosting the student-faculty basketball game.  There are two games on tap this afternoon.  The first will be a fun filled game, the second game is for all the years bragging rights!!  Go Faculty!

We also started the second nine weeks of the year.  Report cards are due to go out this week!!

There is no school on Monday and Tuesday of next week.  Monday is a professional development day for teachers, and Tuesday is Election Day.  Please exercise your rights as an American citizen and cast your vote on Tuesday.

Hope everyone enjoys the extended weekend!

Mr. V