Qu’est-ce qui se passe? ¿Qué pasa? What’s happening?

I am so excited to be starting my third year at Walton !  Student numbers in World Languages classes are growing, and I am teaching both French and Spanish this year – 8^th grade French I (the high school credit class) plus 6^th and 7^th grade exploratory classes in both languages. 

Did you know that French is an official or co-official language in 29 countries and is also widely spoken in several other countries? These countries are located on five of the seven continents.  French I students are doing a project to find news articles about as many of these countries as possible. 

“More than 200 million people speak French on the five continents. The Francophonie, the international organisation of French-speaking countries, comprises 68 states and governments. French is the second most widely learned foreign language after English, and the ninth most widely spoken language in the world. French is also the only language, alongside English, that is taught in every country in the world. France operates the biggest international network of cultural institutes, which run French-language courses for more than 750,000 learners.” The source for this quote and nine other reasons to study French can be found at http://www.consulfrance-houston.org/spip.php?article1426.

The goal of the exploratory classes is to introduce students to the language and culture of other countries.  Thanks to Señora Vinel who loaned us her tortilla press, Spanish classes were able to make their own tortillas!   Over the next few months, we will study some basic vocabulary while exploring some of the important customs and celebrations in Spanish-speaking countries.

The French exploratory class is taking a virtual trip to France, learning the steps in traveling from the flight (on Air France of course) to getting a hotel room, dining out, shopping and sight-seeing. We will also study French customs and celebrations.

I am looking forward to a wonderful year with my terrific students!

Nancy-Lee Kozub

French & Spanish Teacher

September 23rd

It is hard to believe we are well into the swing of things! Fall is here, and interims are coming out this week. Remember you can always check grades on parent portal. If you do not have access, stop by our guidance office with your ID card and Mrs. Karen Collier will get you all set up.

Parents, your support is crucial! You can help your student to get the most out of his or her education. Talking with your student about what s/he is learning at school helps to activate that knowledge. Asking specific questions sometimes helps your student to recall details.

All of your 6^th graders have reading homework each evening 20 to 30 minutes each day. In addition they have a bookmark to fill out sharing what pages they have read and what book. We call it the “IR bookmark” IR stands for independent reading. Research has shown the more your child reads the better they will do in school.

Enjoy this time and keep reading- Cheryl Knight 

Greetings from Physical Science!

     This school year is off to a great start in the physical science classroom.  Students began the year by learning and practicing their measurement skills.  Next they began to study the components of experimental design.  They first studied the Scientific Method and then the components of a well-designed experiment.  Students were tasked with designing an experiment that would test the claim of a selected magazine advertisement.  In designing the experiment, they could assume unlimited resources as they decided what materials they would need to carry out their written procedure.  They also had to identify the components of experimental design: question, hypothesis, independent and dependent variables, constants, control, and repeated trials.  Students were able to demonstrate creativity in the design of their experiment and on their poster.  If you come visit the 8^th grade science hallway you will be able to see their creativity hanging on the wall!

     Students are now in the middle of the unit on characteristics of matter.  They have been busy studying and experimenting with phase changes, states of matter, solubility, thermal energy, heat transfer, physical and chemical changes.   It is hard to believe that this week will mark the middle of the quarter and the halfway point of our study of chemistry!

Reading Comprehension in Math

A few years ago the Math SOL changed dramatically.  Expectations were raised and the test came to resemble more of a Language Arts test than a traditional Math test.  With these changes came lower passing rates and an increased emphasis on reading skills.  One resource I've added to my class is the use of scholastic math.  Every year Walton pays for this great resource as well as several other high interest magazines.  When homework is done and you are looking for extra enrichment I would encourage you to peruse are the scholastic series.  All links and passcodes can be found on the link below!

http://www2.k12albemarle.org/school/WMS/students/Pages/default.aspx

Mr. Doar

Marvelous Math

Hello Walton Families,

     It has been a great start to the school year as the sixth grade students have transitioned smoothly to middle school and have been very busy in all their classes.

In standard math the students are in the middle of their first unit on number sense in which they are studying real number properties, exponents, perfect squares & square roots, order of operations, and patterns & sequences. Students have been learning how these math topics relate to real life situations. For example, students were asked if they had to wash the dishes every night for 2 weeks would they rather get paid $5,000 total or get $2.00 on the first day and double the amount each day for 2 weeks? Ask your child what option they would choose and why. After learning about exponents and patterns, many students quickly changed their decision. It was neat to see the surprised look on their faces once they used their new math skills to work through the problem and find shortcuts. The honors math students are also discovering numerous ways math is used in everyday life in their unit on fractions, decimals, and percentages.

In math class the students are constantly exposed to real life applications and I encourage parents to continue doing this at home. When you go out to eat have your student calculate the amount of tip you should leave, or have them figure out how much change you should get back when you go shopping.  I love hearing stories from students about how they use math outside of school.

This Thursday is Back to School night. I look forward to seeing many of you there!

~ Mrs. Deering

My Return to Walton

My name is Makenzie Crawford and I am excited to have returned to Walton this year! During the 2011-2012 school year, I was a school counseling graduate student at UVA and I spent three days a week at Walton as part of my internship. When I graduated, I accepted a counseling position at Tye River Elementary School in Nelson County where I had worked for the past two years. While I am grateful for the relationships that I had built during my time at Tye River, I was ecstatic when I heard that a counseling position was available at Walton.

This year I join the Walton Staff as a school counselor and testing coordinator. In previous years, caseloads at Walton were divided equally between the counselors by last name. Due to my added responsibility of testing coordinator, this year I am working with 6^th grade students and Mr. Bloor is working with students in grades 7 and 8. As testing coordinator, I manage school-wide testing, including MAP testing and SOL testing. While these tests occur only a few times a year, preparing for them is truly a year-long job.

I have had a wonderful time establishing relationships with our students and families, catching up with staff members, and meeting new staff members. I have also enjoyed seeing the students’ enthusiasm as they begin another year of their education. I can’t wait to see what this year holds for them all!

Makenzie Crawford

School Counselor & Testing Coordinator