Hill's Handiwork

Week of May 4-8

With only three weeks left in school, things are getting quite exciting here at Awtrey! Be sure to check the school website frequently for updates on all activities.

Field day in on Friday May 8th! We will have a full day of fun outdoor activities inclduing music, a dunk tank and lots of fun games! Team 7-1 will wear yellow and Team 7-2 will wear green on Friday.

Awtrey Idol is coming soon! It is scheduled for May 21th at 7pm. Stay tuned for additional details.

The Spring Musical "Romeo and Juliet with a Twist" is on Friday, May 8th at 7pm and Saturday May 9th at 2pm. See the Awtrey website for ticket information.

This week in my classes:

Math 7 - 6th period

Monday - Integer Bingo

Tuesday - Equations Review Buzz Game

Wednesday - Thursday - Study Guide for the 4th 9 week Benchmark exam

Friday - FIELD DAY!!!

Math Study Skills - 5th period

Monday - Math in Careers presentations

Tuesday - Equations with word problems

Wednesday - Equations with variables on both sides

Thursday - Solving for a variable

Friday - FIELD DAY!!!

Math 7 - 1st period - See Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details

Social Studies - 7th grade - 2nd period - See Ms. Lipscomb's blog for details

Math 8 - 3rd Period - See Mrs. Aller's blog for details

Week of April 27 - May 1

Congratulations on the completion of CRCT testing! I am sure you all performed wonderfully! We are now working towards finishing the school year strong and previewing 8th grade material.

Here's what's happening this week:

Math 7 - 6th period:

Monday - short schedule day - finish learning styles inventory and discuss how it affects your learning

Tuesday - Begin tessellations project by watching Discovery Education video about tessellations and creating your own tessellations template.

Wednesday - Friday - work on tessellations project. It will be due on 5/4/2009 at the beginning of class. This project is worth 15% of your total grade and will really give your average a boost if you need one!

Matah Study Skills - 5th period:

Monday - Friday: work on Math in Careers project. Presentations are scheduled for 5/4/2009. Your rubric contains all the information necessary to score well. Please refer to the rubric while you are working on your project. Download Career math projectDownload Math Careers Rubric

Math 7 - 1st period: See Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details

Social Studies 7th grade - 2nd period - See Ms. Lipscomb's blog for details

Math 8 - 3rd period - See Mrs. Aller's blog for details.

Week of April 20 - 24, 2009

ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?!?!?!?! It's CRCT week and I am positive that all of you are prepared and are going to score wonderfully on these tests! Some helpful hints: get a good nights sleep, eat breakfast, read the entire question and every possible answer before you choose an answer, during the math sections make sure you write all in that test booklet to work out your answers and remember that in the math sections you can work backwards to get an answer. Make sure each day you have a #2 pencil and something to read after you are finished.
Testing Schedule:
Tuesday - Reading
Wednesday - English/Language Arts
Thursday - Math
Friday - Science

Monday - 4/27 - Social Studies

We hope you can join us for Awtrey’s Family Night this Friday, April 24, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Enjoy a silent auction, craft fair, Awtrey student dance, family movie and food with other members of our school community!

Here's what's going on during our 'skinny' schedule after testing:

Math 7 - 6th period:
Monday - Review Measures of Central Tendency and Box& Whisker Plots
Tuesday through Friday - I will entertain questions about any topic you are still struggling with. If there are no questions, then we will work on determining our Learning Styles.

Math Study Skills - 5th period:
All week we will work on a project called "When will I ever use this math?" You will investigate a career of your choice and determine how math is involved. We will be in the media center each day we meet this week (Mon, Wed, Fri). The project will be due at some point after the CRCT is finished. We will determine the due date as a group, based on everyone's progress. Click on the following links for a description of the project and the grading rubric. Download Career math project  Download Math Careers Rubric

Math 7 - 1st period: See Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details
Social Studies - 2nd period: See Ms. Lipcomb's blog for details
Math 8 - 3rd period: See Mrs. Aller's blog for details

Click on this link, look at the quote, come see me and tell me how you think it applies to CRCT testing and I'll give you a JollyRancher!  Download Do not try--yoda

Week of March 30 - April 3

Only 5 school days until Spring Break! Yeah!

Wednesday, April 1st, will be a textbook check. Bring your textbook to class that day as we will be checking them to ensure everyone has the correct book.

Here's what's going on this week:

Math 7 - 6th Period
Monday - Work on the Study Guide for Unit 7 test and work on the Cross Sections Performance task.
Tuesday - Review Study Guide and work on the Performance task.
Wednesday - Unit 7 test. This test will be a little different. Stations will be set up so you can manipulate the two dimensional figures to determine the 3-D solids or cross sections. Take advantage of this opportunity so you will do well on the test!
Thursday - Test corrections and work on Performance task.
Friday - Cross Sections Performance task is due at the end of class. If you are planning to be absent on Friday, you must turn in the task on Thursday before you leave school.

Instructions for the Cross Sections Task:  Download Coolcrosssections accom version
Rubric for the Cross Sections Task:  Download Cool Cross Sections Rubric
Unit 7 Study Guide: Download Math7Unit7Study Guide

Math Study Skills
All week we will work on the Cross Sections Performance Task.
Friday - Computer Lab

Math 8 - 3rd Period - See Mrs. Aller's blog for details
Math 7 - 1st Period - See Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details
Social Studies - 2nd Period - See Ms. Lipscomb's blog for details

Week of March 9 - 13

Awtrey Middle School is presenting Academic Night, this Thursday, 3/12 from 6pm - 8pm. Students will be showing off products from their various classes. I will be in my room to discuss Standards Based Grading with anyone who needs additional information regarding how their student is graded or how Standards Based affects their daily school work. Hope to see you there!

Spring Pictures will be taken on Wednesday, 3/11. Only students who have brought their money for the pictures will have their picture made. See your homeroom teacher if you need an envelope.

The fourth nine weeks begins on March 16th. Can you believe the year is almost over???

Here's what's happening this week in my classes:

Math 7 - 6th period
Monday - Inverse Variation calculations and word problem practice.
Tuesday - Study Guide for inverse variation
Wednesday - Quiz over inverse variation
Thursday - Unit Study Guide
Friday - Check unit study guide
Coming up: Unit 6 test will be on Monday 3/16. I will have a study session that morning for anyone who is interested in attending.

Math Study Skills - 5th period
Monday - Review game for unit 6 test
Tuesday and Wednesday - 'How fast can you go?' task
Thursday - Benchmark test review game
Friday - Computer Lab
Coming up: the 3rd nine week benchmark test will be administered on Tuesday, 3/17.

Math 7 - 1st Period - See Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details
7th grade Social Studies - See Ms. Lipscomb's blog for details
Math 8 - See Mrs. Aller's blog for details

Week of March 2 - 6

Welcome to March! Can you believe how quickly this year has passed??? Spring is just around the corner and no one could be more excited that I am! 

There are several wonderful events coming up:

•   Tuesday, 3/3, is another Early Release Day. Students will be dismissed at 2:15 so teachers can participate in Staff Development activities. Enjoy yet another shortened day!

•    Academic Night is on Thursday 3/12. Look for more information on the Awtrey WebSite as the date approaches.

•   The Middle School Masters Art Show will be from 3/2 - 19 at The Art Place at Big Shanty in Kennesaw. Stop in and see work from some of our young artists!

•   Spring Pictures are on Wednesday 3/11. Anyone is welcome to have their pictures made, you just need to bring your payment in the appropriate envelope. These pictures will not be placed in the yearbook.

Here's what's happening this week with my classes:

Math 7 - 1st Period
Monday - Direct Variation Study Guide. Complete and check in class.
Tuesday - Quiz over Direct Variation
Wednesday - Introduce Inverse Variation
Thursday - Practice Inverse variation in equations and word problems
Friday - Placemat Activity

Math 7 Study Skills - 5th Period
Monday - Placemat activity using direct and inverse variation. This will help you identify the proper method because the problems will be co-mingled.
Tuesday - Finish Quiz from 1st period or start on a Performance Task
Wednesday - Thursday depends on how well the quiz went and if we can move on to a new topic.
Friday - Computer Lab

Math 7 - 1st Period - See Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details
Social Studies 7th grade - 2nd period - See Ms. Lipscomb's blog for details
Math 8 - 3rd Period - See Mrs. Aller's blog for details

Week of Feb 23 - 27

Don't forget that yearbooks are on sale until the end of the month! That's only about 5 days away, so don't miss your opportunity to purchase the 2008-2009 yearbook. See the Awtrey Website for details on ordering, or stop by to see Ms. Smyre between classes.

Monday, 2/23/09, is a Performing Arts day. The Atlanta Workshop Players will be presenting a play to each grade level. 7th grade goes during connections time.

As you all know, Mrs. Humphrey has gone out on maternity leave! We are all anxiously awaiting the delivery of her precious baby girl! In the mean time, we have a new supply teacher for Math 7! His name is Rick West and he comes to Awtrey with a wonderful mathematical background. Please make Mr. West feel welcome and behave for him just as wonderfully as you did for Mrs. Humphrey.

Here's what's happening this week:

Math 7 - see Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details. Even though she is not here, her blog will be updated weekly.

Math 8 - see Mrs. Aller's blog for details.

7th grade Social Studies - see Ms. Lipscomb's blog for details.

Math 7 - 6th Period
Monday - Test Corrections. Everyone must do test corrections! Once you are finished, you will be working on CRCT review problems.
Tuesday - Introduce Unit 6: Values that Vary. We will introduce vocabulary and begin exploring direct variation.
Wednesday - Computation Challenge #14. Practice on Direct Variation.
Thursday - Direct Variation show through word problems.
Friday - checkpoint on Direct Variation!

Math Study Skills - 5th Period
Monday - We will not meet because of the Performing Arts assembly
Tuesday - Introduce Indirect Variation by taking notes, completing a frayer model and participating in guided practice.
Wednesday - Risky Business game on Inverse Variation
Thursday - Placemat Activity with Inverse Variation
Friday - Computer Lab!

Week of February 9-13

 I hope everyone enjoyed the wonderful weather this weekend! Maybe the extreme cold is behind us and we can look forward to warm temperatures from now until the end of school (wishful thinking???).

The Winter Ball for 7th and 8th grade students is this Friday, 2/13/09. The cost to attend is $10.00 and you must bring a signed permission form when you buy your ticket. Tickets will be on sale before school beginning on Monday 2/9.

Yearbooks remain on sale until the end of February. Purchase information is available on the Awtrey website.

Happy Valentines Day on the 14th!

There will be no school on Monday 2/16/2009 in observance of Presidents' Day. Enjoy another day off!

Here's what is happening this week in class:

Math 7 - 6th period
Monday - Finish "Changing Shapes Task" if necessary. Dilation practice using word problems and real life scenarios.
Tuesday - Depending on Monday's work, we will either continue with Dilation practice or move into learning about Similar Figures and Indirect Measurement.
Wednesday - More with Similar Figure and Indirect Measurement.
Thursday - Computation Challenge. Finish our work on Similar Figures and Indirect Measurement.
Friday - Placemat Activity on Unit 5 topics.

Coming up: Our Unit 5 test is scheduled for Friday, 2/20/09. I will post the study guide next weekend. We will play a review game on Tuesday, work on the study guide Wednesday and Thursday then test on the 20th. You guys know how to do this, so don't get worried!!!!

Math Study Skills - 5th Period
All this week we will review for the Unit 5 test coming for Mrs. Humphrey's class on Friday, 2/13/2009. Get ready for a fantastic round of Trashketball and other fun activities. Friday will be a Computer Lab day as usual.

Math 8 - 3rd Period - See Mrs. Aller's blog for details. We continue to work on slope and how to find the slope of a line using various methods. Remember that she always posts links to the work we completed in class.

Math 7 - 1st Period - See Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details. Remember there is a test this Friday, 2/13/2009 for the first period class. Usually there is a study session on the day of a test, so listen in class for times and details.

7th Grade Social Studies - 2nd Period - See Ms. Lipscomb's blog for details. We continue to work on learning about South Africa, Nelson Mandela and Stephen Biko.

Week of February 2 - 6

I hope everyone was able to attend their conferences this week. If you were unable, expect the information to come home this week. The packet should include the report card with second quarter grades.

Yearbooks are still on sale for $40.00. See the Awtrey website for details about ordering your copy.

Wednesday, Feb. 4, is another early release day. The 2:15 release time will provide teachers and staff with the opportunity to further develop their teaching skills. Enjoy another shortened day!

Here's what is happening this week:

Math 7 - 6th period:
Monday - Presentations of the "Village of 100" project
Tuesday - Dilation notes and guided practice
Wednesday - Computation Challenge #15 and Dilation practice using the coordinate plane
Thursday - Dilations with word problems
Friday - "Changing Shapes" performance task
Looking ahead: The unit 5 test is currently scheduled for 2/20/09.

Math 7 Study Skills - 5th period:
Monday and Tuesday - Similar Figures and Corresponding Sides
Wednesday - Computation Challenge. Finish Shadow Math task from Mrs. Humphrey's class if necessary.
Thursday - Congruent Figures practice
Friday - Computer Lab

1st period Math - See Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details.
2nd Period Social Studies - See Ms. Lipscomb's blog for details.
3rd Period Math 8 - See Mrs. Aller's blog for details.

Week of January 26-30

This week is conference week. When you are in the building, stop in room C-1 and say hello! Remember that dismissal is at 2:15 all week. Report cards from the 2nd 9 week grading period will go home during the conferences. Also, the Book Fair will be held January 26th - January 30th. The hours are M-Th 8:00 am - 5:00 pm and Friday 8:00-10:00 am. Stop by the media center to choose a wonderful new book to read. These new books will help you get all 25 of your book points for language arts class.

Next week we also have an early release day for teachers to have staff development opportunities.

Yearbooks are still on sale for $40.00. See the Awtrey website for detail on how to order. The deadline is approaching, so buy now and don't be left out on signing day.

Here's what's going on this week:

Math 7 - 6th period
All week we are working on our "Village of 100" proportion project. Click here for the rubric.Download If the world were a village of 100 people RUBRIC All work, including your presentation, will be due on Monday. Click here for the assignment for group number one. Download If the world - group 1 This will be the work needed for all people who are absent from class this week.
Your presentation needs to inform the entire class about all of the proportions you found in our Village of 100. Be creative! Make a PowerPoint presentation, a poster, a rap/song, a skit, choreograph an interpretive dance or anything you can get out of your imagination! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Math Study Skills - 5th period
This week we will meet only on Tuesday and Thursday. We will complete a Computation Challenge one day and work on Dilations on the other days, potentially completing corrections on the practice from this past Thursday.

See Mrs. Humphrey's blog for details regarding 1st period.
See Ms. Lipscomb's blog for details regarding 2nd period.
See Mrs. Aller's blog for details regarding 3rd period.