Wolves Word Weekly Newsletter

December 14 - January 4

Wolves Word Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

WINTER BREAK - NO SCHOOL -- December 24 - January 4

School resumes Monday, January 7, 2019

VIBE: The last day of VIBE before winter break is Wednesday, December 19th. VIBE will resume on Monday, January 7th.

VIEW SCHOOL CALENDAR

VIEW ALL ATHLETIC SCHEDULES

EXTRA CURRICULAR ANNOUNCEMENTS

Students and Parents: Another way to check announcements is at the Daily/School Bulletin in PowerSchool. Information concerning late bus options can also be found there! Check it out on your PowerSchool app!

STOCK MARKET CLUB : Stock Market Club starts on December 18th. Any student who is interested in joining needs to see Mr. Booth in Room 211 for a permission slip.

FORENSICS: It's not too late to join Forensics! Students should see Mrs. Ward in Room 319 for information and a permission slip.

CHESS CLUB: Chess Club will meet on January 23rd and January 30th until 4:10.

SKI CARDS: Interested in skiing at Alpine Valley for cheap??? Mr. Turk has ski cards that will allow the cardholder to purchase reduced lift tickets after 3PM for most days. The card itself costs $18, and allows you to purchase the lift ticket for $18. Present card at the ticket office. If interested in purchasing a card, bring $18 in cash to Mr. Turk. If you have questions, please contact Mr. Turk at school.

FRIDAY NIGHT FAMILY SKI: Starting January 7 2019, Mr. Turk will be selling lift tickets to anyone interested in skiing at Alpine Valley on Friday nights. The first Friday night is January 11. You DON'T have to have a card. You may pay $18 for each person interested in skiing (please bring cash). Mr. Turk will have lift tickets at school for Friday night, or you can find him at the hill on Friday night in the ski school area to purchase lift tickets. He will be there from 4-530ish...see you on the hill! If you have a question, please contact Mr. Turk at school.

SOLO AND ENSEMBLE: See information below.

ACTIONS / WORDS / COMMUNICATION

On November 8th, Mrs. Milligan spent time in Mrs. Derrick's classes discussing how our actions and words can have a positive or negative impact on others. We reviewed how comments like, "just kidding", "no offense, but...", and "I'm not trying to be mean, but..." don't let people "off the hook" for saying something mean to someone. Students were challenged to think about the purpose of the comments and actions they have toward other people. They also thought about how different our opinions are and how we need to respect each others' point of view. One person might find something funny or enjoy some teasing, but someone else may not enjoy the same things. We also discussed the difference between a conflict (two people being unkind to each other) and bullying (one person using negative power over another, repeatedly).

On Thursday, November 13, Mrs. Milligan joined Mrs. Derrick's classes to talk about communication. Today's middle school students have a large variety of communication tools. One of the biggest is technology and the use of social media. While technology can be a wonderful asset, we recognized that it can change human interactions. They shared how it is easy to be distracted while texting or viewing/posting on social media and we miss moments to talk, face-to-face, with others. The classes identified how it is easier to be mean when behind a screen instead of face-to-face. We discussed how sometimes people are allowing their social media audience to shape the things they post or the texts they send in hopes of "pleasing" others or gaining popularity. We concluded the lesson by recognizing the impact our "digital life" can have on our future opportunities, like applying for scholarships, colleges, or jobs. Technology is wonderful when people are smart about how they use it and don't let it control their life. The students did a fantastic job and many wonderful discussions took place.

ABOVE AND BEYOND RECOGNITION

Wednesday morning the Lake Geneva Middle School Counseling Department had the distinct honor of celebrating 62 outstanding students at our Above & Beyond Ceremony. This prestigious award is designed to showcase our outstanding students that go above and beyond our everyday expectations. Students that overcome challenges, exceed typical performance, display perseverance, consistently stay positive, and support others are some examples of the caliber of our nominees. Congratulations to all the amazing students we have here at Lake Geneva Middle School.

Row 1 (bottom, left to right): Dylan Boyle, Landon Nottestad, Genevieve Wilson, Lexi Gustafson, Rose Peters, Raven Waller, Nicholas Smudde, and Danikka Wise; Row 2: Zoe Sheeks, Abby Tieman, Ava Weber, Bella Hayes, Megan Moore, Finn Hillier, Gage Nicholson, and Jacob Gonzalez-Lozano; Row 3: Hunter O’Brien, Aaron Priester, Christian Wolff, Katelyn Weiss, Leslie Gonzalez, Verenise Quintana, Breanne Carr, and Hollie White; Row 4: Wylde Chupich, Gianna Horne, Lilly Packard, Holly Finley, Madison Knop, Jasmine Coca, and Lucy Pether; Row 5: Wade Brewington, EJ Gritzner, Azariah Cox, Emma Mills, Aidan Kellermeier, Isaac VanDeBerg, and Chase Lancour; Row 6: Ella Zegarra, Jayla Akuetteh, Aleksa Salter, Leviticus Morris, Juan Ojeda, and Preston Thyssen Row 7: Hao Liang and Daniel Aranda

SOUL CLUB SERVICE PROJECT

As their first service project, the SOUL (Service and Outreach Uniting Leaders) Club chose to show appreciation to several groups of staff members at LGMS. The first group was bus drivers, who were each presented with handmade thank-you cards, chocolate, and flowers. The next couple groups of staff members will be receiving their appreciation presentations soon!

8TH GRADERS GETTING INTO THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT BY MAKING SNOWFLAKES!

8TH GRADE SCIENCE IS EXPLORING THE SIGNS OF CHEMICAL CHANGE IN THE LAB AS PART OF THEIR CHEMISTRY UNIT

MS. WHEELER'S 7TH GRADERS CHECK THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF "FROM BRIAN'S RETURN" BY WRITING ABOUT THE STORY AND SUPPORTING THEIR POSITION WITH EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT.

MRS. WADE'S 6TH GRADERS LEARNING TO IDENTIFY PARTS OF AN EXPRESSION AND EVALUATING EXPRESSIONS.

DID YOU MISS THE HOLIDAY CONCERTS?? Check them out on YouTube!

(Click link to view)

CHOIR CONCERT

BAND CONCERT

ORCHESTRA CONCERT

TRYING OUT THE MAGIC SHOES ACTIVITY.

THE MOLTEN LAVA ARE THE RUGS AND BLANKET.

SOLO AND ENSEMBLE INFORMATION

About our LOCAL Solo and Ensemble: 6th grade (select 7/8graders)

Our Local Solo and Ensemble is a music festival for all 6th grade and beginning 7th and 8th grade participants from Band, Choir, and Orchestra at L.G.M.S. Students have been given a solo (performed by themselves) or a duet (performed with a partner) selection that they will perform for an adjudicator. The adjudicator provides written and verbal critique of the performance. This is a required music department event. The festival takes place from 3 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 22nd at Lake Geneva Middle School, but the students are only required to attend their event(s) and are not required to be there the entire evening. However, many students do stay to watch their classmates perform. Friends and family members are allowed to watch any of the performances. All of the music students have received their musical selections and should be working diligently on preparing for this event.

6th grade students who earn top ratings AND perform a solo that is found on the WSMA Solo and Ensemble list may qualify for District Solo and Ensemble.

District (WSMA) Solo and Ensemble: Grade7/8 (select 6th graders)

District Solo and Ensemble is a music festival for all 7th and 8th grade Band, Choir, and Orchestra participants. This festival is also open to surrounding school districts and Badger High School. All students will select a solo and/or ensemble that they will perform for an adjudicator. That solo must be from the approved WSMA list. The adjudicator will provide written and verbal critique, and a score for the performance. This is a required LGMS music event. The festival takes place from 8 a.m – 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 2nd at Lake Geneva Middle School, but students are only required to attend their event(s). Friends and family members are allowed to watch any of the performances. All of the music students have received their musical selections and should be working diligently on preparing for this event.

State (WSMA) Solo and Ensemble: Select students

If students perform a Class A solo and/or ensemble at the District Festival and receive a 1* they will advance to the State Solo and Ensemble. This is held in the spring. Usually only high school students play Class A and make it to State.

IMPORTANT PARENT INFORMATION

SCHOOL SUPPORT GROUPS

The Lake Geneva Middle School Student Services Department will be offering support groups for students. Support groups are an excellent opportunity for students to gain skills and insights into subjects that may be distracting them or preventing them from achieving their full academic potential. Groups meet weekly and are scheduled at rotating times. All students received information from the school counselors about the groups and were given a chance to sign up online. The groups that were shared with the students are listed below. If you have any questions about the groups and/or would like to include your child in a group, please contact your child’s counselor (Rob Ocker - last names A-L and Julie Milligan - last names M-Z).

ANGER MANAGEMENT : For students concerned about how they deal with their own anger and would like to learn strategies to manage anger appropriately.

LOSS: A support group for students dealing with issues surrounding the death of someone important to them.

RELATIONSHIPS : A support group designed to help students in their relationships with friends, acquaintances, and adults in their lives.

DIVORCE/FAMILY CHANGE : A support group for students dealing with a divorce situation, or change in their family structure.

STUDY SKILLS : A support group designed to help students with organizational skills, time management, and study skills.

LGBT : A support group for students who want to discuss and receive support with lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and/or transgender issues.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

Parents and Student Reminders

BREAKFAST: Breakfast is served starting at 7:00 a.m. The cafeteria area is only open to students purchasing breakfast.

STUDENT PICK UP: If you need to pick up your student during the day, we ask that you please send a note with your student in the morning with a time that you will be picking them up. That way we can write them a pass to hand to their teacher when it's time to leave. This avoids having to disrupt classes by calling in looking for a student.

BUS PASSES: If your student will be riding the bus home with a friend, please send a letter in the morning indicating who he/she will be going home with. We will then issue a bus pass.

LATE START: Late starts are the second Thursday of each month. On those days, school begins at 9:30 a.m. We ask that students not be dropped off earlier than 9:20 a.m. Buses run 2 hours later than normal pick up time.

LATE BUSES - NEW THIS YEAR:

Late buses run as follows:

3:30 p.m. - Tuesdays and Thursdays

4:20 p.m. - Mondays through Thursdays

5:30 p.m. - Mondays through Fridays

LATEX BALLOONS: We have students with latex allergies so please, no latex balloons.

WATER BOTTLES: Students are allowed to have water bottles during the school day - WATER ONLY. Please, no other liquids.

Help for Students After School

Primetime is our building-wide after school student academic support program. Primetime is an opportunity for students to get extra assistance from their teachers. Students at all grade levels are assigned to stay for Primetime when they are missing 3 or more assignments or currently have an F in any class. Primetime is assigned Monday morning in homeroom when teachers go over grades with students. Students who meet the requirements are required to stay on Tuesday and Thursday until 4:15. Our goal at LGMS is to get all students the support they need to be successful.

Chromebook Care

Parents and Students: While we understand that accidents happen, it is important that students do their best to properly care for their chromebook. Should something happen to the chromebook, students should complete a Chromebook Repair Request form and take it, along with their chromebook, to the LMC. Chromebook Repair