Events
1/02 Welcome Back Students and Staff
1/20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, District Offices Closed
1/25 District Music Concert
1/27 Staff Work Day, No School for Students
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Math News
Math 7
& Math 7A
Math 7 and Math 7A just finished a fun budgeting unit. They learned how to set and utilize budgets, how to plan what they would like to furnish an apartment, and played a budget board game that showed students the normal expenses and sources of income that adults have. The next unit for both 7 and 7A is probability.
Math 8
In math 8, we are studying transformations. This is a study of shapes (Geometry), not the traditional algebra most students are used to. Some students are experiencing struggle. Struggle is okay. It’s how we learn. But, students need to persevere and work through their struggles. The best way to get better in math is to practice, practice, practice which is why getting homework done daily is super-important. Please know that both Mrs. Henry and Ms. Silleck are available during STOP time daily. Students can also find helpful videos online at
KhanAcademy.org
.
Algebra
In algebra, we are beginning to study Systems of Equations. Help for students can be found on
eMathInstruction.com
.
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English News
English 8 will be finishing
The Outsiders
in early January. We have been focusing on characterization, short answer responses, and questioning strategies that will help us as we move into our next unit
The Diary of Anne Frank.
We will be incorporating research and dramatic elements into our classes using the Goodrich and Hackett version of the play.
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Foreign Language News
Spanish 1
Spanish 1 students are learning about family, how to state relationships and describe their family and family members. Then, students created their own family tree in Spanish.
Foreign Language Exploratory
FLE students are starting their exploration of French culture and language, culminating in a presentation of a famous French person from history or present day!
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Health Students
Focus on Reproduction
December is all about Sexual Reproduction. Students will learn about the male and female anatomy and how fertilization occurs. They will have another visit from Mary Dykeman where they will learn about the different forms of birth control and their effectiveness in preventing pregnancy.
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Art News
7th grade Art
Students have finished their tempera batik paintings and they are beautiful! They created a design, repeated it three times and painted each one using a different color scheme. Now, they are working on drawings in the TAB (Teaching Artistic Behaviors) curriculum, meaning that they have choices about what to draw, what media to use, the size and format of the work, etc… We talked about ways artists can generate ideas because we all know that feeling of staring at a blank piece of paper and not knowing what to do with it.
8th grade Studio Art
The 8th grade Studio Art class is starting a series of artworks. We looked at artists who worked in series, like Andy Warhol and Alphonse Mucha. They must create three works of art that are connected by theme, media, style and/or technique. The work should be able to stand alone, but should also be even more interesting as part of a series.
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Junior High Band Recruits New Members
Students from the Junior High Band spent Friday, December 20th at Smith Intermediate School and Barry Primary School talking to students about the reasons why to play an instrument and join band.
Band director, Sharon Phetteplace said, “the purpose of this visit is about the recruitment and retention for the band program. At Smith Intermediate school junior high students showed the third and fourth graders the different instruments they could learn how to play. With supervision, the younger students even got an opportunity to try to play the instruments. At Randall Middle School our main message to the students was that band is fun! If you join band, you have an instant community; a safe place where people support each other. Many friendships are made in band and there is a social aspect to joining as well. We like to say band is like a family.”
Read more...
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Alumni Music Survey
The Cortland Enlarged City School District is studying its music program. We want to continue our fine traditions and make improvements for the future. We're reaching out to Cortland alumni, asking you to complete this survey. It will provide our review committee with important information. Thanks, in advance, for your help!
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Physical Education News
Students in Junior High Physical Education class are learning the ins and outs of playing volleyball. In addition to serving, setting, spiking, students are learning how to keep score.
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Junior High Musical News
Auditions for the junior high musical “The Trial of the Wicked Witch” were held on December 16th & 17. Congratulations to those that made the play!
The musical is scheduled for January 31st and February 1st at 7:30 p.m. Stay tuned for more information on our
website
and on our social media feeds.
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News From the Nurse
7th grade physicals are almost completed as are the yearly screenings of vision and hearing. Flu season is upon us. Some easy tips to help prevent the spread of the flu are: cover your cough, wash your hands often, avoid close contact with people who are sick and get plenty of rest.
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Now Hiring Bus Drivers
You can work in an exciting and rewarding atmosphere and be part of the #WeAreCortland team! Make sure to check our
website
for up to date information on job postings.
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School lunch is a nutritious &
delicious option!
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Stay Tuned for Our Newsletter Next Month!
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