AHERA Annual Notice

March Mammal Madness

Students in 7th grade Science have been working hard on their genetics unit including adaptations and animal behavior. In addition, students have been engaged in March Mammal Madness. As a team, students researched over 80 animals and then made predictions for animal battle winners based on battle adaptations and environment. Students completed Round 1 of the Jump-Jump division and then move on to Round 2. Brackets will soon be revised and finalists will be battling! Please check out the battle and bracket action at https://twitter.com/2019MMMletsgo . Thank you to Kim Bass for bringing this event to the science department.

JTM School Counseling

The school counselors have been managing their daily tasks such as meeting with students, attending team meetings, and addressing parent concerns. Along with that, one counselor facilitated a changing families group. The session is designed to assist students in coping with loss, divorce, new siblings, etc. Another counselor started a new group that focuses on friendship and games. Here, students discussed and participated in activities about friendship and what makes a good friend. Counselors are also meeting with academically struggling students, facilitating conflict mediations and conducing individual counseling sessions related to emotional and social concerns. And finally, one counselor has been running the Success Group for students as well as the Gay Straight Alliance Group which focuses on the topics of emotions, sexuality, gender, and stress.

Student Council/Red Cross Club

The JTMS Student Council and Red Cross Club along with JTHS Project Kind Club collaborated efforts to run our annual food drive project titled, The Souper Bowl of Caring. Food was collected at the two schools and bins were placed in various community areas. The students also collected food and donations at a JTHS varsity boys’ basketball game. The students also organized a dress-down day for all school staff members throughout the district.

You Can Sit With US

Eighth grade students on the Blue Team worked towards helping the Middle School community show kindness. In addition, teachers wore shirts that read, 'You can sit with US' and went into the lunch room to show students that kindness goes beyond age.

The Souper Bowl of Caring

The Souper Bowl of Caring organization empowers youth and unites communities during the Super Bowl season in an effort to help families in need. In all, the students and staff collected over 1,400 food items and over $600.00 in cash donations. All proceeds were divided between two food banks, the Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Lake Hopatcong and the Milton Methodist Church in Oak Ridge.

Computer Science Discoveries

In Computer Science Discoveries, students used the information learned about computers and problem-solving to propose an app that would solve a real-world problem. As students continue into the new unit about Web Development, they will utilize the problem-solving process to develop their own personal website. It is very important that students understand how to be safe on the internet while keeping personal information off their designed websites.

Language Arts

In Language Arts, all three grade levels were introduced to the research process with topics ranging from Civil Liberties to Women’s Rights to the Holocaust. The sixth-graders were assigned a significant person involved in the fight for civil liberties and selected a partner to work with in preparation for their Living Museum presentations. In seventh and eighth grades, the students were able to choose a topic within their grade-level to complete their research. Within this unit, the students used the Noodle tools platform to cite sources and track the evidence collected. In addition, the students practiced skills such as identifying reliable sources, reading and analyzing multiple informational texts, crafting outlines, and using multiple pieces of evidence as well as using in-text and parenthetical citations. All in all, the students worked diligently to complete the research project and learned a significant amount along the way!

Mathematics

In sixth grade Mathematics, students explored perimeter and area of various shapes in the Geometry section of their books. The seventh graders plugged away with one-step and two-step equations and problem-solving followed by one- and two-step inequalities. Students worked exceptionally hard and it appears to have paid off! The eighth graders finished the Pythagorean Theorem and are currently jumping into transformations, which is how video gaming got its start! Fun stuff!

6th Grade STEM

Students in the 6th grade STEM classes completed their boat project over the course of this past month. Students began the month by progressing through the Engineering Process in order to create boats that were capable of holding increasingly heavy loads. Many boats had impressive weights that they were capable of carrying. In particular, one boat set a new class record by holding a stunning 107 golf balls or 4,922 grams!

7th Grade Language Arts

In 7th grade Language Arts, students just completed the research process related to women’s justice. Students completed each step of the research process and also learned how various groups of women fought throughout history to earn equal rights in voting, education, politics, and the workforce. This unit of study was a great segue into the new novel, I Am Malala, the story of Malala Yousafzai, a young girl who stood up for education and then changed the world.

7th and 8th Grade Forensics

In Forensics 7th and 8th grade, students learned how to analyze different crime related prints, such as shoe prints and tire tracks. Students also began a case study on OJ Simpson and looked into the forensic evidence involved in the famous case. Students will use the forensic evidence presented in order to determine what they think actually happened.

7th and 8th Grade Family and Consumer Science

The 7th and 8th grade Family and Consumer Science students are learning about the unit titled, Quick-bread. Students have been preparing a plethora of home baked goods such as crepes, scones, muffins, and pancakes.

7th and 8th Grade STEM

In STEM 7th and 8th grade, students began a project in which they created an insulating structure that could prevent an ice cube from melting inside of an oven. Students spent the last few weeks researching real-life thermal structures and performing tests to see which types of materials could successfully block heat against the three different types of thermal transfer. The students are currently drafting design ideas of what their thermal shelter will look like and how it will function.

7th and 8th Grade Chorus

In 7th and 8th grade Chorus, students are currently working on their music for the Spring Concert and Dorney Park trip. For Dorney Park, students have been focusing on their competition music. In addition, students are currently selling Krispy Kreme treats for their annual fundraiser project.

8th Grade Language Arts

In eighth grade Language Arts, students wrapped up Unit 3 studies of nonfiction. Students completed a study of The Holocaust through a research paper about a Holocaust topic of their choice and then compiled the information in a research project presentation where it was shared with the class. Students will complete the Unit by reading the selection titled, Night by Elie Wiesel.

8th Grade Social Studies

In Social Studies, the 8th graders completed a unit about the influences of Muslim Empires on the world during the Middle Ages. Students learned about the positive aspects of cultures of which they were previously unfamiliar. Students are currently studying China in the Middle Ages and will engage in Socratic Seminars regarding the controversial Tang Empress, Wu Zetian.

8th Grade Science

In Science, 8th graders studied the unit of forces. In doing so, they learned about contact and non-contact forces. The unit culminated in an engineering project where students modified a whirligig in an effort to improve its’ performance. Students will soon be learning about the forces of energy.

21st Century Researchers

Students in the 21st Century Researchers class edited and revised their informative presentations. Students are now preparing for presentation rounds and will celebrate the end of the cycle with a "Red Carpet for Research" recognition party.

Music Department

In the music department, the Tri-M Music Honor Society students are preparing for their Annual Musical Petting Zoo event scheduled for Saturday, March 23rd. The 8th grade band students learned how to read a musical score and have started to rehearse a unique piece for the Spring Concert. The 6th and 7th grade band members are continuing their music preparations for the Spring Concert.

Music Exploratory

In Music Exploratory, students learned about the different instrument families and instruments within each family. Students will then get the opportunity to try and play the different instruments researched and studied!

Robotics

In Robotics, students successfully programmed their EV3s to trace the letters A through F as well as the numbers 1 through 6. Students were also given the opportunity to program their robots to follow one another from one spot in the classroom to another. The seventh and eighth graders just completed testing their catapults by successfully launching marshmallows at a variety of distances from the unit.

Speak Up and Write All About It

In the “Speak Up and Write All About It” class, students have been practicing assertive communication. In doing so, students began public speaking and will practice using special strategies to deliver short speeches with confidence and connectivity to their audience.