Upcoming Events:

Tuesday: Trip to Hindu Center and Cultural Center- in Bothell. We will be visiting with a member who will teach us about the tenants of Hinduism, watching a prayer and sharing in light vegetarian lunch. We will leave the SMS at 8:45 and are expected back around 1:00. Although lunch will be served there- students may also wish to pack a lunch for later. Visit their website here.

Wednesday: EARLY RELEASE – Students will be released at 11:30. That morning we’ll be celebrating our own version of Thanksgiving by baking treats that each student may bring to their Thanksgiving table.

Language Arts: All students have been focused on the organizational aspects of writing. The 6th graders are working on non-fiction 5 paragraph essays. The 7th and 8th graders are working on developing thesis statements, responding to writing prompts by formulating clear arguments into a formal essay. The 8th graders are also practicing some strategies to help with the English and writing portions of standardized tests.

Next week there will not be any 1100 Words vocabulary practice as it is a short week. We’ll resume our weekly study after Thanksgiving break.

Comparative Religion: We’ve been learning about the oldest religion, Hinduism which will be supplemented by our Tuesday visit to the temple.

Science: We’ve been examining ethical issues around third parties having access to genetic information. Students came up with rules to govern the exchange of genomes, taking into account lobbyists from civil liberties groups, insurance companies and biotech companies.

Math: Instruction continued with linear equations and proportionality.

Daylight Saving Time

Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night! We don’t unlock the doors until 7 a.m. so you definitely don’t want to show up an hour early!

Short week next week!

Don’t forget, next week is a shortened week! We have no school Thursday for Veterans Day. However, there IS school on Friday.

LEGO Update

The students have spent the last several weeks with our First Lego League instructor collaborating in a team to develop a robotic model with the project theme of biomedical engineering.

As the upcoming competition is on Saturday, December 4, and we realize how busy families are, especially in December, we need to find out which students can commit to going and structure the teams so that there is a representative student for each project.

All students will continue to contribute to a project in a more specific area. We will assign the teams so each member contributes within the realms of: designing, building, programming and writing.

Students will be given ample class time to complete the projects and those who attend the competition will do well and be proud of their exhibit.

We need to know which students will be able to attend by Monday.

Language Arts

Writers are continuing in their study of using figurative language to give their writing depth and breadth and making unexpected comparisons that create fresh images for the reader. This week we worked on the skills of similes, metaphors and writing in extended metaphor. Next week we’ll focus on hook and full-circle conclusions, personification and allusions in writing. For now, writers are focusing on several short pieces to practice each skill.

We’re continuing in our study of the 1100 words vocabulary. Although there will be no school next Thursday for Veteran’s day, the vocabulary quiz will still be on Friday. (Congrats to the 7th grade crew for all getting 100% on their last quiz!)

Comparative Religion This Thursday the students had a chance to visit the Tacoma Buddhist Temple on Fawcett Ave. They were interested in comparing the more Japanese-based temple with the more westernized center in Vancouver. Next week, we’ll begin our study of Hinduism.