February, 2015 Maple Heights City Schools News Vol 1 Feb... · 2020. 12. 13. · Vol. 1, Issue 2 -...
Transcript of February, 2015 Maple Heights City Schools News Vol 1 Feb... · 2020. 12. 13. · Vol. 1, Issue 2 -...
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Vol. 1, Issue 2 - February, 2015
Maple Heights City Schools
A Message from the Director
of Instruction & Gifted
Education, Susan Jaroscak
In our classrooms in the Maple Heights City
Schools, we are focusing on 21st Century
Learning, often referred to as ‘The Four Cs’. In
a nutshell, the Four Cs are: Communication,
Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Collaboration.
Mastery in these four areas will help to ensure
future successes not only in college but in future
career settings. We believe that moving
towards increased integration of these areas in
our daily instruction and assessment is the next
logical step in our process of designing
engaging, challenging, and meaningful work for
students. We believe that the integration of the
four areas is vital in every classroom; however,
the process has been accelerated in our Gifted
and Academic Honors program. We are
moving towards more project-based learning
and assessment in these classrooms. You will
see evidence of this as you read about some of
the highlights in each of our buildings.
I would like to elaborate on each of these areas
separately in the next few newsletters and I will
start with critical thinking. You will know that
your child’s critical thinking skills are being
challenged and developed if he or she comes
home with work that asks them to do any of the
following: analyze, justify, compare and
contrast, redesign, evaluate, argue, defend, and
create. Projects should tap into students’
problem-solving skills rather than memorization
of facts in isolation. Measurement of
achievement may take the form of a rubric,
progress check, application of feedback, self-
reflection, or performance-based assessment.
You will see many opportunities for critical
thinking in your child’s classes and in the types
of work and assessment that are implemented
daily. You may wonder how these skills can be
developed outside of school. One suggestion is
to provide your child with opportunities to solve
a real world problem in your home. For
example, have your child decide which
containers should be used for leftovers in order
to take up the least amount of space in the
refrigerator, or have your child justify a plan for
organizing his room, or ask your child to
assemble an item that you have just purchased.
One of the best parts about developing critical
thinking skills is that one often learns more by
solutions that do not work. We are excited
about the many opportunities that we are
providing for critical thinking and look forward
to highlighting a few examples in this issue.
Friday, March 13, 2015 High School book club will be
visiting the City Club to watch the
High School Debate Championships
Exhibition.
6th grade honors class will visit the
Maltz Museum. Students will
culminate a collaborative learning
unit between social studies and lan-
guage arts in which they explored the
Jewish Holocaust. Students will
research one aspect of this event in
detail and will complete a multi-genre
project including three different
pieces of writing that showcases their
in-depth knowledge of the event
Saturday, March 14, 2015 Some of the 6th grade honors students
will be participating in Destination
Imagination at Beachwood High
School. Students are working to
create an engaging and creative show-
ing of their original fairytale.
Students must perform the story along
with original artwork, an illusion and
a showcase of individual talents.
Students will be scored on their
presentation. Students will also com-
pete for “instant challenges” in which
they must work together to create a
project with only a few minutes
preparation.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015 3rd graders will be visiting Microsoft
to see the latest technologies and
digital skills. They will be involved in
a digital scavenger hunt, modern note
taking & media presentation.
25 senior AP & gifted students will be
taking a field trip to the Cleveland
Play House to see the play “The
Pianist of Willesden Lane.”
Thursday, March 19, 2015 8th grade students will be visiting the
Museum of Contemporary Art which
will align with their Language Arts
Career Unit as well as a series of
lessons/activities within their Social
Studies financial literacy unit.
MILKOVICH MIDDLE SCHOOL
STUDENT CREATED TEXTBOOKS
Mr. Dietrich’s 6th and 7th grade honors
students have been very active this year in
creating their own textbooks for social
studies class. Students are expected to show mastery
in their studies by creating their own pages in their
textbook based on topics studied in class. Chrisean
Merritt said, “Creating the textbook helps me
learn important ideas about different topics in world
history because I have to take that information and
create my book.” Kayla Smith said, “The textbooks
make you understand the topic more than just reading out of
the textbook.” Students feel empowered when they are in
charge of taking information and figuring out what is im-
portant to put in their own book. There is also a creative
side to creating the textbooks. Adding graphics and pictures
is also an important part of the process. Raven Golliday
said, “I like the artistic side of creating the textbook because
it makes it fun and not boring.” Creating the textbooks has
been a challenge that meets the needs of many types of
learners and challenges students to be creative.
7th Grader, Lauren Smith’s Textbook
4th period, 6th grade class
with their textbooks
SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TEAM
The Science Olympiad team from Milkovich competed at
the Northeast Ohio Regional Science Olympiad
Tournament Saturday, February 21, 2015. The event was
held at Case Western Reserve University. Students
participated in 23 team events that are like academic track
meets. Events require students to demonstrate knowledge
of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics,
geology, mechanical engineering, and technology. Amari
Sledge and Joshua Carr placed 9th out of 26 in the
Dynamic Planet event against past regional and national
winners. Team members: Devin Brumfield, Arthur
Burdette, Joshua Carr, Alana Colvin, Tamia Dark,
Shelby Eggleston, Kenya Gilbert, Tim Goodner, Aaron
Harrison, Amari Sledge, Derrick Walker &
Jacob Yeckley.
LINCOLN ELEMENTARY
KINDERGARTEN EXPLORING HABITATS
The kindergarten students have been exploring a unit on
habitats in class. The students are writing and
illustrating pictures about their home and the different
habitats of animals. They have also designed and
constructed 3-dimensional habitats out of different
building materials found in the classroom such as blocks,
K'Nex, popcicle sticks, play-doh, & kinetic sand.
PROBLEM SOLVING IN FIRST GRADE
The first grade students are always up to the challenge when
it comes to solving a problem embedded in a story. A
favorite activity recently involved finding out how many
crocodiles were in the Sillabobble Sea. The students applied
several mathematical practices. One of the most important
practices was to "make sense of problems and persevere in
solving them." The students worked in groups and decided
which tools they would use to total up the crocodiles. They
were also responsible for representing and explaining their
thinking. The students had to go beyond the basic facts to
find the total of 55. Using Rekenreks to solve the
problem are from left to
right: Samaira Williams,
Morgan Irby and Tristan
Coles
THE GREAT MAPLE READING CHALLENGE
Honors students in third through eighth grade have been challenged by their language arts
teachers to read award-winning fiction and non-fiction books from the
following categories:
Newbery Medal -- for excellence in children’s literature
Sibert Medal -- for excellence informational books
Coretta Scott King Award -- for distinguished African American
authors/illustrators
Michael L. Printz Award -- for excellence in young adult literature
These award-winning books run the gamut from fiction to non-fiction,
from picture books to quite challenging stories. They are excellent
books that avid readers will enjoy. Students are reading these
challenge books during independent reading time at school and at
home.
The challenge for students is to read 15 points worth of books by the
end May. They earn points for books – 3 points for award winners in each category and 1
point for honor books. A special event will be held to celebrate students who reach that
goal. Mid-year book bistros were held recently at Kennedy/Obama and Milkovich for
students who earned five or more points during the first semester. Students enjoyed a
special breakfast and shared information about their favorite books. Award winning
books were given as prizes.
A complete list of challenge books is available in your child’s language arts classroom.
You might want to select a book to read with your child. Students are able to borrow
many of the books at school and the rest can be found at the public library.
Happy Reading!
Illustration by
Eighth grader,
Derek Walker
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SPOTLIGHT ON EXCELLENCE
Aiyana Ware-Rembert was the winner in our naming contest for this newsletter.
When asked how she thought of the name, she stated “Mrs. Schostek told us to come up with something really good, so I wrote ‘Stretch your Magnificent Mind’.”
FIFTH GRADE ONLINE POETRY BOOKS
The fifth grade honors classes are working diligently trying to finish their
online poetry books to prepare them for publication. The Story Jumper
website is a great opportunity to create hardbound published books. We are
all excited to see our wonderful poetry in book format.
Also, we have begun literature circles utilizing 9 different books (between the
two classes) of all genres. The children are working cooperatively
accomplishing their assigned jobs and gaining great knowledge while reading.
There is a very exciting project in the works for these literature circles. Our
children will hopefully be paired with some of our high school students to
create and advertise products to promote and sell their books to other readers.
We are all very excited for this process and look forward to great things to
come!
Some of our literature book titles are:
- Out of the Dust - Trouble Don't Last
- The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - The One and Only Ivan
- Where the Red Fern Grows - Baby
- When Zackery Beaver Came to Town - The Cay
KENNEDY ELEMENTARY
STEM PROBLEM SOLVING
Second graders are involved this week in critical thinking using subtraction and STEM
problem solving. Students have been collaborating on a weekly STEM challenge, creating the tall-
est tower that can hold a Beanie Baby. After reading the math subtraction story “Elevator Math” by
Stuart J. Murphy students discussed height and numbers of floors in their houses and apartment
buildings. Students then began to engage in their weekly STEM project, attempting to build the
tallest tower. Lillian Kristoff noted prior to beginning that “our tower needs to have a strong
foundation. A strong foundation will help it stand and hold our team animal”. Students began the
project by creating a hypothesis of how tall their tower will be, describing their team Beanie Baby,
and creating a plan. After engaging in the asking, imagining, and the planning process, students
began to create their towers. While adding note cards to their towers, students were engaged in
three-digit and two-digit subtraction with regrouping, by subtracting the cards they add to their
tower to the amount of note cards they began with (100). Students also are required to use their
measurement skills to measure the height of their towers throughout the creating process. Students
will continue throughout the week creating, improving, and presenting their tallest tower while
using their critical thinking, problem solving, and subtraction skills.
Caitlin Podolski, Lillian Kristoff,
Markita Hill, Gervon Stewart, and
Sean Mines - In the planning stage of
the design process. Students are
planning how to best create the tall-
est tower with the best "foundation"
according to Lillian Kristoff
MILKOVICH MIDDLE SCHOOL
SEVENTH GRADE BIOMES PROJECTS
7th Grade Honors Science just finished a menu project on
Biomes. Menus allow the students to showcase their different
talents (artistic, video media, writing, etc.) to complete a project of their choice. Pic-
tured projects are from Nyree Nevels, Mykaela Jones, Ty'Asia Goodman,
Destiny Huff, Robert Lucas, William Johnson, Lauren Smith, Amirah Pugh,
Nijah Jackson, Kaylah Hill, and Kayla Smith.
MAPLE HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN A MOCK TRIAL
The Mock Trial team competed in district compe��on on January 30th at the Medina County Court of Common Pleas. Mock Trial is the largest
inter-school compe��on in the state a�er athle�cs. It is a very demanding contest! Students take the roles of lawyers and witnesses, write
opening and closing statements, and perform direct and cross examina�ons. The students compete against other schools and are scored by
actual judges and lawyers. The compe��on aspect requires an incredible amount of thinking on one's feet. Sophomore Alaiyna Boyd explained
that for her the most challenging part of being a witness was “being cross examined by the other team.”
The Mock Trial students did an INCREDIBLE job at compe��on. The students faced teams from
Cloverleaf High School and Shaker Heights High School. Summer Jordan won an outstanding
witness award and Cyan Blackwell and Arianna Pugh were both complimented on their
performance by the presiding judge. The Maple Heights Mock Trial team consists of students
Cyan Blackwell, Sharilyn Clark, Taviana Carr, Te'Aira Harris, Arianna Pugh, Alaiyna Boyd,
Summer Jordan, Hope Mckenzie, Olandra Burns, Eric Moon, Diamond Howard, Mariah Dixson,
and Kendall McCoy. Team advisors are Jordan Kolarik and Mary McDermo'. Ohio Mock Trial
requires that each team have a legal advisor. Maple Heights students were very lucky to work
with Tera Coleman, A'orney at Law at Calfee, Halter & Griswold. The students benefited greatly
through collabora�on with an experienced lawyer.
Unfortunately, the Maple Heights Mock Trial team did not advance to the regional compe��ons.
However, the scores were very close. Sophomore Summer Jordan was excited that “our hard work and dedica�on paid off in the end.”
Sophomore Te’Aira Harris related that “mock trial was a fun experience and I look forward to doing it again.” All in all, it was a great inaugural
year for the Maple Heights Mock Trial team. All of the students involved made Maple Heights proud with their effort and performance.
EVERYDAY GEOMETRY BY STUDENT ALEX POSTLETHWAITE
Every student, including myself asks “How does this connect to our everyday lives?” and that is exactly
what Ms. Rovelli’s Honors Geometry class set out to answer in a recent project. For this project, we
worked individually or with a partner to find out where the basic tools of Geometry fit into our lives. Each
group searched the internet for pictures that showed the geometrical terms we’ve learned in the real world.
The tricky part of this was that each group had to choose a theme and all their pictures had to align with
their theme. The theme I chose was Geometry in video games. Some of my classmates also had some
interesting themes, like flags, famous landmarks, the Olympics, emoji's and many others. Once we had all
of our pictures, each group created a Prezi presentation explaining the geometry term and how it can be
seen in our daily lives and interests. This project taught the majority of us that geometry is used in every-
day life and I think we all learned a lot from this project. A few of my classmates said “It was nice getting
away from the normal paper and pencil work” and “I liked it a lot because it helped me understand the
terms
Above is one of the many
slides on my Prezi, which
discusses how one of our ge-
ometry terms (Perpendicular
Lines) can be seen in the eve-
ryday life of someone playing
video games.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT CALCULUS CLASS
The Advanced Placement Calculus class is working on applications of mathematics, and specifically
calculus concepts, to the real world. Students have the opportunity to earn college credit based on their
scores on the Placement test. In preparation for the AP Placement exam in May, students need to be fluent
in procedures related to Calculus, but also need to have a deep conceptual understanding of the material
and the ability to apply the ideas to new situations. To help students to this end, we have been working on
problems involving rates of change and accumulation across time. For example, students were given a
graph of kilowatt per hour usage and asked to determine instantaneous usage at key points in time and to
determine an average payment based on an integral. Students have also been relating acceleration and
velocity graphs back to a position function and graph.
BOOK REVIEW
BY: DESTINY GREN
Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death
Camps, by Andrea Warren is about a boy
named Jack who gets separated from his
family and goes into a concentration camp
run by the Nazis.
Jack lived in Gdynia, Poland on the shores
of the Baltic Sea. That is until the Nazis, a
group who hated Jews, came to take over
Poland. Jack didn’t really know what was
going on, but he realized the situation when
he got moved to a concentration camp far
from home.
While in camp Jack didn’t, well, couldn’t
eat much and was basically a slave. He
went through tough times. He found friends
that either died or got moved to a different
camp. What Jack went through was worse
than what you would believe.
To see if Jack survives, read Surviving
Hitler by Andrea Warren.
OBAMA ELEMENARY