CENTER GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL NORTH

www.centergrove.k12.in.us 317-885-8800

APRIL 2015

MSN Office Hours 7:00 – 3:30

The MSN office hours are 7:00 – 3:30. At 3:30 the front entry doors are locked and the office is closed.

The holiday break begins at the end of the school day on Friday, December 19, 2014. Classes resume for students on Tuesday, January 6, 2015.

To those who participated in this year’s fundraiser. It was a great success. The school’s profit is used to maintain our current programs for students, staff appreciation, and professional development that have been impacted by budget cuts from the state. So we thank you for all your support and donations.

There are 15 students chosen each month by their team of teachers for our Students of the Month Program. The criteria used for students of the month: positive attitude, good citizenship, respectful to staff and students and gives maximum effort. These students will be recognized at a continental breakfast on Thursday, December 4th, here at MSN. Parents of the following students are invited to attend: 6th Grade Black – Carson Schornick 6th Grade Red – Logan Kelsheimer 6th Grade Silver – Brooke Lee 6th Grade White – Madison Snyder 6th Grade Unified Arts – Jaylee Kent 7th Grade Red – Gabby Ellis & Gabe Peters 7th Grade White – Hailey Bellian & Michael Goebel

Upcoming Dates √ April 6 – Classes

Resume √ April 9 – Young Hoosiers

Book Beat Contest at Clark Pleasant

√ April 10 – School Play

7:00 p.m. √ April 11 – School Play

5:00 p.m. √ April 13 – 17 – Book Fair

Week √ April 16 – March Student

of the Month Breakfast 7:00 a.m. in the LGI √ April 27 – May 15 –

ISTEP+ Multiple Choice Testing

√ April 27 – PTO Meeting

7:00 in LGI √ April 27 – 5

th Grade

Parent Meeting 6:30 in LGI √ May 1 – Incoming 6

th

Grade Social 5:00 – 6:30 √ May 1 – 8

th Grade Dance

7:00 – 9:00 √ May 4 – May 8 – Teacher

Appreciation Week √ May 7 – April Student of

the Month Breakfast 7:00 a.m. in LGI

√ May 11 – 6th

& 7th

Grade

Band Concert in Trojan Gym √ May 18 – PTO Meeting

7:00 p.m. √ May 19 – Choir Concert

6:00 p.m. & 7:30 √ May 21 – May Student of

the Month Breakfast 7:00 a.m. in LGI

√ May 21 – 6th

& 7th

Grade

Spring Orchestra Concert √ May 25 – No School –

Memorial Day √ May 26 – Evening

Awards Program 7:00 p.m.

√ May 27 – No Early

Release √ May 29 – Last Day of

School

Giving Back in a BIG Way Each day, MSN teachers and staff go above and beyond to teach our

students state standards. They plan and implement their curriculum and provide enrichment and remediation based on their students’ learning and needs. Besides these academic goals, our staff provides opportunities for our students to build skills in leadership, citizenship, and service to each other and our community.

Due to our belief that these character skills are such an important part of a middle school students’ learning, we have begun keeping track of the activities our students participate in that demonstrate community service. These activities demonstrate a wide range of service including fundraising for student rewards, our Veterans Day program, anti-bullying awareness, music department needs, our Christmas families, canned food drive, author visit, the Salvation Army, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Riley Hospital for Children, and on and on.

Our current tally for fundraising for this school year is approaching $45,000 and still growing! The amount of service hours our students have accumulated is very difficult to equate, but to give a glimpse…our National Junior Honor Society students alone have put in almost 800 services hours!

Empowering students to embrace their responsibilities of today and to succeed as life-long learners in the ever-changing global community of tomorrow is Middle School North’s vision statement. We feel that part of embracing responsibilities for our students is the responsibility of giving back. I can proudly say that Center Grove Middle School North students are giving back in a BIG way!! As always, if you have questions, comments, or concerns, please contact me at johnsonsw@centergrove.k12.in.us or 885-8800. Have a safe and fun Spring Break!! Scott Wm. Johnson Principal

Mission

Our Middle School North community will provide each

student with a passion to learn,

the tools to communicate, and the opportunity to

dream.

Vision

Empowering students to

embrace their responsibilities of

today and to succeed as life-long learners in

the ever-changing global community

of tomorrow.

There are 15 students chosen each month by their team of teachers for our Students of the Month Program. The criteria used for students of the month: positive attitude, good citizenship, respectful to staff and students and gives maximum effort. These students will be recognized at a Continental breakfast on April 16 at 7:00 a.m. 6th Grade Black – Ceyda Rasor 6th Grade Red – Austin Humphrey 6th Grade Silver – Kyleigh Miklos 6th Grade White – Charlie Dilk 6th Grade Unified Arts – Michael Carroll 7th Grade Red – Athulya Nair &CalebTidd 7th Grade White – Kaila Hunter &

Seth Rhoten 7th Grade Unified Arts – Madeline Heineman 8th Grade Red – Lilly Varney & Mason Cook 8th Grade Silver – Rachel Taylor & Evan Humphrey 8th Grade Unified Arts – Katelyn Mitchell

Immunizations All incoming 6th graders and New Students must have an up-to-date Immunization Record on file. The Indiana State Department of Health Immunization Division gives a 20 day waiver to new students the day that they enroll, but all 6th, 7th & 8th graders must have their up-to-date record already turned in or they will be excluded from school. The Middle School requirements are as follows: 3 Hep B (Hepatitis B) 2 Varicella (Chicken Pox 1 MCV(Meningococcal) 5 DTaP (Diptheria,Tetanus & Pertussis) 2 MMR (Measles, Mumps & Rubella) 1 Tdap (Tetanus & Pertussis) 4 Polio (Inactivated Polio) If you have any questions, please contact our school nurse.

Baxter YMCA Spring Sports Leagues Registration is now open at the Baxter YMCA for T-Ball/Baseball, Basketball, Soccer and Volleyball leagues. Leagues begin April 4 and April 11. For more information, contact Joel Hudson at (317) 865-6456 or jhudson@indymca.org or visit http://www.indymca.org/centers/baxter/center-

news.

State law requires the following: No student can be in possession of prescription or non-prescription drugs in school. All medications have to be stored in the nurse’s office. Prescription medications have to be in their original container with dosage directions on the label. Non-prescription medications (e.g. Tylenol/Advil) have to be stored in the nurse’s office with a parent note. This includes cough drops. Students are expected to take all medications to the nurse’s office immediately upon arrival at school.

Please check Skyward for your child’s known health conditions. If you see that a condition needs to be added or deleted, please e-mail the nurse at bachmanns@centergrove.k12.in.us and she will update your child’s Skyward account.

6th & 7th grade students have flown through their 9

weeks of art creating self-portraits; Picasso inspired

chalk pastel drawings, color harmony paintings,

printmaking projects and more! Be sure to ask your

student about them!

8th grade Art students are finishing up the semester

with Painting, Printmaking, Sculptures,

Photography, Clay sculpture, and Op Art drawings!

Whew! We have a lot to get through before the end

of the semester! Please ask your student to bring

home his/her completed projects.

Be sure to watch the newsletter, the MSN website,

and my webpage for information on the Festival of

the Arts April 16-19th at the CGHS Hall of

Excellence. A number of students from MSN will

have their beautiful artwork on display!

CGMSN Drama Club Presents…

Friday, April 10th at 7:00pm

Saturday, April 11th at 5:00pm

Come Be Our Guest and enjoy one of Disney’s all-time classics in

the CGMSN Trojan Gym!

Tickets will be sold at the door: $4 for students, $5 for adults, $15 for families.

Concessions benefiting the drama club will be sold before the show and at intermission! Approximate show time including intermission will be around an

hour and a half.

News From the Library

April 13th-17th

Open during school hours and Tuesday Evening (April 15th) 6-8 pm

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

ATTENTION ALL ELEMENTARY & middle SCHOOL STUDENTS You Are invited to our annual

Center grove Middle school north

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

FREE! 6:30 – 7:30 PM Free! CGMSN Cafeteria

Fun for the whole family!

Visit our book fair in the library from 6-8 PM

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

OVERDUE BOOK AND FINES: Please ask your students if they have any

outstanding overdue books and/or fines. We have an average of 200

weekly notices that go out every Friday! Thank you for your help in getting

these taken care of.

The BOOK FAIR IS COMING!!

Contact Mrs. Ortega in the library (317) 885-8800 ext. 5144 or ortegav@centergrove.k12.in.us to volunteer! Shifts vary from 7:20 am – 2:40 pm. No help needed on Tuesday evening.

National Junior Honor

Society

Chapter Meeting Dates

**Note: All meetings begin at 6:30 am in the cafeteria. Attendance is mandatory. Friday 4/10 Friday 5/8 - Executive Committee Elections ***Five service hours are due May 1st Note: To remain in good standing, members must attend 4/5 chapter meetings & maintain a 3.6 GPA.

Executive Committee

2014-2015

President Colin Armstrong

Vice President Ashlynn Beard

Secretary Jordan Boyd

Historian/P.R. Rachel Taylor

Service Luke Irons

Committee Members Jordan Glogoza Graci Gasper

Follow the advisors and share

pictures and service

opportunities on Twitter https://twitter.com/CGMSN_NJHS

Advisors:

Mrs. Witt

wittm@centergrove.k12.in.us

Mrs. Harmon

harmonc@centergrove.k12.in.us

Chec

k out

our b

ullet

in bo

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near

IMC

for u

pdate

s and

in

form

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!

Chase Perfection. Catch Excellence Upcoming music date: Apr 9 8th grade Recruitment Concert (during school)

To the Parent/s of Mr. Shimp’s students: Great job to the 7th & 8th grade band and orchestra students for some great performances at contest last month! Also, we want to extend a big thank you to everyone who helped out during the two-day event. We couldn’t do it without you. At Center Grove Middle School North we think music is basic to life. It is an artistic language that helps the human connects imagination to expression; it cultivates the whole child. Instead of instructing the student “what to think,” it teaches the student “how to think.” It underscores the value of interpretation and personal judgment rather than the traditional right-or wrong answer concept of learning. The cognitive structures developed through music instruction “exposed and illuminated more

general organizing structures relevant for multiple disciplines.” Portowitz,P., Lichtenstein, O., Egorova, L., & Brand, E. (2009). Underlying mechanisms linking music education and cognitive modifiability. Research Studies in Music Education, 31, 107–29.

This is only one of many ongoing experiments that continue to support the theory that music enhances human intellect. It is apparent we have merely scratched the surface concerning the positive implications of music study. With appreciation,

Mr. Shimp

DID YOU KNOW? Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school.

Shimp’s Corner

CGMSN FRIENDS & FAMILIES

Did you know that C.G. Middle School North has one of the first Best Buddies Programs at the Middle School Level? This program has been running for the past 3 years and we want you to know this is a wonderful opportunity that awaits your students when they transition to middle school. You also have a great opportunity coming on Sunday, April 26 to introduce your students to Best Buddies and show your support for the program!

Here’s what you can do to participate…

1. Go to the link below and join our team. Even if you cannot attend the walk, you can still show your

support for this great program.

2. If you can attend the friendship walk, please bring your student and friends to witness the power of the

walk and joy of this event!

3. You can add your financial support if you wish by clicking the “Give Now” link

on the team page.

Any or all of these will be so appreciated by the students, teachers and parents who are the heart of Best

Buddies.

Parents can join the team and sign up students by visiting the team page at:

www.bestbuddiesindiana.org/walk/centergrovemiddleschoolnorth

THE POWER OF THE WALK

The Friendship Walk is the latest and greatest life-changing movement created by Best Buddies. Since 2009,

more than 55,000 participants have walked in over 26 states and 3 countries, raising over 5 million dollars for

Best Buddies. Ultimately, the Friendship Walk changes lives, as participants walk for inclusion, friendship,

leadership, and opportunity for people with and without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).

Over the years, our walks have made a profound impact in communities nationwide, especially for

individuals with IDD. Every Friendship Walk promotes an atmosphere for new friendships, promising

opportunities, and most of all, inclusion for all people. This is where you can make a difference! You can

make new friends, create opportunity, and promote community inclusion simply by participating in this

year's Friendship Walk. Walk for inclusion. Walk for friendship. Walk for a better community.

Proceeds from the walk play a fundamental part in funding our state programs which provide one-to-one

friendships, leadership development and integrated job opportunities for individuals with IDD. These

programs can be found in all 50 states and will create promising opportunities for over 350,000 people this

year. None of this is possible without the help of generous donations from people like you. Thank you for

considering a donation to Best Buddies. Your generosity will create life-changing possibilities.

Math class has been filled with measurement and using the tools of Geometry. Students have become experts at finding

perimeter, area, and volume. Students are moving on to using systems of measurement where they will be using many different

units for weight, mass, capacity, and length. We are also wrapping up our exciting unit for March Madness.

In social studies, the black team students have just finished learning about Mayas, Incas and Aztecs. The students were

mesmerized by some of the traditions that these people did during that time! We will be looking closer at Mexico and Canada next

in May.

In honors science we have flown through outer space and have started digging through information about geology. We

have just started looking at the different layers of the earth and at plate tectonics. In general science we are taking our time as we

learn about our solar system.

In language arts, the students are working on a cross-curricular unit with math tracking teams and researching colleges in

the March Madness basketball tournament. In honors, we are wrapping up Genius Hour projects. Both classes are prepping for the

second round of ISTEP, and then gearing towards a poetry unit in conjunction with the novel Out of the Dust.

Congratulations Olivia Braida for being the

Black Team’s student of the month!

Congratulations Abigail Johnson for being the

6th

grade unified arts’ student of the month!

6th Grade Red Team did a great job on the first round of ISTEP+ testing! We know

the kids will do great on the multiple choice portion coming up later this month.

Thank you for making sure your child has plenty of sleep and a healthy breakfast in

the morning!

Math & Science – In math, we have finished our algebra unit and have moved on to geometry.

We’ve learned about angles and are going to be working on perimeter, area, volume, and surface

area of different shapes. We will see how the students measure up to our geometry standards! In

science, we are almost ready to return to the earth after our journey in space. We will spend a short

time talking about the planets and other celestial bodies, but then we will touch back down on land

and start a unit on life science and ecology.

Language Arts & Social Studies – Spring has sprung here on the sixth grade red team! Hopefully

the past few weeks have brought about some outdoor opportunities and the thawing of winter! With

the last grading period in full-swing, students will begin reading Karen Hesse’s novel, Out of the Dust,

after spring break. We wrapped up the weeks before spring break with ISTEP+ testing and intensive

grammar work. We will also be researching colleges in the Men’s NCAA tourney to go along with

March Madness. Students are busy with Genius Hour projects as well. It’s a busy time of year in

Language Arts! In Social Studies, we have finished traveling through the Renaissance, Reformation,

and Scientific Revolution. We’ve made “Wanted” posters and personal printing blocks as tokens from

this era. We are now off to the Americas! The kids are excited to learn how chocolate affected the

Mesoamerican cultures!

Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or concerns at campbells1@centergrove.k12.in.us

and mcdowelln@centergrove.k12.in.us

Spring has sprung here on the sixth grade SILVER TEAM! Hopefully the past few weeks have brought about

some outdoor opportunities and the thawing of winter! With the last grading period in full-swing, students will continue

working on their innovative Genius Hour ideas and begin reading Karen Hesse’s novel, Out of the Dust. We wrapped up

the weeks before spring break with ISTEP+ testing, intensive grammar work, and argumentative essays in all blocks. We

will be researching colleges in the Men’s NCAA tourney soon to go along with Mrs. Harmon’s March Madness unit.

We are wrapping up measurement and moving into graphing and statistics in math where the students will be

completing a Survey Project. We are also finishing up our March Madness unit. Be sure to ask your student how his/her

team did in the NCAA tournament! We will continue to review fractions, decimals, integers, and equations daily as we

work hard to sharpen our skills as the end of the year approaches. Please make sure to touch base often with your

student regarding the topics being covered in math. Your support at home makes a HUGE difference!

We have discovered the many ideas and developments of the Renaissance,

Reformation, Scientific Exploration, and Enlightenment period in Social

Studies. We have “voyaged” through many explorers during this time,

which will finally lead us to our current unit on the Americas! We will

concentrate on the rise and fall of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca civilizations.

Make sure to ask your student how chocolate affected the Mesoamerican

cultures!

In Science, now that we have wrapped up the enormous unit on space and the

effects of our moon, we are going microscopic! If all living things are

made of cells, why are mammals so different from plants? We are about to

find out! The microscope lab is always a favorite among the students. We

will then continue to learn about the environments that support living

organisms and what exactly is necessary to support life! Hopefully, the

coming weeks, with events like Color Wars challenges and our field trip to

Blue Heron Challenge Course looming will be both fruitful and exciting for

our Silver teamers!

The 6th grade students on the White team have had a lot of fun lately in science! They found the phases of the moon activities pretty interesting. When we had a surprise fire drill one afternoon, the moon was already rising, and they could tell us what phase the moon was in!

(See pictures to the right.) Sometimes handling lockers, friends, homework, teachers, grades, and schedules can be quite a balancing

act for our students!

Social studies and language arts have been tied together throughout the first nine weeks with our study of the Middle Ages

in social studies and our reading of Crispin in language arts. We held our annual Medieval feast as a culminating activity for both the

study of the Middle Ages and Crispin. Pictures of the feast can be seen in next month’s newsletter. THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR

PARENTS WHO HELPED OUT AT OUR FEAST! We couldn’t have done it without you!

In social studies, we wrapped up the Renaissance by working like the Masters of the Renaissance – Michelangelo

and Leonardo da Vinci! Students tried their hands at writing backwards to imitate the notes left by da Vinci. They also created self-

portraits while lying on their backs or drawing overhead much like Michelangelo when he painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

7 Red - The students on the 7th grade Red Team have returned from spring vacation rested and

relaxed. In math classes students will be studying ratios, proportions, and percents. Ask your son/daughter to

figure the tip for you the next time you are out to dinner (without the use of a cell phone or calculator!). Honors

math students are working with systems of equations and inequalities. G’day mates. During April in global

studies we will be traveling to the Land of Oz (Australia) where we’ll give it a burl (a try) to learn a little strine

(Australian slang). History, geography, and of course, the wildlife, will be our main areas of focus. So grab a

little vegemite and watch out for any boomers as we explore the Land Down Under. Science will be studying

life science. We’ll work our way up from cells to organ systems. Mitosis and the division of cells deserves its

own song! Language arts students will continue our study of grammar. Because April is National Poetry month,

we will be studying a bit of poetry. Fire-up for the last round of ISTEP during the week of April

27th! Remember to get lots of rest and eat a healthy breakfast during that week!

7 White - In English with Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Bowser, we conclude an author study on Mark Twain

and read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Grammatically speaking, we will study verbals: participles, gerunds, and infinitives. We will also polish our narrative writing skills. In Social Studies, Mr. McRoberts will be embarking on a tour of Japan and Southeast Asia. In Samurai warrior fashion, students will also be focused and disciplined on current events and ISTEP preparation. In Science, Mr. Jansen will study cell structures, functions, and processes in a study of life science. Students investigate the rates of photosynthesis in plants and do an osmosis lab, too. Finally, in Math with Mrs. Heldman, it could be a slippery slope as students find slope using points on a graph, two ordered pairs, tables, and word problems. Students will also graph rate of change.

8th Grade Red Team C. Harmon

“April showers bring May flowers.” Well, it will at least bring eloquent speakers. This month

students will hone in on persuasive speaking. They may choose a topic of their choice, choose a

side, and enhance that viewpoint both visually and verbally. This is always a fun unit as it

allows a student’s interest to shine for others. Students will present claims and findings on the

topic; emphasize with strongest points; give valid reasoning & well-chosen details; use

appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. (Wow! Those are some

significant skills!) In addition to listening and speaking skills, we will continue with our

Latin/Greek roots. And… if you ever want more info., follow us on Twitter @Msn8Red!

Proud of what we do and

proud of what we write!

8th Grade Red Team News Continued

Math - Students will be taking the last part of ISTEP at the end of April. Have you child show you their

portfolio account online. You child should be able to explain short selling, buying on margin and how

stocks work. Honors math will finish chapter 9 in April/May and regular will start factoring.

Science - Science- This is an exciting time in science because during the month of April we will be

studying life science! We will study the structure of the DNA molecule and the relationship between

DNA, genes, and chromosomes. Students will make 3D models of the DNA molecule and even

extract DNA from their own cells. We will also begin to study reproduction and the inheritance of

traits.

Biology- We will begin our Ecology unit during April. We will study the flow of matter and energy in

ecosystems, food chains, food webs, invasive species impacts, and ecosystem dynamics. We will

also start gearing up for the ECA test on May 14th.

History – This month the class will be focusing on the sectional differences that led to the Civil War, by

analyzing decades of compromise over the topic of slavery. This all-encompassing unit concludes with a

simulation in which the students will get to experience and learn about the Civil War directly from the

perspective of the Union or Confederate soldiers. If anyone parent/guardian has something unique that they

would like to share with the class on this topic, there is always a welcomed opportunity to do so. If interested,

please send an e-mail to mcmahent@centergrove.k12.in.us.

For Mr. Peterson’s science class, we had a first successful launch of our Near Space Balloon. We were able to use some of the data to calculate the balloon was traveling over 150 mph while in the stratosphere and jetstream. Now we will move to Life Science this nine weeks. We have started to look at genes and heredity and will move into how genetic differences in successive generations can lead to different descendants and how environmental factors can play into species extinction.

In the month of March, Mrs. Paff’s math class finished with our geometry unit which included finding area, volume, and surface area of different shapes. We will be completing a unit on square roots in the weeks leading up to Spring Break, and we will also be celebrating the ULTIMATE Pi Day this month! (3.14.15) In the month of April we will be introducing the students to the Stock Market, and we will also be talking about odds and probability. After tackling ISTEP testing, Silver Team students will be reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream by none other than William Shakespeare in English with Mrs. Widbin. Because this unit will be difficult for students to understand, please use my Canvas page often to access helpful links! Students will find links that provide the online text, a side-by-side modern day translation of the play, links to summaries, and tips on how to study Shakespeare. We will also be taking a deeper look at poetry to celebrate National Poetry Month throughout April as well. ―Poem in Your Pocket day‖ is on April 30th—perhaps consider sharing your favorite poem with your child and ask him/her to read you his/her favorite poem from this year! In April Mrs. Witt’s class will continue covering the Industrial Revolution, which resulted in the Industrialization of the North and the Cotton boom of South. This era gave rise to changing roles for women, minorities, and immigrants. Students will be learning about their own family heritage and the possible role their ancestors may have played during this pre-Civil War time.