J. M. S. News. . . by Donald F. Gately May 2015

J. M. S. News. . . by Donald F. Gately
May 2015
Jericho Middle School’s Chinese Festival
Wu Laoshi’s Chinese Language Students Celebrate Chinese Day on April 1st!
Celebrating Chinese culture from dumplings to calligraphy, this day enriched Jericho Middle
School students and staff with knowledge of Chinese culture through food and activities.
Please click on to the following link to view our pictures:
http://web.jerichoschools.org/ms/library/chineseday.htm
The Jericho School District Budget Vote and Election will be held on May 19th, 2015, in the
Gymnasium from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. To find information go to the Jericho Website,
please scroll down to bottom of the page and on the right hand side you will see a link with
complete voter information.
Theme of the month: Attitudes and Values
Attitude, according to Hal Urban, is the most important choice we’ll ever make because if affects
everything we do in life. Research done at Harvard and Stanford state that attitude is far more
important than intelligence, education, special talents or luck. The research studies concluded that
80% of our success in life is due to attitude, while the other 20% is due to ability.
As Viktor Frankl said:
“The greatest discovery of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives
by altering their attitudes.”
Classroom News:
Team 6A: D. Gilbert – J. Kuehn
Students on Team 6A complete a Power Point
presentation about Ancient Greece. Samara's
presentation focused on the women of
Ancient Greece.
Team 6B:B. Riccuiti – K. Varga
Team 6B explored many different world religions through researching in the library. The students
then collaborated in groups to put together google presentations that they will use to teach their
classmates.
Clemente/J. O’Brien – L. Diehl/J. Fernandes
Team 6C had a visitor, Mr. Grossman, demonstrated how to separate water molecules using
hydrolysis. After separation students learned how to test the resulting gasses to prove that they
were actually hydrogen and oxygen. Students also saw sugar being broken down into carbon and
water vapor. They were surprised to see the exciting reaction and excited to touch the left over
carbon.
Team 6D: S. Aubrey – B. Schisgall – D. Lambe
Team 6D is Pop/Prepping for the New York State Assessments. Happy days ahead...the future is
looking bright!!!
Team 7A: B. Brill – M. Vevante – S. Theotokis – D. Kahn – L. Trojanowski – A. McDonough
On team 7A, while studying the skeletal system, students in science class labeled each other to
identify bones and joints. If you say to your child who participated in this activity, "I have a
bone to pick with you," they may reply, "there's no bones about it!"
Team 7B: C. Dell’Erba - P. Travis - M. Panayiotou – S. Sharma
During a recent unit on chemistry, students on Team 7B learned about how metal compounds are
used to produce different-colored fireworks. The students observed the color that each compound
produced in a Bunsen burner flame. They were then asked to put their heads down while a random
compound was placed into the flame. Later, they inferred the identity of the compound based on
their previous observations. The favorite, by far, was the brilliant white light produced by
magnesium, which was able to make the darkened room appear illuminated!
Team 8A: C. Snyder – T. Cantwell – D. Schwirzbin – T. Lucher – D. Stile – J. Lawlor
Team 8A Students in Ms. Cantwell's and Mr. Lawlor's Eighth Grade Social Studies Classes
took "The History Comes to Life Series Art Gallery Walk" using Jericho custodian, Andrew
Calo's authentic World War I patriotic paintings. The librarian Ms. Minikel helped facilitate
21st century visual literacy skills.
Please click on to the following link to view these inspiring posters:
http://web.jerichoschools.org/ms/library/social/andrewposters2015.htm
Team 8B: R. Scalera – J. Alder – T. Catalano – J. Smith
Students on Team 8B recently
completed a unit based on 15 rules of
the comma. As a culminating activity,
students competed for the title
of Comma King and Queen. In order to
win the title, students had to earn a
perfect score on the Team 8B Comma
Quest. Winners of this competition
included Samantha Balko, Emma
Baskind, Catherine Sang, Aaron Lam,
Angie Li, and Jerry Zhang. Students
were awarded crowns, certificates, and
gift cards to Ralph's Ices.
Team 8C: J. Han – K. Kovoros – G. Berry – J. Stiegert
Team 8C students modeled low pressure systems by using propellers. When the students spun the
propeller counterclockwise, they rose up, just as a cyclone (low pressure system) does!
Quote of the Week
May 4-8:
Morality is doing what is right even when you don’t like it.”
Robert Schuller, Minister, author, b. 1926
May 11-15: “Don’t throw away time-tested values because they are old.”
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, 1981-1989
May 18-22: “Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”
Mark Twain, American author and humorist, 1835-1910
May 25-29 “It is never too late to give up your prejudices.”
Henry David Thoreau, American author, poet, philosopher, 1817 1862
Dates to Remember
May 7
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
12
19
19
19
22
22
25
27-28
29
MS PTSA Mtg./Our Fifth Annual Principal’s Family Book Talk!
“A Fish in a Tree,” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, an uplifting novel that
will speak to anyone who’s ever thought there was something wrong
with them because they didn’t fit in. 9:00 am-10:30 am
MS Evening Guidance Hours – 7:00-9:00 p.m.
MS Spring Concert I – Chorus/Orchestra – Auditorium – 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Budget Vote and Election – Gymnasium – 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Board of Education Meeting – Gym – 9:15 p.m.
MS Progress Reports Posted Online
Personal Best Awards – Middle School Library – 2:15 p.m.–3:15 p.m.
Schools Closed
Grade 8 Science Performance Assessments
Grade 6 Mini-Olympics