Thursday, June 1, 2017

Transition Day... Semester Exams... and SUMMER!

It has been one busy month for us during the month of May. So busy, that a blog posted just never happened for our middle school! Because of this, we have many updates, in this fairly long blog post!

Transition Day
First, we hosted our third transition day for all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Our 6th grade students came up to the middle school and were greeted by all of their incoming 7th grade teachers. Each teacher provided a snapshot of what is to come in their classes, and this year, we even had a blow up obstacle course. A huge thank you to Castle Entertainment in Midland, MI for providing this for us!





Our incoming 8th grade students participated in leadership sessions in the morning with their 8th grade teachers. In the afternoon, we had students all over the community participating in a service learning project with the goal of helping our students understand what it means to be a leader. I am SO proud of our 7th grade students and heard from multiple sites that this was the hardest working group of students that they have ever had!









Once our students were done with their service learning project, they were greeted back at the school with an ice cream party. Thank you to Pat's and Freeland Dairy for your yearly contribution to Transition Day!

Our incoming 9th grade students (current 8th grade) spent the day at the high school learning all about what to expect as they begin their last stage of school here at Freeland!





Exam Schedule
It is hard to believe that we only have a few short days left of school. I for one feel that the 2016-2017 school year has been the fastest year yet, but maybe this is because I have a busy one and four year old at home currently! Below is our exam schedule for June 14th, 15th, and 16th. The last day of school will be June 16th. We will start again in the fall on Tuesday, September 5th. Make sure to save the date for the middle and high school open houses on August 28th and 29th - more information will be released on times for these open houses over the summer!

Wednesday,  June 14th
    • 7:35-7:50 1st hour exam review
    • 7:50-9:25 1st hour exam
    • 9:25-9:30 Break
    • 9:35-10:34 report to 2nd hour to review for upcoming exams
    • 10:34-11:08 Lunch
    • 11:08-12:43 2nd hour exam
    • 12:43-12:48 Break
    • 12:48-2:23 3rd hour exam
Thursday, June 15th 
    • 7:35-9:15 4th hour exam
    • 9:15-9:25 Break
    • 9:30-11:10 5th hour exam
Friday, June 16th
    • 7:35-9:15 6th hour exam
    • 9:15-9:25 Break
    • 9:30-11:10 7th hour exam
Exploratory classes not giving an exam should either have a test day or a regular class day.

Summer Practice
Recently, there have been many news broadcasts around the idea of a "summer slide", and as a school, we want to make sure we are providing you great resources to reduce the "summer slide" that at times takes place with our students who have the summer off of learning. To help your child continue their learning through the summer, below are a few great resources!
  • All 8th grade students have uploaded their PSAT scores to the College Board site and Khan Academy. This is a great tool to help students practice skills over the summer, and practice for the SAT that they will take in 11th grade. To practice using Khan Academy go to www.khanacademy.org
  • NewsELA is a resource that many of our teachers use throughout the school year because it offers students informational reading at their reading level. They have recently come out with a Summer Reading Club program that looks great for encouraging students to continue reading over the summer. To access the club click on this NewsELA Summer Reading Club link. 
  • The Michigan E-Library (MEL) is another incredible resource for our students over the summer, and during the school year. It provides students a place to play educational games, practice reading informational text, and more. Here is a letter from MEL in regards to their summer programming options. 
Happy summer learning!