Viking News

Principal’s Message

February is upon us, and we have experienced our first major snow storm! Is it wrong to be

wishing for spring already? The third marking period is underway, so we are more than halfway

through the school year. As I visit the classrooms, it is so exciting to see how engaged your

children are in the learning process.

In December, the 6th graders celebrated “Customs and Traditions” day. Thank you to our

teachers and the many parent volunteers who shared their wonderful traditions with our

students. Our fall and winter sports teams have had a great deal of success, and the coaches are

already preparing for the spring sports season! In January, RMS hosted our first cheerleading

competition, and it was very successful. The “Lip Sync” competition is scheduled for May 12 at

HCRHS. Please come out to support this wonderful student council event. The play “Shrek” will

be performed by our talented middle schoolers on March 2 and 3.

The 4th Annual Student Academy Day is coming to RMS on April 7! The students will be

participating in a fun-filled and exciting day dedicated to exploring learning through workshops

with topics that stretch beyond typical classroom activities. Please consider sharing your talents

with our students. You may reach out to your H.S.A. representatives if you are interested in

participating.

RMS is so lucky to have such wonderful staff members, who continue to look for ways to grow

professionally. As a staff, we have participated in many workshops that focus on integrating

technology effectively in the classroom. In addition, the teachers shared best practices for

differentiating instruction to meet the needs of the various learners in their classrooms.

Wonderful, thoughtful, professional discussions occur at our team meetings.

A special thank you to our H.S.A. for sponsoring our assembly on Civil Rights that was held in

January. The students enjoyed this interactive, educational production.

Please continue to check the weekly Genesis e-mail for important information about RMS,

including our monthly calendar of events. 8th Grade parents, please be sure to check the website

for important transition information.

Thank you for continuing to be a partner in your child’s education!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sharon Moffat

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From the Assistant Principal

Happy Belated New Year to all. It’s already February, and I hope you successfully weathered our

first major snow storm of the 2017 school year. I feel like the New Year always ushers in the

sense of renewal – a renewal of purpose and a collective commitment to excellence in both

teaching and learning. I am deeply thankful for the talent and energy of our teachers, staff, and

students. I am proud of our middle school students as I observe them actively participating in a

full spectrum of learning opportunities. I celebrate their successes and enjoy watching their

growth. I offer praise to the talented and committed teachers, staff, and coaches who keep our

students actively engaged in the arts, athletics, and learning. Research has demonstrated that

engaging students in the learning process increases their focus, improves higher-level critical

thinking skills and promotes meaningful learning for all. We demand high standards for all.

I am enthused this year about a new “technology” program that was introduced to teachers this

winter. Plickers is a FREE, fun and interactive program that has awesome possibilities in the

classroom to help teachers assess students' knowledge in real time. Unlike so many other

formative assessment tools that use technology, the only person who is required to have access

to technology is the teacher. For a better understanding of Plickers go to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfUB05xiIGM.

Through a close and collegial partnership with everyone associated with Readington Middle School, I am confident we can continue our collective commitment to make our school an even better place for our students to learn and grow in 2017. Best wishes for continued success!

With RMS pride,

Dr. Jonathan Moss

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Math

Thus far in Algebra 1, students have

been using the Standards for

Mathematical Practice to write expressions and to

solve, write, and graph linear equations and

inequalities. Students will continue to use these

concepts as we begin solving and graphing systems of

equations, applying exponent properties, factoring

polynomials, and solving and graphing quadratic

equations and functions.

In Algebra 2, students have recently completed an

extensive unit on polynomials of second and higher

degree to include operations on these functions as well

as writing, solving, analyzing, graphing and modeling.

Students will now soon complete their study of radical

functions and rational exponents and move on to

exponential and logarithmic functions as their first

experience in Algebra 2 with the transcendentals

The students in Pre-Algebra have spent a lot of time

working with linear equations! They have been writing

equations from a scenario, graphing them, making

tables to find points, determining slope and y-intercept,

and then putting equations together to form systems of

linear equations and solving those systems to find their

point of intersection. We have also discussed what it

looks like if a system has one solution, infinite solutions,

and no solutions. Now, they are working hard

reviewing the first five chapters in preparation for the

midterm. After the midterm, students will expand their

learning of linear equations in relation to

functions. Students will also be introduced to the

Pythagorean Theorem and how it is used to find the

missing side of any right triangle.

Science

In science, we will be learning about the physical

sciences- light and sound waves, potential and kinetic

energy, and Newton's laws of motion. These topics will

be explored through physical demonstrations and

engineering dynamic models.

Social Studies

In social studies, students are deepening their

understanding of the federal government, as it relates

to expansionism, civil rights, and modern issues.

Language Arts

In Language Arts, students will begin a

unit on argument writing. As part of this unit, students

will tackle real-world issues and study a variety of

sources to determine how to convince others to believe

as they believe. Students will learn about logical

appeals, claims, evidence, and counterarguments. This

unit will also include review research strategies.

Spanish

I am very excited to inform you of all the great things

the 8th grade students are learning in my Spanish

classes. Students are presently learning vocabulary

from chapter 7A & B. They are learning AR, ER, IR

verbs in the past tense, names of stores in the Spanish

countries, high numbers from hundreds to millions,

phrases to communicate in the shopping world, and

direct object pronouns. Students are having fun

learning the culture of other countries, what they wear,

the similarities and differences that students from

Spanish countries have with the students in the USA.

French

The 8th

grade French students have been working on

the “clothing unit”. The students learned the verb

“porter” to talk about different clothes they are wearing,

what color they are, as well as the materials they’re

made out of. They learned to give their opinions on

someone’s clothes and learned the cultural difference

between how we give opinions in France compared to

the U.S. The coming weeks, they will be learning about

different accessories and focusing on their project by

putting together a wonderful fashion show with friends

and talking about what they’re about to do based on

what they’re wearing .

Mandarin

Eighth grade Mandarin students have completed the

unit of food. They are able to express different levels of

preference over some fruits, vegetables, drinks, and

meals. The can describe the dishes for three meals of

a day with fast food and Chinese food. They have done

an online shopping project to explore Chinese market

prices for some fruits, vegetables, sport/hobby items,

and clothing from a Chinese ecommerce site. They

have learned about currency exchange between US

dollars and Chinese Yuan. Currently, they are

wrapping around all curriculum they have learned to

prepare for high school.

Grade

8

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Science

Seventh grade geologists are making a tectonic shift in

science class as we transition into studying

biology. We begin by learning what it means to be

alive. We will then focus on how a cell functions as the

smallest unit of life. Students will hone their microscope

skills as they observe cell division. Our exploration will

continue from there as we explore genetics and answer

the question “Why are we similar but not identical to

our parents?”

Language Arts

The 7th grade is finishing up their Evidence Based

Argumentation Writing Unit and their Mystery Reading

Unit. Students first had to read and research to

become experts on an issue before establishing their

position on that issue. The skills learned in this unit will

be strengthened as the seventh graders begin their

Social Issues Reading unit and Literary Analysis Writing

Unit.

Social Studies

The seventh grade social studies classes have moved

out of Greece and into Rome. Students will have the

opportunity to explore the Pantheon, Colosseum, Pont

du Gard, Hadrian’s Wall as well as hundreds of other

contributions made by Rome to Western Civilization.

This will be a great spring!

Math

The 7th grade Math classes have all been hard at work

solving for x in various situations: expressions and

equations, inequalities, systems of linear equations,

and in proportional relationships. They will continue

solving for variables in different formats and in real-

world situations.

Spanish

Hola! The 7th graders just completed chapter 3B in their textbook in which they covered foods and beverages, discuss food, health, and exercise choices, they also learned about how conjugate the verbs “Ser and Estar” to be in Spanish. Currently, students in 7

th

grade are talking about locations in our community, discussing leisure activities. Also, students are going to study the verb “ir” to go. At the end of the chapter, my students are going to learn how to ask questions using question words in Spanish. ¡Gracias! Señor Fernandez.

French

The 7th grade students spent a lot of time learning how

to conjugate their "er" verbs in French in order to talk

about activities that they do in the present tense. In

addition, they learned about the places where they do

the different activities and what prepositions to use in

front of the places. They have started the "school" unit,

where they will learn about different items in the

classrooms, school supplies, how to talk about their

schedules and their opinions on the different subject

sthat they take. They have also learned the verb “avoir”

in order to talk about different things that they have or

don’t have.

Mandarin

Seventh grade Mandarin students have completed the

unit of Making Phone Calls. Students have learned

about the basic conversation for calling someone in

different scenarios in speaking and writing. Currently,

they are exploring the weather in US and China to

prepare a weekly weather forecast report for a city from

China.

GR. 7

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Language Arts:

6th Grade is wrapping up their Nonfiction Reading Unit.

Students met in book clubs to read and study books of

varying topics! Readers then worked together to create

group presentations on books such as Growing Up in

Coal Country, Children of the Great Depression, Steve

Jobs: Thinking Differently, Quest for the Tree

Kangaroo, Surviving Hitler, Harry Houdini, and

Abraham Lincoln. Emphasis was placed on group

collaboration and public speaking skills.

In writing, students wrapped up their Informational

Essays. Writers were encouraged to choose topics that

interested them, and essays varied from “The Study of

the Brain,” to “The History of Legos!” Students learned

about the research process and received an

introduction into MLA citation!

Currently we are heading into our Social Issues Unit

where we will be studying varying perspectives in

literature and history through compare and contrast

analysis. Students are sure to be strengthening their

writing with complex sentences!

Fun Fact- 6th Grade students have learned over 90

new vocabulary words this year! Keep up the hard

work!

Social Studies:

The sixth graders are studying the characteristics of a

civilization for ancient Egypt. Over the past weeks,

students have focused on the government and social

structure of ancient Egypt. Students will learn about the

achievements, technology, and inventions of the great

empire through centers and in-class simulations.

Science:

The sixth graders blasted off into the New Year creating

Alka seltzer rockets in class. They also used a balloon

rocket and a combination of Alka Seltzer with various

penny loads to investigate Newton's Laws. Currently,

they are exploring magnetic and electric forces before

moving into our third unit of the year: interactions and

matter.

Math:

The Sixth Grade Honors Math Class is studying

geometry including angle relationships and triangles.

They have used similar triangles to solve problems

such as finding the heights of tall structures and the

distance across a river. Finding square roots to

determine the side lengths of squares, students are

discovering that the exact side length of some squares

cannot be written as a rational number. They will use

this knowledge as they discover one of the most

famous theorems in mathematics, The Pythagorean

Theorem. Students will learn how the Ancient Egyptians

used a knotted rope to measure their property

boundaries and how this relates to the Pythagorean

Theorem. They will also perform a simple proof and its

converse.

Advanced 6th grade math has been busy working on

proportional thinking. This is one of the major focus

areas of the 7th grade curriculum. In chapter 5, we

calculated the unit rate of a toy car and used

proportions to calculate our weight on the moon. We

compared the slopes of ramps for the toy car and

graphed our heart rate. In chapter 6, we will use

percent to calculate percent change, discounts,

markups, and interest. Our classroom becomes a store

filled with sale items. Have your child help you calculate

a discounted price the next time you go to a store.

Math 6 classes are extending the number line and

learning about negative numbers. They are graphing

points in all 4 quadrants of the coordinate plane, using

absolute value concepts to find vertical and horizontal

distances between two points, and reflecting points

over the x and y axes. Students are also using ratio

tables to find equivalent ratios and solve ratio problems.

The ability to use ratios and rates is very useful in real

life events like cooking with recipes, determining the

better buy, and calculating tax, tip, and discount

amounts. The next time you are eating in a restaurant,

ask your child to figure out the amount of tip.

GR. 6

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Spanish:

The sixth graders did a presentation about 5 specific

places that show an overview of the US, and they just

finished their presentations about Mexico. The sixth

graders are asking and answering questions about the

presentations and then, they will be comparing and

contrasting the Mexican culture with their own.

The new topic that we will be working on is the

prepositions of place that will be combined with the

vocabulary about classroom objects. Students will be

able to describe a classroom, indicate where things are

located and talk about more than one object or person.

Mandarin:

Sixth grade Mandarin students have completed the unit

of “All About Myself”. Students are able to greet, ask

and respond for names, age, calendar dates, phone

number, and where to live. A skit was written and

performed by groups of students to conclude this

unit. Currently students are busy building a model

house for their first speech to introduce their family.

French:

We are learning to talk about our likes and dislikes in

French as well as different degrees of liking something

ex: I love, like, dislike, I hate. We are learning different

“er” verbs and different nouns. We’ve been playing

bingo, flyswatter in order to recognize words, listen to

correct pronunciation of vocabulary words, and learn

how to pronounce vocabulary correctly. The students

learned the difference between a subject and a verb.

They have been applying their knowledge in order to

conjugate their verbs to talk about different activities

that they usually do or are currently doing.

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VISUAL ARTS… In the Visual Arts, students are

busy creating their masterpieces, as well as their sketch assignments. I am very proud of all the hard work our students have demonstrated. Our sixth grade just finished up their Giacometti sculptures and are starting a project where they get to experiment with many different mediums while learning about the Elements of Art. While the 7th grade Studio classes finished up their Relief Prints, and are learning about one point perspective. They are creating their name in Graffiti letters. Finally, the 8th graders finished up their self-portraits, and can’t wait for the Food Sculpture project. They will soon be busy working in clay making their chosen food. The work is truly amazing, and I cannot wait to display them.

LIBRARY… The Library Media Center continues

to be busy preparing for several upcoming events. Teams of students from all three grades will be competing in a Battle of the Books reading trivia tournament in school on Thursday, March 9th. The top performing teams will go on to compete against other Hunterdon County middle schools at an evening Battle of the Books competition in Tewksbury on April 4th. We're looking to bring the championship trophy back home to RMS! March brings the nationally celebrated Read Across America Day, as well as New Jersey Makers Day. RMS will serve as an official making site with 8th grade science classes participating in a Rube Goldberg machine competition based on physics concepts introduced in class. In April, 6th grade science classes will meet in the Makery for a design challenge utilizing key vocabulary and principles from the year. Follow @rmslmc on Twitter and Instagram to see these events unfold, as well as all the great work our Junior Librarians accomplish

PHYSICAL EDUCATION & HEALTH… In PE,

we are finishing up our Basketball unit this week and we will begin the bowling & floor hockey units. Then we will do some functional fitness exercises, resume project adventure, and begin our units outside when the weather gets nice. In our health classes, 6th graders are learning about how to take care of our bodies inside & out, as well as health products. 7th graders are finishing up their nutrition unit and will soon begin working on a t-shirt project to promote abstinence, and 8th graders are in the middle of their mental health unit

LA INTERVENTION…In LA intervention, students

have been exploring journalism, argumentative

writing and researching for informational essays. In

addition, students have been working on oral

fluency and increasing their volume of independent

reading. The 2nd interval of Running Records will

be conducted over the next several weeks.

CODING…The first semester of coding here at RMS is

a wrap. During the 2nd MP, we worked on creating four

different types of games: maze, platform, escape, and

launcher. Then the students were tasked with creating

their own original games using the skills learned

throughout the course. Ask your child if you can see

his/her original game if you have not done so

already! The new semester of students will be

beginning their first project soon. They will program a

story telling me about themselves. I cannot wait to see

what they put together!

FINANCIAL LITERACY…In 6th

grade, students are

participating in a classroom economy. Students earn,

spend, and budget on a daily basis. Students will be

working on a budget project over the next few weeks.

Our seventh grade students are currently working on their college and career unit. This semester, they will also be participating in a stock market simulation, managing their own stock portfolio of $100,000. In 8

th grade, students are currently working on an

entrepreneur study. Each group has selected a famous entrepreneur for their research. Students will be working on a business start-up project later this semester.

INNOVATION & DESIGN… In this course, Science,

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

learning, innovative thinking, and creative problem

solving are at the forefront of every class. For example,

in 7th grade students are building Earthquake Resistant

Structures. The objective of the project is to build a

tower that resembles a 20 story structure that can

withstand simulated Primary Waves of an Earthquake

for as long as possible. First, students studied

frequency and its effect on objects of different heights.

Next, they observed how forces impact objects of

different shapes. Then, they will design concept

sketches of potential building design; collectively agree

on one and developed a prototype to test on an

Earthquake Simulator. Finally, they will construct their

structure out of balsa wood and precisely glue it

together. They will do this while closely following a set

of specifications, down to a millimeter.

MATH INTERVENTION… Students continue to work

on multiple units, increasing their math ability and

helping them perform better in class. Students recently

completed math reflections, reflecting on their math

performance over the last marking period. All students

continue to work on their yearly goals that they have

selected the last two marking periods.

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Music…The Music Department has a busy

spring coming up! In March the Pit Orchestra

will be performing for the spring musical, Shrek,

on March 2nd and 3rd

. Our advanced

ensembles, smaller student-lead groups, and

teachers will be performing at the 2nd Annual

Showcase of Music on March 30th

. The Viking

Cruisers will be performing at the Mark Cleere

Memorial Scholarship Basketball Game on

March 31st. On April 4th, the Wind Symphony

will take the stage in competition at the NJMEA

Middle School Band Festival at Bridgewater-

Raritan Middle School. Our Spring Concerts are

on May 15th and 24th (Instrumental) and May

22nd (Choral). We will conclude our

performances for the year on June 9th, bringing

the 8th Grade Band, Wind Symphony, Viking

Chamber Orchestra and Readington Rhapsody

to Hershey Park for the “Music in the Parks”

Festival. Our students have been working hard

on very challenging music. Please come out to

support the Music Department at any or all of

these events!

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HEALTH OFFICE HAPPENINGS Debbie Nazzaro, RN & Mary Ann Connelly, RN

Spring Sports forms are being collected through February 24th in preparation for track, lacrosse,

baseball and softball try-outs the week of March 13th. Forms are available in the health office and on the website.

On February 3rd, RMS staff and students participated in the GO RED FOR WOMEN

campaign to support The American Heart Association’s fight against heart disease. Staff and students wore red, our

wonderful Maschio’s staff made a special heart healthy lunch, early-risers walked the Viking Mile before school, and

staff donated money to the American Heart Association. Thanks to all who participated! Excellent information on the

topic of heart health can be found at https://www.goredforwomen.org/ .

During the week of February 6th, the nurses completed vision, hearing and blood pressure screenings of the 8th grade students. Students in 6th grade were screened in December, and 7th grade scoliosis and blood pressure screenings will be completed in the spring.

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From the Counselors…

The 7th-grade class service project is in full swing as students look to create a library for

students in Ghana, Africa. The African Library Project tasks students with collecting over 1000

books and fundraising $500 for shipping costs. Students have been hard at work creating flyers,

newsletters, displays, sorting and counting books as well as creating ideas for fundraisers. If

you would like more information on how to do donate or get involved, please ask one of your

7th-grade students or head to the RMS website and locate the link in our weekly genesis blasts.

Adam Connelly

Over the past few months, 8th grade students experienced many activities geared to preparing

them for high school, exposing them to many offerings available and understanding the 9th

grade scheduling process.

Stay up to date with activities for students and parents on our website under Quick Links: 8th

Grade 8: Need to Know or join the “8th Grade: Heading to High School” Remind app at

https://www.remind.com/join/ecd7b.

Verna Hegstrom

Next month, the 6th graders will be participating in a workshop on conflict

resolution skills. A component of the developmental guidance program, this

program has been in existence of over 16 years. Peer helpers from the 7th

and 8th grades will be specially trained and will assist the school counselors

in presenting lessons, activities and roleplays. Students will be developing

skills for solving interpersonal differences through improved methods of

communication, active listening and the use of the win/win guidelines.

These workshops were designed to give students the tools to effectively work

out conflicts at school or home.

Pat Loughlin