Westland Middle School Welcome to 7 Grade th

Westland Middle School
Welcome to 7th Grade
Administrator:
Shawaan Robinson
Counselors:
Emily Greenberg and Caryn Fischer
Team Leaders:
Jim Ritter and Jean Emery
Online Course
Registration
Register now in lab 107.
Staff available to assist.
Westland Middle School
Welcome to 7th Grade
300 6th grade students at Westland
(from Westbook, Bethesda,
Rock Creek Forest and Somerset)
+
200 6th grade students (from Chevy Chase
and North Chevy Chase)
=500 7th graders!
New Middle School Experiences
• 7 periods, 7 teachers, 7 classrooms
• Class transitions
• New friends
• A student planner
• Hall locker, PE locker
• Bigger school
• Added responsibilities:
Checking Edline, self-advocacy, learning
to work with teachers to solve problems
Lunch & Buses
How to help your child
• Advocate for your child
• Communicate with
teachers
• Check
Edline
• Check their planner
• Check their binders
• Teach your child to set
up STAR
appointments- Tu-Th
• Communicate with
counselor or
administrator for help
• Help them establish a
homework routine
• Please check with
teachers if they say they
never have homework
After school activities
Encourage your child to get involved!
• School sponsored activities include:
– Literary magazine
– Student Government Association
– Yearbook
– Table Tennis
– Volleyball
– Flag Football
– Homework Help
– Running Club
After school activities
Encourage your child to get involved!
• PTA-organized, enriched activities
for a fee include:
Yoga
Robotics
Photography
Chess
Tennis
App Design
Fitness
Lacrosse
• More info on our website
• Scholarships available!
After school activities
Encourage your child to get involved!
• THREE activity buses run to
central stops within our
communities.
• Buses depart Westland at 4:45
pm.
Seventh Grade Highlights
• Trip to the Zoo
• Mix and Mingle
• Trip to Museum
• 7th Grade Party
Middle Years Programme
The MYP is:
• All-inclusive (Every Westland student is a part of
the Programme)
• For students in grades 6-10
• A curricular framework of academic challenge
•
Consists of 8 core
subjects, an 8th grade
exit interview, and a
10th grade personal
project
Middle Years Programme
• Conceptually and
inquiry based
instruction
• Interdisciplinary
understanding
• Student-centered
activities
• Action based approach
• Real world connections
Registration Information
th
7 Grade
Online Course
Registration
Register now in lab 107.
Staff available to assist.
Registration Materials
• 2016-2017 Westland Course Booklet- page 9!
• 2016-17 MCPS Course Bulletin- WARNING- not all
courses are available at Westland
• Instructions for completing ONLINE registration
Required Courses- page 9!
• All 7th Grade students at Westland take the following courses:
- English or English for Speakers of Other Languages
- Math
- Physical Education (27 wks) and Health (9 wks)
- Read 180 or World Languages
- Science
- Social Studies
- Arts and Technology OR Special Education OR another
ESOL class
Elective Courses
• Most 7th Grade students at Westland have the
option of taking elective classes.
- Semester courses in: Visual Art,
Computer Apps, Technology, Media
Production)
- Year-long Chorus
- Year-long Band
- Year-long Orchestra
Online Registration
http://scheduler.mcpsmd.org/public
Use student Login and Password.
Directions are posted on our Website.
Online Registration
Your online registration should be
completed no later than
February 12, 2016
Opportunities for your
student to visit Westland
#1 The elementary schools will visit Westland in May
for a tour of the building.
#2 Students can attend a Sneak Peek session during 2
hours in June or 2 hours in August to learn more about
Westland and practice with lockers.
#3 Students can attend the Orientation Day right
before school starts- likely Aug 25. Students will see
their schedules at this time.
Online Course
Registration
Register now in lab 107.
Staff available to assist.
English 7


Overall Theme: Forging New
Connections
Four Thematic Units:
Identity
- Perspectives
 Sense of Place
- Expressions (Shakespeare)
- Guided reading of anchor texts, independent
reading, writing, speaking and listening for
different purposes, Shakespeare workshop, ,
student service learning opportunity

English 7

Each unit includes:





Literary analysis
Writing for Different Purposes
Vocabulary Study
Grammar Instruction
Speaking and Listening
English 7



Anchor Texts: The Outsiders, The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Red
Umbrella, Call of the Wild, Hatchet,
Esperanza Rising, Warriors Don’t Cry, A
Midsummer Night’s Dream
Short stories :“All Summer in a Day”, “To
Build a Fire”, “Thank-you, M’am,” “Dark
They Were, and Golden-Eyed”
Poetry: “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” by
Emily Dickinson, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”,
by Robert Frost, “The New Colossus,” by
Emma Lazarus, sonnets by Shakespeare
Math
Math
Physical Education/Health




27 weeks (3 quarters) of PE
9 weeks (1 quarter) of health
PE unit design: lead up activities, skill
progression, assessment and game play.
Possible units: Aerobics, Archery,
Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Football,
Jump Rope, Soccer, Softball, Street Hockey,
Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Ultimate
Frisbee, Weight Training and…Polar Bear!
Physical Education/Health





Students must change clothes for PE every
day.
Shirts- white or gray
Shorts- blue, black or gray
Sweat clothes, blue, black or gray
Tennis shoes or other athletic shoes
Physical Education/Health

Health units center around the National Health
Education standards with a focus on:




Mental Health (Red Flags Program)
Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs
Safety & Injury Prevention
Disease Prevention & Control
World Languages
Communication
Cultures
Communities
Comparisons
Connections
Montgomery County Public Schools
Curricular Framework
World Languages
Many
7th graders will choose to take a
world language class. Options:
- Spanish 1AB or 2AB
- Spanish Full Year 1A (slower)
- French 1AB or 2AB
- French Full Year 1A (slower)
- Chinese 1AB or 2AB
World Languages
World
language classes are high school
level classes. The grade the student earns
is reflected within the high school grade
point average (GPA) and on the high
school transcript.
World Languages
versus
Reading

If the teacher recommended course is
Read 180, register for Read 180 rather
than take a world language course.
Investigations in Science 7
Cellular Structure & Processes
Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Earth’s History and Evolution
→Each unit designed around a
real life problem to be solved
using a STEM (Science
Technology Engineering
Mathematics) approach
World Studies 7
Unit One:
Europe in the Middle Ages
Unit Two:
The Influence of Culture in
Africa
Unit Three:
Latin America
Unit Four:
Economics
Elective Courses

Semester arts options:




Visual Art, Computers, Technology and Media
Production
Chorus (full year- no experience necessary)
Band (full year- yes, experience necessary)
Orchestra (full year- yes, experience necessary)
Special Education Services
Collaborate
with elementary schools to
plan for a smooth transitions
Design master schedule with needs of
incoming students
Deliver services to meet students’ needs
Special Education Services
Outside
General Ed: Small grp class of students
with IEPs taught by a special educator.
In General Ed: General education teacher with
special education support.
Some students are in some or all general
education courses without special support.
Special Education Services
Resource Class for Some Students
Addresses organization, study skills,
work habits, test-taking strategies, grade
and assignment tracking, and other skills
as identified by the resource teacher.
Takes the place of an elective or world
language.
Grouping
English-
Comb0 (i.e. 17 advanced with
8 on-level students)
ESOL- By Level 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5
Math- By Level- Alg or IM7 or Math 7
World Language- By Level 1AB or 1A
PE/Health, Reading, Science, Social
Studies, Electives- mixed ability
Online Course
Registration
Register now in lab 107.
Staff available to assist.
Contact Information
Counselors: [email protected]
[email protected]
Administrator: [email protected]
Electives: [email protected]
English, Reading and ESOL:
[email protected]
Math: [email protected]
Special Education: [email protected]
World Languages:
[email protected]
Online
Course
Registration
Register now
in lab 107.
Staff
available to
assist.