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PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL

an IB World School

Talent Development News

Volume 1, Issue 24 June 4, 2013

6th Grade Math

It’s hard to believe our year is over, and as we reflect back on all the learning and growth that has taken place this year, we are all proud to be Piedmont Pirates!  This 4th quarter saw the culmination of our 6th block Love of Learning Project and The Lawn Boy Entrepreneurship project—both amazing opportunities for our students to extend their knowledge beyond the core curriculum and make real-world connections. 

In relation to mathematics, students worked extensively with the Statistics and Probability unit of the Common Core State Standards.  Students analyzed data by looking at the mean, median, mode, range, its Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) and the Inter-Quartile Range.  Students graphed and analyzed data through dot plots, box plots, and histograms.  In order to make this unit more hands-on for our students, they completed the 6th grade Graph It project.  This project required students to choose a statistical question and survey their classmates in order to obtain a data set.  Students found out a lot about each other through the different survey questions selected by each other: number of siblings, amount of exercise in a week, amount of TV watched, number of pairs of shoes, amount of sleep each night, etc.  After all the data was gathered, students created the above mentioned graphs and creatively displayed everything for the final project.  We had some amazing products turned in that showed how mathematically and artistically talented our students are!

We wrapped up the 4th quarter by reviewing for the EOG, and are now in the middle of enjoying end of year activities like a class picnic, “Piedmont’s Got Talent” talent show, Healthy Living Day, and some great field trips to the Levine Museum and a community and service park-clean-up day.

We are proud of all of the work our students have put forth this year and wish them the best of luck in 7th grade.  In just a few short months we will be meeting our next batch of 6th graders and can’t wait for another great year.  Happy summer vacation!

6th Grade Language Arts

The 6th grade TD students have learned how to be independent, inquisitive, and principled IB students through the use of their daybook/reader’s notebook, asking questions, completing projects and turning work in on time.

After our End of Grade tests, we will continue on to our last and final project, “The Time for Piedmont” magazine. Students will design, write, and create a magazine entitled “Time for Piedmont.” Students will use the various genres and literary techniques from throughout the school year, to create a magazine for next year’s rising 6th grade students.  Our Area of Interaction for this project will be Environment as we focus and reflect upon the environment of Piedmont.  Our MYP Unit question for this project is, “How does what you’ve learned affect where you are going?”  This MYP Unit question supports our Reflective IB Learner Profile.  For this project, each student will reflect upon the school year and think about the things that a new Piedmont 6th grader would like to know on his or her first day of school.  “Time for Piedmont” is what a new 6th grader would like to know about Piedmont on his or her first day of school.  Next year, sixth grade students will find our “Time for Piedmont “magazines sitting on top of their desks on the first day of school.  It is our hope that these magazines will help reduce anxiety, answer questions, and perhaps generate a few smiles and laughs for the “first day back to school jitters.”

We have enjoyed working with each and every student and we wish them the best of luck in 7th grade! 

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PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL, an IB world School

Talent Development News

Seventh Grade Math

It has been an exciting year!  Students just finished their EOG’s and the ACCUPLACER test to help determine their placement for 8th grade math.  However, we are not done…

The 7th grade math teachers are continuing teaching our students to prepare them for next year.  Currently, students are finishing their Connected Math Project 2 curriculum by working through the unit titled What Do You Expect?  The unit is all about probability, both theoretically and experimentally.  They are rolling dice, spinning spinners, and flipping coins in addition to new methods like using area models to simulate events.

Additionally, the last IB math assignment was just given.  Students are using current event articles of their choosing to relate math with any other subject area, such as language arts, science, social studies, health, Spanish, French, and PE.  The two criterion being assessed are C (Communication) and D (Reflection).  Teachers will be looking for math content and grammar, mechanics, fluency, etc.  We believe it is important to use interdisciplinary approaches on our assignments. 

This past spring, 7th graders attended a field trip to Washington D.C. and utilized their math skills throughout the trip.  They viewed and discussed various scale models and monuments around the city and compared them to actual sizes of the real objects.  Budgeting their money and time were important skills that all teachers emphasized, as well. 

We look forward to ending the school year on a high note.  There are many fun and academic activities for students to be involved. 

7th Grade Math Team

Seventh Grade Language Arts

The seventh grade Language Arts classes had a fun time with our poetry unit.   Students applied figurative language to their original poetry displayed in a “Poem Catcher.”  The “Poem Catcher” held all of the original poetry they wrote throughout the unit including Haiku, Limericks, Concrete poems and a poem that required them to research a monument located in Washington DC.  They also collaborated with fellow classmates to write an original poem that they would read and perform as a group to the class.  This “Lyrical Lounge” had them reciting a poem that included repetition, vocabulary words, figurative language and gestures.

Seventh grade Language Arts has been preparing for our End of Grade testing.  Students have utilized Common Core EOG tip packets. These packets break down Language Arts topics and give strategies for each student to do the best they can when asked a variety of reading comprehension questions.  Every student applied the tips while reading multiple passages in preparation for their End of Grade Language Arts assessment.   Study Island assignments have been incorporated in to our homework schedule.  Students are assigned new Common Core Language Arts practice questions weekly.  The data we receive from these weekly assignments helps us guide our instruction and gives us feedback for what we need to focus on in the classroom. 

We are confident that our seventh grade students have gained the skills necessary to do well on the End of Grade assessment as well as transition to Eighth Grade with ease.

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PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL, an IB World School

Talent Development News

Eighth Grade Language Arts

The eighth grade Language Arts team is excited to wrap up an exciting and successful year with our students.  They are prepared for high school. 

We completed an extensive poetry inquiry this quarter.  Students closely analyzed poems looking at sound devices, form, style, mood and theme.  Additionally, students allowed the poems to shape their personal beliefs. We saw great gains in poetry reading comprehension and poetry appreciation.  The close reading and poetry analysis we completed asked students to look at who they are and what matters to them as they enter a new time in their life – high school. 

Students saw great gains in reading nonfiction, fiction, poetry and consumer pieces before putting their knowledge to the test –on the EOG.  Students were able to demonstrate Common Core skills as they read many short pieces and analyzed them for genre specific questions and investigative activities. 

Finally, as part of the Piedmont tradition, students created a Piedmont poem to share at the end of the year ceremony.  We collaboratively wrote in each Language Arts class about our Piedmont journey.  Students thought critically and creatively to select an extended metaphor that represents Piedmont.  Then, the three language arts teachers combined all of the poems into one Piedmont poem which all students will memorize and recite at the recognition ceremony. 

Thank you for an outstanding year.  We have truly enjoyed working with your student! 

Eighth Grade Math

Fourth quarter started off with the students going to the Outer Banks. Most students thought Jockey’s Ridge was the best part of the trip again this year. It was so different from the norm and students felt like it was walking in another world. They also enjoyed rolling down the dunes and getting very sandy. Students also studied the lighthouses found on the outer banks and had to find the volume and surface of them. It proved to be a difficult task since information on the dimensions of the lighthouses was hard to find.

After the trip, students began to prepare for their EOGs. This year brought a new EOG and students worked without a calculator and entered answers in a gridded response. Something very different from previous years in which the EOG was only multiple choice. Algebra students prepared for three tests – the 8th grade EOG, the Algebra EOC, and a teacher made test which is 25% of their overall grade. Students did a lot of partner work to answer rigorous questions that use many different mathematical concepts in order to draw conclusions and finally answer the question. Students found these questions challenging, yet persevered to find answers to the problems. The day before the EOC, algebra students spent a few hours away from the classroom – in the gym. There they practiced many problems working in groups to see how many problems they could solve. Virtual school students taking Geometry finished their course and did a wonderful job. We are very proud of them.

It has been a pleasure teaching your TD student this year. We wish them much success in high school.

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PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL, an IB world School

Talent Development News

PIEDMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL

an IB World School

Talent Development News

1241 East 10th Street

Charlotte, NC 28204

Phone: 980-343-5435

Fax: 980-343-5557

E-mail: piedmontopenmiddle@cms.k12.nc.us

Website:

Piedmont … You Know … We Care!

TALENT DEVELOPMENT TEAM

• Academic Facilitator

Dawn Johnston

• 6th Grade Team

Language Arts Math

Karen Bailey Paul Booth

Molly McCarthy Aaron Kolla r

Shelley Lyttle Sara Suckstorff

• 7th Grade Team

Language Arts Math

Megan Whitting Karen Gorman

David Milligan Angela Davis

Cynthia Brown Susie Palgut

• 8th Grade Team

Language Arts Math

Tyler Grieves Cheryl Lamb

Kelly Davis Janet Delery

Kelly Hanson Stacey Callahan

TALENT DEVELOPMENT NEWSLETTER

MIDDLE SCHOOL      February/March 2013

Happy almost spring to you all!!  It’s only the end of February, but already time to think about summer camp!  There are many opportunities created especially for gifted students –great ways for students to “keep on learning” all year long!  The following list offers just a sample of what is available for summer 2013:

WHAT: Discovery Place    WHERE:  301 N. Tryon Street

CONTACT: Phone: 704-372-6261 x 300          Charlotte, NC 28202

Discovery Place camps:

Nature Museum camps:

INFO:  Camps outlined by Discovery Place are focused on nature, science and/or math with specific topics in each category.  Camps are being held at 5 different locations this year so check it out!

WHAT: UNC-Charlotte Summer Camp Program WHERE:  9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte 28223

CONTACT: 704-687-2958 (Chuck)

INFO:  UNC-Charlotte camps “offer children and young people the opportunity to join scientists, researchers, educators, writers, and actors in the creative atmosphere of a university campus.”  Middle school-age offerings include: MED Camp, Robotics, Geometry and Art around Us, Deconstructing Dracula, Stats, Sports and Money, Healthcare, Sports Writers  

WHAT: Summer Programs at The Green River Preserve WHERE: 301 Green River Rd

CONTACT: Phone: 828-698-8828            Cedar Mountain, NC 28718

                  Fax: 828-698-9201        info@

INFO: Focused on environmental education and located in western NC near Hendersonville and Brevard.  “Our programs provide unique experiences for gifted children using hands-on learning with professional naturalists on our 3,400 acre nature preserve.”  One of the few programs in NC geared towards gifted students in grades 2-12 and has accreditation with the American Camping Association! 

WHAT: Kids for Conservation Summer Day Camp  WHERE:  Carolina Raptor Center

CONTACT:  or call Natalie Childers at 704-875-6521 x 110

INFO: Camps include:

Hawkwarts: A Camp for Muggles, Young Veterinarians Camp and First in Flight Camp

WHAT: Providence Day School Summer Programs WHERE:  5800 Sardis Rd, Charlotte, 28270

CONTACT: , or call for catalog 704.887.7006

INFO: Providence Day summer programs offer something for everyone –Math CAMMP/Robotics, web page creation, astronomy, filmmaking, rocket launchers, electricity design, catching bugs or balls, singing or dancing, making cakes, and many more!  Browse through program offerings and sign up early using the registration form on-line.

WHAT: All-Arts, Sciences & Technology Camp

WHERE:  1-week residential experience at one of two participating college campuses- NC State or UNC-Greensboro

CONTACT: or email allarts@uncg.edu, or call (336) 315-7044 or (866) 334-2255

INFO:  Designed to give in-depth, hands-on instruction in the arts, sciences, and technology, the camp also includes recreation, citizenship, and multi-cultural entertainment. During camp, each camper attends a morning class and an afternoon class, chosen from a wide variety of course offerings that suit individual tastes and preference. Our class size is small, and the curriculum encourages problem solving and critical thinking, all while spending time on a college campus.

WHAT: Summer Programs at Charlotte Latin School WHERE:  9502 Providence Rd, Charlotte 28277

CONTACT: or for more information contact Carolyn Richardson at 704.846.7277 or crichardson@

INFO:  “…promotes a joy for learning and where campers can develop cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically through growth-promoting experiences. Our coeducational day programs foster a passion for lifelong learning...”  Offerings include: sports, cooking, video games, chess, robots and theatre.

WHAT: Summer Enrichment Camp/Adventure Camp     WHERE: Ferrum College in Virginia

CONTACT:

INFO: Academics and Adventure, 2 different programs grades 5-7 and grades 8 & 9 
Select from Two One-Week Sessions July 14-20 or July 21-July 27, 2013

“Located at Ferrum College in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this residential camp offers an exciting opportunity to: pursue academic interests, explore new ideas, experience campus life, make new friends, and have traditional summer-camp fun.” Classes involve ACTIVE PARTICIPATION with a variety of daily projects and group activities. Instructors are specially chosen for their unique abilities to make learning come alive. Average class size is 15 participants. Campers are enrolled in four classes.

COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVERS

The Community Problem Solvers (CmPS) are busily working away on their chosen problem and preparing their entries for competition.  The team is putting solutions into action and finding results to the problems.  The team final report and scrapbook project are due on March 17. Wish us luck and encourage each other to do your best!

I hope this information is helpful to you and your gifted child.  Please contact me if you have any questions or require further information, heather.lynch@cms.k12.nc.us or 980-343-5815.

[pic]Heather Lynch, NBCT  Academic Facilitator

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Mission Statement

Piedmont exists to inspire in its students a passion for learning and a commitment to personal integrity and academic excellence. Students demonstrate self-confidence and creativity, are open-minded and inquisitive, and display a sense of social responsibility and global awareness.

What is Talent Development?

The Talent Development Program for gifted services is based on consultation and collaboration between the talent development and classroom teachers. They work together to meet the needs of the high achieving student.

Program Benefits

• Gifted education and general education are related, connected and integrated.

• Out of class sessions are scheduled when needed most.

• The pace of learning is enhanced.

• High achieving students receive more challenging tasks within the classroom.

• Classroom and TD teachers work together to maximize student learning.

Did you know?

• Research on the TD Program indicates that students receive at least three times the amount of services using this model compared to the old pullout, once a week program.

• The TD model is most effective when high achieving students are flexibly grouped together based on their instructional needs.

• Every school has a Talent Development teacher.

• The TD teacher at your child’s school can tell you how they work with your child and your child’s teacher.

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