Winter Issue/second grading period 10631 West 141st Ave.

Cedar Lake, IN 46303

Beat the test ISTEP Testing is quickly approaching. The testing window for the paper-n-pencil applied skills

section is March 3rd to March 12th. Students will be taking the multiple-choice section of

ISTEP beginning April 28th. Our administrators and teachers are working extremely hard to get

students to do their very best on ISTEP. We are planning a huge campaign within the school to

“BEAT THE TEST.”

HCMS Celebration-Mr. Ross-Assistant Principal

HCMS is creating a school climate

where students feel they are apart

of one big wildcat family. Our staff

is working on building a positive en-

vironment that developmentally

meets our students’ needs. In doing

so, we had a student body celebra-

tion in our gymnasium. Students

participated in tug-a-war contest, bas-

ketball relays, and wheel barrel races.

In addition, Mr. Hiatt and Mr. Ross re-

ceived pies in their faces from the top

fundraising sellers.

Message From

Mr. Hiatt- Principal

It is hard to believe that we have al-

ready completed a semester at HCMS.

With second semester come new op-

portunities and new challenges. Our

8th grade students will start thinking about and planning for high school.

The staff continues to work diligently

on major projects such as curriculum

mapping and the AdvancED self-

assessment in addition to the all-

important task of preparing for the

2014 ISTEP. Testing this quarter in-

cludes the winter round of NWEA.

The ISTEP Applied Skills testing win-

dow is rapidly approaching. As al-

ways, we want our students to do their

absolute best and parents can help with encouraging words, making sure the

students get plenty of sleep and a

healthy breakfast.

Our athletic focus shifts as the 7th and

8th boys basketball and wrestling sea-

sons has come to an end and the girls

basketball teams take the stage. Good

luck to all.

6th Grade Team News

Page 2 Hanover Central Middle School

English (Mrs. Bielawski)

6th grade--In the second quarter the sixth grade students wrote persuasive letters and learned about the marketing techniques used by advertisers. Students also learned to rec-ognize and use prepositional phrases. In the third quarter, we will write about informational text, focusing on sentence flu-ency.

Social Studies (Mr. Clouse)

6th grade--- To finish up the 2nd grading period we did our Christmas Around the world project and studied the Atlantic South American countries of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. During the 3rd grading period we will study Pacific South America, The History of the United States, Canada, The Roman Empire, The Middle Ages, The Renaissance, Industrial Revolution in Europe and Modern Europe.

Science (Mrs. Stevens)

6th Grade--The sixth grade science students have been studying plants and populations and communities. We drew food webs and talked about communities of living things. We will now move to biomes and ecosystems of planet Earth. Students are learning to keep notes and prepared for the final exam with a review of the topics about biology and methods of science.

Reading (Mrs. Siebarniak)

6th Grade-- In 6th grade Reading class, we will be starting our new

novel “Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boy-

cott” by Russell Freedman. This novel is and informational text

that follows different individuals that took part in the boycott.

While reading this novel we will focus on point of view and how

each person perceives the situation differently, the history of that

era, and skills to read and comprehend non-fiction texts.

6th grade will also continue to study fictional stories and different

literary/story devices

Math (Mrs. Miller)

6th Grade-- In both 6th and 7th grade, during 3rd quarter

mathematics study we will continue to prepare ourselves

for the ISTEP Test, which will be given in two parts. The

first part is an applied written section that will be given

in March. It would be an advantage to your students to

spend some extra time honing their foundation skills,

such their multiplication facts. In class we will be study-

ing geometry and fractions along with proportions and

percentages.

Science (Mr. Zemke)

6th grade—The last 9 weeks in Science have been eventful

and exciting. Our shoebox maze experiments were done to

see if plants grow toward light. Students hypothesized that

plants do grow toward light and then designed a maze to see if

their plants would grow through the maze to the only hole in

their box that allowed light to enter. Ask your child what he/she

learned. Next, we began to study populations of living things

and focused in on Meerkats (a population of animals that lives

in Africa). We watched a DVD called "Meerkat Manor" to learn

more about the interactions of organisms with each other and

also with other species in their habitat. Finally, in Chapter 7

students learned about the flow of energy that takes place

throughout the communities of living things on Earth. Each

student studied, modeled, and wrote an essay about a particu-

lar food web.

English (Mrs. Muller )

6th grade—Classes will focus on Expository Writing

during the third grading period. We will be utilizing

the 6+1 Traits of Organization, Word Choice, and

Conventions to guide us in our writing. They will

continue to be encouraged to structure their writing

with compound and complex sentences. In addition,

the students will also continue completing persua-

sive and narrative timed-writing assignments in

preparation for ISTEP. The students will be annotat-

ing their work to ensure that their writing passages

have the required elements. We will also continue to

work on grammar and usage through D.O.L. (Daily

Oral Language), Journal writing, and through our

Reading (Mrs. Dawson)

Sixth grade reading classes have been talking and

reading about civil rights. We talked about the life

of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and listened to his

inspiring "I Have a Dream" speech. We will also be

reading "The Gold Cadillac" , a novella about a

black family in the 1950s from Ohio, that takes a

trip to Mississippi.

Social Studies (Mrs. Reyes)

Starting off the second semester in Mrs. Reyes’ 6th grade Global

Studies class, students will be “traveling” to a country in the

Americas. They will be researching about what they should

pack, tourist attractions to visit, and the currency exchange

rate. After, we will be focusing on the United States and Cana-

da. Again students will be taking a trip around the U.S., tracking

their mileage and writing about what they see on their travels

throughout our country. Beginning in February, just in time for

the Olympics, we will be discussing Ancient Greece!

7th Grade Team News

Page 3 Hanover Central Middle School

7th grade Enlish (Mrs. Bielawki)--In the second quarter the seventh grade students studied the Civil Rights Move-ment. After researching one aspect of the movement, stu-dents gave informative speeches. Then we used newspa-per articles, interviews, and poems to look at the Jim Crow laws and segregation. We will continue looking at infor-mational text in the next quarter, focusing on sentence fluency.

7th grade Social Studies (Mr. Clouse)--To finish up the 2nd grading period we did our Christmas Around the world project and studied The Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Iran. During the 3rd grading period we will study Central Asia, Ancient India, Ancient China, India Today, China Today and Japan and the Koreas.

7th Grade Math Mrs. Kanger--Mrs. Kanger's 7th & 8th grade math classes are continuing their work on con-

cepts in Algebra. The students will be practicing test

taking skills and story problems to get ready for ISTEP. 7th Grade Science Mrs. Stevens--The seventh grade science students have reviewed cells and energy. Friction and forces were introduced. A flashlight lab reviewed the transfer of energy in environments. We did a bouncing ball lab in physics and graphed our data. We will begin learn-ing about plate tectonics and geologic time as we move into a study of earth science.

7th grade Math (Mrs. Miller)-- In both 6th and 7th

grade, during 3rd quarter mathematics study we will

continue to prepare ourselves for the ISTEP Test,

which will be given in two parts. The first part is an

applied written section that will be given in March. It

would be an advantage to your students to spend

some extra time honing their foundation skills, such

their multiplication facts. In class we will be studying

geometry and fractions along with proportions and

percentages.

7th Grade Reading (Mrs. Saberniak)-- In 7th grade Read-

ing class, we are currently reading “The Watsons go to

Birmingham-1963” by Christopher Paul Curtis. The novel

is about a “weird” family and their trip from Flint, Michi-

gan to Birmingham, Alabama. The main character is a ten-

year-old boy who goes through some hilarious situations

with his family, and learns a lot of life lessons along the

way. While reading this novel, we will be discussing the

1960s and segregation laws in the South, point of view and

how it influences the reader, and the effects of grief when

faced with a traumatic situation.

7th grade Social Studies (Mr. York)--The first semester

ended with studies in China. The new semester will take us

to Japan and then to Southeast Asia, before spending the

rest of the school year in Africa. In mid-February students

will choose a country for their

research project. More details

will be announced later. Stu-

dents may also begin construct-

ing their imaginary projects in

groups during the third quarter.

FACS Class FACS (Mrs. Lazzaro) The 6th and 8th grade FACS classes are completing their 9 week rotation.

8th Grade FACS began with a review of cooking skills. We made homemade cinnamon rolls.

The students completed Food Units on Etiquette, Table Setting, Nutrition Labeling, and Global

Cuisine. We also learned about Financial Literacy that included setting SMART Goals and De-

cision Making. We are ending with Basic Sewing skills. The students are using their skills to

make Sock Monkeys.

6th grade focused on Relationships. We studied Personal Development and Personality. We fol-

lowed this with family relationships. Child Development and Babysitting completed the 9

weeks. The students created a power point project to present to the class. This unit ends with

an introduction to kitchen safe-

ty and sanitation. The students

are introduced to the kitchens

and prepared a healthy snack

for kids.

8th Grade Team News

8th grade Reading (Mrs. Lowry) We have worked on multiple stories that have discussed the Civil Rights Movement such as Martin Luther King’s speech “I Have a Dream,” Freedom Riders, Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Brown vs. Board of Education. Several other stories focused on the use of non-violence. Students then completed a research paper on a chosen Non-Violent leader. We analyzed the Gettysburg Ad-dress and at a later time in American Studies students will be focusing on the Civil War.

8th grade History (Mrs. Brumbaugh) The 8th grade students are working on a state project, which they selected, and will be teaching the class this coming week. They have been learning about natural as well as manmade attractions, activities, climate, foods, festivals, etc.

Students wrote a brief paper outlining their

state, and will be presenting a power point

presentation to classmates sharing their

knowledge of the facts, trying to entice every-

one that

their state

is the best

to go visit. 8th grade Math (Mrs. Kanger)

Mrs. Kanger's 7th & 8th grade math classes are continu-

ing their work on concepts in Algebra. The students will

be practicing test taking skills and story problems to get

ready for ISTEP.

Media Center The reading teachers have been using the media center to access Newsela, a literacy website the provide nonfiction articles to help kids develop close reading and critical thinking skills. This newly discovered resources is available online at newsela.com. It is a great tool to keep up to date on current events while becoming a sharper reader. I would like to send out a big “thank you!” to the Hanover Central Middle School PTSO for providing the funds to acquire books

for student and staff use through the school library media center. We were able to order 50 new titles, many of which are ei-

ther nominated or have won major state and national awards for young adult literature.

Special Recognition

The Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District had a

photo contest The contest was open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th

grade students in Lake County. They had “three-hundred and

one” photos entered in the contest. Hanover Central Middle

School brought home several winners.

1st place was Arian Arce 7th grade for $150

3rd place was Julia Siska 6th grade for $100

Honorable Mentions

Mikayla Dobe

Josh Gray

Nathan Izzo

Rebecca Oliver

Amanda Schreiber Julia Siska’s photo “Big Red”

Yearbook Hanover Central Middle School Yearbook

Cost is $25.00 Deadline is February 1, 2014 then the cost is $30.00

Pre-order your yearbook now! Order online at yearbookforever.com

Order forms available in the HCMS office.

Breakfast is served daily at Hanover Middle School and is part of the National School Lunch Program. Students that qualify for free lunch also get free breakfast. Students that qualify for reduced lunch (price $.40) can also purchase breakfast at a reduced price of $.30. The regular price of a breakfast is $1.50. Serving starts around 7:15am every day. Our breakfast menu can be found on the Nutrition Services web page. Mealtime can be accessed from your school web page. Parents can add money, check balances and set up low balance reminders through a Mealtime account. All you need to get started is your child’s student ID number. The ID number can be found by calling the school office. Monthly menus and other important information can be found on the Nutrition Services website.

Follow the Nutrition Services department on Twitter

@HCWildcatLunch. Have the daily menu delivered to your

phone every evening!

Nutritional Information