Carson Junior High School 525 N. Westwood Tony Elmer, Principal 480.472.2900 Cougar News Inside this issue: A Message from the Principal 1 Events and Club News 3 Department News 5 Tutoring Schedule 9 Honor Roll 12 Important Dates 14 A Message from the Principal Volume 11, Issue 2 Hello Carson families, Welcome back to our 2 nd semester of school this year. All of our teachers and students are hard at work as we head into February. We will be taking our 2 nd benchmark assessment in Math and ELA at the end of the month. This will give our teachers and students some time to see what areas our students need help in as we get ready for the AzM2 and AIMS science testing that will take place in April. We want each and every one of our students to be ready to be successful as they show how much they have learned in ELA, Math and Science. Many of our students have done a great job in the classroom as they have earned honor roll this past quarter, their names are listed towards the end of this newsletter. Students who earn all A’s, B’s and C’s can earn a Cougar Card, which entitles them to special events throughout the school year. Be sure to ask your student if they have a Cougar Card, if they don’t, then encourage them to keep those grades up so they can earn one. Part of our mission is to help students take ownership in their own learning. This will help students to personalize their learning and research shows that when students take that ownership, they find greater academic success and higher student achievement. Sometimes, just being a teenager gets in the way of that and we recognize it, but we will continue to strive to help our students each and every day to be the best student and person possible. We have a lot of great things going on in our school. Carson was recently named and AVID Schoolwide Site of Distinction for the third year in a row. Our athletic teams continue to play well and represent our school and you in a positive way. Our participatory budgeting program is beginning to get statewide recognition, which you will hear more about in a few months. Many of our performing arts students have qualified to represent Carson in the district honors programs, just to name a few. As you may have noticed, registration and school visits have started to get under way in preparing for next school year. It always seems like it is too early to be thinking about next school year at this time, but it is a necessity to do so to make sure we are fully prepared. With all of those things going on, I don’t want us to lose sight that we need to focus on finishing this school year strong and putting our best effort in each and every day of this semester. I appreciate the trust you have in me and our staff here at Carson. We all want what’s best for our students. Please contact me if you ever have any questions or concerns, I will always get back to you right away if I am not in the office. Talk with you soon. Respectfully, Tony
Transcript
Carson Junior High School 525 N. Westwood Tony Elmer, Principal 480.472.2900
Cougar News
Inside this issue:
A Message from
the Principal
1
Events and Club
News
3
Department News 5
Tutoring Schedule 9
Honor Roll 12
Important Dates 14
A Message from the Principal
Volume 11, Issue 2
Hello Carson families,
Welcome back to our 2nd semester of school this year. All of our teachers and students are hard at work as we head into February. We will be taking our 2nd benchmark assessment in Math and ELA at the end of the month. This will give our teachers and students some time to see what areas our students need help in as we get ready for the AzM2 and AIMS science testing that will take place in April. We want each and every one of our students to be ready to be successful as they show how much they have learned in ELA, Math and Science.
Many of our students have done a great job in the classroom as they have earned honor roll this past quarter, their names are listed towards the end of this newsletter. Students who earn all A’s, B’s and C’s can earn a Cougar Card, which entitles them to special events throughout the school year. Be sure to ask your student if they have a Cougar Card, if they don’t, then encourage them to keep those grades up so they can earn one.
Part of our mission is to help students take ownership in their own learning. This will help students to personalize their learning and research shows that when students take that ownership, they find greater academic success and higher student achievement. Sometimes, just being a teenager gets in the way of that and we recognize it, but we will continue to strive to help our students each and every day to be the best student and person possible.
We have a lot of great things going on in our school. Carson was recently named and AVID Schoolwide Site of Distinction for the third year in a row. Our athletic teams continue to play well and represent our school and you in a positive way. Our participatory budgeting program is beginning to get statewide recognition, which you will hear more about in a few months. Many of our performing arts students have qualified to represent Carson in the district honors programs, just to name a few.
As you may have noticed, registration and school visits have started to get under way in preparing for next school year. It always seems like it is too early to be thinking about next school year at this time, but it is a necessity to do so to make sure we are fully prepared. With all of those things going on, I don’t want us to lose sight that we need to focus on finishing this school year strong and putting our best effort in each and every day of this semester.
I appreciate the trust you have in me and our staff here at Carson. We all want what’s best for our students. Please contact me if you ever have any questions or concerns, I will always get back to you right away if I am not in the office. Talk with you soon.
Respectfully,
Tony
Carson Junior High School 525 N. Westwood Tony Elmer, Principal 480.472.2900
Cougar News
Hola familias de Carson,
Bienvenidos nuevamente a nuestro Segundo Semestre de nuestro año escolar. Todos nuestros maestros y estudiantes están trabajando arduamente a medida que avanzamos al mes de Febrero. Me gustaría informarles que al final de mes examinaremos a nuestros estudiantes con la segunda evaluacion sobre Matematicas y ELA. Esto les permitirá a nuestros maestros y estudiantes algo de tiempo adicional para chequear en qué áreas nuestros estudiantes necesitan ayuda mientras nos preparamos para las pruebas de ciencias AzM2 y AIMS que se llevarán a cabo en Abril. Es nuestro deseo que todos y cada uno de nuestros estudiantes estén listos para tener éxito, mientras nos muestran cuanto han aprendido en ELA, Matemáticas y Ciencias.
Muchos de nuestros estudiantes han hecho un gran trabajo en el aula, obteniendo cuadro de honor este último trimestre, sus nombres figuran al final de este boletín. Los estudiantes que obtienen todas las A, B y C pueden obtener una tarjeta Cougar, que les da derecho a eventos especiales durante todo el año escolar. Asegúrese de preguntarle a su estudiante si tienen una tarjeta Cougar, si no la tienen, aliéntelos a mejorar sus calificaciones y/o a mantener esas calificaciones altas para que puedan ganar una.
Parte de nuestra misión es ayudar a los estudiantes a adueñarse de su propio aprendizaje; lo cual les ayudará a personalizar su educación. Las investigaciones realizadas demuestran que, cuando los estudiantes toman esa propiedad, desarrollan un mayor éxito académico y un mejor rendi-miento estudiantil. A veces, sólo ser un adolescente se interpone en el camino y lo reconocemos, pero continuaremos esforzándonos por ayudar a nuestros estudiantes todos los días a ser el mejor estudiante y la mejor persona posible.
Queremos comunicarles que muchas cosas positivas y buenas estan ocurriendo en nuestra escuela. Carson fue nombrado recientemente Sitio de Distinción AVID en toda la escuela por tercer año consecutivo. Nuestros equipos de atletismo continúan compitiendo, jugando bien, representando a nuestra escuela y a usted de manera positiva. Nuestro programa de presupuesto participativo está comenzando a obtener reconocimiento estatal, del que escuchará más en unos meses. Adicionalmente, muchos de nuestros estudiantes de artes escénicas han calificado para representar a Carson en los programas de honores del distrito, solo por nombrar algunos.
Como tal vez, ustedes hayan notado, la inscripción y las visitas a la escuela han comenzado a prepararse para el próximo año escolar. Siempre parece que es demasiado temprano para pensar en el próximo año escolar al hacerlo en este momento, pero es necesario realizarlo durante este tiempo para asegurarnos de que estamos completamente preparados. Con todas estas cosas sucediendo, no quisiera que perdieramos de vista el enfoque que necesitamos en terminar este año escolar con fuerza y poner nuestro mejor esfuerzo en cada uno de los días de este semestre.
De antemano le agradezo la confianza depositada en mí y en nuestro personal aquí en Carson. Todos los docentes y el staff administrativo queremos lo mejor para nuestros estudiantes. Por favor comuníquese conmigo si alguna vez tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud. Siempre me pondré en contacto con usted de inmediato, o trataré de devolverle la llamada tan pronto fuera possible, si yo no estuviera en la oficina. Estaremos en pronta comunicación.
Respetuosamente,
Tony
Un mensaje del director
Para mas información
en español
communicase con:
Sandra Vega
480-472-2920
Brandon Muñoz
480-472-2924
Patricia Cadena
480-472-2912
Angelica Aguayo
480-472-2921
Monica Reisch
480-472-2942
Service Learning Thanks to the service learning students who have contributed to our projects. So far this year, the club made paper flowers (boo flowers that we sold during the month of October. We used the proceeds from that fundraiser to donate $100 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Arizona and $100 to the family support program here at Carson. Service learning club members also participated in an Ask-A-Carson-Student table at 6th grade parent night and we plan to do a few great projects in the 3rd and 4th quarter. I appreciate the service learning club members and their parents for making this such a wonderful year so far! If you have any questions about service learning please contact me, Janet Parker, Service Learning Coach/Club sponsor at 480 472-2914.
Parents please join us for our Family Astronomy Night on February 20 from 6:00pm-8:00pm in the Carson Gymnasium! We will have the East Valley Astronomy Club here with telescopes set up outside to look at the moon, planets and stars! The ASU Meteorite Club will be here as well! Come do fun, hands on Astronomy and STEM themed learning activities with your math and science teachers! Looking forward to seeing you all there! Call Dawn Harrington at (480) 472-2936 or email: [email protected] if you have any questions.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT
Counseling Registration for 2020… It’s happening! We have visited or major feeder schools (Adams, Eisenhower, Emerson, Webster Whitman and Whittier) Parent night was Jan 30th and Step up day was Jan. 31st. Our presentation to our 7th graders going into 8th grade was Tuesday, January 28th. Hopefully everyone has their registration form and is looking over the elective list and making your choices for elective classes for the 2020-2021 school year. Online registration through the student portals will be February 6th through February 14. Please have all registration forms turned in to you social studies teacher no later than Monday, Feb. 10th. 6th graders should have their forms turned in to their 6th grade teachers by Monday February 3rd. We look forward to signing you up for your classes. If you have any questions about this process please call Janet Parker at 480 472-2914
National Junior Honor Society National Junior Honor Society will be volunteering at “Feed My Starving Children” in April. We will be having our End of the Year field trip at the Phoenix Zoo this year!
We the People Carson JH is proud of the following students that participated and competed in We The Peo-ple. (Anthony Boss, Abigail Herringshaw, Aaron Apodaca, Natalie Pacheco) This students stayed after school every Monday and Wednesday to study the US Constitution and com-plete in a mock hearing at the end of the course. In December, the students took first place in a competi-tion that tested their knowledge and understanding of the US Constitution and Bill or Rights. Carson is very proud of all the students that worked so hard to learn and compete in We the People.
We are so excited for the next couple of months. We finished our projects with the animal shelter and special needs classes last quarter. We were able to volunteer at feed my starving children and this quarter we are going to Disneyland to work at a leadership convention. We are so excited for what is to come this quarter.
Student Store Student Store had their official opening the week we returned from Winter break! The students spent the first two quarters preparing their budget, learning money management skills, and working with the cash register. Within the first week of selling, the Student Store made over $300.00! The popular items sold were spicy chips, fruit roll ups, and our Propel and ICE drinks. Our special education applied learning program students are the ones running the store, but other students are encouraged to join the club if interested in helping and learning early job skills. Please email Ms. Straus if you have any questions [email protected].
National Academic League
We have started our competitions with the National Academic League! On January 14th, the NAL team competed against Stapley and competed very well. Our second game will be on January 16th against Smith, here at Carson. Feel free to join us after school to watch these amazing students show off their minds! If you have any questions, please ask Coach Morrow or Coach Ponce de Leon. Thank you for all of your support!
Yearbook
Students in yearbook are working diligently to assemble this year’s yearbook. They have been busy promoting and selling it. We turned in - on time - the first 36 pages last semester. We will be completing most of it this quarter. There is still time to order your yearbook by going to the mpsaz.org/carson webpage and clicking on the “Order Yearbook Here” tab. They are on sale for $35 each. You can also personalize it for your son or daughter. Purchase yours today online!
Cheer Is all set to cheer for Flag Football. The Cheerleaders will be performing a dance during halftime and they are excited to show off their new skills to the crowd. For STEP day they will be there to help support the incoming Cougars.
Girls Tribe
Our Carson Girls Tribe has been having reflective discussions about the characteristics of being a good friend, avoiding drama and building each other up to increase self confidence in all girls. We started the new year focused on giving back and went to Feed My Starving Children to do some community volunteer work to help starving children around the world. We are now discussing healthy eating habits, exercise and will be exploring future college and career goals with a visit from Arizona State University in February.
The Carson Washington DC trip is three months away. There are 20 students traveling to Washington
DC with Mr. Kaye and Dr. Elmer. This is an opportunity that is available to all Carson students that like
to travel and love to learn about American history. Information for the 2021 DC trip will be available in
ART Art so far this year has been a totally excellent and productive class. The projects that the students have made are way above average. Art class has been a safe place for students to be able to express themselves.
AVID
Is your student interested in an athletic career? Join the Oakland A’s on March 5th to hear first hand advice before the game! Tickets as low as $10! Please see attached flier (page 8) for more information and who to contact to purchase tickets!
ATTENDANCE
A reminder from the attendance office. If your student is absent, please call 480-472-2920 to excuse the absence. We experience a large volume of calls in the morning and we are unable to speak with each parent personally. Please leave one message if you receive our voicemail. Your message will be entered within 24 to 48 hours due to the high volume of calls. Thank you for your patience. State your student’s name, ID#, (if known) and a reason for the absence. This school year we have seen an increase in student tardiness, especially to first hour. Parents, please recognize how important it is, not only for your student, but for the other students in the class that students are on time. It is a disruption that we can prevent if we all work together and make punctuality a priority. Please assist us in this endeavor.
To encourage school attendance, Carson Jr. High has implemented a truancy program and tracking attendance very closely. Students are expected to be at school on time every day. Please be advised, if a student is having trouble with daily attendance one of the Mesa Public Schools District Attendance Officers may meet with the student to discuss the legal consequences of truancy.
Also, students are not permitted to leave school grounds at any time during the school day without permission from the office. If a student must leave due to illness, they must go through the Health office and a parent or guardian must sign the student out through the front office.
Students must attend at least 90% of class sessions in a semester in order to receive a passing grade and/or credit.
CTE
In Computer Essentials (CB02) students are discovering computer terms and situations with Malware and Viruses and how they affect your computer systems and how they are used to steal personal information and ways to protect
themselves.
In Computer Programming and Application Development (CB06) students are working in Edhesive to learn the Python computer language and work in the computer sandbox to build designer pages and code sprites and backgrounds to work with motion, location and how to allow other programs to react to external inputs.
Introduction to Engineering Automation and Robotics classes are learning how to build and code Vex testbeds to make motors turn in multiple directions and durations and how to code and use switches/touch sensors. The Lego Robotic classes are busy building their first robot and code the robot using both rulers and mathematics to allow the robot to run through an algorithm without falling off the tables!
Introduction to Engineering Design Modeling has the students working in Autodesk Inventor and making their first builds to draw 2D into 3D drawings, manipulate the objects and place objects within the objects to build complex structures. The students are transitioning into dice and Lego Brick builds.
Future Maker courses have started the year with students learning how to accurately measure with rulers, build and make 2” x 2” x 2” cubes using their kills. They have progressed to building and making Catapults and measuring variables to determine the best build type for the longest distances. Upcoming activities will include magnets and electricity to build and make Homopolar Motors.
ENGLISH
The second quarter for 7th grade ELA has been very busy. The students took on many projects and were challenged to meet the standards that covered reading, writing, speaking, listening and grammar skills. One unit we did was researching a problem and solution topic, creating a Google slide project and presenting their information in front of their classmates. We then moved into a unit learning about the cause and effects of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911. The students read about this piece of history that changed many workplace fire safety rules and regulations that are still in effect to this day.
Department News
Department News
ENGLISH Continued
They had to demonstrate what they have learned by choosing one out of three project options. They could have done a one pager (AVID strategy); “Black Out Poem” (AVID Strategy) or create a storyboard (including text evidence) and a Word Cloud with an objective summary. The students enjoyed creating their project based on what the key points were from this tragic event. Finally, we did a unit on the Christmas Carol, while the Honor classes used “The Raisin in the Sun” as their choice of text. The students focused on how a play is written and read. They revisited many of the literary element components, with emphasis on how a setting or time era can affect the development of the people or the events of the story. We also focused on theme. The final project was to collaborate with a group and complete a final project that was focused on the perspective from the interactions with the four ghosts and Ebenezer Scrooge and how their interactions help to change Scrooge’s outlook on life. Whereas, the honor classes final project was an essay that guided the students to realize how the author impacted social change in an era that suppressed a certain culture and beliefs.
The second quarter for 8th grade Honors and Regular ELA was busy with completing first quarter books, writing essays, and reading and researching some of Edgar Allan Poe’s works. Students learned more about an author’s style in writing by reading. They worked together to discuss the various styles from the books and short stories they read. In regular ELA, students argued whether Poe was sane or insane; while in the Honors classes, the students compared and contrasted his works. In addition to the regular classwork, students completed some book projects in the Honors class. We had our District Benchmark 1 in November which assessed the students’ ELA mastery of ELA Standards. Most did a great job with many students showing phenomenal growth between their August Pre-assessment Benchmark and what they demonstrated in knowing in November. We are hopeful that they will continue this stride when they take their District Benchmark 2 upcoming in February.
MATHEMATICS
The Math department has started 2020 implementing some exciting new things. At the end of last semester some of our math teachers started to use a program called Remind to communicate with parents. This allows us to keep parents updated on homework, quiz and test dates, and even behavioral issues. Messages come through email and text which makes it easy and convenient. The newest addition to our weekly schedule is Imagine Math. Imagine Math is a program that students use throughout
the week in their math classes to help review past concepts and practice current concepts. Students take a pretest and can work through lessons based upon their own abilities. It is self paced and adjusts to the level of each student. As always we continue to practice Cornell note taking and have worked hard to emphasize revising and reviewing to get students ready for assessments.
PERFORMING ARTS
The Choir, Band, and Orchestra worked very hard this past month to get ready for our winter concerts. All the groups performed well and are currently getting ready for our feeder concerts at Westwood which will take place the last part of January. These concerts are a great opportunity for students and parents to see all that our music programs have to offer from elementary through high school. As we head into spring, we hope you will also join us at our Spring Concerts in March. ORCHESTRA STUDENTS: If your student has registered to audition for JHFO on Saturday February 8th, be sure your student has given you their audition time! Some are as early as 745am at Shepherd Jr High. ALSO, this is the same day and morning at the Phoenix Marathon so many roads near your home and Shephard will be either closed or challenging to get to, so plan to leave early and use different routes!
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
We are excited to be starting the new year working on our fitness goals. We will be focusing on soccer, football, basketball, volleyball, aerobics and weight training through-out this semester.
READING 7th and 8th grade Read 180 students have started Workshop 9: The Streets of Harlem. Students have started this quarter Workshop 9 making Inferences using details from a memoir Bad Boy by Walter Dean Meyers. In this workshop students are learning Inferencing, History of Harlem, and about the writers, authors, poets and artists during the Harlem Renaissance.
SCIENCE
8th grade Science is starting the year off with Physics: Motion and Forces. Students will continue to use computer inter-actives, lab manipulatives, focused notes and critical reading skills to learn and demonstrate their knowledge of Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion.
Department News
SCIENCE continued
7th grade Science has been learning about the layers of the Earth and the forces that helped shape the Earth. Students will be completing several labs and projects involving Pangea, fractured earth maps and identifying rocks and minerals. During January 21st to 24th Project M.E.S.A.’s instructors Mr. Clouse and Ms. Maguire educated the 7th grade students on reproductive health and anatomy.
7th and 8th grade Honors students have been working rig-orously on their Science Fair Projects since the begin-ning of the school year and are finally close to displaying their work. Their Science Fair Projects will be judged by teachers, scientists and engineers at the Carson Junior High Science Fair on February 6th at 4:00pm in the cafeteria.
SOCIAL STUDIES
School-wide, our Carson students have had a busy January in Social Studies! All students have been gearing up for our Participatory Budget vote in February. We have reviewed the final ballot candidates and are excited to have a voice in how we can improve our campus. In addition to PB, all students participated in their classroom Geography Bee, showing off their knowledge! Winners will advance to the Carson Geography Bee later in January.
Seventh grade Social Studies has continued their work with the new state standards. We have been focusing on Social Studies skills, analyzing documents, interpreting maps, graphs, and charts, and using evidence to support claims. During the third quarter, we will continue these practices as we study World War I and World War II. The students are excited to explore this content and develop a deeper understanding of these impactful events.
Eighth grade Social Studies is currently deep into their World War II unit. Always a student favorite, classes have been learning about the events that caused the conflict, comparing world leaders of the time, and working on research and analysis skills. They will finish the third quarter with the Post War/Cold War unit, using more hands on strategies to understand the various conflicts of this time.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
The Special Education Department has busy this year! We have three new teachers this year- 7th grade ELA and math teacher Ms. McClennen, 8th grade ELA teacher Ms. Halsey, and 7th/8th grade Applied Learning
Autism teacher Mrs. Hernandez. Mrs. Donna Wachter has also joined our team as our Special Education Clerk.
Our 8th grade students will be registering with Westwood for classes and meeting some of the teachers when they visit our campus in early February. Some of the 9th grade Special Education team come over to meet with students and sign them up for classes that fit their needs. If you would like a Westwood representative present at your student’s IEP meeting, please notify your student’s case manager.
In Mr. Cisneros’ 8th grade math class, students are using teacher.desmos.com to collaborate with math, play games and complete activities. His students were able to save turtles from being eaten by snakes with the help of graphing functions correctly. Mathalicious, another great website to use, provides real-life word problems for students to work with.
In Mrs. Landeis’ 3rd period, students just started to read The Westing Game. They’re keeping track of their characters in a character Instagram book, and using graphic organizers throughout reading to track their progress. In all other class periods, students are reading Ender’s Game and answering comprehension questions as they go.
Students in the Applied Learning Science classes have been working hard to prepare for the Special Education Science Fair held on Jan 22, 2020. Ms. Straus has been working hard with the students to complete their projects. Students were being judged on communicating a clear problem statement, having a service learning project, and demonstrating knowledge on their topic. The science fair consisted of 4 different problem based learning projects and classes from Kino and Fremont Junior High. The winner of the science fair was
WORDL LANGUAGE
Intro Spanish--- Bienvenidos to the second semester group ! We have created beautiful name tags that reflect each students’ personality and hobbies! Students are also learning about countries where Spanish is the official language! Check out the video on YouTube the Spanish countries and capitals rap song!
Hola Carson Familia! SPANISH I CLASSES have are off to a “2020” start! We continue to learn new vocabulario, such as familia y celebraciones along with important grammar presentations that will assist them with conversing in the target language. Afterall, we are a class of communicators! As always….gracias! #SISEPUEDE
ELECTIVES
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Mrs. Acton 4:00 - 5:00 pm
Mrs. Carlson By Appointment Only
Miss Carpenter
Mr. Jarvis By Appointment Only
Mr. Jordan By Appointment Only
Mr. Kaye
Mr. Martinez By Appointment Only
Miss Ramos
Sra. Trezise 4:00 - 4:25 pm 4:00 - 4:25 pm
Mrs. Willie
ENGLISH
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Mrs. Burgess B - Lunch 8:20 - 9:10 B - Lunch
8:20 - 9:10 B - Lunch
8:20 - 9:10 B - Lunch
8:20 - 9:10 B - Lunch
Mrs. Cook 4:00 - 5:00 pm
4:00 - 5:00 pm
Mrs. Floyd and Mrs. Landeis
4:00 - 5:00 pm 4:00 - 5:00 pm
Mr. Gonzales & Miss Halsey
8:00 - 9:10 am 8:00 - 9:10 am 8:00 - 9:10 am 8:00 - 9:10 am 8:00 - 9:10 am
