Course Selections for 6th and 7th Grade Students
Sixth and seventh grade students will be selecting their arts class for the 2016-2017 school year during advisory toward the end of January. Students will log onto PowerSchool and make the course selection on their iPads. Please have a conversation with your student prior to that date and discuss which class would be best for him/her to take for next year. This information is needed so we can start the scheduling/planning process for 16-17.
Thursday, January 21--7th Grade Art Course Selections during Advisory
Monday, January 25--6th Grade Art Course Selections during Advisory
Course Descriptions-next year 8th grade
Course Descriptions-next year 7th grade
7th Grade Poetry Slam
On Friday, December 18th, 2015, fifteen 7th graders performed original poems in front of an audience of their peers as part of the Julian 7th Grade Poetry Slam. The slam was emceed by accomplished poet and Julian alum Ito Osaigbovo (or “Ms. O,” as the students call her) and judged by teachers from each 7th grade team and Assistant Principal Ms. Carr. The event served as a culminating event for the spoken word poetry residencies carried out in all 7th grade language arts classes as part of the Oak Park Education Foundation’s new middle school Spoken Word program. Under the guidance of Ms. O and the 7th grade Language Arts teachers, students learned to write and perform poems about their own lives and experiences.
Slam participants included Margaret Kennedy, Jayden Hill, Emma Bresnahan, Jackson Tanner, Ethan France, Jontavion Hunt, Olivia Sigunick, Cynthia Pipkin, Tim Hess, Mekylah Holloway, Sarah Frickx, Leo Angelini, Robyn Williams, and Kenya Jones. Poems performed at the slam covered a range of subjects including family tradition/heritage, friendship, personal identity, overcoming hardship and embarrassment/disappointment. While it was made clear to students that the event was about celebrating student work and “the points are not the point,” ultimately the judges chose a winner: Margaret Kennedy, of 7-1, was awarded the highest number of points for her poem.
OPEF's Spoken Word program will continue with an extracurricular club open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students that meets on Monday afternoons from 3:30-5:00pm and Thursday mornings from 8:00-8:50am in room B108. Interested students should contact Mr. Colucci or Ms. Fleming. For more information about Spoken Word and the Oak Park Education Foundation, check out OPEF's website or contact program coordinator Anne McNamee-Keels.
Winter MAP Testing Dates
The MAP testing window for District 97 will be from January 11-January 29.
8th Grade Testing-January 11-14
7th Grade Testing-January 13-20
6th Grade Testing-January 21-26
Make-Up tests will occur January 27-29
Please encourage your student to put forth his/her best effort on these assessments. As done in the past, students will take Reading and Math MAP assessments.
Digital Citizenship
While many Julian teachers integrate aspects of Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy into their coursework, Illinois School Code 5 requires each school district to specifically address Internet Safety. During January, Percy Julian Middle School advisories are focusing on three important aspects of Digital Citizenship: overuse, oversharing, and cyberbullying.
Families can support their students by learning about these aspects of Digital Citizenship and extending the discussions to home. A couple challenges we will encourage students to participate in beyond the school day include Delete Day, Tech TimeOut, and Draw Your Line. We encourage you to take a look at some of the parent resources noted as well. Click Here to access more information on this topic.
Student Innovation Team
Julian Middle School is forming a Student Innovation Team consisting of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to support the technological needs of students and teachers. The team's collaboration will build the framework for its future and development. These students will aid in the use of multiple applications, iPad troubleshooting, Canvas navigation, etc. Our goal is to not only offer significant leadership opportunities for this team, but to meet the progressive needs of students and teachers as it pertains to instructional technology. For more information or an application click here. Students interested should submit a paper application to the Media Center by January 8, 2016. Additional applications are also available in the Media Center.
Parent-Teacher Conferences-Week of February 8
We will be having our 2nd round of parent-teacher conferences the week of February 8 with the majority of these occurring on the 11th. You can expect to receive notification from your student's teachers to schedule these appointments later next week.
Thursday, February 11-Student dismissal at 12:00
Friday, February 12-Student dismissal at 12:00
Sincerely,
Dr. Todd Fitzgerald
Principal
Percy Julian Middle School
Email questions to Principal Fitzgerald.