Keywords, Sources, and Smiles

With the presence of personal blogs, media sensationalism, and all other forms of  misinformation exponentially growing along with the Internet, sifting through the garbage to find the gold can be an overwhelming task. However, students at West De Pere Middle School are fortunate to have a Library Media Specialist like Ms. Verbeten watching out for their better interest.

Ms. Verbeten recently took the time to visit 6th Grade Language Arts classes and share her expertise in the areas of evaluating website credibility and conducting effective keyword searches. These skills will serve an important role as the students look ahead to their Second Trimester Summative Writing Assessment.

In addition to visiting the classrooms to teach the importance of responsible, efficient, and effective research strategies, Ms. Verbeten also manages West De Pere Middle School's library webpage. This site serves as a central hub where anyone can begin or expand their search for credible, accurate, and reliable information using the organized and conveniently available resources.


Student and Research "Friendly" Resources & Search Engines:
Website Evaluation Checklist
Middle School Database Directory
iSEEK
Infotopia
ipl2
Virtual Learning Resource Center

West De Pere 6th Graders Give Back with Packages of Hope

While Common Core continues casting its wide net over education, there are still certain lessons students learn in school that extend beyond curriculum and standardized tests. A recent project at West De Pere Middle School perfectly exemplified this notion by partnering the 6th grade class with a local organization called Packages of Hope. The ultimate outcome of the collaboration, appropriately titled "6th Grade Gives Back," was $1000 of raised funds and a gained appreciation for helping others.

Packages of Hope dedicates itself to helping people around the state of Wisconsin who have recently experienced a challenging life circumstance. Care packages are sent to these individuals to lift their spirits and remind them that they are not alone. So when 6th grade teacher Chelsea Faase discovered that Jaylynn Thomas, a student in one of her language arts classes, and her mother, Beth Clausen, were directly involved with promoting this cause, she saw an ideal opportunity to adapt this concept of goodwill into a grade level project.

Charitable holiday cheer quickly circulated throughout the 6th grade hallway when students learned that the first phase of their participation would be a week-long fundraising effort to support Packages of Hope. This enthusiasm also welcomed with it a blend of competitive spirit as the plan centered around a homeroom penny war. With each cent representing one point, coin donations counted positively toward a homeroom's overall score. Paper bill donations placed into an opponent's jar, however, were used as tools to subtract points. The class with the highest total at the end of the week then earned the right to celebrate its victory with an ice cream party.

The outpouring of generosity that ensued reached beyond any initial expectations. "What began as a way to simply help students experience the personal fulfillment of giving back to the community quickly evolved into a legitimate fundraising event," observed Faase. "Our amazing students stepped up in the most inspiring and selfless of ways." 

With just five days to accumulate funds for a penny war that was technically only active during school hours, and no true sense of a monetary goal ever established, few would have ventured to accurately guess the total ultimately collected from the effort. However, after all of the copper, silver, and paper were counted and recounted, "6th Grade Gives Back" managed to raise $1000.

Beth Clausen, founder of Packages of Hope, was inspired by the dedication and commitment shown by these students, stating, "For them to raise $1000 just blew me out of the water." The amount will help cover any expenses that accompany shipping the packages around Wisconsin.

Almost lost in the fundraising excitement was the second phase of the project. On the Friday before Christmas break, students worked to construct crafts such as candy cane reindeer, snowflake river rocks, and paint chip bookmarks with tassels. These items, all created with materials generously donated by the parents of West De Pere 6th graders, were then included in some of Packages of Hope's holiday deliveries.

The success of the first annual "6th Grade Gives Back" campaign has already prompted further dialogue about future endeavors at West De Pere Middle School that promote community outreach. And although the money raised through the current project will provide financial assistance to a very worthy cause, equally as valuable are the lifelong lessons learned by the students about the importance of goodwill and giving back.

6th Grade Track Team

Row 1: Brianna Destache, Ben Schroeder, Gabe Finley, Craig Olson, Matthew Thomson, Sam Mommaerts, Jonah DeCleene, Lucas Milheiser, Matthew Burns, Ally Hencke  Row 2: Coach Broderick, Connor Capelle, Ben Pawlak, Mason Hoffman, Mac Hayes, Connor Fullmer, Parker Borley, Michael Day, Hayden Simpson, Jared Colucci, Sawyer Grovogel, Coach Rittenhouse Row 3: Coach Krull, Coach Krzewina, Elle Zimmerman, Anastasia Reyes-Elm, Aubri Hendricks, Kaden Kozicke, Ben Hampton, Austin Prien, Rowan Courtney, Kaitlyn Cameron, Kayla Naranjo, Zoe Hockers, Coach Fairchild  Row 4: Coach Krzewina, Sophie Hanus, Brady Darrow, Kymberly Coolidge, Erin Breu, Quinn Swenson, Ethan Mueller, Jeryn Daggs, Kaylee Gerald, Jessie Crandall, Andrew Ninham, Valarie Shuck, Coach Hansen

Olympic Debate

Ms. Faase created and regularly updated this event, medal,

athlete, and country tracker for the 6th Grade hallway during the

two weeks of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. The display

engaged student interest and provided some necessary background

leading up to the Olympic Debate Project.

As the 2014 Winter Olympic "Spirit" once again gradually fades from the global community for another four years, the 6th graders at West De Pere Middle School are not quite ready to say goodbye. In Language Arts, these students have been assigned to showcase their research, argumentation, and collaboration skills into a culminating Olympic Debate project. The results will determine which sports will be welcomed back to the 2022 Games and which sports will be retired into Olympic history.

After the students spend time investigating their assigned sport/opponent and collaborating with their team, their ability to organize a thoroughly researched, fact-based argument before a group of guest judges will prove the difference between the glory of victory and the concession of defeat.

MAY THE BEST SPORT WIN!!!

Day 1:

Introduction to Project, Assignment of Sport/Opponent (Bobsled vs. Luge; Alpine Skiing vs Snowboarding; Speed Skating vs. Figure Skating),  Individual Research

Day 2: 

Collaborative Research within assigned small groups

 

Day 3: 

Review format of Debate; Collaborative Research and Planning across the different Language Arts classes

 

Day 4: 

Present Debates before the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

 

Debate Results

1-2 Block: 

                          Speed Skating def. Figure Skating

                          Bobsled def. Luge
                          Snowboarding def. Alpine Skiing

3-4; 5-6 Block: 

                          Figure Skating def. Speed Skating

                          Bobsled def. Luge

                          Alpine Skiing def. Snowboarding

7-8 Block: 
                          Figure Skating def. Speed Skating 
                          Bobsled def. Luge
                          Snowboarding def. Alpine Skiing

January Student of the Month: Maddy Counard

Many of West De Pere Middle School’s students achieve success in their classes for a variety of reasons. Some kids focus on preparation and organization. Others dedicate extra effort  and energy outside of school. And a few bring such a positive attitude to class every day that failure is simply never an option. However, when students regularly combine all three of these qualities into their daily routine, that is an accomplishment that is very rare and very special. Maddy Counard is one of those students, which is why Mr. Lokken has nominated her as January’s 6th Grade Student of the Month.

Maddy arrives to class every day with the required materials and assignments; however, that is just the first step to being organized and prepared for class. Once the students walk in the door there are a number of tasks that they are expected to complete without prompting from the teacher. Maddy always follows through with these and is in her seat and ready to begin when the bell finally rings.

Inside of the classroom isn’t the only place that Maddy demonstrates her determination. Her maturity helps her understand that achieving personal goals takes a good amount of extra effort. Therefore, the energy and commitment that Maddy applies to studying during her own time has helped lead to the academic success that she has experienced.  

Organized, with a strong work ethic...those qualities alone could represent a student of the month. But the “cherry on top” with Maddy is her positive attitude. Her ability to work well with other students and her willingness to bring a smile into any classroom situation have proven her to become a role model for her peers and a very deserving recipient for January’s Student of the Month.

News ELA

According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a majority of the reading required in college courses and career readiness programs is informational in structure and complex in content.

TRANSLATION: No matter what their futures hold, today's students are expected to be critical thinkers and proficient readers of non-fiction.

Consequently, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is calling for a steady distribution shift of text structures where students will be reading 70%  informational passages and 30% literary passages by the time they reach 12th grade. And as elementary and middle level teachers continue to make preparation efforts for this movement, a variety of 21st Century educational resources have also emerged. One such resource that has been introduced to 6th grade Language Arts students at West De Pere Middle School is NewsELA.

The framework for NewsELA, a free website available to teachers, students, and parents, is to provide differentiated nonfiction reading opportunities for all abilities. The articles are designed to be individually adaptable to Lexile as students demonstrate their level of proficiency with Common Core-aligned quizzes. Teachers can then increase or decrease the level at which the assignments are shared, making a more advanced or remedial version of the same passage instantly available.

In addition to its academic benefits, the site also offers a variety of topics for students to choose from that appeal to the eager as well as the reluctant reader. This range in content helps to further ensure that NewsELA is a relevant resource proving useful beyond Language Arts and across the curriculum.