TIGER TALK

Walker-Grant Middle School O N E L E A R N I N G L A N E . F R E D E R I C K S B U R G , V A 2 2 4 0 1

P H O N E ( 5 4 0 ) 3 7 2 - 1 1 4 5 F A X ( 5 4 0 ) 8 9 1 - 5 4 4 9 W E B W W W . C I T Y S C H O O L S . C O M

Principal’s Letter 1

Inclement Weather 2

Counseling Center 3

Basketball 4

Yearbook Order 5

Library News 6

Grade Level News 7

Menu 8

Calendar Back

Inside This Issue:

Dear Walker-Grant Family:

Greetings to you and yours! The winter break is such a magical and en-

chanted season; such a time is ideal to reflect on the year and to enjoy a well de-

served break.

In keeping with our belief in excellence, Walker-Grant plans to undertake

an audacious schedule during the remaining weeks and days of the first semes-

ter. We will complete a second round of nine weeks assessments; foreign lan-

guage teachers will administer exams, and the grade level spelling bee competi-

tions will take place. Instructional activities scheduled for second semester will

certainly be as frequent and dynamic as the first semester.

The month of February will usher in new possibilities for our students. The

aim of second semester is to center on numerous initiatives that will bolster stu-

dent performance on standardized testing. March will also bring the writing

SOL test for our 8th graders. These activities underscore our desire to transform

Walker-Grant into a school of excellence.

On behalf of the Walker-Grant family, I would like to wish you and your

family a Happy New Year!

Warmly,

Harry R. Thomas, III

Principal

IMPORTANT

CALENDAR

NOTES

Monday, Jan. 3

Classes Resume

Monday, Jan. 17

Martin Luther King Day

/ NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, Feb. 1

Teacher Workday /

NO SCHOOL

504 ACCOMODATIONS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

If your child has any type of learning or physical problem, he/she may qualify for accommodations under 504 or special education services. Please call the Walker-Grant Counseling Office at 372-1145 if you have any questions or would like to refer your child for screening and possible assessment.

No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States shall, solely by reason of his/her handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits, of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: The Rights of Individuals with Handicaps Under Federal Law.

IN THE MATTER OF NONRESIDENT STUDENT ENROLLMENT

The Fredericksburg City Public School Division does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in its educational programs or activities.

Any questions should be referred to Pam Steinkoening, 200 Gunnery Road, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 or by calling (540) 371-1127.

SEX OFFENDER STATEMENT

The Fredericksburg City Public School Division recognizes the danger sex offenders pose to student safety. Therefore, to protect students while they travel to and from school, attend school or at school-related activities, the Fredericksburg City School Division shall request automatic electronic notification of registered sex offenders in the same or contiguous zip codes as any school within the division. Such request and notification shall be made according to the procedures established by the Virginia Department of State Police (State Police). The Superintendent shall serve as the contact person with the State Police for receipt of the registered sex offender information.

INCLEMENT WEATHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Information concerning school closings or delays for Fredericksburg City Public Schools may be

found by checking one of the following:

Fredericksburg City Public Schools website: www.cityschools.com

www.fredericksburg.com

Local Educational Access Channel 18

WFLS Radio (FM 93.3)

WVBX Radio – The Vibe (FM 99.3)

WWUZ Radio – Classic Rock (FM 96.9)

WFVA/B101.5 Radio (FM 101.5)

WGRQ Radio (Q 96)

WGRX Radio (Thunder 104.5)

WRC Television – Channel 4

WUSA Television – Channel 9

We encourage parents to visit our website or listen to one of the radio or television stations listed

above. Announcements are posted as quickly as possible.

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BOYS’ BASKETBALL

JANUARY SCHEDULE

1/4—Home Game vs. Culpeper, 4:30

1/6—at Locust Grove, 4:30

1/11—Home Game vs. Caroline, 4:30

1/18—at Culpeper, 4:30

“DISCOVER THE PATH TO SUCCESS

. . . HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND”

Parents and students (7th-11th grade) are invited to join the James Monroe High School Career & Technical

Education Department on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. in the JMHS Library for a

special presentation designed to help your teen discover and research potential career pathways. Come and

find out what JMHS has to offer your students in preparing for college and future careers. In addition, learn

how your students can earn college credit while in high school (dual enrollment) or earn an industry certifi-

cation or state license before graduating from high school. Participants will be able to meet all CTE teachers

and discuss course offerings, talk with JM guidance counselors about various types of diplomas (including

the new ―technical‖ diploma), and talk with a Germanna Community College representative about dual en-

rollment. Light refreshments will be served. Registration for the evening is preferred, but not required.

You may register on-line at http://blogit.cityschools.com/jamesmonroehighschool/.

ONLINE ORDERS TAKEN AT WWW.YEARBOOKFOREVER.COM

$25.00 will order

your 2010 yearbook

for spring delivery!!

Cash or check

Student Name:_______________________

Grade: ____________________________

Date: _____________________________

Homeroom Teacher: __________________

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Library News

Café Book

Cafe Book is a lunch time club for 7th and 8th graders. The first meeting will be Wednesday, Jan 19. I hope the library will

be filled that day with students and their lunches. The students do need to sign up in advance either with their English teacher or in

the library. From January through May these students will read and discuss recently published twenty Young Adult books from the

Regional Café Book list.

Book Fair

The Walker-Grant Book Fair will again be held in February. Students will visit and shop between February 11 and 17.

Adult volunteers are crucial to the success of the activity. Please e-mail Mrs. Magin at tmagin@cityschools.com or send you child to

school with a note saying you would be willing to volunteer for a few hours.

Storytime

In December, Mrs. Magin shared two Christmas stories from our American history. The 6th graders enjoyed Christmas in

the Trenches by John McCutcheon, telling of the miraculous truce that took place along the fighting front of World War I in 1914.

The 7th and 8th graders listened to a story called ―A Christmas Story,‖ which was written by a well-know African America writer,

Walter Dean Myers, and took place in Harlem in the late 1950’s.

6th Grade Book Chat

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko is the next book that the 6th graders will discuss at Book Chat. Book

Chat is for any 6th grader who has read this book. Bring your lunch and your thoughts to the library on Wednesday, February 2!

The library owns multiple copies, so all students will have a chance to check out a copy.

Imagine that you are 12 year old Moose and your father takes a new job on Alcatraz Island while Al Capone is a prisoner

there. Also imagine that your sister needs to attend a special school but often you have to “babysit” her. Then imagine that the

warden’s daughter seems to instigate things but, according to her father, she does nothing wrong so instead you get in trouble. Read

this book to find out how this all gets resolved!

Box Tops for Education

Thanks to all the students and parents who have faithfully saved Box Tops and donated them to our

school library. We earned $100 this fall and we’re getting our next shipment ready. Please continue saving

these box tops over vacation and all through the winter.

.

What a busy time of year this is in 6th grade. After the holidays we will be settling back into work routines and working

hard to re-establish good study habits. We will finish the second nine weeks with a unit on modeling and solving algebraic equations

using concrete materials. Please continue to check to see that your student is using an agenda each day to record homework. Just as

we are making New Year’s resolutions and getting organized for a new year, this would be a good time to have your student organ-

ize their folders and notebooks and check their school supplies.

Math 7 students are working with expressions and equations. Using math manipulatives like Algebra tiles and Algebra

blocks, students will practice solving equations and simplifying expressions. As teachers, we are continuing to track your chil-

dren’s progress though our School Net program. This program enables us to keep up with which children need help with certain

SOL’s as we move through the curriculum. In Algebra I we are continuing writing equations of lines and exploring how they can be

used to model real world situations. We will also graph and use inequalities to model situations. All math classes continue to have

math homework every night to reinforce what is learned during the day. Because new concepts are learned every day, they need to be

practiced at home to solidify the learning. Thanks to all parents who are making sure this homework gets done! Once again, thank

you for all your continued support.

In science we are currently immersed in the study of genetics. Our students always find this unit of particular interest be-

cause they learn about their own family pattern of inherited traits. We have studied the work of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genet-

ics; and the contributions of Rosalind Franklin, Francis Crick, and James Watson toward the discovery of the double helix shape of

the DNA molecule. Students will study DNA replication, human Inheritance, The Human Genome Project, genetic engineering, and

forensics. This unit incorporates probability from mathematics for a cross-curricular approach to learning outcomes of genetic cross-

es.

In Civics we have quite a bit happening. Following winter break we will be completing our study of the Judicial Branch at

both the national and state level. Then, if you can believe it, it is time for nine weeks testing again! We will begin a thorough re-

view process of all material covered so far this year. From here we will start learning about political parties and the election process

at the national, state and local levels. Students will gain insight into the political process and how it affects their lives.

Advanced English 7 students are completing their examination of the science fiction genre and will begin a study of fantasy

in January. Weekly Vocabra exercises and quizzes remain a constant. In grammar they will complete their work on verbs with a

review and unit test on the subject.

Students worked on PowerPoint presentations on the regions of North America. There will be no homework over break,

but students are encouraged to keep up with current events around the world. You might be able to then guess the GPOD when you

come back!

6th Grade News

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7th Grade News

8th Grade News

TIGER CALENDAR FOR JANUARY

Monday, January 3 -Classes Resume Tuesday, January 4 -Gifted Education Referral Deadline -6th Grade Spelling Bee, 12:30 PM -Home Basketball Game vs. Culpeper, 4:30 PM -School Committee Meeting, 6:30 PM Wednesday, January 5 -8th Grade Spelling Bee, 8:00 AM -7th Grade Spelling Bee, 12:30 PM Thursday, January 6 -Basketball Game at Locust Grove, 4:30 PM Monday, January 10 -School Board Meeting, 7:30 PM @ JMHS Tuesday, January 11 -Home Basketball Game vs. Caroline, 4:30 PM Wednesday, January 12 -Mrs. Spears’ Class Trip to the Science Museum Monday, January 17 -Martin Luther King Day / NO SCHOOL Tuesday, January 18 -Basketball Game at Culpeper, 4:30 PM Thursday, January 20 -PTA Meeting, 7:00 PM Friday, January 21 -Writing Nine Weeks Tests Monday, January 24 -Math Nine Weeks Tests -Home Basketball Game vs. Floyd T. Binns, 4:30 PM Tuesday, January 25 -Social Studies Nine Weeks Tests Wednesday, January 26 -Science Nine Weeks Tests

Thursday, January 27 -Reading Nine Weeks Tests -Basketball Game at King George, 4:30 PM Tuesday, February 1 -Teacher Workday / NO SCHOOL