7th

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

May 14th – 7th Grade to STEM Lab @ WVU

May 15th – 6th/7th –  start at Main Campus for Weather Balloon

                  8th – Last Day of Internships

May 16th – Middle School Olympics/Swim Party –  (Each year we have the middle school participate in a fun morning of competition and then end the day swimming at Wheeling Park Pool) 

May 19th – 6th/7th – “Why Wheeling” Exhibition @ 5:00 pm at Towngate Theatre

May 21st – 8th Grade Capstone Graduation @ 5:00 pm at the Bandstand WP

May 22nd – WCDS Field Day (8th grade not required to attend, 6th/7th should arrive between 10:30 am – 11:00 am at Main Campus)

English w/ Mr. Rouse – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes- none.
• Took Aimsweb on Thursday. The kids did an excellent job.
• Finished A Wrinkle in Time and started our final project for it, a theme essay.

Math w/ Mrs. Boldrick –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 
• The students have been working very hard with learning and retaining information about linear equations, slope, and y-intercept. 
• They worked on a program called Desmos, and learned how the slope and the y-intercept affects a line.
• We finished our project with Conrad Borchers this week. It was a great opportunity to work with him and Carnegie Mellon University. We are grateful for his offer to teach with us.
• Students will take the math portion of Aimsweb on next Thursday, May 15 during math class at 1:00 PM. Please help your child remember to charge their computer or bring their charger to school that day. We have only one day to make up this portion of the test; we appreciate your help in making sure your child attends school that day.

Science w/ Mrs. Farris – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – no test or quiz scheduled 
• Best in Show for West Virginia is … Wheeling Country Day! Both 7th-grade teams received best-in-show awards for their Plant the Moon Challenge. 
• Thanks to Madison, Logan, and Layla for taking time out of their evening to attend the Zoom call award ceremony and present. To celebrate, the WV Space Consortium arranged a field trip to WVU next Wednesday! 
• Our chemistry unit led us to put our new periodic skills to the test as we built out atom models using Bohr Diagrams. 

https://here.wcdsedu.com/events/

English w/ Mr. Rouse – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes- Aimsweb this Thursday (May 8th)
• Students continued their reading of A Wrinkle in Time. 
• Students did another unit of vocab pulled directly from the book.
• Students wrapped up a spring piece of writing in which they generated a poem or memoir style piece using a picture they took out in nature.

Deep Dive w/ Mr. Rouse and Mr. Jividen –

• We are excited that Towngate has agreed to host our exhibition and premiere
• Students had a chance to fly the drone again this week

Math w/ Mrs. Boldrick –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 
• Students worked on understanding slope of a line using two points on a coordinate plane.
• They also watched videos and completed guided notes as a secondary means of learning about slope.
• Students were introduced to y-intercept and slope-intercept form. They are learning how to calculate slope, determine y-intercept, and write linear equations.
• Next week, they will continue working with linear equations and graphing the line of the equation.

Math w/ Mrs. Howells –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 
• This week students finished chapter 5 which was all about rational number operations.
• Students applied many different skills as they worked through difficult, multi-step problems. 
• They worked on such topics as:
  • Order of Operations with Rational Numbers
  • Solving Equations with Fractions: Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division
  • Solving Two-Step Equations with Fractions 

Social Studies w/ Mr. Jividen –

• After exploring the effects of the Colombian exchange, 7th graders started a unit on colonies in the Western Hemisphere.
• We talked about the three motivations for colonization, which included Gold, God, and Glory.
• Over the next few weeks, students will gain an understanding of English, Spanish, and French colonies in the Americas

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

English w/ Mr. Rouse – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes- none.
• We started A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
• We continued our vocabulary and grammar units.
• We did a lot of work leading up to an Ode we will be writing about something we appreciate or wish to honor. I had them search the internet for an Ode they liked to give them an idea of how Odes are usually structured.

Deep Dive w/ Mr. Rouse and Mr. Jividen –

• We flew the drone for the first time this week
• Our script is coming together, storyboards are done and we are eagerly scheduling our drone shots around town

Math w/ Mrs. Boldrick –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 
• We continued our work with Conrad Borchers from Carnegie Mellon. The students are getting comfortable with the process. We’ll continue to help Conrad with his program for the next five weeks.
• The students are learning about functions, domain, range, and ordered pairs. This will lead into linear equations and slope.

Math w/ Mrs. Howells –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 
• Everyone worked hard this week in math class!
• The students applied many pre-requisite skills to adding and subtracting positive and negative fractions and mixed numbers.
• It was a relief to switch gears and move into multiplying fractions which require less steps and a simpler process.
• Next week we will continue multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers.

Social Studies w/ Mr. Jividen –

• 7th Grade Students explored the Colombian Exchange
• We discussed products that traveled between the “Old World” and the “New World”

Science w/ Mrs. Farris – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – no test or quiz scheduled 
• Both teams have completed their final reports—it’s exciting for students to see their projects come together and share their finished work!
• This week, we began exploring atoms and their structure. To help remember the parts of an atom, we’re using the acronym PEN—ask your child what it stands for.
• We explored electric charges with a hands-on plastic bag activity and saw firsthand that opposites attract.

Music w/ Mrs. Chelsey – 

Our journal prompt this week was “What is a song that reminds you of someone you love?”

This week students broke off into groups and began working on their Radio Drama skits. They are writing a 5 minute skit that includes a narrator, characters, and sound effects. Each group will then present their Radio Drama to the class, but no one will be looking at them so we can just use our imaginations to create the pictures of what’s going on based off of the sounds that are used. 

We did several music and rhythm warm ups this week  – zip zap zop and machine! Ask your kids what these are!!

We began the first rhythm of our field day drumming song “Everybody Dance Now”!

Deep Dive w/ Mr. Rouse and Mr. Jividen –

• We flew the drone for the first time this week
• Our script is coming together, storyboards are done and we are eagerly scheduling our drone shots around town

English w/ Mr. Rouse – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes- none.
• We started A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
• We continued our vocabulary and grammar units.
• We did a lot of work leading up to an Ode we will be writing about something we appreciate or wish to honor. I had them search the internet for an Ode they liked to give them an idea of how Odes are usually structured. I modeled in front of them the writing process I’d take toward writing one and what ideas/details I would focus on.

Math w/ Mrs. Howells –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 
• Everyone worked hard this week in math class!
• The students applied many pre-requisite skills to adding and subtracting positive and negative fractions and mixed numbers.
• It was a relief to switch gears and move into multiplying fractions which require less steps and a simpler process.
• Next week we will continue multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers.

Social Studies w/ Mr. Jividen –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – No Tests or Quizzes Scheduled
• 7th grade recapped our trip to Charleston and discussed the end of the legislative session
• A lively discussion about current events, both statewide and nationally

Science w/ Mrs. Farris – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – no test or quiz scheduled 
• Both teams have completed their final reports—it’s exciting for students to see their projects come together and share their finished work!
• This week, we began exploring atoms and their structure. To help remember the parts of an atom, we’re using the acronym PEN—ask your child what it stands for.
• We explored electric charges with a hands-on plastic bag activity and saw firsthand that opposites attract.

Music w/ Mrs. Chelsey – 

• This week students broke off into groups and began working on their Radio Drama skits. They are writing a 5 minute skit that includes a narrator, characters, and sound effects. Each group will then present their Radio Drama to the class, but no one will be looking at them so we can just use our imaginations to create the pictures of what’s going on based off of the sounds that are used. 
• We did several music and rhythm warm ups this week  – zip zap zop and machine! Ask your kids what these are!!
• We began the first rhythm of our field day drumming song “Everybody Dance Now”!
• Our journal prompt this week was “What is a song that reminds you of someone you love?”

Events

English w/ Mr. Rouse – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes- none.
• Wrapped up our essays and the Plot Web.
• We watched Howl’s Moving Castle.
• Students will need their copy of A Wrinkle in Time next week.

Deep Dive w/ Mrs. McFadden & Mr. K –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – No Tests or Quiz Scheduled

Math w/ Mrs. Boldrick –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 

Math w/ Mrs. Howells –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 
• This week began with a continuation of prime factorization.
• This led into finding Greatest Common Factors (GCF) and Least Common Multiples (LCM). 
• These foundational skills were then applied to the process of adding fractions, including both positive and negative fractions, which necessitated a review of integer operations. 
• We also revisited the concepts of proper and improper fractions, as well as mixed numbers.
• Next week we continue with fraction and mixed number operations.

French w/ Mrs. McAteer – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – 

Social Studies w/ Mr. Jividen –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – No Tests or Quizzes Scheduled

Science w/ Mrs. Farris – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – no test or quiz scheduled 
• Our eight-week grow period for the Plant the Moon Challenge has come to an end!
• This week, we took final measurements and harvested our plants. Students analyzed their data to determine whether their results supported or rejected their hypotheses.
• To document their learning, students enhanced their reports with pictures, charts, and graphs, and they also created a final report video—stay tuned, we’ll be sharing it with you next week!

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

Good Morning! We had a great week capped off with an exciting trip to Charleston! Thank you, Delegate Flanigan, for the VIP treatment. I would like to clarify one thing for anyone who watched the livestream of the session. A delegate who will remain unnamed said “he’s not very good at pickleball.” I spoke to several former doubles partners and here’s what they had to say. “Joe tries his best.” “Joe is serviceable” Joe’s game can be described as “exceptionally average.” I’ll let you all be the judge. On a more serious note, the 7th grade will sing the National Anthem at the Nailers game on Sunday. Everyone will meet in the lobby of Wesbanco Arena at 3:15.

English w/ Mr. Rouse – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes- none.
• We had a lot going on this week with our tour of the West Virginia State Capitol (Woot! Woot!) and wrapping up Celebrate pieces, so not much went on in English outside of our projects.
• We continued peer review and modeling/collusion regarding the essay, and we continued designing our Plot Webs.
• We will be watching the movie next week. It’s a PG, relatively safe movie, there’s one cigarette in the movie which is all I would flag about it. 

Deep Dive w/ Mr. Jividen and Mr. Rouse –

• Students selected their team for the remainder of Deep Dive (Production/Editing, Research, Scriptwriting, etc.)
• Stephanie Hockenberry (Ohio County Growth and Retention Coordinator) visited our classroom to talk about her work

Math w/ Mrs. Boldrick –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 
• Students were introduced to solving inequalities this week. This is closely related to solving equations – except that they need to understand greater than and less than.
• We’ll continue solving one, two, and multi-step inequalities next week.
• All work is posted in Google Classroom. I encourage them to check their assignments daily, as well as use their planners for any assignments and the due dates.

Math w/ Mrs. Howells –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none
• This week the students reviewed solving one- and two-step equations involving decimals and all four operations.
• We began working with prime and composite numbers and prime factorization.
• Next week we will continue with prime factorization and also jump into greatest common factors and least common multiples.

Science w/ Mrs. Farris – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – no test or quiz scheduled 
• This week, we reviewed vocabulary and applied it to our “Molecules in Motion” lab.
• Through the lab, we reinforced that molecules are groups of bonded atoms and that atoms are the smallest particles that can exist.
• A demonstration using food coloring in water helped us discover firsthand that molecules are always in motion!

Music w/ Mrs. Chelsey – 

• Sunday is our Nailers performance!! The students did a great job rehearsing it this week and they are going to rock it!!! See you Sunday in the lobby of Wesbanco Arena at 3:15!
• We will be recording “Here Comes the Sun” on Wednesday – it sounds fantastic, and I appreciate the student’s dedication to making this song awesome!!
• Our music journal entry this week was “How can music help us learn about different cultures?”

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

Good Morning 7th Grade Families! Please see Ms. Chesley’s note below about the upcoming Nailers game. I have attached a flyer in the photo gallery below with additional information. You will also receive an email from me today about an opportunity to travel to the State Capitol next week. Thank you to Delegate Flanigan for the invite!

English w/ Mr. Rouse – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes- none 
• We wrapped up Howl’s Moving Castle and transitioned into our two last projects. The course load will be a lot lighter this week coming up because I have them managing an essay and a group project at the same time.
• Howl’s Moving Castle has what I would call a circular plot, all aspects of the book become connected at one point. Because there’s so much seeded throughout the book, I’m having the students do a plot web, a project where they will make a map of all the connected characters and events- forensic style.
• They’re also doing an essay with provided topics.
• Finally, we will be watching the movie after it’s all said and done. There’s nothing problematic in the movie. Our next book will be A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. I showed students what copy they should purchase. 

Deep Dive w/ Mr. Jividen and Mr. Rouse –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – 
• We are excited to welcome our first deep dive guest next week, Ms. Stephanie Hockenberry
• Students finished storyboards and narrowed our focus for the upcoming drone footage
• Students prepped questions for three upcoming guests in the next two weeks

Math w/ Mrs. Boldrick –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – None
• On Monday and Tuesday, the students reviewed for their test on Wednesday. 
• They asked many questions and asked for assistance, which is appreciated.
• After taking the test, they had a chance to correct their answers, which they worked very hard on mastering the process.
• Next week, we’ll move into inequalities, but will also continue to work on solving multi-step equations since the skills are related.

Math w/ Mrs. Howells –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none
• This week the students worked to solve one- and two-step equations involving decimals and all four operations.
• We also reviewed the three topics from last week: dividing decimals by decimals, negative exponents, and scientific notation.
• Next week we will begin working with prime factorization, greatest common factors, and least common multiples.

Social Studies w/ Mr. Jividen –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – No Tests or Quizzes Scheduled

Science w/ Mrs. Farris – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – None 
• We expanded our science vocabulary by learning about volume and how to calculate it for regularly shaped objects. We then explored the water displacement method to measure the volume of irregularly shaped objects.
• On Tuesday, we reviewed and highlighted key study resources in an effort to prepare for Thursday’s quiz.
• Each student made significant improvements in their study habits—way to go, 7th grade! 

Music w/ Mrs. Chelsey – 

• Information about the upcoming Nailers game that 6th and 7th grade are singing the National Anthem for went out in an email last week. Please be sure to check, as it has a lot of details!! If you did not receive this email, please reach out to Carrie or Ms Chelsey! 
• This week we added tambourine to “Here Comes the Sun” and should be ready to record our video next week to welcome spring!!
• Our music journal prompt this week was “ What song would you choose as a soundtrack for your life today?”

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

English w/ Mr. Rouse – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes- none 
• We continued thesis paragraph work. This week, the topics were split between Age Rating in Movies/Books/Games -or- Early or Late School Starting Time.
• We continued our reading and discussion of Howl’s Moving Castle. There weren’t as many questions this week because we read the full chapters- they’re long. We are on the last chapter, so expect updates as to what the next book is going to be.
• We peer reviewed the thesis paragraphs. 

Deep Dive w/ Mr. Jividen and Mr. Rouse –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – 
• We are excited to Welcome two community visitors next week as we explore our “Why Wheeling” drone project
• Students began to storyboard ideas for our upcoming project

Math w/ Mrs. Boldrick –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – Wednesday, March 19
• The students are finishing up with solving equations and will have a test on Wednesday, March 19.
• Students learned the process for solving multi-step equations.
• They are encouraged to use notebook paper to write each step and keeping their work organized.
• We will move on to solving equations with inequalities. 

Math w/ Mrs. Howells –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – Thursday, March 20 – Quiz on Negative Exponents and Scientific Notation
• This week the students worked on three topics: dividing decimals by decimals, negative exponents, and scientific notation.
• These topics can be challenging and students may need more practice to become proficient.
• To help them, there are video lessons on each topic in our Google Classroom. These can be reviewed for the quiz. Other review and study materials will be made available as well.
• Next week we will also begin working to solve one- and two-step equations involving decimals and all four operations.

Social Studies w/ Mr. Jividen –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – No Tests or Quizzes Scheduled
• Thank you Delegate Bill Flanigan for inviting our 7th Graders to Charleston
• We started the week by discussing the legislature and the WV Board of Public Works

Science w/ Mrs. Farris – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – Thursday March 20th Quiz (Mass, Weight, Volume) 
• We’ve kicked off our 3rd trimester chemistry unit! To build a strong foundation, we’re starting with key scientific terms and applying them in hands-on labs.
• Mass and weight are often used interchangeably—but they aren’t the same. Ask your child to explain the difference!
• Our Plant the Moon project is now in its sixth week! We’ll continue taking weekly measurements as we prepare for our final report.

Music w/ Mrs. Chelsey – 

• Information about the upcoming Nailers game that 6th and 7th grade are singing the National Anthem for went out in an email this week. Please be sure to check, as it has a lot of details!!
• We continued working on The National Anthem, as well as “Here Comes the Sun”. The students are doing very well at listening to each other and blending!! 
• Our music journal prompt this week was “ Have you ever had an ear worm?” Not sure what that is? Ask your child – you’ve probably experienced it;)

Elective

Yearbook –  This week, we explored a wide variety of yearbooks from different schools and years, exploring layouts and design styles. We compared layouts that were too busy, had too much white space, and those that were just right. 

CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING WCDS EVENTS

What a week! It may have been the week before break, but moss does not grow under our feet! Middle School students had the opportunity to work hands on with WVU STEAM TAC. It was a pleasant surprise to turn on the evening news and see several of our students featured. 7th Grade students also started the final trimester this week, kicking off a drone focused Deep Dive called Aerial Ohio Valley. I hope you all have a restful Spring Break. You have earned it!

English w/ Mr. Rouse – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes- none 
• Continued our reading and discussion of Howl’s Moving Castle. We are nearing the final quarter of the book, and we WILL have another book this trimester, so please be on the lookout/bug your kid about updates regarding our next book.
• Continued our work on warm-ups.
• Started our first vocabulary unit of the trimester.

Deep Dive w/ Mr. Jividen and Mr. Rouse –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – No Tests or Quiz Scheduled
• Students began the third trimester Deep Dive titled “Aerial OV’
• We brainstormed and settled on a focus for the upcoming Drone Project
• Students will begin the storyboard process when we return from Spring Break

Math w/ Mrs. Boldrick –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 
• The students moved on from solving one-step equations to one-step equations with fractions.
• We then moved to two or more step equations. They had practice sheets, then went on to graded worksheets.
• The students are challenged with these equations when using fractions. We’ll continue to practice them.
• When we return from spring break, we will use inequalities when solving for a variable.

Math w/ Mrs. Howells –

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – none scheduled 

• This third trimester began with everyone working their math skills to multiply decimals. 
• We also reviewed for our quiz, then spent Thursday and Friday taking the quiz.  
• The quiz covered rational numbers; rounding, comparing, ordering, adding, & subtracting decimals.
• When we return from Spring Break we will continue multiplying decimals, then begin dividing decimals and working with negative exponents. 

French w/ Mrs. McAteer – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – 

Social Studies w/ Mr. Jividen –

• 7th grade students wrapped up their presentations this week
• We will begin a new unit upon returning from Spring Break

Science w/ Mrs. Farris – 

• Upcoming Tests/Quizzes – no test or quiz scheduled 
• We’re now halfway through the Plant the Moon Challenge! Teams worked hard to submit their mid-grow updates, and pictures of their progress are below.
• We welcomed STEAM Tac on Thursday and participated in their Growing with Innovations immersion. Students coded Micro:bits to solve real-world problems using light sensors and temperature monitors.
• A few students were curious about how we could apply Micro:bit coding to our current Plant the Moon challenges, such as monitoring moisture levels. Their curiosity and problem-solving mindset made for a great discussion!