1. 7th Grade Advanced English
The Fox Team welcomes you and your student!
Warm Up:
-Have a seat.
-Please fill out the parent survey if you would like and feel free to doodle! 
-Take a look at some of the novels we will read this year.

2. Ms. Comba Experience 9 years as an educator Education
Bachelor of Science –
Teaching License –
Gifted Endorsement -
Reader
Since birth

3. Ms. Comba
Contact information:
For random fun class updates:

4. Ms. Comba Hobbies Virginia Master Naturalist (“Nature Nerd!”)
Volunteer and foster homeless animals at the Virginia Beach SPCA
Kayaking and camping
My family

5. Ms. Comba Hobbies Live music Reading and writing stories and poetry
Traveling around the world
My pets!

6. Our Classroom
We will have respect for each other and all living things.
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you [may] know nothing about.”
-Wendy Mass

7. Weebly website My School Mail
Team Information
Weebly website
My School Mail

8. Team Weebly Website
Communication, assignments, updates, notices, Schoology, Google Classroom, and make-up work.
Team Weebly:
Show Team Expectations & Verification Buttons
Used for MSM List Serve

9. My School Mail Weekly parent email
Assignments, updates, notices, field trips, and more
Sent on Thursdays
My School Mail
Subscribe – write your student’s first and last name instead

10. My School Mail Silverback Mailing May 7, 2015
This week students began exploring events leading to Cold War tensions. The Cold War was a state of tension without actual fighting between the United States and the Soviet Union, which divided the world in to camps. Differences in goals and ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union (the two superpowers) included two different political/economic philosophies. The United States was democratic and capitalist; while the Soviet Union was dictatorial and communist. Both countries were interested in spreading their political and economic systems, to serve their own economic, political and military interests. So… the two superpowers became increasingly involved in the affairs of other nations. We will examine some of the “hot spots” over the next few weeks. Remember the due date for the Museum
Happy Weekend Silverback Families!
Important Dates
May 8 Progress Reports/ SCA Spring Celebration
May 18 Dave and Busters Spirit Night
May 19 Panera Spirit Night (Hilltop)
Standards of Learning End of Year Assessments
English
May 29 Algebra SOL
June 7 Reading SOL
This week we began to wind-down our historical research unit.  Students worked on composing their first three curator’s notes in class this week during our writing workshops.  The MoAH project will require students to make a total of six to nine curator’s notes.  It is important to remember that although we are turning in the first three curator’s notes required for the MoAH project on Schoology.com in order to receive teacher feedback, the remaining three to six curator’s notes must be completed at home.  Students were also given brief presentations on Works Cited pages, presentations of the MoAH projects, and conclusions.    We also began our study of pronouns this week, as well as a daily review for the upcoming SOL.
June 9 Science SOL
Thank You!
We would like to thank everyone for the words of encouragement and tokens of appreciation this week in celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week. We are truly thankful to have such supportive families. We love teaching at KL/ODS!
Thank you!
Next week students will continue to work on their MoAH projects.  The students will be able to work on their remaining curator’s notes, conclusions, and the set-up of their MoAH museum exhibits on Weebly during this time.  We will be in the library Monday through Wednesday in order to use the computers.  Students are encouraged to bring their own devices, such as tablets and laptops, to school to use, too.  I will also be presenting students with tips and tricks for managing stage fright during public speaking in order to help them feel more comfortable when they present their exhibits to the class in the coming weeks. 
Thank you to all of the many parents who volunteered to chaperone the Busch Gardens field trip last Friday. Even with the not so ideal weather, students, parents and teachers had a wonderful day enjoying the physics of the theme park. Thank you so much for supporting this adventure.
Parent Portal and Class Websites
Algebra I
Encourage your student to check their grades online and access class websites. These are great resources that encourage students to take ownership of their academic performance. Absent students are expected to meet with their core teachers during lunch, the day they return, to clarify, ask questions or gather documents not available electronically.
This week in Algebra, students took a test on factoring.  We started the last unit we will cover before the SOL test.  The last unit is on parabolas.  Before starting this unit, we took a look at all four conic sections (parabola is one of them).  From there, we looked at the vertex, roots, and the axis of symmetry of a parabola.  Students learned formulas in order to find the vertex and the axis of symmetry.  Students started learning how to find the roots (x-intercepts) of a parabola using the symbolic manipulation method, and the completing the square method.
Studies)
Next week, students will learn what the discriminate is and what it is used for.  The students will learn the quadratic formula and a song to help them remember.  Please ask them about it. 
Advanced Science
This week students worked in cooperative groups exploring the evolution of the atomic model. After all groups were finished, the “maps” were put together in chronological order. As a class we, discussed the historical perspective on why and how the atom has evolved over time. Students predicted that the atomic model is likely to change again in the future. Students also used their knowledge of the periodic table, elemental families, and specific elements to create atomic math problems.
The SOL test will be given on Friday May 29, 2015.  In preparation for the SOL test, we will have our second of four SOL Saturdays this Saturday May 9, 2015 from 10:00AM until 12:00 noon.  The permission slip and topic of study for Saturday May 16 will come home either Monday or Tuesday of next week.  Please encourage you students to go to  order to practice for the SOL test.  There is help available if the students get a question wrong on this site so they will not continue to make the same mistakes.
Next week we will draw the specific electron configuration of elements, counting atoms in formulas and learn how formulas are created.
Tutoring continues on Mondays and Wednesdays afterschool. Students are permitted to ride the activity bus home. 
Please continue to use the and to review for the SCIENCE 8 SOL test scheduled for June 9th. This test covers three years of science courses.
Thank you for entrusting your children to us; it is a privilege to work with them!
Social Studies

11. 7th Grade English Curriculum
Unit
Main Concepts
Tools for English Scholars
Writer’s manipulate elements of literature and language to achieve a purpose for a given audience.
Traditional Literature
Designed to stimulate critical and creative thinking and writing, the main activities in this unit are differentiated based on student interest, allowing students to investigate the development of literature from the oral tradition to the written format.
Spirit of the Season
The activities in this unit focus on Charles Dickens’s use of diction, syntax, and symbolism while exploring the ways that the holiday traditions of Christmas have changed over the years. The unit will culminate with a field trip to see a production of A Christmas Carol.

12. 7th Grade English Curriculum
Unit
Main Concepts
Heart of the Mystery
Explores mystery as a literary genre and as an element of life and experience, adding rigor and relevance. Eases students into abstract and divergent ways of analyzing literature.
Historical Literature and Research
These two concurrent experiences allow students to deepen understanding of the significance of the essential questions, especially as they delve into the complexities of the interactions between an individual person and the geography, historical, and cultural setting that provides conflict and resources to promote and require change.

13. 7th Grade English Curriculum
Unit
Main Concepts
Metaphorical Journeys
Activities in this unit use journey to introduce students to deeper levels of meaning in literature and reinforce reading and literary study as a means to gain understanding of the world, society, and self. Writers often use motif of characters on a journey as a representation of a larger allegory of life, wherein the process of traveling is as or more significant than the destination.
Wit, Wither, Wilt, Shakespeare
The humor unit focuses on how a speaker or writer’s attempt to communicate with given audience through humor can reveal genuine themes as the reader or listener interprets conflict, language, character, and symbolism as shaped by cultural and historical influence.

14. 7th Grade English Curriculum
Unit
Main Concepts
Life and Literature: Science, Fiction, or Both?
The purpose of this unit is for students to learn how to analyze the themes within science fiction while connecting these concepts back to their own lives, how to write science fiction short stories, how to evaluate the tools that make writing persuasive, how to use those tools to write persuasively, and how to examine the interdisciplinary relationship among science and science fiction. Students will function as scientists that write science fiction by using their field of study to extrapolate to the future. In the end, students will comprehend that scientists often use science fiction to warn and compel their audience to take action on social, environmental, and technological issues. Students will apply this knowledge by creating their own story intended to prompt their audience to take action for social responsibility on the current issue of their choice.

15. 7th Grade English Curriculum
(Visual art + novels + music + radio + film + poetry + short stories + technology = dynamic language arts instruction) +
(Moving beyond reading comprehension and identification of ideas)
(Striving to use specific writing tools purposefully and with a focus on audience) =
Students who are discerning readers, skilled in literary analysis and criticism, and who have comprehension of the complex, artistic relationships between language, literature, and culture.

16. Homework Time
Please refer to each department’s specific grading policies.
Homework should be done the night it is assigned and not left until the last minute.
The majority of this time is reading with small assignments along the way.
Larger projects and summative assessments will take longer, but if they are not left until the last minute, it should not be a struggle for the student.

17. Schoology & Google Classroom
Often used for submission of work, quizzes, and authentic feedback on student writing.
They can upload their assignments, share them, collaborate simultaneously with other students, and I can hand write personal feedback and give spoken feedback as well.

18. Materials Journals Current novel Pencils Binder
“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” – William Arthur Ward
Journals
Current novel
Pencils
Binder
Flash drive or cloud storage
BYOD with earbuds

19. Final Notes “Laughter is the language of the soul.” Pablo Neruda
“The world is but a canvas for our imagination.”
- Henry David Thoreau