A Message from the Principal - Chicago Ridge School District 127.5

Volume 5 Issue 2February 9, 2012E l d e n D . F i n l e y J u n i o r H i g h S c h o o l ’ sViking VoiceM s . L a u r a H a m a c h e r , P r i n c i p a lM r . K e v i n K i r k , D e a n o f S t u d e n t sA Message from the PrincipalM s . L a u r a H a m a c h e rReminders: Please inform theFinley Office if youhave a change ofaddress, telephonenumber or emergencycontacts. All electronic devicesshould be kept at homeas outlined in ourStudent Handbook. Cellphones must beturned off andkept in lockers.It is hard to believe that we have come to the end of the second quarter. The winter weather hasbeen so mild that for many of us it still feels like fall. Because of this mild weather, it has not beennecessary to announce any weather-related school closings. As we enter into February, we arehopeful that we will continue to experience mild weather. However, in the event of dangerousweather, please remember to access the District websiteFebruary is the month we celebrate Black History. In recognition of this celebration, Finley will onceagain welcome back the African Acrobats to perform for all of our students on Monday, February13 th . We are excited for this performance and are confident that our students will gain a greaterappreciation for African culture.The entire instructional staff at Finley has been working consistently with our students to teachthem the importance of knowing their own MAP and ISAT scores. The Measure of Academic Growth(MAP) score reflects their individual growth over a period of time in the subject areas of reading andmath. The Illinois Standard Achievement Test scores reflect their individual performance in a snapshotof time regarding the State Learning Standards. We have been focused on encouraging ourstudents to be self advocates which requires them to be knowledgeable about their own performanceand invested in improving their skills. Please help us encourage this important skill by discussingthese scores with your children. If you have any questions about these assessments,please contact your child’s teacher for assistance.INSIDE THIS ISSUE:From the Dean of StudentsM r . K e v i n K i r k8th Grade News 27th Grade News 36th Grade News 4Caudill New 5NJHS 6After School Activities 6Sports 7Student Council 7Nurse’s Reminders 7Finley Contact Info. 8SSJHC Student Senate 8It comes with great pride and excitement to announce that our new direction for Advisory, whichwas implemented in November, has had a tremendous effect on our students’ academic growth.Each day our teachers work with a small group of students for 30 minutes dedicated to improvingskills in literacy, comprehension, math, and social/life skills. After each three week period, ourstudents are benchmarked using our MAP assessment tool in their designated academic area.The average growth that we have experienced through nine weeks, far exceeds the national averageat the middle school level. Our Finley students and staff deserve much recognition for theirhard work and determination!I am also pleased to announce that we at Finley Jr. High School have continued to followin our initiative to help prevent and eliminate bullying in our school and amongst our students.Along with our bullying curriculum that is utilized during particular Advisory classes, which helps toidentify bullying and the effects it has on the victims, we have looked to bring presenters into ourschool that are experts in the field of cyber bullying and internet safety. This past January, FinleyJr. High invited Detective Joe Melone of the Cicero Police Department to come and speak to ourstudents about the dangers facing teens and the internet, which he has been doing for severalyears in the surrounding area. His presentation captivated our students and staff through sharingsome of his experiences he has gained over seventeen years of working internet crimes. We lookforward to working with the Chicago Ridge PTA in possibly bring Det. Melone back for a parentmeeting later this year.

PAGE 2VIKIN G VOIC E8th Grade NewsThe 8 th graders were off to a great start in the beginning ofthe year, and they have not slowed down yet. The continuedgoal of the 8 th grade teachers is to prepare the studentsfor a successful high school career. We are workingon building independence and responsibility among thestudents.ReadingIn reading class, we have been studying short stories,novels, and literary techniques. The students have beenworking on taking apart a story, and critically thinkingabout its true meaning. They are also working on bookreports, so make sure that everyone is reading, reading,reading! Each class will take a turn to read The HungerGames, by Suzanne Collins. Once every class has finished,Finley 8 th graders will participate in our own versionof the Hunger Games, reaping and all. The classes arealso taking turns reading The Outsiders and analyzingsocial classes.Language ArtsIn Language Arts we are continuing our work on grammarand vocabulary. We have been focusing on nouns, pronouns,verbs, and modifiers. After the ISAT’s, we willbegin a unit on phrases. The students have been makingexcellent progress in their Vocabulary Workshop books.Watch for continued use of the books and an improvementin his or her vocabulary.Important 8th Grade Dates:Math PlusIn addition to our curriculum, the Math Plus classes arepracticing short and extended responses as a part of ourISAT preparation. Each response is graded with an identicalrubric so that they are assessed in the same fashion.It is necessary to practice to make sure that studentsproperly show their mathematical knowledge, strategicknowledge, and fully explain their answer in order to receivefull credit. For example, a pizza restaurant offers thefollowing types of crusts, toppings, and cheeses.Crust – deep dish, thinToppings – sausage, pepperoni, baconCheese – mozzarella, cheddarList all the possible combinations of pizzas that can bemade using 1 type of crust, 1 topping and 1 type ofcheese.Can you make an organized list showing all 12 differentpizza combinations?ISATOur classes are stepping up the pace in preparation forISAT’s. We are excited to see the academic progress thatwe are making through our daily work and postevaluations.The ISAT test is scheduled to begin on Tuesday,March 6 th , 2012.Museum of Science and IndustryThe 8 th grade students will be taking a class trip to theMuseum of Science and Industry on Monday, February6 th , 2012. While at the museum, a few activities the studentswill be partaking in are: a tour through the U-Boatexhibit, entering into the world of YOU! The experience,and science storms. This hands-on field trip will supportand enrich the material that the students have been learningin their Social Studies and Science classrooms.Wednesday, January 18thGraduation PicturesMonday, January 30th$40 Graduation Fee DueFriday, February 13th (rescheduled from Feb. 3rd)Cap & Gown Measurements(note: $40 Graduation Fee must be paid in order to be measured)Wednesday, February 22ndGraduation Picture RetakesWednesday, February 29thSpringfield Money DueFriday March 3rdSpringfield TripWednesday, May 16th8th Grade Mandatory Meeting(a parent/guardian MUST attend )Friday, May 18th1:30 AM Dismissal for 8th Grade ONLYFriday, May 18th8th Grade Banquet at Garden Chalet at 6 PMWednesday, May 30thGraduation Practice at Finley(ribbons handed out)11:30 AM Dismissal (for all students)Thursday, May 31stYearbook SigningGraduation Practice at Finley (caps & gownsdistributed)Friday, June 1stGraduation Practice at Frontier Fieldhouse(Students are bused from Finley to the Fieldhouse & back)School attendance is MANDATORY on June 1stto participate in the graduation ceremony11:30 AM Dismissal for 8th Grade ONLYGraduation Ceremony at Frontier Fieldhouse 7 PMStudents should arrive between 6:30 & 6:45 PM

VOLUME 5 ISSUE 2PAGE 37th Grade NewsEnglish and ReadingWe have been extremely busy in Ms. Bonk’s English class. Students wrote narrative essays and compare/contrast essays. We have been pumping out the parts of speech, learning to love language, and springinginto ISAT! In the coming months, we will continue to review the parts of speech, compose expository essays,and continue to build up our vocabulary skills.In Reading class, we just finished reading novels; either Scorpions, Where the Red Fern Grows, or The Mailbox.We started our Civil Rights unit by reading a story about Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr, Ghandi,and the Negro Baseball League. Soon, we are going to be reading an autobiography written by EleanorRoosevelt. Students are then going to write their own life stories!Social StudiesIn social studies students have been learning about the revolutionary struggles of our great country. Theyhave read about the frustrations the colonists felt with regard to religious freedom and the excessive taxationimposed by England. Students have also learned about the brutality of war and the heroism the patriotsdemonstrated in their efforts to gain liberty and independence from Great Britain.Our students really enjoyed watching the film “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson. Students used the movieand what was learned in class as a background to develop a comprehensive presentation that demonstratedtheir knowledge and understanding of the Patriots’ concerns and struggles, and the resultingcall for independence for a new nation…the United States of America.With the new found freedom, the young nation needed a form of government. Our study now moves tothe development of what may be among the finest political documents ever written…The UnitedStates Constitution. Please be patient with your child during this difficult learning process. The materialcan be dense and sometimes overwhelming. Please encourage your child to study a little bit each night,and we’ll get through this together.ScienceThe students have been using tools to study microscopic life. A hand lens magnifies an image and for greatermagnification they have learned how to use a microscope. After learning about animal and plant cells,every student created a model of a cell. They are on display in the seventh grade case and these projectsare extraordinary.MathIn seventh grade math, students just finished working on interpreting data and creating charts to representthat data using Microsoft Excel. This included making pie and bar graphs to compare personal expenditures,time management, and Super Bowl victors. Students have also been working on graphing linear equationsand inequalities to solve problems based on real-world situations.On that same note, our next real-world math speaker will be coming in this month. I want to thank Mr. Duntermanagain for his outstanding, inspirational presentation and for being our first guest speaker. Studentslearned how central of a role math plays in carpentry and construction. Other major talking points includedhow to apply the Pythagorean Theorem to build roofs, why calculating area is important in flooring and ceilingwork, and how scale and proportion are used in drafting blueprints. Students had the opportunity to browsethrough actual blueprints of a building the speaker previously worked on as well as watch how to use specificmeasuring techniques in order to create perfect 90 degree angles. However, I think students’ favorite partwas the demonstration on how to use a laser-level tool.Finally, this month students will be preparing themselves to take the ISAT test in March. As always, itis important that students get enough rest and come ready to do their best.REMINDER:Spirit of Chicago Permission Slips and Money are Due by March 9th(if you need a permission slip you can get one from the Finley office)

PAGE 4VIKIN G VOIC E6th Grade NewsEducationThrough ExperienceYMCA CampMacLeanREMINDER:6th GradeOutdoor EducationPermission Slipsand Moneyare Due byMarch 2nd(if you need a permissionslip or have questionsregarding this tripplease see Mrs. Krutilla)Sixth Grade Outdoor EducationalField TripAny sixth grade student willbe able to attend the yearlyfield trip that we take toBurlington, Wisconsin. Theinformation was alreadysent home, so your childhas the information that youneed to look at and decide.This is a great experiencefor your child to participatein. Our school is the onlyschool at the YMCA Campon Thursday, April 19 thand Friday, April 20 th . Weleave from the school onThursday, April 19 th andreturn Friday afternoon,April 20 th . It is a scienceexperience so the childrenwill be able to read a compass,use a microscope,dissect owl pellets, observemany animals’ habitats andparticipate in the Skyway.The Skyway is an extra feethat is listed in the packetthat they received. If yourchild does not want to go onthe Skyway, we have otheractivities for them. So lookover the packet and decideif this is the trip that yourchild would like to take.ReadingWe have done a few motivationalactivities on thestories this quarter. Thestudents really seem toenjoy working on them. Wehave read stories like anautobiography on HelenKeller, a non-fiction storyabout Yellowstone NationalPark called “Summer ofFire”, a fictional story abouta shark called “Ghost of theLagoon”, and our last storyof the quarter which was ascience fiction story on theplanet Venus called “AllSummer in a Day.” We continueto work on extendedresponses to get themready for the ISATS whichis soon approaching. Wewill be reading a novelcalled The Cay to start thethird quarter. We have continuedto attend Libraryevery other Wednesday.Language ArtsWe have finished units onnouns, verbs, and are stillworking on adjectives andadverbs. We have beenwriting narratives and shortessays. We continue towork out of our vocabularybook, learning new wordsand how to use thosewords correctly in sentences.We also created picturedictionaries for the unitwords.Social StudiesAfter spending some timeaway for our holiday break,it’s time for our sixth gradersto say farewell to Egyptand the Far East and immersethemselves in Hellas-Ancient Greece. Studentswill explore the geographyof Greece; navigate itsvolcanic islands, summitMount Olympus and battleneighboring city-states fordominance along the ancienttrade routes of theMediterranean. Here theywill discover the birth placeof Western Civilization andreflect on the founding principlesof Democracy: citizens’rights separation ofpowers and the importanceof participation within thedemocracyMathWe have been working withdecimals since the middleof November. We haverepresented, compared,ordered, rounded, added,subtracted, and multiplieddecimals so far. We arecurrently working on dividingdecimals by wholenumbers and dividing decimalsby decimals. In upcomingsections, we will beworking on circumferenceand fractions. Students willbe representing and comparingfractions using fractionmodels. In the nextchapter, we will be learningdifferent methods to findthe Greatest Common Factorof numbers and theLeast Common Multiple ofnumbers. In other classes,students will be working onsolving one step and twostep algebraic expressions.ScienceThe sixth grade studentshave continued to studyabout living things. Wecovered chapters on protistsand fungi. Studentslearned that algae are notplants but a protist. Studentslearned the manybenefits of protists and fungi.Fungi and bacteria bothhelp to decompose deadorganisms in our environment.Students were verysurprised to find out thatfungus is used to makemedicine such as Penicillin.We finished learning aboutthe characteristics of plantsand how they are classified.To end the second quarter,we will begin our unit onlight and sound. Studentswill first learn about thecharacteristics of wavesand then begin the chapteron sound.

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PAGE 6VIKIN G VOIC ENJHSN a t i o n a l J u n i o r H o n o r S o c i e t yThe students of the Finley Jr. High School National Junior Honor Society have had a busy2 nd quarter.In November, the members of NJHS sold Carson’s couponbooks to family members and friends. They also sold the couponbooks during Parent/Teacher conferences at all three Chicago RidgeDistrict Schools. Thank you to all who made this a successful fundraiserfor our organization.During December, the NJHS students and the Character Counts Committee organizeda school-wide food and monetary donations drive. A lively competition resulted betweenhomerooms wishing to win the opportunity to attend a Wii party. In all, over 2000food donations and $429 were collected. These donations were split between needy familiesin our district and the Worth Township Food Pantry. Mrs. Burcheri’s homeroom studentswere the lucky winners of the Wii party. NJHS students brought Wii components from homeand organized 4 game stations. The students enjoyed snacks and a period of challengingfun!NJHS students also assisted the PTA by selling raffle tickets during their lunch hour.The PTA had a giant stocking filled with prizes for the lucky winner.Besides continuing the recycling of paper from the classrooms, members haveasked students to put their “pop-tops” in the jug at lunch. These pop-tops will be donated tothe Ronald McDonald House to support their good works.Currently, the students are raising money to help protectthe environment of the polar bear. Students can makedonations of 50 cents and have their names put in a raffle towin a giant stuffed polar bear or one of ten polar bear pens.The donations will be sent to the World Wildlife Fund.The members continue to raise money through candy and cookie sales at the basketballgames. If you attend a game, please consider helping our organization.Schedule for After School Activities & TutoringTuesdayHomework Help7th & 8th Grade Reading Tutoring6th & 8th Grade Math TutoringAdvanced Guitar ClubPlastic Canvas ClubBook ClubWii FitnessWednesdayHomework Help6th Grade Reading Tutoring7th Grade Math TutoringHarry Potter ClubScience ExperimentsArts & Crafts ClubThursdayHomework Help7th & 8th Grade Reading Tutoring8th Grade Math TutoringBeginner Guitar ClubELL TutoringWii Fitness

VOLUME 5 ISSUE 2 PAGE 7Sports NewsGirls BasketballSixth and Seventh Grade BasketballThe 6 th and 7 th grade girl’s basketball team finished the seasonwith a record of 8-5. All of the girls improved on their skills, displayedgreat sportsmanship, and most importantly, had fun!Team members include: Madisyn McDaniel, Isis Rodriguez,Amanda Gill, Cassandra Miller, Lily Rivera, Stephanie Eklund,Lexi Dryier, Annie Barker, Weronika Lassak, and Ranya Hinnawi.Congratulations girls, on a great season!2011-12 Finley CheerleadersHailey Brown (7)China Burton (8)Stephanie Eklund (7)Jazmine Hogan (8)Madie Kleczkowski (8)Jade Knapp (8)Summer Levy (8)Vanessa Martinez (8)Kelly McCasland (8)Lindsey Mielnicki (8)Michelle Quinn (6)Amber Ryan (7)Tea Ryza (8)Shannon Scott (7)Caitlyn Solomon (6)Valerie Stone (7)The girls successfully completed their cheering for girls’ season, and now boys’ season is in full swing. We arenow using our new uniforms, which we purchased with our fundraising profits, and this year, we have startedtraveling to the away games. The cheerleaders love it! During practice, we continue to come up with halftimeroutines and work on our Cheerfest routine, which will be performed at Cheerfest at Prairie Jr. High on February29 th . We hope to see you cheering on the basketball team with us at the upcoming games!Student Council NewsFrom the Nurse’s OfficeStudent Council was very busy during the holidayssponsoring a “Christmas Care” coat andtoy drive. All of the donations went to WorthTownship. Student Council collected over 70gently used coats, and 30 new toys. In theupcoming months, Student Council will bebusy planning and organizing a whole-schoolpep rally, Pennies for Pooches, and a World’sFinest Chocolate fundraiser.REMINDERS: All 8th grade students will need to have a completedphysical upon entering freshman year ofhigh school. Schedule your appointments now! All Dr.’s notes should be handed in to the Finleyoffice . Absolutely no medication should be brought toschool without an Administration of Medicineform completed by a physician.

PAGE 8Finley’s Phone Number - 708-636-2005Finley’s Fax Number - 708-636-0045Contact Us…All teachers and staff members at CRSD 127.5have email addresses and phone extensions withvoicemail. You can visit our website for a list ofstaff extensions and email links at …www.crsd1275.orgOur webpage contains a wealth of important informationsuch as calendars, breakfast/lunchmenus, sports conference activities, newsletterarchives, as well as several useful links.VIKIN G VOIC EIsis Rodriguez &Madeline DuntermanAmer Khairallah along with other studentsfrom the conference school.Isis Rodriguez participating in a groupactivity.Six Finley Junior High students were selected to participate in the first annual SSJHSCStudent Senate. The event took place on January 27 th from 9 AM to 12 PM at KolmarSchool. There were six student representatives, a student council sponsor and principalfrom each of the ten conference schools in attendance at the event. The event focusedon teambuilding activities and leadership opportunities. The mission of the StudentSenate is to promote unity within the Conference schools. The students selectedwere: 8th graders, Sabrina Ramahi and Amer Khairallah, 7th graders, Madeline Duntermanand Jordan Conejo, 6th graders, Isis Rodriguez, and Madison McDaniel. Congratulationsgoes out to all the students were selected you did a great job representingFinley Junior High.Students from the ten conference schools participating in thefirst annual SSJHSC Student Senate.Madisyn McDaniel participating in a groupactivity.