Miss Burg Grades 5—8 News

 Welcome winter!  I’d like to extend my wishes for a safe and happy winter break to all of the students, families, and community members of Dixon.  Enjoy the holidays!

Math:  The 7/8 grade class will be preparing for a math contest that will be held in February at the University of Montana. The eighth graders participated last year and had a great time.  I expect the same results this year.  The 5/6 grade class deserves a round of applause for the hard work they’ve shown when completing Accelerated Math assignments.  Keep up the good work.

Science:  Sound is the current unit in the 5/6 grade class.  The students continue to impress me with their connections of content to real world situations.  Their inquiry into the unknown is inspiring.  After sound, they’ll be focusing on life sciences, starting with the cell.  The 7/8 graders will see a presentation from a researcher, Melisa Shelvan, on 12/9.  She will be discussing the cell cycle, cancer, and possibly some of the drugs used to treat cancer.  This will give students a real world application of why we learned about cells.

FIELD TRIP!  The middle school kids will be hiking and snowshoeing on 12/15 as part of a Montana Natural History Center presentation about winter ecology.  Please prepare students with boots (if possible), winter coats, pants, a hat, and gloves on that day.  Following the hike, we will drive to the History Center for a discussion of birds and adaptations, and then head to the University of Montana’s Spectrum for a hands-on biology lab.  It’s going to be a BLAST!

FAMILY SCIENCE NIGHT TO BEGIN!

 I will be holding a series of hands-on science family nights for middle school students and their adult family members in the upcoming months.  Please stay tuned!  The first science family night will be in January!