Connect with us

Community News

GMS updates 6th grade parents

Published

on

Pictured are (front:  Emily Campbell with her Biography poster Alexander Bell, Joey Carter with General George Patton, Desirae Ballinger with Shirley Temple, (back:  Rylee Jarman with Martin Luther King, Jr., Breeanne Mull with Marilyn Monroe, and Lindsey Miller with McKayla Maroney.

Students show off their biography posters.
Pictured are Front L-R: Emily Campbell (Alexander Bell), Joey Carter (General George Patton), Desirae Ballinger (Shirley Temple)
Back L-R: Rylee Jarman (Martin Luther King, Jr.), Breeanne Mull (Marilyn Monroe), and Lindsey Miller (McKayla Maroney)

GMS students in the 6th grade are wrapping up a busy 3rd quarter of the 2012-2013 school year.  English Language Arts students completed a biography project in which they researched, wrote and presented to their classmates.  This project gave our students experience in research, writing and public speaking.

To complete the project, students elected a person in history to be their “Class President”.  General George Patton was the student’s choice.  Their choice of “Class President” hopefully inspires each student to “do more than is required of you,” as General George Patton would say.

With just two weeks before the end of the third quarter fifteen percent (15%) of students had met/exceeded in their AR goals. Forty-five percent (45%) of students acquired at least one AR point, meaning they’ve read at least one book that was within their reading level and scored an 85% or better.  However, 40% of students have NOT read one single Parents, we urge you to encourage reading at home and to check your child’s AR status from the CUSD #7 home page or call the school and ask to speak with the 6th grade Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Henderson, for an explanation of the process.

During the third quarter, the sixth grade Social Studies classes studied Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.  They began their studies by learning about the origins of the Greek society. The Trojan War, the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, which shaped the Mediterranean World were also discussed.  The students enjoyed reading about the Greek Gods and the mythology of how the Greeks described natural events.

The social study classes wrapped up the third quarter by learning about how the Roman Empire grew and its eventual decline.  During the fourth quarter, students will be studying the exploration of the Americas, Early American Peoples, and the founding of colonies in the Americas.

The sixth grade math classes learned about statistics in the month of January.  The students developed an understanding of Measures of Central Tendency and Measures of Variation.  The kids applied these techniques to real-life problems.  The students learned how to create a dot plot and a box plot, and answered percent questions about the information that was graphed.

In February, the math classes moved on to the coordinate plane and graphed in all quadrants.  The kids even graphed points in the plane to create shapes they had to identify.  This led us into the study of geometry where students learned about shapes, angles, perimeters and area.

After learning about the characteristics of organisms and animals, the last month of 2012 was focused on invertebrates in science classes.  The third quarter students moved to vertebrate animals studying the classifications of fish amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.  In addition to learning the purpose of binomial nomenclature began by Carolus Lenneaus, the students gained a broader understanding of their own impact on each of these vertebrates.  Learning how the way they live their lives and what they do daily impacts other organisms in their ecosystem and is important to our planet and young people.

Advertisement

Students in the science classes are currently studying electricity.  The electron of an atom and how it travels to provide energy to devices we rely on daily.  Understanding the positive charge of protons and how electrons flow similar to water is key.  Science lessons are relating all the facts learned to the application of building parallel and series circuits; life revolves around our daily use of electricity and a basic understanding is useful.

Contact the middle school office with any questions about education or curriculum material. Look forward to an exciting fourth quarter from the middle school level.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

There are plenty of ways to keep up on BenGil news:

Sign up for our weekly email newsletter

Check out all of our pictures on our sister site, we are your personal photographer

Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take

Follow us on Twitter for the fastest score updates and breaking news updates

Advertisement

Share this story

Comments

comments

CUSD 7 News

Miners girls basketball clinch SCC championship

Published

on

In a nail-biting showdown that will be remembered for years to come, the Gillespie Miners girls basketball team captured the South Central Conference title with a hard-fought 55-52 victory over the Pana Panthers on Thursday night, February 13. This marks Gillespie’s first conference championship since their back-to-back titles in 2001-02, when they shared the honors with Southwestern both finishing with a 9-1 conference record.

The game held at Pana High School was anything but straightforward. After a tumultuous 13-minute delay due to injuries and a technical foul controversy, the Miners rallied their spirits to secure the win. Amari Vickery led the charge with a stellar performance, scoring 21 points, while Mia Brawner added 11, Maggie Heyen contributed 10, Delaney Taylor posted 5, Sadie Sholtis scored 4, and Lainey Edwards and Corrine Fellin each had 2 points.

From the opening tip, it was clear that Pana was not going to roll over easily. The Panthers held leads at the end of the first two quarters, 15-14 and 28-26, showcasing their tenacity. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Pana had edged ahead 44-42, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.

However, the game took a chaotic turn in the fourth quarter when a collision between Vickery and teammate Sloane Brawner resulted in both players going down with injuries. Sloane was not able to return the game but Vickery did. The Miners also lost both Delaney Taylor and Sadie Sholtis to fouls and Gillespie was assessed a technical foul under controversial circumstances which tied the game at 49. But Heyen carried the weight through the fourth quarter recording 6 of her 10 points in the final quarter of play.

Despite the setbacks, the Miners displayed remarkable teamwork resilience under the leadership of Nikki and Matt Brawner. With the SCC championship secured and the regular season concluded with a 22-8 overall record and 9-0 conference record, the Miners now shift their focus to the upcoming regional which is being hosted in Gillespie.

Gillespie hosts Alton Marquette on Monday, Feb. 17 for the regional semi-finals after Alton Marquette knocked East-Alton Wood River, 36-29, to face the Miners. The winner advances to the regional championship that will be played on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in Gillespie versus the winner of Staunton/Roxana.

Advertisement
Share this story

Comments

comments

Continue Reading

Community News

Macoupin County residential fire claims multiple victims on Saturday

Published

on

Tragedy struck in the early hours of Saturday morning in Macoupin County as a residential structure fire broke out in the 200 block of West Dean Street, Virden, resulting in the death of a male victim, the Macoupin County Coroner Anthony Kravanya announced.

The individual was pronounced deceased at 10:06 AM but the identity of the deceased has not yet been released, as authorities await the results of an autopsy scheduled for Monday, February 17, 2025. The coroner’s office indicated that a press release will be issued following the autopsy and the positive identification of the victim.

WAND reported a second victim died after being transported to Springfield Memorial Hospital according to Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon who confirmed a 13-year-old boy and a 34-year-old male were the victims.

The fire reportedly started around 9:30 a.m. and the home was fully engulfed when first responders arrived. Two people were reportedly rescued and life flight was requested but were not available due to the foggy weather conditions. 

An investigation into the cause of the fire is currently underway, involving multiple agencies including the Macoupin County Coroner’s Office, the Virden Police Department, the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Share this story

Comments

comments

Continue Reading

Community News

Missions group to host trivia fundraiser on March 30

Published

on

Come and join us for an exciting afternoon of trivia as we support our local 2:18 Missions! Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 30 from 2 to 5 PM for an event that promises fun, camaraderie, and a chance to make a difference in our community. The event will be held at DeStefane Community Center in Benld, 201 East Central Avenue.

Teams of up to 10 people can participate for just $100 per table. Whether you want to reserve your table in advance or simply show up on the day of the event to pay at the door, we welcome all trivia enthusiasts to join in the competition!

Feel free to bring your own snacks and drinks to enjoy during the game—just please remember, no alcohol is allowed. For your convenience, we will have bottles of water available for purchase.

The stakes are high, and the competition is fierce! The first-place team will take home a prize of $150. Plus, bring some dollar bills to participate in “Heads and Tails” games during breaks and to buy mulligans for your team.

Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to support a great cause while enjoying a lively trivia challenge. To reserve your table or for more information, contact Kristin at 217-691-7469.

Let’s make this a memorable event for our community and the 2:18 Missions!

Advertisement
Share this story

Comments

comments

Continue Reading

Trending

×

We need your support. If you value having timely, accurate news about your community, please become one of our subscribers. Subscribe