Happy first week of December! Our class has been keeping busy as usual with a number of different projects on the go.  We have actually finished our second novel, We All Fall Down, by Eric Walters and many are eager to read the sequel, United We Stand! We are in the midst of a final project on this novel and hope to have it done by December 16th.  Also in ELA we have began a Media Awareness unit, we have looked at the many ways media tries to persuade us into buying products. We learned about many propaganda techniques and are currently creating our own magazine ads for fictitious products.  We look forward to creating our own commercials soon!

In Math we are finishing up our unit on Percents, Fractions and Decimals. We are currently learning about how to use taxes and discount. Mr. Mills had us on a 'murder mystery' by solving percent questions to find out clues to the mystery. The test for this unit will be sometime before the holiday break.

In Social Studies we have started discussing ancient civilizations. We look forward to learning about Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, but right now we are just creating our own civilizations in groups of 2 or 3.  We are presenting these civilizations on Monday, December 9th. 

Finally, in Science we are finishing up our unit on Cells. We just learned about the circulatory system and how our heart is the hardest working muscle in our bodies.  We will be onto a review for the unit in the very near future and hope to have a test before the holiday break as well.

Our class is also introducing a new fundraiser to DGJMS called 'We Create Change'. This is a campaign where students are trying to raise money to build schools in areas of the world where education is not a priority. Free the Children is the organization that supports this campaign. Students have taken it upon themselves to spread the word about this cause to other classrooms at DGJMS. Students are asked to bring in any change they have for this campaign. $20 in change is enough for one brick and 500 bricks will build a school. Stay tuned for upcoming fundraisers!