A Note From The Principal - . .: Happy Chilly November!

November 2014
Main Office
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A note from the principal . . .
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Happy Chilly November!

What a huge swing in our weather we have had this month.
Personally, I enjoyed the 70s and sunshine that spoiled us for so long.
The snow sure makes it beautiful, though, and I know is a welcome
sight to all of you skiers and snowboarders!
The November newsletter is a great time for me
to reflect on what I am thankful for, as I know
many of you do this time of year as well.
A few things I am thankful for:
Family who puts up with me each and
every day (although they dont have much of a choice!)
Friends who know when I need to laugh, cry, or just be myself
Colleagues that push me to be better each day for kids
Colleagues that push themselves to be better each day for kids
A community that supports MRMS even when we want to try
new things, knowing that we want to make this the best place
for students every day
Students who make me smile
continued on next page
Mountain Ridge Middle School

PAGE 2
A note from the principal . . .

continued
Students who are eager to learn and grow, but still want to be
kids
Students who are kind and respectful
Colleagues and students who make sure that no two days are
every boring!
A school that allows me to do what I love to do each and every
day
These are just a handful of things that I truly am thankful for. MRMS is
a very special place, and I am so grateful to be a part of it. I hope that
you and your family take time this holiday season to reflect on what
you are thankful for. It is amazing how this simple act can raise your
spirits and put a smile on your face.
Thank you for being a part of my time at MRMS and truly giving me
something to be thankful for!
Shannon Clarke, Principal

PAGE 3
General Announcements
As the flu and cold season descends upon us please
remember:
the health room does not keep medications such as Tylenol, Benadryl or
cold preparations to dispense to students. However, students at the
secondary level may carry a single dose of this type of medication in their
backpacks. Please note that these medications must be over the counter
and in original packaging.
Lost and Found
Has your child come home without their jacket, or favorite hoodie? How
about that missing lunchbox or cant find that brand new water bottle?
Well, we have lots (and we mean LOTS) of misplaced items at the MRMS
Lost & Found. It is located in the Commons, and they have time to look
through it before school, during lunch and after school. Please remind
them that all items are donated when we go on Winter Break!

PAGE 4
continued
MRMS Library News

Have you heard about the Beauty Invasion Force (a.k.a. the BIF)? Its a
group of students who will be traveling with library staff to locations
within our community. Once there, they will be letting people know
about our MASIV Project and then collecting community members
thoughts regarding beauty. (For details regarding The MASIV Project click
here.) Our first destination is the Highlands Ranch public library where
we will be greeting visitors in the main entryway on Friday, December 5,
from 9 to 10:30 AM. The following Friday we will be visiting residents of
Clare Bridge. At both locations students will be explaining what has been
accomplished thus far regarding The MASIV Project, and then helping
community members create a document that we can add to it. On
Thursday, December 18, the project will be on display in our school
commons from 7:15 to 8:00 AM. Anyone interested in taking a look at
the project is invited to stop by.
Moving
between
December and January?
New address (no change in schools)?
Moving out of boundary / DCSD?
Moving to another city, state or country?
Please contact our Registrar at kathy.sheehan@dcsdk12.org or phone
her at 303-387-1820.
Withdrawal forms must be completed if your student will be

attending another school. This will also help to make a smooth
transition to the new school.
All new addresses will need a new Proof of Residency (warranty

deed or lease agreement) before changes can be made in
Infinite Campus

PAGE 5
continued

PAGE 6
continued

PAGE 7
continued
We have been talking about ways to build resiliency and grit in our
students for several months, and our focus this month is doing this
through service to others.
During our Veterans Day assembly, one of our seventh graders, Madison
Owen from Team 74, kicked off our Support Our Troops campaign by
talking about a visit she had had
with a young girl who had lost her
father. This conversation led her
to create the donation campaign
that produced the results above.
7th Grader, Maddie Owen, Team
74,
taking the microphone
to introduce her project.
Participating in service projects is
an amazing way to help our
students learn resilience. Service
projects expose students to other
peoples perspectives, allow them
to see the fortunes and
misfortunes of others and, most
importantly, help students see
how their efforts can make a
difference for others.
In preparing for the Veterans Day fundraiser, a list of items was emailed
to families and shared with students in RAM classes. Just reviewing the
list was eye-opening for some students: realizing that packets of hot
chocolate mix, lip balm, and Christmas lights would cheer up soldiers in
far away countries really made their own blessings seem that much
greater.
Working to find treats and surprises like a cozy throw, cans of noodle
soup, and big, chunky marshmallows gave them delight, even though they
will never meet the recipients of their generosity. Seeing the donations
pile up in their classrooms and then in the main lobby really helps
students understand they are a part of a larger effort.

PAGE 8
General Announcements continued

Resiliency is fostered when people realize their efforts matter, they are a
part of a larger community, and that community is there to support
members. The community is there for them, too, when they might need
it. Knowing you can count on others to help you out gives you the
strength to keep on trying.
And then there were the boxes!
Just a small sample of the HUNDREDS of boxed decorated in MRMS RAM

classes!
RAM classes were also given boxes to decorate which will be used to ship
the donations to troops. RAM classes participated with gusto! Heartfelt
messages and pictures circle the boxes. Students tried to outdo each
other in being creative and colorful to create packages that will cheer people they will never meet.
Participating in this weeklong effort was amazing. Throughout, we as staff
members were given the opportunity to glimpse into the hearts of our
students and families and to have conversations with students about the
service others were performing. And we were able to keep on helping
students grow their resiliency skills!

PAGE 9
The Counseling Corner

Announcing.B.I.O.N.I.C.
The Counseling Department is proud to support and announce that we
have established a B.I.O.N.I.C. Team at MRMS. BIONIC stands for Believe
It Or Not I Care. Its a student service group that teaches students how to
care for one another. BIONIC was started at Green Mountain HS, over ten
years ago, when the school identified a need for students to know that
others cared. Now BIONIC teams are in schools across Colorado,
throughout the nation and over seas. Now, there is a BIONIC team at
MRMS.
At Mountain Ridge Middle School, we believe that some of the greatest
people in the world walk through our halls every single day. We want to
cheer each other on in our successes and support those experiencing
challenging times. In short, we care. Some news stories today may make
people think that (pre)teens dont care about anyone but themselves. The
students of Mountain Ridge Middle School would like to say, Believe It Or
Not I Care (B.I.O.N.I.C.).
We have three student outreach teams in the B.I.O.N.I.C:
1. The New Student Team. These students reach out to students. The
BIONIC team gives each new student a survival kit and helps new students
navigate through their first week at MRMS.
2. The Sentiments Group cares for students/ staff suffering from an
illness, injury, or a loss. We make cards for students and help students
who are overwhelmed with missing assignments after being out for 1
week or more.
3. The Make your Day group makes cards for those students who might
need a pick me up. They also are involved in bully prevention.
We have a B.I.O.N.I.C. Team Referral Box in the Counseling office where
students can refer another student to receive a card. If you have
questions or want more information about BIONIC, call the counseling
department.

P A G E 10
The Counseling Corner
continued
GOT STRESS??
Here in the counseling office we encounter plenty of students who report
they are feeling stressed out. It is such a common feeling among our
students that we wanted to provide some tips for stress relief.
Ten Stress Relief Tips

Homework, family problems, not enough time, trouble with friends,
these are just a few things that cause stress. These ten tips can help.
Are you too busy? Too many commitments? Being too busy
is a big source of stress.
Have fun while exercising. Take the dog for a walk! It's a
great stress buster.
Get plenty of sleep and drink enough water. You'll be able

to handle stress better when it does come up.
Discuss your concerns with a close friend or family

member. Dont bottle up your feelings.
When stress arises, give yourself a break. A few minutes

away from the problem can help.
Listen to your favorite music!
Breathe deeply slowly in, slowly out. Think of something

pleasant.
Take a bubble bath. Imagine your troubles being washed

down the drain!
Use the fives rule. Look at your hand and on each finger,
ask yourself: Is this problem or stress going to affect me in
5 minutes? 5 hours? 5 day? 5 weeks? 5 years? It helps to
put your problem or stress into perspective.
Ask for help. If you feel like your stress is just too much, tell
a trusted adult! This can be a parent, teacher, or counselor.

P A G E 11
Athletics And Activities

Athletics
Eighth grade girls basketball and 7th/8th grade wrestling are in up and
running. The girls basketball tournament will be Friday, December 5th at
Douglas County High School. The wrestling tournament will be
Wednesday, December 17th , 4pm 8pm, at Mountain Vista High School.
Please come out and support our student athletes.
We have four more seasons and four more opportunities for students to
try something new, or continue to pursue their athletic passion. Seventh
grade girls basketball starts December 8th. Eighth grade boys
basketball starts January 26th. Seventh grade boys basketball starts
March 2. Seventh and 8th grade track starts April 13th.
Activities
Our clubs and activities are still going strong. Thespian troop is working
towards their competition on December 4th. Jazz band, Advanced Choir,
and Womens Choir are still in session and we cant wait for our winter
concerts! We are still trying to generate interest and get enough
students to start a Technology Student Association (TSA) club and
Archery Club.

P A G E 12
Team 7-1
Octobers Students of the Month!
Kaia Dale - Kate Laurent - Chris Sawaged - Davis Helmerich
English/Language Arts
Written by:
Carson Knox, Lucas Rottman, Alison Child, Sarah Hensler,
nd Jackson Vaughn
It was a dark and-- no scratch
that. It was Christmas morning--
no, not that either. For crying out
loud! This narrative is never going
to end! Yes, it will. This semester
in English/Language Arts, were
working on all the aspects of
narrative--dialogue, leads,
elements of fiction, and well,
putting everything we did last
quarter to use. Each of us has been
accessing our creativity and writing our own short story. It can be fiction
or non-fiction, about pirates, royalty, or even a robot apocalypse. After
we got our first draft written, we started perfecting our soon-to-be
masterpieces. For a little inspiration, we were assigned a book project on
either historical or realistic fiction. We had to pick a book, and well get to
choose which project we want to do. The options are a scrapbook page, a
word collage, or a comic strip. Overall, this quarter has been busy, but
fun! Thanks, Mrs. Hepworth!

P A G E 13
Team 7-1
continued
Health
Written by:
Anna Van Hoene, Julia Kirsch, Kristiana Honeker, and Tristan Johnson
Running and games and weight-room, oh my! P.E. has it all! We love P.E.
Health here in pod 71. We have lots of fun playing games such as team
handball, poisonball, and even basketball. Our teacher does a great job
getting us to communicate and collaborate very well.
In Health, we are learning about the six nutrients, which are things that
give us energy. They are carbohydrates, water, fats, vitamins, minerals,
and proteins. Each of them has a special task to keep our body
functioning. We are always discovering new things to help us stay
healthy. With the help of Mr. Lemons, we disprove the prediction that
our generation will become overweight and lazy. We will live long lives!
iLab
Written by:
Kayla Finley, Katie Leichner, Libby Frey, and Kira van Ravensberg
What is iLab? Not a lot of people know. A few students think its a class
where they get to sit in the back of the room playing on their phones, but
most of us think differently. iLab is taking what you like and turning it into
something where you could help others. In iLab we have been working on
an inquiry design project. In this assignment, we are able to choose
something that we are passionate about, and turn it into an extraordinary
product. This is helping us learn through experience. We asked student
Emma Ryan her opinion on the project. She said, I think it is challenging,
but fun! It gives you the freedom of doing something that interests you.
You are not always sitting in class, drooling because you are so bored.
This project has opened our minds to so many thing that could help other
people.
continue on the next page

P A G E 14
Team 7-1
continued
Math
Written by:
Zoe Georgia, Kaitlynn Pfannschmidt, and Casey Ford
When you walk into the math room in pod 71, the first thing you see is
color. Theres Homer Simpson at the entrance to greet you, famous
inspirational quotes, pictures of people who have impacted the world,
and souvenirs from Mrs. Tuccios travels. It really is a great place to learn!
This unit in math, we are focusing on problem solving expressions, solving
inequalities, and comparing integers. Mrs. Tuccio is very positive and
makes math fun!
Science
Written by:
Sarah OSullivan, Maddie Mosley, Hally Aman, and Riley Spotts
Are you ready for 71 Science? Well, get your thinking caps on and get
ready to roll! This quarter with Mr. Beck, we took a journey to the inside
of cells. Now we have become experts on cell organelles, cells, and the
organization of life. We even created a metaphoric cell, and did a gallery
walk to see other students.
We are now learning about cancer cells and what makes up atoms. He
creates padlets for us and lets us do our own research on atoms.
Mr. Beck comes into his classroom with a positive attitude and a day
planned with fun and interesting topics. He always knows what hes
talking about and why hes doing it. He can be serious at times, and other
times he can be fun. He always seems to have a trick up his sleeve.
Although we have learned a lot, there are still many things we need to
learn. We know Mr. Beck can do it!

P A G E 15
Team 7-1
continued
Social Studies
Written by:
Kendall Kessler, Chloe Yets, Allie OBrien, and Lizzy Pluemer
We are well into the beginning of
the second quarter and Social
Studies is going great; we have
begun to dive deeper into our
classroom empire project. To kick
off this project, we were all given a
government to research and
present to the class. After
everyone presented their projects
on each government, it was time to
choose which we would use for our own. We also had to choose which
regions we wanted to settle in. Using our geographical skills, we had a
debate with other students in the class to see which part of the land we
would get. As a pod, every period has started another project to learn
about the Mesopotamian Empire, how it rose and fell, and how that
relates to our own empires. During this process, we will be learning all of
the achievements this empire reached, and what we can do as a period to
keep our own empires from falling.


P A G E 16
Team 7-1
continued
Ms. Roya
Written by:
Jason Gilliss, Michael Walker, and Carter Cingrani
On team 71, there is an abundance of positive, friendly, and enduring

learning staff. Among these people are one of the best, and most
interesting educational assistants the school has ever had, Ms. Roya.
Ms. Roya moved to the United States from Iran in 1989--25 years ago!
She has worked as an educational assistant for team 71 for two years and
plans to keep working for team 71 for many years to come. Ms. Roya
explains, I love working with kids!
Some of Ms. Royas responsibility include entering grades into Infinite
Campus, creating calendar entries, making copies, and correcting papers.
She is a vital part of our team, and we are grateful for all that she does!
Holiday Traditions
Written by:
Kaia Dale, Morgan McDonald, Lauren Cowie, and Kay Foley
Everyone loves this time of year because we all have traditions that make
it special. Have you ever wondered what your teachers favorite holiday
traditions are? Well, we found out for you.

P A G E 17
Team 7-1
continued
Thanksgiving is coming up, and a few teacher on team 71, have some
great turkey day traditions. Mr. Lemons loves eating with his family and
watching football. Mrs. Keller enjoys spending Thanksgiving by
remembering family and eating sweet potatoes with oranges and
marshmallows. Yum!
A few other teachers favor their families Christmas traditions. Each year,
Mr. Beck and his family go up to a national forest, and cut down their own
Christmas tree (with a permit of course). Mrs. Hepworths family has a
tradition of sharing music. After Christmas dinner her family gathers and
each person shares a song of their choice that has some significance to
them. It can be funny, sentimental, or it could just make you want to
dance. Christmas lights are Mrs. Tuccios favorite part of Christmas. Her
neighbors all decorate their houses with lights, and it really makes the
whole block light up and twinkle. Finally, Mr. Digiorgio loves Christmas
decorations and helping underprivileged children get presents.
Its important to remember that every family has different holiday
traditions, some families even celebrate different holidays. Ms. Royas
favorite holiday, for example, is the Persian New Year, or Nowruz. During
the beginning of spring, she visits her family and makes sweets.
Holiday traditions bring families together. We hope that each of you has
an excellent holiday season, celebrating those things that are most
important.
Happy Holidays, from Team 71!

P A G E 18
Team 7-2
Are You Aware?
iLab:
During the 2nd Quarter, Team 72 students are using their iLab time to
explore passions and career interests through two different types of
activities. First, each student is learning how to write good questions
and then conducting two interviews with individuals of their choice. The
first interview is with someone in the MRMS community a
teacher, student, staff member, bus driver, coach, etc. in
order to get a better understanding of how each of our roles
combines to creates our unique community. The second
interview is with someone who shares the students passion
or career interest. For this interview, we are reaching far and
wide through social media, email and other means to connect
with experts who are willing to share their stories. Students
have heard back from a variety of people including the CEO of
a game application development company, a professional
football player, a professional La Crosse player, a chemical
Animal Control officers visit with Megan Lieb engineer, animal control officers, and a well-known author.
and Megan Ott for an interview regarding
We continue to search for potential interviewees. Students
animal abuse.
will complete these interviews by the end of the quarter.
Additionally, students are undertaking projects in their
areas of interest in order to practice and improve their
design thinking skills: communication, collaboration,
creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and resilience.
Each student will complete two (or more) projects by the end
of the quarter. The project must present research on a topic
of the students choice, clearly identify and describe a
problem related to the topic and why we should care about
it, draw conclusions, and propose solutions / actions plans to
address the problem. Students will present these projects in
class and reflect on the experience of challenging themselves
Dr. Cynthia Pierre of British Petroleum discusses on their skills.
Chemical Engineering with Kyle Walters.
By using their passions and interests, students will be more willing to

challenge themselves to improve the skills where they need to make the
most improvement. In order to take these risks, students must be willing
to also risk failure, reflect to learn from the experience and then try again.
In iLab, the inquiry / design-thinking process gives them that opportunity.

P A G E 19
Team 7-2
Are You Aware?
Math:
http://goo.gl/VyB1t1
Algebra is investigating systems of equations. They are modeling real
world situations and using systems to solve.
Math 7 is beginning to investigate algebraic expressions and
equations. They are using algebra tiles to model the math.
Accelerated Math 7 is applying what they know about solving algebraic
equations to allow them to solve algebraic inequalities.
Language Arts:
http://goo.gl/CQuwXk
Houdini as a sandwich? Students had a
great time learning about Harry Houdini
and choosing a topic to explain their
learning. Some students chose to
compare Houdinis character and life
experiences to a sandwich.

P A G E 20
Team 7-2
Are You Aware?
continued
(Some sandwiches would be a challenge to eat, but the students had a

great time explaining why the ingredients fit Houdini and his life!) The
other choices students had for their product were: Houdini in the 21 st
Century where they were to explain how Houdini would use social
media to advertise his act, Houdini as an MRMS Ram these students
explained what classes and sports he would take if he were a student at
our school, and Houdinis strengths and weaknesses. I had a great time
conferencing with each student as he or she worked on the rough draft
of this essay. I found that the majority of students were able to take
aspects of Houdinis character and life and apply these to their prompt
giving relevant examples from the video and articles. Students turned in
the final copy of this essay on Friday, November 14th.
http://goo.gl/8hLzHc
Whats next for our class? Short stories! Students began to read short
stories from multiple genres and will write a summary using the template
provided on my homework page. We will be working on these in class
and should be done by next week.
STEMS! Students received the third STEM worksheet last week. The
STEM test will be Monday, November 24th or Tuesday, November 24th
depending on the core.
Science:
http://goo.gl/6K6Zbh
We are currently starting our study
of "life" and "cells".

P A G E 21
Team 7-2
Are You Aware?
continued
Coming Soon! Frog dissection!

http://goo.gl/Z8Lev1
Social Studies:
http://goo.gl/aJ6BHc
Our class is studying the affect that physical geography has on ancient
civilizations. They will evaluate factors that sustain and destroy
governmental systems. The enduring understanding is that students
understand where they live determines how they live.
Health:
http://goo.gl/3j5Fc8
Students are working on the
six nutrients in a group of
three. Their task is to present
a project on nutrients that
will help 2nd graders
understand why nutrients are
very important in keeping
your body healthy.

P A G E 22
Team 7-4
Still in contention for being one of the top 6 Teams at MRMS!
Two years running.
to our Change Agents of the month for November.

This month Team 74 would like to recognize two individuals as
Co-Change Agents for the Month of November.
Congratulations to Madi Owen, and Julia Buntin!

Madi Owen (left), approached our
administration before Veterans Day,
and asked to get a school wide
project to help all of the current men
and women serving in uniform, as
well as families who have lost a
member in the service. The entire
school collected food and other items
to send in care packages to men and
women serving away from home. The
mailing boxes were decorated by
MRMS RAM classes and will be filled
and sent to all branches of the armed
forces. The boxes are often used to
make products and auctioned off to
raise money for the families of fallen
armed services men and women. Madi actually spoke to the entire
student body at our Veterans Day Assembly, and showed everyone how
one individual can truly make a positive difference in the world at large.

P A G E 23
Team 7-4
continued
Julia Buntin (right), went to our

Student Council sponsor, Ms. Moore,
and asked if the student council would
sponsor a Hat Day to help raise
funds for Diabetes Research. During
our spirit week, one of the days was
set as Hat Day. Students (and
teachers) who brought in one dollar
were allowed to wear hats all day. The
Student Council raised close to $300
in the course of one day. Julia
exemplifies what being a change
agent is all about every day on our
team, and we were so proud that she
was able to get the school involved in
something she is passionate about. Once again, it proves that individuals
can help change their world for the better.
We would also like to recognize Ainsleigh Hill, Rachel Gregoire, and Liam
McChesney for the creative and fun opportunity they have brought to
our team by offering our students the chance to participate in a team
musical production of Frozen! Tryouts and rehearsals are taking place in
our pod during access time. We are looking forward to the presentation
of the final production on December 17th!
Dates to remember:
Friday December 5th- Road Rally
Thursday December 17th- International Food Day
Winter Break December 18th - January 4th Kids return Monday January 5th

P A G E 24
Team 8-1
Team - We have a busy second quarter ahead of us. This month we have
scheduled a career fair as well as a mini-Interdisciplinary unit on energy.
We still will manage to share a turkey leg sometime in there as well.
Science - We have been working on our egg-drop projects. This is the

culminating project for the Force and Motion unit we just finished. 8-1
students have been doing a lot of testing but on November 10th and 11th
they will actually drop their devices with an egg enclosed. We are all
really excited to see how our contraptions perform. After their device has
been dropped they will complete a description where they have to state
how Newtons Laws of Motion were demonstrated and how the different
forces affected the motion of their device. We will be moving on to waves
next.
Math 8 - The collaborative math video responses turned out great!

Students used Educreations to make a short video in response to a world
wide math challenge. Students from around the world could comment on
their videos and our students could also give feedback, too. The challenge
allowed students to solve the problem any way that they chose, but those
who could write an equation found the process much easier! Right now in
class, we are seeing the value of writing equations and using them instead
of guess and check to solve complex problems. In Algebra, we are
extending this same idea with systems of equations.
Language Arts - We have just finished the non-fiction book Black Gold.
It is about the history of oil in our lives. Students will be looking at
products that they use every day, and will be writing letters to businesses
about improving ideas for the use of fossil fuels. We will then be engaging
in an interdisciplinary unit with all subject areas. The idea is that coal no
longer exists. They will be given a renewable energy source. As a group
they have to decide where and how to build it to impact the most people
possible. After they have researched and prepared, they will face the
Shark Tank looking for investors for their idea. We are excited to see
the business plans, the financial reports, and environmental and health
impacts this could have on our nation.

P A G E 25
Team 8-1
Stem - Level 1 is coming to a close. Students will now be taking it up a
notch in level 2. They have chosen two areas to work in from energy,
programming, and robotics. In energy, they will be learning about circuits
and how energy transfers through wind and solar. In programming, they
will be designing a basic 3D models to create in a 3D printer. In robotics,
students will be learning how to add sensors to their robots to do
advanced programs.
Health/PE - In Health, we have been exploring the influence media has on

the violence in society. Movies, video games and music have a strong
impact on how we think, talk and act. Does it really affect us to do violent
things? These are the conversations we are having. Violence prevention
gives us the opportunity to think and reflect on what our personal
responsibility is how we treat other people. In PE, we will be
concentrating on squad collaboration and basketball skills and drills. Get
ready to Lopes Up!
US History - Creating a Constitution is hard work! We have moved on to

our Bill of Rights. Students will be looking at the constitutionality of
events. They will take on the role of a Supreme Court Justice to issue
his/her opinion. Do not be surprised to find your student wearing a black
robe and singing, Here come the judge.
Have A

P A G E 26
Team 8-3
We have been so busy this month in all of our classes. The field trip to the
zoo was very exciting and full of great learning opportunities. Ask your
child about the gasifier that they built and what they did with it during the
field trip. Field trips seemed to be plentiful this month, with another to
the career fair in Castle Rock. That trip was definitely cold, but the
students enjoyed being able to learn about new opportunities and begin
to consider the future. Believe it or not, high school is approaching
quickly!
Classroom Updates:
Math
Math 8 students have been focused on transformations, which will

be wrapped up right before Thanksgiving. When we return, our
new unit will be triangles and angles.
Algebra students quickly worked with Systems of Equations to
learn all of the different ways we can solve them. This will also be
completed right before Thanksgiving. Our next unit will focus on
slopes of lines and the special qualities of parallel and
perpendicular lines.
Geometry has been working through triangle congruence and how
to set up and create geometric proofs. Once we finish this unit,
we will delve deeper into triangles and their properties.
LA - We just finished studying rhetoric (ethos, pathos, and logos) and

creating our argumentative essays. Next, we are reading the nonfiction
book Black Gold which students are using in both their science and social
studies classes. They will be creating mind maps as their final assessment.
All will be used in the culminating ID unit before winter break.

P A G E 27
Team 8-3 continued

Social Studies - Currently, we are studying the Constitution and preparing
for our law school competition. The purpose of this activity is to provide a
real world experience with the Constitution and make it more relevant to
the students.
PE/ Health - The students will be finishing up the violence prevention unit
over the next couple of weeks.
Stem - Change is happening in STEM right now. Monday, November 17 is
the first day of the new rotations.
Fall Festival
This day is such an amazingly fun day for our team. We celebrate all of
the hard work of the past 4 months with dance lessons, a pod talent
show, and a feast. Thanks to the help of our parents and families with this
day. We couldnt do it with all of the volunteers. Tuesday, November 25,
is the big day and we welcome family members to join us. Watching

P A G E 28
Team 8-4 News

All The News Thats Swagworthy!
Buying Cars? Renting an apartment? Making and keeping a budget?
Choosing a career? What do all of these have in common? For an 8th
grader--or 8th grade parent--these answers to these questions may seem
far away or out of place.
The answers are very far away, but in reality, the path is already at our
feet. Each day, students are working on who they want to be and what
they want to do in high school and beyond. On Team 84, students will
begin to walk this path with the 8th Grade Career Expo early in
November, and they will continue to explore these questions and more
with our trip to Junior Achievement Finance Park later this month. They
have already begun to explore their Naviance accounts which will follow
them through high school and be useful in college planning,
recommendations, and scheduling. In January, many of these initial steps
along the path to high school and beyond will come together as we start
the process for high school registration.
Here our are students thoughts on the DCSD Career Expo:
Name: Daniel S.
What did you visit?
I visited the Denver Center for Performing Arts, the Game Design portion
of ACC, Colorado Film School, Douglas County Library, Colorado Culinary
Academy, and Johnson and Wales College
What did you take away from the Career Expo? How did it affect or
change your thinking? What are you wondering? What advice would you
give to the planners of this Expo for future 8th graders?
I took away the fact that the restaurant business isnt very successful. It
changed my thinking about the colleges I should go to. It also made me
wonder more about acting in general.
Name: Julia V.
What did you visit?
I visited the Colorado Film School, ACC game design, the Rocky Mountain
Regional Forensics Lab, and the Tech part of Douglas county schools.

P A G E 29
Team 8-4 News
continued
What I took away from this is that it is hard to make it in the real world.
But, even the jobs I hadnt seen before seemed to have really good parts
to them that would make them good jobs to have. The only advice I
would give is quality over quantity. Try to get as much info as possible
about the jobs you really think you want to have in the future. Also be
sure to look at some of the schools that you could try to get into.
Name: Macie S.
What did you visit?
I visited the Kaiser Permanente, CU Denver, and Sky Ridge Medical
What I took from the career expo was that life isnt just about just the job
but the preparation. That no matter how young we are, we can always
have opportunity to achieve great things and plan great things for
ourselves. We have a lot of schooling to do great things, and even though
I dont like math and science very much, they are very,very important.
I think that everything is fine the way it is. It affected me and made me
think of things in a different way. Now Im wondering how I can really
prepare myself for my future job. One thing that would change, was the
time amount. I think we did get a taste of adult life, but I think we
shouldve been there with less people and more time.

P A G E 30
Team 8-4 News
continued
Name: Andrea C.
What did you visit?
I visited the Douglas County Open Space and Natural Resources booth,
the Douglas County Sheriff booth, and the Johnson and Wales University
booth.
It really got me thinking about what kind of job I will want to have in the
future. Before this, I had no idea whatsoever, but now I am starting to be
interested in a few things. Also, there are lots of classes and activities that
you can do to help prepare for a job you might like. By doing some of
these, it could help you get a start with looking into a certain career. One
more thing that I took away from the Career Expo is that a lot of jobs
have many different jobs within them. For example, at the Douglas
County Sheriff booth, the guy told me that a few of the jobs you could
have could be to investigate or be on patrol. Before I talked to him, I just
kind of thought of a sheriff as someone who drove around in a police car.
Something that I would tell future 8th graders is that they should not just
go to the booths that have to do with their Naviance results, but also the
booths that they are interested in. Yes, I think you should still go to the
ones from your results, but I think that you should also look into the
things that you are interested. Be open to new ideas as well. You dont
have to look at just one the whole time.

P A G E 31
Team 8-4 News
continued
Name: Riley O.
What did you visit?
I visited the Denver Center of Performing Arts, Film School, and the
Marine Corps
The whole Expo really made me think about how important it is to have a
plan, or at least an idea, for your future. Being at the Expo made me
consider other jobs that I never thought about, but discovered I would
like to do. Being at the whole facility, let me explore all other types of job
opportunities that would be good to start thinking about. It was nice to
be able to see people who actually care about what I want to do. I
wonder about what other possible jobs the Expo could have had, and this
goes along with what advice I can give to the next planners: maybe
include more variety. I know that I really wanted a music booth, and I also
really wanted a writing only booth. I think that by maybe adding more
variety of one certain job. Maybe have more jobs branching off from one
specific field.

P A G E 32
Electives - Multimedia
MULTIMEDIA AND 21 RIDGE STREET UPDATE

Well, the filming of 21 Ridge Street isnt going as planned, which I
suppose, is common for a movie production. We are having to schedule
around actor schedules (both teacher and student), (and as we found out
the first day of filming) weather changes, location issues, equipment
probl-ms, and my schedule as well. SO, we are way behind where we
wanted to be at this time. As a matter of fact, we have only filmed one of
31 scenes, and we might have to redo that one. J
So, those of you with students involved with the production- thank you so
much for your support in our constant schedule change. I know that it will
take a lot of patience and understanding (because it does for me too) until
we get through the production stage. As of now, we are looking at
filming mostly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 3-4:30. We may
need to schedule some times later in the day, or on an occassional
Saturday. Students involved, have access to our Location Schedule and
should be checking that, and their emails, consistently for changes.
In the meantime, Multimedia II has been working on learning after
effects, lighting, editing a video for the counseling department, filming
and editing a green screen shot for the Aladdin video, and has been
continuing to work on learning the equipment for production and
broadcasting.
Multimedia I, has just finished their first of two, month-long, five minute
videos. Students have shown great understanding in what it takes to
make a movie, and connect to an audience through emotion. Their next
movie will improve on those techniques.

P A G E 33
World Languages
Bonjour from French class! We are
moving along in our learning and
approaching December with a great
activity that I wanted to share. Students
in both 1A and 1B will be creating a
digital story using all of the their new
vocabulary. We will be working on these
stories in class the second week of
December and presenting our stories in
class before winter break. Make sure to
take a peek at your students WL
Portfolio to see the latest performance assessments.
Hola! from Spanish class! Students in 1B are busy working on learning
family vocabulary along with adjectives to describe members of their own
family. In 1A class, students are learning how to tell time and talk about
their schedules.
World Cultures class is comparing family and friendship norms in our
country, as well as other countries of the world. Great topics of
conversation for the dinner table whether your student is in French,
Spanish or World Cultures.
We wanted to share an interesting article posted on our VHL online
textbook site that distinguishes between fluency and functionality of a
language. Check it out on the next page:

P A G E 34
World Languages
continued
The Rise of the Polyglots

Melanie Ho is a writer living in Hong
Kong. She reviews for the Asian Review
of Books.
Like many other kids in Ottawa, Canada, I started learning a second language at age 4, when I was enrolled in
French immersion school. I studied
French throughout school and learned
Italian during a semester abroad.
Speaking Italian has been fruitful for me, even in Hong Kong where I live
now. Job opportunities have arisen because I have an understanding of
and an interest in Italy and Italians.
Maybe you don't need to be 'fluent' in multiple languages, but life might
be more interesting if you were proficient in more than one.
While I never learned Chinese growing up which some might argue
would be most useful in my current situation Ive started studying
both Cantonese and Mandarin.
People often talk about the practical upsides to learning a second (a
third, a fourth) language, like employability in this global economy. But
learning a new tongue is important beyond that. A foreign language
helps with the understanding of ones native language. The process of
learning to communicate in a foreign language often forces us to learn
how to listen. Language provides insight into another way of thinking,
another mind-set.
This is not to say that everyone must be fluent in multiple languages, just
as not everyone is fluent in statistics. There is a difference between
functionality and fluency; it may be enough to be proficient.
And although English is common around the world, it is far from universal. A little while ago I asked a friend of mine from mainland China an
affluent person who moved to Hong Kong a year ago if she would be
interested in helping me with my Chinese, and in return I would teach
her English. She said she would help me, but replied that she had no interest in learning English. If someone wanted to speak with her, she said,
they could learn Chinese.

P A G E 35
Mountain Ridge Salutes Our Veterans
There was no shortage of patriotism at Mountain Ridge on Veterans Day,

Tuesday, November 11th. One thousand fifty students packed the
commons to pay tribute to all veterans, including some very special
members of the staff. The celebration began with the Star Spangled
Banner sung by the MRMS choir, directed by Lucas Reeves.
Members of the MRMS staff who had
previously served in the armed services,
spoke to the students about, what it
means to be a vet. There wasnt a
student in the audience that wasnt
impacted by their words.
Those honored during the assembly were:
Cory Steiner-Building Engineer
Vance Fleet-School Resource Officer
Pete Mazula-Security
Bo Johnson-Science-Team 81
Mike Hill-STEM-Team 81
Zach Hess-Assistant Principal

A Note From The Principal - . .: Happy Chilly November!

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November 2014

A note from the principal . . .

Happy Chilly November!

Mountain Ridge Middle School

A note from the principal . . .

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Lost and Found

Mountain Ridge Middle School

MRMS Library News

Withdrawal forms must be completed if your student will be

All new addresses will need a new Proof of Residency (warranty

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Mountain Ridge Middle School

continued on next page

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Mountain Ridge Middle School

General Announcements continued

Just a small sample of the HUNDREDS of boxed decorated in MRMS RAM

Mountain Ridge Middle School

The Counseling Corner

Mountain Ridge Middle School

The Counseling Corner

Ten Stress Relief Tips

Get plenty of sleep and drink enough water. You'll be able

Discuss your concerns with a close friend or family

When stress arises, give yourself a break. A few minutes

Listen to your favorite music!

Breathe deeply slowly in, slowly out. Think of something

Take a bubble bath. Imagine your troubles being washed

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Athletics And Activities

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Kaia Dale - Kate Laurent - Chris Sawaged - Davis Helmerich

continued on next page

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Mountain Ridge Middle School

Mountain Ridge Middle School

keep our own empires from falling.

Mountain Ridge Middle School

On team 71, there is an abundance of positive, friendly, and enduring

continue on the next page

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Happy Holidays, from Team 71!

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Are You Aware?

By using their passions and interests, students will be more willing to

continue on the next page

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Are You Aware?

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Are You Aware?

(Some sandwiches would be a challenge to eat, but the students had a

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Are You Aware?

Coming Soon! Frog dissection!

Mountain Ridge Middle School

to our Change Agents of the month for November.

Congratulations to Madi Owen, and Julia Buntin!

continue on the next page

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Julia Buntin (right), went to our

Mountain Ridge Middle School

Science - We have been working on our egg-drop projects. This is the