WGOM: Field Trips for 6th and 8th Graders

Our sixth graders recently took a trip to a dairy farm to see what life is like for the farmers and the cows. They were able to ask questions and tour each area of the farm. Each group, over the Wednesday and Thursday, were able to witness the birth of at least one calf, as well as the milking room, and each area where different groups of cows or calves are housed. Students gained a lot of knowledge of the current unit of our biotechnology curriculum (Global Food Chain) as well as an understanding of the work that goes into running a farming business.





Ms. Kidman and her eighth grade Spanish class also took a day trip to Chicago. While there, they were able to receive a lesson in salsa dancing, visit a pastry and candy store, and tour the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Q&A: Uglies in the Curriculum

How has The Uglies helped to reinforce the biotechnology curriculum?

Mr. Koch's 7th Grade Science class completed their final project for Unit 1: Technological Innovations by designing several of the technologies available to the characters in The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Students were graded on several different aspects of the project, including the amount of detail, the quality, the color, and the labels they used in order to describe their technology and how it worked. Please be sure to check out the sample of projects!

This is a list of items and the page numbers where they were described in the book:

Technology Tuesday: MS PowerPoint

Technology Tuesday recap for our session on using MS PowerPoint:



There is also a PowerPoint brochure viewable via Acrobat Reader that offers step-by-step instructions on how to do many of the things discussed during our Tech Tuesday session.

WGOM: Career Day and fun!

Wednesday, November 12 was Career Day at Milwood Magnet School. Guest speakers came to the school to talk to eighth grade students about their professions and the education that was required in order to be successful in their given professions. Speakers included:

Tim Terrentine, Community Services
Cyndi Trobeck, Bank Manager
Ervin Armstrong, Goal Setting
Tisha Yance and Shannon Coleman, Kellogg Manufacturing
Douglas Davidson, WMU Professor
Stacey Allison and Cynthia Weessies, Nurses
Joy Bailey and JoAnn Muncy, AntiRacism Organizers
Jerry Paul from Kalamazoo Air Zoo, Aviator
Delores Rawling, Nurse

Students on both eighth grade teams were able to receive presentations from four speakers.



And just for fun, Ms. Kidman's 6th grade Spanish Class sings the days of the week:

How to: Student login and network storage

Attention Milwood students!

The computers and computer network at every school in the Kalamazoo Public School district is protected by network software. In order to use the computers and computer network, students are now required to login to the workstation before having access to it. Logging in not only provides you access to the computers functions, but also the functions of the network. Each student login account is created with storage space on the network servers.

At the beginning of the year, every student received a letter that included information about their username and password.

When you turn on a computer at Milwood, the first thing you see will be the Novell login screen. This is where you will enter your username and password every time
you wish to use the computers. The first time you login, you will be notified that your password has expired and asked if you want to change it. Click "Yes" and choose a password that is at least five characters long, preferably a combination of letters and numbers. You will be prompted every forty days thereafter to change your password.

DO NOT SHARE YOUR PASSWORD WITH ANYONE!

When you are logged on to the KPS network, you will have additional drive letters available to your computer, most notably, the H: drive. This drive is your "home" on the server. You are the only student with access to it, and it is backed up every night. This drive is limited to 150 MB per student and is intended for homework and school-related projects only. KPS Technology Services will delete, without notice, any files not related to school work found on your H: drive.

WGOM: Magnet Fair & More

Saturday was the Kalamazoo Public Schools Magnet Fair, where all KPS Magnet Schools gathered to provide information to interested students and families. Milwood Magnet School provided a full stock of technology available to students, featuring the 2Know! Classroom Response System, a Nintendo Wii with the Wii Fit, science experiments, a Make-And-Take Inheritance Bracelet, and a audio stream of The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.



Previous to the Magnet Fair, Milwood Magnet School staff and students participated in the Kalamazoo Holiday Parade, along with the Milwood Magnet School Drum Line, who played cadences along with the Loy Norrix High School Marching Band, who preceded the MMS group in the parade. It was cold, with temperatures in the mid-30's to low-40's and mixtures of rain, snow, and sunshine, but everyone had a great time.

Q&A: Unit 1 of Biotechnology Curriculum, Technological Innovations

Unit 1 of the Biotechnology Curriculum at Milwood Magnet School focuses on Technological Innovations. Each core area has essential questions to help guide lesson plans to focus on curriculum content.

Questions for Unit 1 include:

Grade 6
Math: How do technological innovations affect the efficient use of our resources?
Social Studies: How do we understand our place in the world?
ELA: How does our changing world affect your life?
Science: How does research and technology improve society?

Grade 7
Math: How have technological innovations affected the society in which you live?
Social Studies: How do we understand other cultures' place in the world?
ELA: How does interacting with others help construct meaning and promote innovation?
Science: How does research and technology improve our quality of life?

Grade 8
Math: How has technology changed the movement of people?
Social Studies: How do we understand our country's place in the world?
ELA: How do interactions with others help you contribute to society?
Science: How does research and technology improve our understanding of the world?

Students complete assignments and projects based on the curriculum. One example is in seventh grade science, students experimented with calcium chloride (CaCl) to see if it could have been what was used to heat "Spagbol" in The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, which Milwood Magnet is using as the all-school read this school year to reinforce the Biotechnology theme. Students used different amounts in water (H2O) and measured the temperature change. Their response: "The more chemical we added, the hotter the water got. So it could have been used to heat the 'Spagbol'."

As we begin to wrap up the first unit, more completed projects will be featured from Unit 1.

Tech Tuesday: Digital Media & Content

Do you have a digital camera or one of the newer Flip Mino cameras and would like to know how to use it? Check out this short video about how to transfer digital content to your PC from digital media such as a digital camera or a digital video recorder.

If you're interested in the presentation, you can view it without the voice-over:

Here are a few images to help you navigate around Picasa and Windows Movie Maker, which are both programs we discuss in the lesson:

WGOM: Spirit Week and Science Lab!

Last week was School Spirit Week at Milwood. We love teaching students a sense of community and participation through fun events like this. Spirit week included:

Monday: Pajama Day

Tuesday: Mis-match Day

Wednesday: Professional Dress Day

Thursday: 80's Day

Friday: School Colors Spirit Day

Both students and staff were invited to participate and everyone who was able to had a wonderful time!

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Mr. Koch's Science Classes were in the lab this week learning weights and measurements, using both standard and digital scales in order to help reinforce our current unit on technological innovations.