Dear Wonderful Families,

Class Donations
From now until the end of the year, our class will be going through a lot of tissues. Our
class currently needs: tissues, hand sanitizer, and wipes (not clorox wipes)

Western Sierra Collegiate Academy

It's that time of the year to start considering what Middle School will be the best for your
child. In case you missed the WSCA informational night, here are some interesting facts
from the presentation:

Seventh Grade Classes:

● History
● English
● Math
● Science
● Intro to Spanish and Intro to Mandarin
● Elective Classes:
○ Creative Writing, PE, Visual Arts: Band, Choir, and Theater Arts

Academic Design
● Middle school classes designed to prepare for advanced placement classes
● AP Course begin in 10th grade
● Four AP courses are required for high school graduation
● Graduates earn a UC a-g diploma making them eligible to apply for all four year
universities in the country

How to Apply
WSCA accepts Turnstone and Meyers students first.
1. Submit an online SchoolMint application during the lottery application
period. This will allow us to track all students interested in attending
Western Sierra. Applications can be submitted in SchoolMint starting at
 8:00 a.m. January 22, 2018 through 11:00 p.m. February 28, 2018. Admission
offers will be extended to “continuing students” first, followed by all other
applicants ranked in the 2018-19 lottery.
1. Complete a registration packet in SchoolMint in March to confirm enrollment
at Western Sierra for the 2018-19 school year.
2. For additional enrollment and application questions, please visit this page.

Units of Study
Language Arts
For the rest of the unit, students will work on the following skills:
● Context Clues: Students will be able to define unfamiliar words based on synonym, antonym,
example, and explanation context clues.
● Figurative Language: Students will be able to analyze the poems. They will analyze the
structure and figurative language. They will demonstrate their learning by putting the poems
into their own words.
● Tone and Mood: Students will be able to analyze how an author develops tone. Students will
be able to use precise language to create tone in their own writing.
● Argumentative Writing:
○ Students will conduct a research project.
○ Students will make a claim and add details from their research to support their claim.
○ Students will give credit to the author by citing correctly and creating a bibliography.

Social Studies - Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush

Students will be learning about the agricultural techniques, architecture, religions, social and political
order, and the development of language during some of the earliest civilizations: Mesopotamia
(Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria), Egypt, and Kush.

I am looking for parent volunteers, January 26th, for a hands-on lesson about Egypt.
Email if you are interested: mpeters@rocklinacademy.org
Science- The Ocean
Students will be learning about how the ocean moves. The ocean moves because of unequal heating
(in water and the atmosphere), salinity (density), and gravity. Throughout this unit, they will need to
explain how the ocean moves and demonstrate different currents in the ocean.

MS-ESS2-6 Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause
patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.

Art Docent!
 Volunteers Needed
Science: I am looking for parent volunteers who would like to help run stations for Science Labs throughout the
year. There are a few labs per unit, and we generally have the labs at the end of the day on Mondays and
Wednesdays. Please email if you are interested.
Weekly Volunteers: During conference week, plenty of parents mentioned they would like to start
volunteering in the classroom because their schedules are changing. If you are interested in being a weekly
volunteer on any of these days, please email me:
● Thursday, from 12:00-12:45: Work in small groups and monitor the class on Thursdays
● Fridays, from 12:00-12:45: Help with grading while the students are at P.E.
● Fridays, from 2:10-3:10: Either- grade while students are at the Eagle Rally, monitor during Fun Friday,
or help with Art Docent

Important Dates
Jan 15th- No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February 5th- No School
February 19-23rd- No School- Presidents Week
March 2nd- End of Trimester 2

Sincerely,
Mrs. Peters