Text Box: Currently, the eighth-grade science classes are studying the human circulatory and respiratory systems. Parts of the unit include learning about the four chambers of the heart, and how various activities affect heart rate. Students have been diagramming the heart, and monitoring heart rates as well as respiratory functions. In addition, students are getting ready to take the first-ever CMT science exam. Hillside’s seventh grade science classes are engaged in learning about force and motion. Students are learning about how speed, acceleration, velocity, and forces and motion influence their everyday lives. Some topics being studied are: What Text Box: of a second language. Gone are the days of strictly following the foreign language text. Although this has always been an effective way of teaching foreign language, the material can come across as dry. We are now able to take advantage of series of interactive vocabulary and grammatical practice activities as well as various cultural sites which enhance learning by exposing students to an up-to-date combination of photographs, interviews, games and other educational activities meant to reinforce Text Box: The study of foreign language has been a part of the middle school curriculum for decades. Students who qualify for Spanish have approached the subject matter in a methodical and organized way. Although the material has always been supplemented with creative and thought-provoking activities, it has not been a daily part of the routine until now. The addition of a Smart Board to the Spanish classroom has added an exciting new dimension to the learning Text Box: the learning that has taken place. The entire class can participate in interactive exercises while practicing their newly-acquired skills. In addition, there are various Internet sites providing timely information on various components of each chapter in the text. Text Box: Stress Management Diet and Exercise as well as Drug and Alcohol Abuse are explored. The 8th graders in the Family & Consumer Sciences classes are creating nutritional brochures. The topics covered in the brochure will be the Food Guide Pyramid, benefits of healthy eating, as well as the problems stemming from poor eating habits. The FCS teacher is also in the process of creating a home page with this and much more valuable information. Technology Education continues to work on CADD, CAM and robotic activities with the students. The highlight for most Text Box: students comes in 8th grade as they complete the construction of their CO2 cars. The big race take place on April 9th. Students in the 7th grade general music are working on their commercial projects. They are looking forward to presenting their commercials along with information about Beethoven, Barber, Copland, and Vivaldi. The eighth-grade general music students are composing their 12-bar blues songs. They will share their pieces in small class recitals on April 3rd.

UNIFIED ARTS ARENA
Text Box: The Hillside Middle School Art Program concentrates on the student’s use and understanding of how the elements of design are manipulated to create 2-D or 3-D art works that display unified composition with applied principles of art. Seventh and eighth grade students explore the understanding and application of a variety of media, technique, and artistic assessments while touching upon historical and cultural connections between art and other areas. The health teachers are continuing to cover various topics to promote healthy minds and bodies. Topics such as Decision Making,

Volume XX, Issue IV
Text Box: LIVING IN THE “PHYSICAL “ WORLD

FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS
Text Box: ! Text Box: happens when a vehicle travels at a certain speed, starting at a certain point? What is net force? When is the net forced balanced or unbalanced? In addition to the units of study mentioned above, both seventh and eighth graders have been working throughout the year on answering open-ended questions and making direct-science connections to their lives. CMT preparation and curriculum instruction have been enriched through inquiry based learning strategies and classroom demonstrations. Students have been engaged in a variety of physical and chemical demonstrations ranging from how friction Text Box: affects something as simple as a pencil to the properties of dry ice and more recently how magnesium works for the military and for their sparklers on the Fourth of July. In the future students will be exploring space and the concepts of gravity. The science department is proud of our student’s accomplishments . It is our hope that we can continue to present our curriculum in a way that is both pertinent and interesting . This is necessary for enduring understanding.