2016-17 7th Grade Schedule
2016-17 8th Grade Schedule
Friday, December 16, 2016
Fusion Communication: December 16
Hi all,
OK - winter is at full throttle - what a difference a year makes! That said, we are rolling along on Fusion. Please be advised that most teachers have assessments early next week, so if your family is leaving early for break please contact us.
Calling or texting home when sick
There have been a couple of times this December when a Fusion student has contacted someone at home through email or by text, stating they (the student) are sick, and want to be picked up. Please note that the school policy for a sick student wanting to go home, they should first go to the nurse’s office and the nurse will contact the family.
If your child does contact you about being sick, please notify the nurse on duty at BRMS before making plans to pick up your child.
Appropriate clothing for recess
As you may have noticed, it’s a bit chilly outside these days. Please make sure your child has the appropriate coat and hat to be outside for up to 50 minutes a day.
Penguin Plunge 2017
BRMS will be kicking off the 2017 Penguin Plunge effort next week. If you, your child are interested, please go online to the link below and register.
Calendar
December 22 - Fun Day celebrations, Penguin Plunge Kick-off
December 23-January 1, 2017 - Holiday Break
January 11 - Two hour delay
January 20 - 8th graders meet with MMU guidance counselors 8-9am (Topic: Transition to high school))
February 8 - Two Hour Delay
Academic Area Update
LA
7th: In preparation for our argument writing unit, students have been participating in debates in class. We have talked about a variety of school related issues (year-round school, school uniforms). Students have been had many opportunities to practice gathering evidence to support a claim. Next we will move into a Research Clubs Unit to prepare students further for writing argument essays.
8th: Students in 8th grade are nearing the end of our Dystopian Book Clubs Unit. We have been practicing the skill of stopping and jotting notes about a text while reading. Students have examined their books in great detail, examining setting and mood, while also identifying dystopian characteristics. The goal is to finish these books before the break and to celebrate with treats and hot chocolate next Thursday morning. If you are interested in sending baked goods to school to share, please email Mrs. Bessette.
Science
7th: As an introduction to learning about heredity, students began to examine physical traits of themselves and their classmates. They compared who has attached earlobes, freckles, hair on their fingers, and other interesting traits. They are currently getting into the details of Mendelian genetics. This will set the stage for their family tree project over break.
Repeat Message from last week: Coming soon, students will create a family tree poster that traces genetic traits and/or traits that are acquired, or learned, over 3 generations. Students have the choice of researching their own family tree, the family of another species, such as a pet, or a famous person's family. The goal is for students to gain experience tracing the lineage of specific traits within a family and to relate this experience to our studies of genetics and inheritance. I know that there can be sensitivity around this type of project for some students and families; my hope is that the options provided allow for every student to have a positive experience with this assignment. Please let me know if you have any particular concerns or suggestions. I plan to introduce the project before the next holiday vacation to give students time over the break to gather photos, images, and information. Thank you.
8th: This week, students explored relationships between gravity and mass and between gravity and distance using an online simulator, while learning how to record and display data using Google Sheets. They are beginning to pull together concepts related to gravity, acceleration, and friction to understand comparisons between objects falling to earth. Next week, we’ll review air resistance and terminal velocity on Monday. They’ll complete a quiz on Tuesday.
SS
7th Grade: Students continued to explore the Five Big Religions of the world through readings, images and a food activity.
PLEASE NOTE: 7th grade students will be bringing in a prepared recipe next week as part of a culminating activity. Check in with your child as to what day they signed up to bring in their food, and to ask what they need to prepare this recipe.
8th Grade: Students continued to explore the Declaration of Independence and started a new movie, The Crossing, about the American Revolution.
Math:
7th: Student finished up the unit, Accentuate the Negative, with a unit test on Thursday. Today we began Stretching and Shrinking. This unit explores the concept of similar figures and scaling figures.
8th CMP: This week we discovered and proved the Pythagorean Theorem (with a little help from Pythagoras. We will spend next week applying the theorem to find the missing sides of right triangles.
8th Algebra: We wrapped up Unit 1B this week with a unit test. We will be studying linear relationships and inequalities in our next unit.
Thanks, and hopefully you are enjoying this very snowy December - several more inches projected for this weekend.
Friday, December 9, 2016
Fusion Communication: December 9
Hi all,
The between break session is in full swing. Make sure your child has the jackets they need to be outside at recess and morning duty - it’s getting cold out there.
Report Cards
All families should have received report cards in the mail this week - if you have not or have a question about something on the report card, please contact the team.
Congratulations Mrs. Brandt
She is the recipient of a $1000 award from Berlin Kia - the money will be used for snacks in the Homework Club, in which several Fusion students participate.
Calendar
December 9 - School Dance (7-9pm; $5 at the door)
December 14 - Two Hour Delay
December 22 - Fun Day celebrations, Penguin Plunge Kick-off
December 23-January 1, 2017 - Holiday Break
January 11 - Two hour delay
January 20 - 8th graders meet with MMU guidance counselors 8-9am (Topic: Transition to high school))
February 8 - Two Hour Delay
Academic Area Update
***Mrs. Bessette was absent on Friday, so she will include updates next week.
Science
7th: The 7th grade will continue to produce several projects during this current unit on genetics and heredity. Please view their mitosis stop-motion videos of mitosis by clicking on their class link: Group C; Group D. This week’s project is to create a model of a segment of DNA using pipe cleaners and beads. Students will also model how the DNA strand separates and duplicates during cell division.
Coming soon, students will create a family tree poster that traces genetic traits and/or traits that are acquired, or learned, over 3 generations. Students have the choice of researching their own family tree, the family of another species, such as a pet, or a famous person's family. The goal is for students to gain experience tracing the lineage of specific traits within a family and to relate this experience to our studies of genetics and inheritance. I know that there can be sensitivity around this type of project for some students and families; my hope is that the options provided allow for every student to have a positive experience with this assignment. Please let me know if you have any particular concerns or suggestions. I plan to introduce the project before the next holiday vacation to give students time over the break to gather photos, images, and information. Thank you.
8th: The 8th grade is in the midst of their force and motion unit. Last week, we reviewed the concept of force, discussed the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces and motion, practiced modeling free-body diagrams, and evaluated the frictional forces of different types of shoes. The concept for this week was acceleration, which set the stage for next week’s exploration of free fall, air resistance, and terminal velocity.
SS
7th Grade: Students have been learning more about the “Big Five Religions” of the world, and are starting the process of comparing them to each other… and to their own life experiences. In addition, students are starting the process of preparing a dish/meal to share with the class in the week before the break. If you have not heard about the dish/meal PLEASE check in with your child about this assignment. No one likes to find out at 7pm on a Sunday night they need to find a source for goat meat or acai juice.
8th Grade: Social Studies film study unit continues as the 8th graders explore the American identity through five films: two Schoolhouse Rocks shorts (“No More Kings”, and “Fireworks”), April Morning, Johnny Tremain and The Crossing. The students have been exploring the promise and inadequacies of the Declaration of Independence this week.
Math:
7th: We are wrapping up Accentuate the Negative and will have a unit assessment on Wednesday of next week. This week we focused on order of operations and used the distributive property to represent expressions in factored and expanded form.
8th CMP: We started a new unit, Looking for Pythagoras, last week. We have been using grid paper to find the area of irregular polygons in order to find the area of diagonally oriented squares. This allowed us to find the side lengths of these squares as the square root of the area of the squares. This is the foundation for proving the Pythagorean theorem.
8th Algebra: We are wrapping up our work on Unit 1B, Solving Equations. We have spent this week extending some of the work we have done over the course of the unit. We will be having the unit assessment on Wednesday of next week.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Fusion Communication: November 18
Hi all,
Whew - we made it! Everyone is ready for some time off. Trimester 1 closed today so the students start fresh after the break. The 7th Grade has a field trip on Friday, December 2 - looking for 8 chaperones (more would be great).
No laptops should be home over the break
As is tradition, laptops should remain at school over the holiday break. Should your child have brought the laptop home, please drop it off at school on Monday or Tuesday or next week.
Movember
A wild success - the beards were full, the boxes for food were fuller, and many a laugh could be heard during the parade Thursday morning. Mr. Pless won the costume contest but Mr. Keblin cleaned up the competition with 112 food items that propelled him to a first place finish - Tom Keblin is the overall 2017 Movember Champion!
Grade 7 Field Trip December 2
The 7th grade will attend the Vermont International Festival. Students will leave school around 11am and return to school by 1:50ish. This a great mid-day field trip to chaperone - self contained, of short duration and interesting. Please let Mr. Pless know if you would like to chaperone.
The trip does not require a fee.
High Interest Reading Material
Thank you - we have received multiple copies - please send more!
Calendar
November 21-25 - Holiday Break (staff development Nov. 21-22)
December 2 - 7th Grade to Vermont International Festival, 11:30am-1:30pm (Going for Certain! Looking for Chaperones!)
December 14 - Two Hour Delay
December 23-January 1, 2017 - Holiday Break
Academic Area Update
LA:
8th: When we return from break students will continue to examine dystopian books and short stories. This work will prepare us for the next writing unit (argument) when we will work together to construct literary essays.
7th: When we return from break students will begin a reading unit geared towards developing research skills. This will feed nicely into our next writing unit (argument) during which, students will be writing research based essays.
Math:
Algebra: This week we focused on solving Multi-Step Equations as well as solving equations using the Distributive Property. We will continue with this equations unit when we return from break with Literal Equations.
8th CMP: We wrapped up the first part of the Thinking with Mathematical Models unit with a summative assessment on Wednesday. When we return from break we will begin the statistics portion of the unit looking at correlations and bivariate data.
7th: This week we wrapped up the addition and subtraction portion of unit and moved on to multiplication of rational numbers. When we return from break, we will continue with multiplication and division.
Science
7th: Students worked very hard this week, finishing their cell models and preparing for the District final assessment for this unit! The models coming in are high caliber! We move on to our Genetics and Heredity unit after the break.
8th: Students continued to explore examples of elastic potential energy. After break, our focus will be on acceleration and free fall.
SS
The major district assessments were completed this week. Week after break, if any students need retakes, they will have that option.
7th Grade: After the break, students will investigate the role of cuisine in traditional national diets, while looking at how globalization is changing these traditional foods. Also, the students will explore belief systems through an investigation of symbols in the world’s major religions.
8th Grade: Social Studies will become film studies as the 8th graders explore the American identity through five films: three Schoolhouse Rocks shorts (“No More Kings”, “Shot Heard Round the World” and “Fireworks”), April Morning, Johnny Tremain and The Crossing. Direct instruction will focus on the first years of the war, the Declaration of Independence and the role of slavery during the conflict.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Fusion Team Communication: November 11
Hi all,
Wow - 11 weeks of school with one more to go. Team is finishing up assessments by Thursday so a great time to check in with your child. Please note - Friday, November 18, will be more of a “fun” day.
7th Grade Laptops home this weekend
Given the upcoming district assessments and assignments in science and social studies, 7th grade students are allowed to bring their laptops home for the weekend (if they already have a computer at home, students were encouraged to leave the laptop at school). Please have your child use the laptop for school projects only.
Movember
For the fifth year in a row, Browns River Middle School staff are participating in the Movember competition. This year there are couple of new twists; instead of collecting money, participants will be collecting food items for the Jericho and Underhill Food Shelf, and the focus is going to be more on everyone's health during this busy time of the year. Mr. Keblin and Mr. Pless are both participating (but really Team Fusion is raising food items for Mr. Keblin). Please ask your child to talk a little bit more of what they know about Movember and the Traditions that Browns River has with this movement. A big influx of food occurred Friday morning - thank you!
High Interest Reading Material
Thank you - we have received multiple copies - please send more!
Calendar
November 17:
- Movember Parade - last day for food items to count towards Movember Contest
- Students submit laptops (no laptops over the break)
November 21-25 - Holiday Break (staff development Nov. 21-22)
December 2 - 7th Grade to Vermont International Festival (Tentative)
December 14 - Two Hour Delay
December 23-January 1, 2017 - Holiday Break
Academic Area Update
LA:
Students in both grades have now completed the process piece (done over time, in class) and on demand assessment (competed in 2 hours, at school) for writing. As I work my way through these assessments, I will be in touch if something glaring comes up. Specific comments on student work will be on the report card.
Students who have questions or seek clarification regarding their process pieces (Investigative Journalism for 8th, Realistic Fiction for 7th) should check in with me once they have received their scores.
This weekend is a great time to sit down with your student to look at schoology. I will be accepting late/ incomplete work until Friday 11/18.
8th
We began looking at themes in short stories this week. We did some work together with the short story “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury. This work will prepare students to analyze theme in longer texts when we begin the reading unit on Dystopian and Fantasy Literature to be launched after the break. Our analysis of themes in literature also dovetails nicely into our next writing unit: Literary Essays.
7th
Next week we will wrap up our work with the novel Tuck Everlasting. Students have been completing comprehension tasks along the way to support our discussions on symbolism and differing perspectives within the story. As a reward for their efforts, we will be watching Disney’s film adaptation of the book at the end of next week. Looking forward, students will be reading a variety of texts on the subject of competitive sports when we return from the break. This reading unit will allow students to sharpen their research skills in preparation for the next writing unit: Research Based Essays.
Math:
Algebra: This week we have been working on solving basic equations, starting with one-step equations and moving through two-step equations into multi-step equations. Next week we will be doing work with more complex multi-step equations and moving into literal equations.
8th CMP: We have wrapped up the major portion of the unit and will be having a unit test next week. We have begun reviewing and will continue to review through Tuesday.
7th: We are well into our unit on integers and have explored adding and subtracting negative and positive values developing rules for what expressions with addition and subtraction will result in a negative, positive, or 0 value.
Science
7th: Early in the week, we reviewed the key similarities and differences between plant and animal cells. Then, we investigated how water flows through plants by explaining the loss of water from vials filled with stalks of celery, and by examining how dye traveled up the celery stalks to the leaves through xylem and veins. We began to study photosynthesis, and will continue with this next week.
Students will be working on creating models of animal and plant cells over the next few days. This is a homework assignment. Your child may need assistance finding random materials around the house to represent cell organelles. It is not necessary to purchase any materials for this project; we viewed several examples in class that are made from paper, cardboard, felt, etc. I have a box of craft supplies I can offer to students who are needing support finding things. Please be aware that the district assessment will take place next Thursday. Please send me an email if your child plans to be absent toward the end of next week.
8th: Students continued to review and analyze examples of potential and kinetic energy. They also conducted an investigation relating the shape of a ski slope to skier speed, using pipe insulation and a marble. know so far about motion, speed, and energy. We revisited the claims-evidence-reasoning format for writing about our learning during investigations. Lastly, students completed a quiz reviewing vocabulary, formulas, and concepts related to motion, potential energy, and kinetic energy.
SS
Obviously, the election was a big focus this week. All students had a lesson about the Electoral College (which came in handy) and took time to review the election results.
List of final assessments this coming week:
- Social Studies 7
- District assessment for “What is Culture?” - due November 17
- Social Studies 8
- Ongoing district assessment for “Causes of the American Revolution” - finished by November 17
Thanks and enjoy the weekend,
Team Fusion
Friday, November 4, 2016
Fusion Team Communication: November 4
Hi all,
Who thought it was a good idea to have Halloween on a Monday? Team Fusion survived. Obviously, there are some big things coming again for next week. Check out below what else is happening for students on Fusion.
Progress Report Emails
Some families have/will be receiving progress updates from teachers. This method is a new way to communicate “progress report” information; if your family does not receive one, the team is seeing your child meeting standard.
Many assessments right now…
Please check in with your child about what is happening… and also check out the curriculum updates below.
Movember
For the fifth year in a row, Browns River Middle School staff are participating in the Movember competition. This year there are couple of new twists; instead of collecting money, participants will be collecting food items for the Jericho and Underhill Food Shelf, and the focus is going to be more on everyone's health during this busy time of the year. Mr. Keblin and Mr. Pless are both participating (but really Team Fusion is raising food items for Mr. Keblin). Please ask your child to talk a little bit more of what they know about Movember and the Traditions that Browns River has with this movement.
High Interest Reading Material
Thank you - we have received multiple copies - please send more!
Calendar
November 6 - Daylight Savings ends; set clocks back one hour.
November 9 - Two Hour Delay
November 21-25 - Holiday Break (staff development Nov. 21-22)
December 2 - 7th Grade to Vermont International Festival (Tentative)
December 14 - Two Hour Delay
December 23-January 1, 2017 - Holiday Break
Academic Area Update
LA:
7th: We are still working our way through the novel, Tuck Everlasting. Students are completing response to text tasks in class. Reading logs will resume in December.
8th: Next week we will be moving into a reading unit. Students will read and analyse several dystopian short stories before we dig into books together. Reading logs will be put on hold until further notice as we examine and respond to texts together in class.
Math:
Algebra: We just wrapped up Unit 1A, Simplifying Expressions, with an end of unit assessment this week. We will beginning a unit on solving equations. This will involve solving linear equations, literal equations, and some simple exponential equations.
8th CMP: We are wrapping up the first portion of our unit, Thinking with Mathematical Models. We will being doing some review work this coming week in order to prepare for a unit assessment towards the end of the week. From here we will be moving on to the statistics portion of the unit, looking at correlation and bivariate data.
7th: We wrapped up the first section in this unit introducing two different models for working with integers. Students developed basic increase or decrease rules for addition and subtraction of integers and modeling this on number lines and using positive and negative chips.
Science
7th: We finished observing our bacteria agar plate and bread mold cultures, and determined which areas of the classroom serve as the greatest, and least, sources of microorganisms! We also learned about how humans benefit by using certain bacteria and fungi in making common foods, such as yoghurt and gorgonzola cheese. Students completed a short quiz on cell organelle vocabulary, and will explore the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration next week. The district assessment will take place right before the Thanksgiving break. Please send me an email if your child plans to be absent toward the end of that week.
8th: We started the week off with a comparison of potential and kinetic energy, then applied these concepts to labs using rubber band shooters and roller coaster simulators! We’ll have a quiz next week, reviewing what we know so far about motion, speed, and energy.
SS
7th: A focus for the week was on the upcoming election. Students selected issues important to them and then developed lists of sources they could use to discuss this issues. Towards the end of the week, the focus was on one issue - gun policy - and the students used class discussions and online programs to discuss the issues important to them.
In addition, Students have started the final assessment. Please check in with your child about which project they are completing for the assessment:
*The assessment is due on November 17 - two weeks away. Let Mr. Pless know if your family is leaving early for the Thanksgiving Holiday break.
8th: Students spent time exploring the last issues important to them with the election. Also, they are starting the assessment with the causes of the American Revolution - it’s called Revolutionary Facebook.
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Montreal Field Trip Information
The team is looking forward to an excellent day in Montreal next Wednesday, October 19. Weather looks good at this point. The exchange is rate is the best it's ever been for this trip. Below, families will find information to help prepare for the trip. PLEASE REMEMBER - this trip is a walking adventure of Montreal. When students leave the bus in the morning, they will not get back on the bus for several hours and be out in the city. Anything a student brings in their backpack, they must carry the entire time.
Weather and Clothing
Weather Forecast for Old Montreal:
Students should not wear shorts on this field trip - even if the weather looks warm, the team will be walking around the city in the morning and the winds will be blowing hard. Plus, inside the museum will be cool. Students should plan to bring:
- a fleece like coat (no winter coats at this point)
- a winter hat or hood
- gloves
Food and Money
*Please do plan on packing your child's foods in a large, insulated lunch box. They will not want to carry it the entire day, and students will not have access to the bus after being dropped off. Anything that can fit comfortably in their backpack would be acceptable.
**DO NOT PACK FRESH FRUIT OR VEGETABLES - these items are prohibited from crossing the border.
***If your student needs a bag lunch, you or they need to contact the team before Tuesday to arrange for that lunch to be ready before the team leaves.
****Rumor has it New England Federal Credit Union in Williston will convert US dollars to Canadian for no additional fee - even non-members can access this opportunity. The Merchant's Bank in Jericho does not carry Canadian money on a regular basis.
Students are encouraged to bring lots of snacks, sandwiches - foods that do not require refrigeration. There will be many opportunities to eat throughout the day, and students don't need to spend money in Canada to eat. That said, Montreal has many affordable food options that students would find appealing. At the current exchange rate, $20 American is the same as $26.50 Canadian - plenty of money for sandwich style lunch and dessert, plus coffee/hot chocolate. Some student groups are planning to have lunch at a restaurant, which is great. They (and you) should be able to see the restaurant's menu online and make a ballpark guess to how much lunch will be. Chaperones reserve the right to say "nope" to student lunch plans if it conflicts with the overall team schedule and appears too expensive for every member of the group. Again, all these plans should be worked out ahead of time by the group members; no surprises.
International Calling and Texting
*The team does not feel your child needs to have phone/text/data service for this field trip. There is a photo component to the trip but most students can use the camera without data.
**Contacting your children: unless you place an international calling plan on your child's phone, it will be VERY expensive for you to reach them, and for them to use their phones. If families need to get ahold of their children, please contact BRMS during school hours and the message will be passed on to Mr. Pless, who will pass it on to the child. After hours will not really matter as the team will be heading home.
All that said... there are options for using phones in Canada:
Verizon International Calling Plans (Travel Pass is probably the best option - $2/day; Mr. Pless has used this option multiple times - it is a great value because all data/calls/texts are the same as the US):
AT&T International Calling Plans (apparently, a call to customer service can get you unlimited texting only for a small daily rate):
Drop-off/Pick-up
Drop-off: A team member will be at the school by 6:15am, so if your child needs to be dropped off early, that can be accommodated. The building should be open by that time. Students should be to school no later than 6:45am; the team leaves no later than 7am.
Pick-up: We never know when we will return from Montreal - depends on the border and traffic. In the past, the team has returned between 6:30-7:30pm. After we get through the American border, your child should be contacting you about what time they should be picked up from BRMS. Students are not allowed to leave until a team teacher has made visual contact with a parent or adult who is driving them home. This procedure also allows teachers to give back the IDs! If your family is planning to have another one drive your child home, the team must have an email or written note confirming this arrangement.
Does your family need any other information? Contact Mr. Pless directly!
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