Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Fusion Communication: March 22, 2017


Hi all,
So much for the Spring. We can’t check on the groundhog - it’s under 3 feet of snow.  Well, some things are a bit more predictable - school is back in session and Fusion continues moving forward. See below for updates and upcoming events.

8th Grade Only: Career Unit
Career unit is in full swing - about half of 8th grade students have completed their career shadows.  Please check in with Mr. Pless if you feel your child will need support for the career unit. Job shadows should have been completed by this Friday.

Reminder from Nurse’s Office:
Please know that if your child texts, emails or calls you from school due to illness or injury,  it should be from the Health Office. The protocol is that if a child is not feeling well or is injured, he/she is sent to the Health Office. We, with your student,  will decide  if a call home to a parent/guardian is warranted. Please ask your student  if she/he has been to see the nurse first if there is a request to be picked up. Thank-you for your help on this important matter.



Calendar
February 24 - close of Trimester 2 report card
February 25 - March 6: Winter Break
March 17 - ½ student day/Parent Conference Day
April 11 - 8th Grade Career Presentations during school hours
April 12 - Delayed Start
April 13 - 8th Grade Career Fair 5:30-6:30pm in Vivace Team Area (all team students are welcome): 8th graders are not required to attend but receive extra credit for doing so.  All posters, artifacts and interactives should be present for fair.
April 24 - 28: April Break - no school
May 16 - Delayed Start


Spectrum Sleepout
Happening this Thursday Night!  Let Mr. Martin know if your child is interested or you wish to make a donation.

Curriculum Updates
LA
7th - We will be watching the movie Holes in class on Monday to celebrate finishing our class novel. Next up -- Companion Books. During our information writing unit students will create Companion Books or guide books to accompany a familiar text. Students are able to use the class novel, Holes to write this paper OR they may choose to revisit an old favorite book. The challenge option is to select and read a new book (students choosing this options should have already started the book and aim to complete it by the end of next week).

8th - We will be wrapping up our class novel, Holes the next week or so. Up next -- Position Papers. We will be examining a social issue (The Refugee Crisis) together as a class. Students will have an opportunity to look at the issue through one of three lenses: Families, Political or World. Each selection will be scaffolded a bit differently. This writing piece will include argument, narrative, explanation and procedural sections.

Math:
7th: We are nearing the end our current unit, Comparing and Scaling. This one has seemed to drag on bit due to the long break and the snow days and half day today. However, we should be wrapping this up towards the end of next week with a final unit assessment.

8th CMP: We have begun a new unit, Butterflies, Pinwheels, and Wallpaper.  This introduces the concepts of and explores coordinate relationships of the different types of geometric symmetry: reflectional, rotational, and translational. This week we worked with introducing reflectional and rotational symmetries and performing geometric constructions of these. We will continue with translational symmetry next week.

Algebra: In order to mirror the current Algebra 1 curriculum at the high school this year, we are adding two new units to our curriculum this year while removing some material that will be covered in later years of high school. We will be using CMP materials in order to do this as our math consultant and curriculum team found them to be more than adequate to cover the concepts.  This week we have begun a new unit from the CMP program, Butterflies, Pinwheels, and Wallpaper.  This introduces the concepts of and explores coordinate relationships of the different types of geometric symmetry: reflectional, rotational, and translational. This week we worked with introducing reflectional and rotational symmetries and performing geometric constructions of these. We will continue with translational symmetry next week.

SS
7th - Students have begun the Economics and Geography Unit. Students continued with the Sovereign State Game - ask about the “Code Red Virus” challenge.  Ms. Menard, the student teacher from Johnson State College, is leading the curriculum the next two weeks.

8th - Students have begun the Industrialization unit - ask them about the videos they have watched about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and “Made in Bangladesh” documentary. Ms. Menard, the student teacher from Johnson State College, is leading the curriculum the next two weeks.