Fusion Communication: May 17

Hi all,

So it feels like spring - in so many ways. Weather is warm(er), there are glimpses of the sun, and students are dreaming of unstructured days. As we approach the last few weeks of school, it’s a good time to check in with your child about assignments, field trips and family plans for the last few days. There will be assessments in June:)

8th Grade Great Escape Field Trip Update -
Thank you for supporting this year’s trip to the Great Escape! All permission forms are in! More details of the trip will follow. Please direct any questions to lisa.windhausen@cesuvt.org.

8th Grade Boat Trip - June 12The day of Recognition Night (June 12), 8th graders have the opportunity to join their classmates and select staff for a cruise aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III. Students would be transported to the Burlington waterfront after the annual awards ceremony and back to school to take buses home. For more information, please see the permission form from the email.

Calendar:
May 27: No School - Memorial Day
June 3: Official Move-up Day - 8th Graders to MMU
June 5: Great Escape Field Trip for 8th Grade
June 11: 8th Grade Laptops are audited by no later than this day
June 12: Official! Recognition Night for 8th Grade; last “official” day of middle school for 8th grade
Boat Trip for 8th Graders - Permission form attached
June 11: Changed Date! 7th Grade Jourasionville economics simulation (more information to come)
All Laptops turned in and audited by this day!
June 14: NEW!7th Grade Fusion/Journey joint field trip to Waterbury Center State Park (9ish-1:15ish)
June 17: Mostly Official Last day of school for grades 5-7

Curriculum Updates
LA
*** All students should be reading 30 minutes each day outside of class (either at home or in study halls). ***

7 Students have been working in class on their pre assessment for our last reading unit (Tapping the Power of Nonfiction). The unit will focus on identifying central ideas as well as tracking/analyzing them across a text.

8 This week, students have been working on a graphic organizer to plan their investigative journalism process piece. Completed graphic organizers are due today, 5/17. Next week students create and submit their final draft (due on Friday 5/24) using the graphic organizer as a guide.

Math
7: This week we started our last unit of the year, What Do You Expect, by exploring different probability activities and finding the experimental probability involved in each of the activities. We finished the week by introducing theoretical probability and comparing it to experimental probabilty. Next week, we will continue our work with theoretical probability by introducing compound events.

8: We wrapped up our current unit on transformation geometry, Butterflies, Pinwheels, and Wallpaper, this week with review and a unit test. Next week, we will begin our last unit of the year that will be a mixture of algebraic expression, solving equations, systems of equations, and quadratics depending on students’ readiness levels.

Science
7: Our final unit on Ecology began with a study of relationships among different species - predator-prey, competition, mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism. Students are now creating models of food webs and energy pyramids to track the flow of energy and cycling of matter within ecosystems.

8: Students will end the year with a mini-unit on Force, Motion & Energy. This week, they explored mathematical relationships between mass, energy, speed, and distance traveled using ramps and rolling cars, as well as a computer simulation. Next week, they’ll make the connection that as the distance between objects changes, potential energy changes.

SS
7 - Students are in the initial stages of the last unit, which is current event based and called Past, Present and Future. They have created population pyramids for different countries and linked historical events to changes in the population, used the population percentages to identify whether a country is Youthful, Ageing or Gaed, and experiencing Rapid, Slow or Zero/Negative growth. Finally, students have looked at the causes of instability within a country.

8 - The focus has been on the current debate about how the Civil War should be memorialized or remembered, with a focus on Confederate monuments and Robert E. Lee’s legacy. Students have also decided what causes of the Civil War they want to research and develop a project for to demonstrate proficiency for the unit.

Almost 80 degrees by Monday… is it really here to stay? Have a great weekend!

The Fusion Team

Fusion Communication: May 3

Hi all,

The last weeks have begun! So have SBAC assessments… please check ahead on calendars for appointments to see potential conflicts with SBACs - all assessments will take place in the morning from 8-10:30am (except Wednesday - no SBACs Wednesday due to delayed start).

8th Grade Great Escape Field Trip Update -
Please return the permission form ASAP! Great Escape would like our payment this week! Please direct any questions to lisa.windhausen@cesuvt.org.

SBAC Reminders:

1. Very Important - All laptops MUST remain at school over the weekend. Students will be testing for SBAC starting Monday so those laptops need to be fully charged.
2. Laptops will remain at school each night next week - so no homework will be assigned next week (students are VERY sad about this adjustment).
3. Earbuds or headphones - needs to have a 3.5mm jack to plug into laptops/Chromeboxes (school has a VERY limited # to share).
4. Food - NOT candy.
5. Reading material - high interest (teachers will provide alternatives).

Calendar:
May 6, 7, 9, 10 - Math/LA SBAC Assessments
May 8: Last Delayed Start
June 3: Official Move-up Day - 8th Graders to MMU
June 5: Great Escape Field Trip for 8th Grade
June 11: 8th Grade Laptops are audited by no later than this day
June 12: Official! Recognition Night for 8th Grade; last “official” day of middle school for 8th grade
June 13: 7th Grade Foursionville economics simulation (more information to come)
              All Laptops turned in and audited by this day!
June 14: NEW!7th Grade Fusion/Journey joint field trip to Waterbury Center State Park (9ish-1:15ish)
June 17: Mostly Official Last day of school for grades 5-7

Curriculum UpdatesLA
*** All students should be reading 30 minutes each day outside of class (either at home or in study halls). ***

7 Students handed in their process piece, an argument essay about competitive sports, on Wednesday. We have been making book covers and watching the film Christopher Robin to celebrate the end of our writing unit. Up next: nonfiction reading.

8 We have been exploring different types of journalism in class. This week, students have been listening to the podcast This American Life, specifically segments focusing on the middle school experience. Each time we examine a new story / form of journalism we discuss how the journalist delivered information and why the topic is considered newsworthy. Next week students will begin research for their process piece.

Math
7: This week, we have balanced our time wrapping up this year’s work with Moving Straight Ahead (we will continue it at the beginning of next year) while also orienting ourselves to the format of the upcoming SBACs and some of the types of questions students might see. Next week, in the spaces in between testing, we will be doing some small group work concentrating on past concepts where students could use some more work.

8: This week, we have continued our work with Transformation Geometry applying our understanding of reflections, rotations, and translations to transformations on a coordinate grid. We have have also spent time orienting ourselves to the format of the upcoming SBACs and some of the types of questions students might see. Next week, in the spaces in between testing, we will continue our work with our current unit extending our work to parallel lines and transversals as well as dilations.

Science
7: Students analyzed case studies and data to explore how species change over long periods of time in response to environmental changes. They are wrapping up this unit by revisiting bacteria and the evolution of resistance to antibiotics. In between SBAC testing next week, students will begin the final unit on Ecology.

8: The focus this week was on the Vermont Science Assessment (VTSA), or, as some people call it, Science SBAC’s. This is the first official year administering this test in Vermont; you should receive individual reports of your child’s performance in the mail. The test includes topics addressed throughout their middle school years, and emphasizes science and engineering practices. In between SBAC testing next week, students will wrap up the unit on chemical reactions by considering what to do with the copper waste they produced when making circuit boards.

SS
7 - Students completed assessments related to the economics unit before the break and are now exploring how Population Pyramids demonstrate past events - and potentially predict future needs. Students analyzed two countries population pyramids with a focus on birth and death/mortality rates - and the factors that may affect both.

8 - The focus was to finish the Industrial Revolution assessment. Students read an article about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and watched a documentary detailing the remarkable factory reform efforts that occurred afterwards. The last unit of study will start next week - Causes of the Civil War.

Sunday looks to be the better weather day - here’s to longer days in the sun and watching spring sports (or maybe a hike?).

The Fusion Team