Friday, February 15, 2019

Fusion Communication: February 15



Hi all,

It’s certainly been an entertaining week with regards to the weather; if it’s not one thing, it’s another. Team Fusion cruises into the final weekend before the final week before break. The coming week always has assessments in every class, so let us know if your child will be missing any time.

Career Panel: looking for Volunteers - Wednesday, February 20, 8-9am (Date Change!)
Team Fusion is looking for 2 more parents/community members (AND the perspectives of women!) willing to spend an hour discussing their career choices with our 8th grade students as part of the Career Unit/PLP kick-off week. We will provide you with questions to prepare answers for, and also keep the panel to one hour so you can meet your other commitments for the day. Team Fusion is looking for a wide range of career options, pathways and education backgrounds; the panel is a much richer experience with a greater diversity of professions and life experiences.
Please contact Mr. Pless if interested: bryant.pless@cesuvt.org

PLP/Career Unit Kick-off
Grade 7 - The 7th grade Personalized Learning Plan process began this week with an introduction to the concept of matching personal interests to career goals. Over the next several weeks, students will take a variety of surveys to strengthen their ability to “know thyself” and to inform their future goal-setting.

Grade 8 - The students are embarking on a traditional career unit, with a visit to a job site encouraged. But the unit also covers personal finance, as well as discussions about the needs and wants everyone has for careers. Please see the letter for more information about specific dates and requirements for this unit of study.

We had a great day at Bowling… and the food was quite good as well:) Thanks to our chaperones.
All laptops should remain at school over the weekend.
Calendar:
  • Week of February 11: Kick-off for the 8th Grade Career Unit/7th Grade PLP Process
  • February 15: 8th grade recommendation forms WERE due BACK to BRMS. If not turned in to BRMS by this time, families will need to deliver the forms to the high school. 
  • (Date change!) February 20: 8-9am Career Panel (looking for two more adult volunteers to speak with students about their careers)
  • February 22: Student-Faculty (Read and White) Basketball Game (1:20ish to 2:20ish) *Only 8th Grade basketball players can play*
    • Last Day before Break
  • February 23-March 5: Winter Break (no school)
  • March 29: 7/8 Dance - Fusion Field Trip Fundraiser! We will be asking families to donate food items to sell
  • April 10: Delayed Start
  • April 20-28: Spring Break (no school)
  • May 8: Last Delayed Start
  • June 3: Tentative Move-up Day - 8th Graders to MMU
Curriculum Updates
LA
*** All students should still be reading 30 minutes each day, outside of class. ***

7- Graphic organizers for information writing are due on Monday, 2/18. This is a large portion of the writing process score on the report card. Use of class time and students ability to take and apply feedback factors in as well. We have spent an extensive amount of time working on this in class and students were also encourage to work on it at home or during study hall. There are tools and a checklist in the writing toolkit folder on Schoology to support this work. Students who need more time to work on this assignment should do so at home or during study hall.

8- Graphic organizers for the comparative essay were due on Thursday 2/14. Due to the snow day, I allowed students to work on these at home and submit Thursday evening on Schoology if needed. We spent several class periods working on this task and students were encouraged to use study halls or evenings if needed. Students also know it will impact their process score if this work was handed in late of incomplete. Use of class time and students ability to take and apply feedback factors in as well. Students had access to planning tools on Schoology as well as sample writing and notes in their journals. The post assessment will be next Wednesday and Thursday, 2/20 and 2/21.


Math: Due to changes in my personal schedule, Math extra help sessions will be changing from Thursday afternoons, to Monday afternoons. They will continue to be from 2:45 - 3:25. If your student is planning to attend, please just let me know by noon on that Monday.

7 - We have wrapped up all the investigations in our current unit and while I was hoping to have a unit test this week, our schedule got a little interrupted this week with the YRBS survey, a snow day, and the field trip. We will plan to do some more review on Monday and Tuesday and have the test next Wednesday.

8 - We have finished the first investigation in Growing, Growing, Growing looking at several different exponential growth patterns and comparing them to linear patterns. This unit has several 9th grade pieces to it, so over the next few weeks we will be differentiating by breaking up into small groups giving students who are ready the opportunity to work on these.

Science

7 - Students continue to monitor the brook trout population by measuring their sizes, making sketches of their structures, and counting the population size. Meanwhile, they researched several animal behaviors that increase the chances for successful reproduction, such as nest-building and courtship displays. They are now analyzing population graphs and making inferences related to factors that affect populations.

8 - Students are nearly finished with their engineering design projects! The atmosphere in the class this week was filled with a high level of engagement, creativity and unexpected learning opportunities! Students will do their final evaluations and presentations of their devices to the class this coming week.

SS

7 - Students practiced using the direct standards on the district assessment, using text examples from Culturegrams to defend the United States as a functioning government. The district assessment will be due next week on Wednesday.

8 - Students concluded the vaping trial of “The State vs Susan” - in both classes she was found guilty of possession but not of intention to distribute vaping materials. An introduction of the Bill of Rights and a conclusion of the Constitution Video project were also on the docket. The second installment of the district assessment will happen next Tuesday. Wednesday of next week will feature the Career Panel from 8-9am… please try to have students to school on time.

One more week to go - here’s hoping for a restful weekend.

The Fusion Team