Team Fusion Communication: January 27

Hi all,

We are in full swing on Team Fusion. Lots of things are coming up in the next few weeks - see the calendar.

Penguin Plunge 2017

The Plunge takes place next weekend - Saturday, February 4 at the Burlington Waterfront (by the Coast Guard station).  It is a great event and the 13th year for BRMS to participate as a school.

BRMS is doing great with Penguin Plunge fundraising! There are 67 students, staff and community members signed up and $9,457 raised to date.  If you, your child are interested, please go online to the link below and register.

https://give.specialolympicsvermont.org/fundraise/team?ftid=100279

Calendar

January 30 - Fusion Algebra Mid-Term (Rescheduled from this past Thursday)

February 3 - 8th Grade High School Course Recommendation Forms go home.

February 8 - Two Hour Delay

February 10 - 8th Grade High School Course Recommendation Forms due back.

February 10 - ⅞ Dance (Fundraiser for Team Fusion - donations of food to the dance)

February 16 - NAEP testing (Afternoon)

February 23 - Field Trip to Bowling/Lunch of Pizza and Chinese

Academic Area Update

LA

**** Both grades have essays due on Friday, February 3rd. Some students may need to spend some time working on these at home in order to have them completed by the due date. To help with this, I have taken questions off the weekly reading log to allow students more time to devote to writing. If you are supporting your student with writing at home, the Writer’s Toolkit folder on Schoology is a great place to look for resources. I have posted checklists and writing tools that we use regularly in class. ***

7th: Students have been working hard drafting process pieces for our argument writing unit. Everyone has selected a claim (either for or against kids participating in competitive sports). Students have drafted body paragraphs, added leads and endings and are in the process of revising these writing pieces into “Best Drafts.” Completed essays are due on Friday, February 3rd. After we have finished this assignment, our focus shifts back to reading. Students will be exploring interest-based topics and fine-tuning their research skills before the next on demand writing assessment.

8th: Students have spent the past two weeks planning and drafting literary essays to demonstrate their analysis of Dystopian Literature. Final drafts of these process pieces are due next Friday, February 3rd. Once this writing unit is finished we will shift our focus back to reading. As a class we will be reading Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. This novel ties in nicely with the 8th grade social studies unit on the American Revolution. There is an audio version available through the library. We will be using this in class often. Student will complete weekly and daily tasks connected to the book. Our focus will be on author’s craft (figurative language, etc.)

Science

7th Grade:  Students wrote their final explanation for how and why twins can look different from each other using their knowledge of heredity.  They also conducted a mini-research project and presented their understanding of one genetic disorder to the class.  Next week will will look closely at seeds and flowers, as we begin discussing different reproductive strategies among organisms.

8th Grade: Students completed their district assessment on force and motion last week, and began a new mini-unit on the properties and types of waves.  They completed several independent exploration stations this week, while I met with each student individually to discuss their recent assessment and their high school recommendation for science.

Math:

7th:  We have come to the end of another unit, Stretching and Shrinking. Students have learned to apply scale factor in analyzing mathematically similar shapes. This unit also lays the groundwork with proportional reasoning for the next unit, Comparing and Scaling. We will have our unit assessment on Tuesday of next week and will begin Comparing and Scaling next week as well.

8th CMP:  We have been exploring exponential relationships and developing rules for exponential functions as well as comparing these to linear functions. We will be investigating the properties of exponents next week and developing rules for simplifying exponential expressions. Also, I will be conferencing with students next week about math course recommendations for next year. These forms will go home with students on Friday.

8th Algebra: We have been preparing for the mid-term this week. We decided to postpone the test from this past Thursday to this coming Monday due to the snow day this week. Also, I will be conferencing with students next week about math course recommendations for next year. These forms will go home with students on Friday.

SS

7th: Students investigated the government of North Korea through the lens of an investigative video - Inside North Korea.  Make sure to ask your child about their thoughts about this experience. Students finished the week with a Propaganda Technique Challenge.  Next week will focus on another survey of different government types and then students will start the Sovereign State Challenge activity - that will be a multi-week project.

8th: Students continued to investigate the structure of government used by the United States. This week’s focus was on the judicial branch and student rights’ cases decided by the Supreme Court. Next week’s focus will continue on rights and the Bill of Rights.

Fusion Communication: January 6, 2017! Happy New Year

Hi all,

Team Fusion is back at for the new year - other than a sleepy Monday and no internet Wednesday, the week flowed well.  The new year brings some changes - see in the announcements below some of them.

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 is kicking off the 2017 Penguin Plunge effort this week.  If you, your child are interested, please go online to the link below and register.

https://give.specialolympicsvermont.org/fundraise/team?ftid=100279

Calendar

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: Students in 7th grade have been reading and analyzing articles on the topic of competitive sports. We are developing note taking systems and examining different types of evidence that writers of argument use to convince the reader. Pro/Con Notes are due next Friday. Students have been adding notes from various articles to these notes this week.

8th: In 8th grade we are wrapping up our reading unit on dystopian literature and moving into laying the groundwork for the next writing piece (literary essays). Students have begun to examine theme within the books they read and we will start next week to pull examples from the text into their writing.

Science

The trout eggs have arrived!  We received ~100 eggs from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Roxbury Hatchery, delivered by Trout Unlimited volunteers, on Wednesday.  They are nestled in their breeding basket, in a tank with water temperatures of around 45 degrees F!  Students will help to take care of these trout over the next 4 months!  Feel free to stop by for a peek!

7th:

We returned from vacation reviewing the family tree project (Due Monday!), practicing making Punnett squares to track genotypes in offspring, and playing a fun vocabulary game called Kahoot!  Students were introduced to another form of cell division, meiosis, and are beginning to understand the mechanisms of how traits are passed on to offspring at the cellular level.  They will create another video next week, this time modeling meiosis.  

8th:   

Our re-entry began with an engineering design challenge, using our knowledge of force and motion to design a device to deliver a ping pong ball to a cup in the center of a 6-foot circle without entering the circle!  We saw many successful and nearly successful designs!  We reviewed Newton’s Laws of Motion through several activities and are now practicing applying these laws by creating models to explain different scenarios.  Our unit wraps up in ~ 2 weeks.

SS

7th Grade: Students spent a few classes looking at the nature and function of rules (laws) in their favorite sport then it was off to a feudalism simulation.  Students were very mature during the simulation - few hurt feelings and a great deal of laughter while experiencing one of the most repressive systems of government ever created.

8th Grade:  The Constitution unit was loosely introduced this week, as students used the iCivics game Branches of Power to learn more about the federal republic system of government.  Current events featured a controversial topic - the transgender bathroom law of North Carolina - to focus students on the idea about what government should be responsible for, while allowing student to explore the limits and strengths of civil liberties.  Friday’s debate demonstrated the students building more and more impassioned civility.

Math:

7th: We are into the 3rd section of our current unit, Stretching and Shrinking. We are investigating the relationship between scale factor, perimeter, and area of mathematically similar figures.

8th CMP: We are in the process of reviewing for a unit test on our current unit, Looking for Pythagoras. We have been learning the different applications and proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem. Out test will be on Wednesday. We have been building a reference packet of review activities that students will be able to use during the test. At the end of January, I will be making math course recommendations for next year. I will be meeting with students in the coming weeks to discuss their recommendation with each student individually.

8th Algebra: We are in the middle of our unit on linear relationships. We have introduced all 3 forms of equations, Standard, Point-Slope, and Slope-Intercept. Next week, we will continue to work to build familiarity with each form and fluency between them.  I will be meeting with students in the coming weeks to discuss their recommendation with each student individually.

Thanks, and watch out for the ice - looks like that kind of winter. Stay warm this weekend.

2016-17 Student Daily Schedules

2016-17 7th Grade Schedule
2016-17 8th Grade Schedule

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.

https://give.specialolympicsvermont.org/fundraise/team?ftid=100279

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.

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.

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.

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