Fusion Communication: October 27

Hi all,

‘Tis the season - Halloween, end of fall sports, dusting of snow on the mountain. There is ENERGY on the team - and it’s being channeled to some great learning.  See below for more detail.

School Dance - Friday, October 27

Thank you to all families that contributed to the dance concession stand - it makes a huge difference to have food, and the funds provide for quality field trips and scholarships to events.

Guidelines and Expectations for Dance - if curious, check out the link. Reviewed with students Thursday and Friday during Social Studies.

• Dances are from 7-9pm
• BRMS dances are only for students enrolled in the school. Any guests must be approved by Mr. Hamilton and Mrs. Archambault
• There is a $5 admission fee
• Food items are for purchase only - usually .25 to $1 per item

 

Halloween Guidelines

It’s not that Team Fusion has an issue with the event - but all the kinetic energy that goes with it.  Please help out the team by doing the following:

• Please limit the costumes that arrive at school - a low-key hat, cat ears, some simple face painting is enough on October 31 (no masks AT ALL!)
• No swords, weapons, wands, broomsticks, etc. - if it can be used to “whack” someone, it will
• Please limit candy coming to school on November 1-2 as it’s no fun to police students on sugar highs (or the inevitable crash)

All Laptops are at school over the weekend

No school issued laptops should be at home over the weekend.  In the event a laptop does make its way home, please store it in a safe place for the weekend.

Calendar

November 8 - Two Hour Delay

December 1 - 7th grade field trip to Vermont International Festival ($5 fee - looking for a few chaperones)

December 13 - Two Hour Delay

December Break - December 25-29, January 1

Reading

Books should be brought to all study halls and LA class each day.

Curriculum Updates….

LA

*** Reading Journals are due today! ***

7 - This week we looked at two text structures: narrative, and problem/solution. Students began writing starter paragraphs to be incorporated into their information pieces later on - these will be graded on schoology for completion only. Students will have an opportunity to revise them later when they begin to incorporate this work into their essays. There is a place on schoology to submit work done in class on both text structures we have gone over (narrative and problem/solution). At this point, students’ research notes should also be completed -- this is something they should work on at home if more time is needed. We have spent three class days on this task (one day for each source required).

8 - Investigative Journalism FINAL DRAFTS are due on Monday. Students have had ample time to revise these pieces in class this week. There are tools on Schoology for those who choose to spend some time continuing to work on these over the weekend (editing checklist, citations guide -- in writer’s toolkit). Next week we are beginning a class novel, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is historical fiction and connects to what students are studying in Social Studies. The on demand assessment for writing will likely be during the week of November 6th.

Science

7 -  Bacteria was the spotlight organism of the week!  Students swabbed a variety of surfaces in the classroom, and are now watching the amazing growth of bacteria from each location on petri dishes!  They should be looking, and smelling, great by Monday!  Students compared bacterial cell structures to plant, animal, and protist structures.  They also reviewed plant and animal organelles using several online practice tools;  many students are needing additional practice with these terms.  Please check in with your child and in Schoology to see if they need to be practicing more at home!

8 - After confirming the identify of the mystery mixture, as citric acid & baking soda, students were introduced to the organization and development of the periodic table of elements.  They looked for elements in common household products’ ingredient lists, and are becoming familiar with some of the chemical and physical properties of elements and substances.  On Friday, students completed the first of several quizzes in this lengthy unit on properties of matter and chemistry.  Next week, we begin to look at properties of gases.  

SS

7 - Students have embarked on a project called “My Vermont”, which will also serve as the district assessment for the Culture Unit.  The project takes three weeks to complete and involve students interviewing family and community members, creating surveys and taking photos. Families should already have seen planning assignments this week - if not, contact Mr. Pless.  In the coming weeks, students will be creating the materials needed for the assessment, which may ithe students asking families to get involved with: a drive or two to locations students have selected to photograph, contacting relatives for interviews.  Please contact Mr. Pless with any questions or concerns at any time during this project.

8 - Students started the district assessment which is a series of assessments regarding events and ideas leading to the American Revolution. Some students have created Instagram accounts based on their Profile 1763 characters.  The other students are creating fake “Facebook” Google slideshows based on their Profile 1763 characters. Mr. Pless encourages families to check in (or even follow) the Instagram accounts; his own account: geowash_vt

Math

7: We started our new unit, Filling and Wrapping this week, reviewing strategies for calculating surface area and volume for rectangular prisms as well as coming up with strategies for reducing surface area of a fixed volume by adjusting the dimension of that figure. Next week we will looking at what happens to a the volume and surface area of a rectangular prism when we scale up the dimensions.

8: This week we finished up our exploration of inverse variation and started exploring scatter plots, correlation, and their relationship with lines of best fit.  Next week we will explore dava variation with Mean Deviation and Standard Deviation.  We will also analyze bivariate data tables.

Stella weekend ahead - hope everyone enjoys the downtime.

The Fusion Team

Fusion Communication: October 19

Hi all,

Whew - we made it! First break of the year - the students definitely need it.  Lots going on with Team Fusion after the break - see below for all the happenings.

School Dance - Friday, October 27

The first 7/8 dance of the year is being sponsored by Team Fusion - and it is the only fundraiser the team has for the year! Families are asked to contribute items that can be sold at the dance.  Some examples below:

• Box of fruit snacks
• Individual bags of popcorn
• 10-12 servings (please respect the limit) of one of the following:
• Baked goods
• Cookies
• Brownies
• Rice krispie treats
• Bottled water, juices, seltzers (please, no large bottles - individual serving sizes)

The “No Thank You” list:

• Candy
• Soft drinks
• Anything with nuts

For 7th Grade families:

• Dances are from 7-9pm
• BRMS dances are only for students enrolled in the school. Any guests must be approved by Mr. Hamilton and Mrs. Archambault
• There is a $5 admission fee
• Food items are for purchase only - usually .25 to $1 per item

Parent Conferences

The team appreciates all the families that signed up for these conferences - always a pleasure to see you.

 

All Laptops are at school over the break

No school issued laptops should be at home over the break.  In the event a laptop does make its way home, please bring it back to the team on Thursday morning - we will be at school for the morning. Emails will be sent home to families whose students did not leave their laptops in the carts on Wednesday afternoon.

Calendar

October 20 - No School/School Recess

October 27 (change!) - Fusion Sponsored School Dance (donation of food/drink item from each family for no more than 10 people - basically, no more than 10 servings:) See the write-up above for more information.

November 8 - Two Hour Delay

December 1 - 7th grade field trip to Vermont International Festival ($5 fee - looking for a few chaperones)

December 13 - Two Hour Delay

December Break - December 25-29, January 1

Reading

Books should be brought to all study halls and LA class each day.

Curriculum Updates….

LA

*** Reading Journals are due today! ***

7 - Students browsed topics and began research for their first writing piece this week. This information writing unit focuses on the various text structures authors use to inform their readers. Students will receive mini lessons on seven text structures. They will then select three to use in their essays which we will draft and revise over time in class. Graphic organizers were provided in class to support students with research and drafting.

8 - Students began drafting their investigative journalism pieces this week. This genre of writing combines observation, research and interviews to inform and sway a reader. We will revise this writing next week in class. Graphic organizers were provided in class to support students with research and drafting.

Science

7 -  Following several investigations using microscopes to examine a variety of cells and microorganisms, students reviewed main ideas and skills in preparation for a check-up quiz on Wednesday.  This will give me information on how ready they are to move forward after the short break.  If ready, we’ll move on to study bacteria and fungi!

8 - Students wrapped up the universe unit last week, and are now investigating a mystery mixture!  Their job is to use observation skills to correctly identify the 2 substances in the mystery mixture, while practicing their ability to describe characteristic properties of 9 substances that look very similar.  This is the first investigation in the Properties of Matter unit, which will carry us into winter.

SS

7 - Students spent time processing the information collected during the field trip, making Thinglink! Interactive pictures and typing up the interview responses.  See examples in the link below:

https://goo.gl/exLvoT

After the break, students will embark on project called “My Vermont”, which will also serve as the district assessment for the Culture Unit.  The project will take three weeks to complete and involve students interviewing family and community members, creating surveys and taking photos.

8 - Students finished their Profile 1763 projects end of the last week.  Students spent time this week exploring the NFL anthem protests through the lens of free speech and boundaries of that right.

After the break, students will start the district assessment which is a series of assessments regarding events and ideas leading to the American Revolution. As part of the lessons supporting the assessments, students will have the option to create Instagram accounts based on their Profile 1763 characters - this option will only be available if your child has parental permission and access to a mobile device.  Please contact Mr. Pless if you have questions or concerns about your child using the social media platform.

Math

7: We wrapped up the Shapes and Designs unit on Wednesday with a unit assessment. Our next unit will be Filling and Wrapping. This unit explores surface area and volume of prisms and cylinders.

8: This week we continued to explore different examples of inverse variation functions as well as how these are different from linear relationships. Next week, we will wrap up our investigation into inverse variation and begin to review and, for those students who are ready, extend the concepts for the first half of the unit. We will be shooting to have a mid-unit assessment for this content by the end of the week.

The Fusion Team

Fusion Parent Conference Sign-up and Communication: September 29

Hi all,

This week was busy - and the heat made it especially long.  All students are busy and there are many assignments, activities and happenings to keep track of.  Make sure to check out the calendar. The sign-up for parent conferences is in this communication.

Parent Conferences

The Team is using SignUp.com to organize our upcoming parent conferences.  Preview the options and make your selection by following this link:  http://signup.com/login/entry/1117000150245832090.  You will need to enter your email address, although you do not need to register for an account.  (SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact Lisa and she can sign you up manually.)  SignUp.com will send you an automated confirmation and reminders.

 

Mary Lacy Update

The mural is almost complete - 8th graders had a blast doing it.  Mary spoke with all students on Wednesday and then guided Fusion 8 students Friday as they added their touch to the mural.  See the before and after pics from today:

Before	After

7th Grade Laptops home next week

The computer contracts are due back ASAP.  A student must return their contract before they will be allowed to take their laptop home.

Calendar

October 11 - Two Hour Delay

October 13 (Really?! Yes) - field trip to Burlington… permission form goes home next week (no cost except lunch money) - we need chaperones

October 19 - No school for students; Parent Conferences (see above for more information)

October 20 - No School/School Recess

October 27 (change!) - Fusion Sponsored School Dance (donation of food/drink item from each family for no more than 10 people - basically, no more than 10 servings:)

November 8 - Two Hour Delay

Reading

All students were asked to get a book this week (from the library or brought in from home). Books should be brought to all study halls and LA class each day. .

Curriculum Updates….

LA

*** Reading Journals are due today! This is the first journal that will be scored. I will be looking at both classwork and work done outside of LA and scoring mainly for completion this round. 8th graders needed to submit on schoology this week. 7th graders aren’t quite there yet -- they were asked to hand in their notebooks today instead. The emphasis for this assignment is on quality rather than quantity. Students are encouraged to show their thinking in a variety of ways and to grow more complex ideas as the year progresses -- they receive feedback in class (and during reading conferences) on how to do this. Eventually, students will be asked to highlight their work to show where feedback was applied… we aren’t quite there yet. ***

7th Grade: This week we used short stories and video clips to examine the fact that characters possess various traits. We also explored the idea that sometimes these traits are less likeable, even in heroic characters. We looked at ways characters’ traits can actually influence the events a story.

8th Grade: To gain exposure to different types of journalism, we have been listening to a podcast in class. Students have listened to a few segments of “This American Life” focused on life in middle school. We have had discussions in class about the topics addressed as well as the journalistic approach taken to gather information. Next week students will start to think about topics for their investigative journalism process piece.  

Math

7: We were into the heart of the unit this week developing rules for the sum of interior angles and exterior angles for all polygons. We also looked at why some regular polygons can be used to make tessellations while others can’t. Next week we will be looking at what side lengths and angles combinations are possible in creating a triangle. We will also be exploring parallel lines and transversals.

8: This week we began applying our knowledge of linear relationships to model real world data from bridge breaking experiments we performed in class. Students collected data on how many pennies it took to break simple paper bridges of different thicknesses and determined how close to a linear relationship the number of layers to breaking weight was. We also performed an experiment on bridge length discovering that there was an inverse relationship between bridge length and breaking weight. Next week, we will be working on more precise modeling of linear patterns.

Science

7 - Students concluded their investigation of 5 mystery materials and, using evidence, concluded that 3 of the materials (radish seeds, yeast, and brine shrimp...aka Sea Monkeys!) showed evidence of life when placed in specific environments (fresh water, sugar water, and salt water).  This led to discussions addressing misconceptions about dormancy and the need for a suitable environment to show evidence of life.  Students are now practicing with microscopes, which will carry over into next week.  By the way, most of the evidence of student’s work so far this year is documented in their science notebooks, which are kept in school.  I look forward to showing you examples of their work during parent conferences!

8 - Students completed their celestial body research, and shared their information with the goal of gaining a broad understanding of the organization of the universe.  The first part of the district assessment was on Wednesday.  Part 2 will be on Tuesday and will focus on the challenge of creating accurate scale models of the solar system.  Today, students attempted to pace off the distances between the sun and the planets; they discovered they could only fit the Sun and Mercury in the front field (using a scale that made Pluto a reasonable size)!

SS

7 - Students started the week reviewing films of different aspects of Vermont culture, then made claims about which of the films was the “Most Vermontey”. Students continued to explore social norms and boundaries, performing skits based on research of a country they researched.  Finally, the week enbded with students beginning to look at the “culture” of Burlington, using Church Street as the grounding location.

8 - The focus continues to be a character from 1763, which most students have made considerable progress in creating. There were several small class assignments along the way: developing a claim supporting Michel Guillaume de Crevecoeur's ideas about a “new” group of people in the British colonies, called “Americans”; researching the clothing of people from the colonial time period, and defending the colony the students felt was the “best” one to live in (New York appears to be a favorite, with a strong showing for South Carolina).

A much cooler weekend is in store… too early to talk about the white stuff? Have a great weekend,

The Fusion Team

Team Fusion Communication: September 22

Hi all,

Everything is back to normal - for a middle school, that is.  Students are fully engaged, have homework. Hopefully computer contracts are in as computers start going home next week - 8th graders first.

Calendar

September 26 - Open House : ⅞ families visit EXP teachers 7-7:30, THEN Team Fusion presentation starts at 7:30

September 27-28: Artist in residence, Mary Lacy (BRMS/MMU graduate), working on mural with 8th grade (both grades will have a session with her on Wednesday)

October 13 (Really?! Yes) - field trip to Burlington… permission form goes home next week (no cost except lunch money)

October 11 - Two Hour Delay

October 19 - Parent Conferences (more details at open house)

October 20 - No School/School Recess

October 27 (change!) - Fusion Sponsored School Dance (donation of food/drink item from each family for no more than 10 people - basically, no more than 10 servings:)

November 8 - Two Hour Delay

Reading

All students were asked to get a book this week (from the library or brought in from home). Books should be brought to all study halls and LA class each day. .

Schoology

All students have been introduced to this online system for homework submission and assignment tracking.  At Open House

Computer Contracts

The computer contracts are due back ASAP.  A student must return their contract before they will be allowed to take their laptop home. The 8th grade should be able to take their laptops home by next week.

Curriculum Updates….

LA

7 This week we began a reading unit: A Deep Study of Character. The focus this week was on tracking character traits, first across a short story read aloud in class, then with characters in students’ own books.

8 We are about a week into our Investigative Journalism unit. The focus thus far has been on practicing observation skills and looking at different examples of journalism. Students have written a few short, informal mini news stories to start getting used to this genre.

Math

7: This week we explored using benchmark angles to estimate measures of unknown angles. We also learned to use angle rulers and protractors to more precisely measure angles. Next week we will focus on the relationships of interior angles to the number of sides in a polygons as well as their exterior angles.

8: This week we continued to work on linear relationship and using slope and y-intercept to write equations in slope-intercept form as well as graphing equations from slope intercept form. We will have a quiz on this on Monday and then will move into using linear equations to model and make predictions about real world data.

Science

7 - Students are practicing the skill of “arguing from evidence” as they debate the key characteristics of living things and develop a working definition of life.  They began a multi-day investigation of 5 mystery materials, which will give the opportunity to directly observe several key characteristics of living things.  This investigation will carry into next week.

8 - Students continued their study of the universe by conducting a brief research project on one celestial object, and by practicing making observations of the night sky.  They learned how several astronomers contributed to our current understanding of the universe organization.  The district assessment will be given in stages, with the first phase happening next week.

SS

7 - The first couple classes focused on reviewing the field trip.  Then students spent time working in groups to identify cultural activities, behaviors and items from France and Britain that are evident in United States culture.  Students ended the week with a beginning look at social norms and boundaries that are within cultures around the world.

8 - The first couple classes focused on reviewing the field trip. Students have begun looking at a moment in time within American history - 1763.  They are creating “characters” from that time period, and studying the developing “American” identity through in class activities and individual research.

Have fun at Harvest Market - and continue to enjoy this wildly warm and scenic weather,

The Fusion Team

Fusion Communication: September 18

Hi all,

What a crazy week Team Fusion had - and it was spectacular!  The trip went extremely well.  An we are right back at it this week:)

Calendar

September 26 - Open House : ⅞ families visit EXP teachers 7-7:30, THEN Team Fusion presentation starts at 7:30

Early to mid-October - Tentative field trip to Burlington

October 11 - Two Hour Delay

October 19 - Parent Conferences (more details next week)

October 20 - No School/School Recess

October 27 (change!) - Fusion Sponsored School Dance (donation of food/drink item from each family for no more than 10 people)

November 8 - Two Hour Delay

Reading

All students were asked to get a book this week (from the library or brought in from home). Books should be brought to all study halls and LA class each day.

Overnight Field Trip

Wow - what a trip! The weather held, the skies cleared in the evening and there was plenty of food.  Thank you for supporting this trip - seems like your children had a great time. The team appreciates the loan of stoves, coolers and equipment, but the time and energy it takes for bringing everything in is just as important.

A special thanks to the following chaperones for giving their time, sweat and blood (bugs were BAD at DAR):

8 Sandra Pucillo 8 Chris Kiegle 8 Kathleen Kiegle 8 Colleen Palmer 8 Florence Oliver 8 Lupe Sears 8 Sara Mabley 8 Ed Riddell

7 Paul Gale 7 John Guinness 7 Andrea Kelly 7 Chris Morrissey 7 Luke Roberge 7 Marie Sawyer 7 Paul Strek 7 David Wood 7 Steven Mundell

7 Lisa Lavoie 7 Carol Sullivan 7 Lee Rosen 7 Jennifer Silpe 7 Dayna Katz 7 Ed Nasta 7 Beth Novotny 7 Christa Alexander 7 Elizabeth Webster

**The team would love to create a slideshow of the best quality photos taken during the field trip.  If you or your child has photos to share, please choose your 5 best photos and send them by email to Lisa (lisa.windhausen@cesuvt.org).

Computer Contracts

The computer contracts are due back ASAP.  A student must return their contract before they will be allowed to take their laptop home. The 8th grade should be able to take their laptops home by next week.

Curriculum Updates….

… will return this Friday.

Looking forward to the week ahead,,

The Fusion Team