Team Fusion Communication: September 23

Hi all,

Happy harvest Market - it will be very busy in Underhill Flats this weekend.  It's also been quite busy (first, true five day week!) on Team Fusion - see below.

Open House

Starts at 7pm for Team Fusion.  The team will present brief curriculum overviews, team organization, field trip update and present a Schoology 101 session.  At 7:30 the team will conclude the presentation and allow for more time to meet the team teachers and answer questions with staff members.

*If you have a burning issue that pertains only to your child, or want to let the team know something that is usually confidential, Open House is not the best environment to do so.  A team member will contact your family after the Open House to discuss any of those types of topics.

Burlington Field Trip Friday, September 30

The trip is on for this coming Friday.  This trip is a great one to casually drop in on your child - just let Mr. pless know so he can tell you the best place to meet them.  Please remember the 7th graders have a project to do on Church Street, and 8th graders may be trying to catch a boat

Montreal Field Trip Date Change from Friday October 14 to Wednesday October 19

The team has made the decision to switch the date of the Montreal Trip; we understand this change will represent a scheduling challenge for some of you and the team did not make this decision lightly.  We are sorry to have to change the date at this point. So far, all chaperones have been able to switch to that date - thank you!

Calendar

September 27 - Open House (6:30pm start at EXPs and 7pm start at Team Fusion)

September 30 - Burlington Field Trip ($5)

October 12 - Two Hour Delay

October 19 (date change!)- Montreal Day Trip ($45)

October 21 - Team Fusion Conference Day

November 9 - Two Hour Delay

Upcoming Field Trips

Much more detailed explanations of the three field trips are in the attached documents, but a basic summary for each trip is listed below:

• September 30 - Burlington
• Grade 7: Seventh Generation visit, investigate Church Street from a cultural perspective, possibly interview the Mayor of Burlington
• Grade 8: Melosira research vessel, Career Unit exploration

• October October 19 - Invade Montreal!
• Grade 7: Act as tour guides to the rich culture of the city
• Grade 8: Act as tour guides of the historical connections between Montreal and the United States
• Both Grades: Archeology Museum and over two hours free time with chaperones to investigate the city

Academic Area Update

LA:

Most students have had a reading conference with me at this point. The hope is to wrap these up early next week. During reading conferences we:

• Looked at the first two reading logs
• Went over reading expectations/ genre requirements
• Double checked that students all have a copy of the completed books list in their LA folders
• Discussed the  weekly reading plan (intended to help students break up the reading log task into smaller chunks)

• 7th: Students have continued work on their realistic fiction stories throughout the week. Topic choices should were submitted on schoology and I will be checking in with students regarding the focus of their stories next week.

• 8th: We started to look at published news stories to get a better handle on the genre of journalism. I have been truly impressed by the maturity level displayed during our in-class conversations this week.

Math:

• 7th: This week we explored estimating using benchmark angles, measuring angles with angle rulers and protractors, and finished with drawing shapes with tools given different side length and angle parameters. Next week we will be focusing on angle sums for polygons as well as examining interior and exterior angles of polygons. Now that we have some material under our belt, homework will be becoming a more regular occurrence. Assignments should be written down in assignment books and can be found on schoology.
• 8th CMP: This week we focused on exploring real world linear and nonlinear relationships. We also examined linear and nonlinear patterns. Students have been working towards being able to explain the differences between linear and nonlinear patterns in tables and graphs. Now that we have some material under our belt, homework will be becoming a more regular occurrence. Assignments should be written down in assignment books and can be found on schoology.
• 8th Algebra: We have continued working on simplifying expressions getting as far as combining like terms with nonexponential variables using the distributive, commutative, and associative properties. We will continue with the next week adding in multiplication and division of expressions as well as exponents. We are already in full swing with homework assignments. Students should be writing these down in their planners. They can be found on schoology as well.

Science

7th - Students developed an operational definition of life this week by exploring 5 different unknown materials in 3 different types of aquatic environments and by looking for evidence of life. They enjoyed watching radish seeds sprout in the water environment, and brine shrimp (aka sea monkeys!) hatch in the salt water!  (These are now our class pets!)  Next week, we begin using microscopes to look at evidence of life at a smaller scale.

8th - The main focus this week was trying to gain perspective on the immense size of the universe!  Students created scale models of various objects, and then of the solar system. Using the same scale for size and distance, we paced the distance between the sun and mercury outside, and discovered that venus would be off the school grounds!  Part I of the district assessment will be given on Tuesday; the main topics are scale models of the universe and the organization of the universe (planets, stars, solar systems, galaxies).

SS

7th - Emphasis this week was on introduction of the Universals of Culture (categories to help define what culture is).  The class used the Latin American tradition of Quinceañera to practice evaluating one instance of culture through the lens of the Universals.  Then, students used pictures from home to define the different Universals and finally worked in groups to compare Vermont, United States and a few countries around the world through a few key statistics and the Universals.  Next week will be all about preparing for the Burlington Field trip.

8th - Again, the heaviest emphasis was on current events using the Newsela website to introduce and guide students through the topic of gender equality.  Current events culminated in a discussion of gender equality during Friday’s social studies class; both groups did very well with listening to each other, vocalizing their points on the topic.  Next week will see the start of the history portion of the curriculum.

Happy Fall (started at 4:02pm Thursday) and enjoy the Harvest Market… or all the other awesome things your families do on the weekend.

Team Fusion

Team Fusion Communication: September 17

Hi all,

Team Fusion had a fantastic time at Lake Elmore on Thursday - the weather could not have been better.  Hopefully a few faces came home with tired looks and slightly burned - an indication of a good time:)  Make sure to ask about the s’mores and about some of the things mentioned below.

Montreal Field Trip Date Change from Friday October 14 to Wednesday October 19

The team has made the decision to switch the date of the Montreal Trip; we understand this change will represent a scheduling challenge for some of you and the team did not make this decision lightly.  We are sorry to have to change the date at this point. Chaperones - please check your inboxes for a separate email about this change.

The archeology museum notified us that they would not be able to handle a group of our size on October 14, but could on October 19.  Given the success of having this museum included in the trip, the team felt a change of date was necessary (the team also looked into going to the Science museum and the Biodome - neither of those options worked with our format). Please contact Mr. Pless with any questions about this decision.

Calendar

September 27 - Open House (generally starts around 6:30pm)

September 30 - Burlington Field Trip ($5)

October 12 - Two Hour Delay

October 19 (date change!)- Montreal Day Trip ($45)

October 21 - Team Fusion Conference Day

November 9 - Two Hour Delay

Upcoming Field Trips

Much more detailed explanations of the three field trips are in the attached documents, but a basic summary for each trip is listed below:

• September 30 - Burlington
• Grade 7: Seventh Generation visit, investigate Church Street from a cultural perspective, possibly interview the Mayor of Burlington
• Grade 8: Melosira research vessel, Career Unit exploration

• October 14 (Could change to October 19) - Invade Montreal!
• Grade 7: Act as tour guides to the rich culture of the city
• Grade 8: Act as tour guides of the historical connections between Montreal and the United States
• Both Grades: Archeology Museum and over two hours free time with chaperones to investigate the city

Academic Area Update

LA:

• 7th: Students have begun drafting realistic fiction stories in class. We will continue to add to them over the next few weeks using strategies from workshop sessions. Independent reading should continue. Reading logs will be assigned each Monday and will be due the following Monday, giving students all week to accumulate minutes and answer the comprehension question(s).

• 8th: We have been looking at a variety of ways to capture the details of events and turn them into news stories. Students will spend some time next week examining the difference between traditional narrative/storytelling and journalism. We will look at the ways tone can be used to convey information to readers. Independent reading should continue. Reading logs will be assigned each Monday and will be due the following Monday, giving students all week to accumulate minutes and answer the comprehension question(s).

Math: We are finally up and running with our first units in all math classes!

• 7th: We started our first unit, Shapes and Designs today. Students began by sorting polygons based on defining characteristics. Next week we will be using different tools and estimation techniques to measure angles.
• 8th CMP: This week, we were building paper bridges and testing their strength while manipulating the thickness and length of the bridge.
• 8th Algebra: We began our unit on simplify and evaluating expressions. This week we did some basics with evaluating algebraic expressions given a certain value for the variable, order of operations, and absolute value. Next week we will work on some review of operations with integers as well as some new applications of this.

Science

7th - Students continued to practice the skill of using a dichotomous key (the Tree Finder) to identify native and nonnative tree species.  We walked along the river path to gather leaves in a more natural setting.  They compared the species richness of the river path, the planted school buffer, and the trees from home, and discovered that the river path had the greatest number of tree species!  Students are now re-visiting the main characteristics of life. Next week, they’ll gather more observations to strengthen their understanding of what makes things alive.

8th - Students completed their mini-research on a celestial body, and used their understanding to place objects in order by distance and size.  The goal is for students to gain a broad understanding of the various types of celestial objects in the universe and their relative positions.  They completed a check-up quiz on Friday to determine their current understanding of the Earth’s motion and phases of the moon. Next week, students will do a variety of activities, depending on the information they gave on Friday’s check-up.

SS

7th - Some time was spent processing an article from the Newsela website about the Small World ride; the concept behind the ride was used as a metaphor to explain differing perspectives and the purpose of studying the different cultures of the world.  Students completed two different sets of maps of the continents: one on paper using an atlas and the other on a program called Thinglink!, which allowed the students to change the “perspective” by incorporating videos, pictures and most importantly changing the background image to reflect their “view” of the world.

8th - The focus was mostly on current events, as students finished the process of reading and writing about an article, moving to debating the issues behind the tradition of relocating the Olympics every four years. The rest of the week was spent on continuing the review of regions within the United States by collecting data from the program Culturegrams.  The data will be used to make generalizations about the regions and how they may have turned out that way.

The leaves are a changin’ - here's to hoping your families get outside on Saturday as Sunday looks wet (but we need the rain).

Team Fusion

Permission Forms for Field Trips

September 30: Burlington Permission Form - requires $5 payment
October 14: Montreal Permission Form - requires $45 payment (additional $10 for a parent chaperone)
**Montreal Trip also requires families to submit an original birth certificate, passport or enhanced identification card to Mr. Pless before the date of the trip.

Fusion Communication: September 10

Hi all,

Hope everyone is enjoying the warm temps this weekend - next week looks much cooler.  Speaking of cool, see below all the cool things Team Fusion is starting - or has in store - for the coming weeks

Calendar

September 14 - Two Hour Delay

September 15 - Field Trip Lake Elmore (free)

September 27 - Open House (generally starts around 6:30pm)

September 30 - Burlington Field Trip ($5)

October 12 - Two Hour Delay

October 14 - Montreal Day Trip ($45)

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.

Upcoming Field Trips

Much more detailed explanations of the three field trips are in the attached documents, but a basic summary for each trip is listed below:

• September 15 - Lake Elmore State Park

• September 30 - Burlington
• Grade 7: Seventh Generation visit, investigate Church Street from a cultural perspective, possibly interview the Mayor of Burlington
• Grade 8: Melosira research vessel, Career Unit exploration

• October 14 - Invade Montreal!
• Grade 7: Act as tour guides to the rich culture of the city
• Grade 8: Act as tour guides of the historical connections between Montreal and the United States
• Both Grades: Archeology Museum and over two hours free time with chaperones to investigate the city

Academic Area Update

LA: Reading logs will be assigned on Monday. Starting next week students are expected to read 30 minutes each day for a total of 150 minutes per week. Reading logs will have a list of questions at the bottom. Students should select one to respond to.

I will be offering writing help after school on Tuesdays. Students are welcome to attend. I just ask that families send an email to let me know that your student will be attending - this way I know you are aware your student is staying after school and have arranged for transportation home. We end in time for kids to catch the 3:25 bus.

Math: We have started the year in all classes following the youcubed.com Week of Inspirational Math. This combines videos about brain science and growth mindset with engaging math problems and activities to prime students’ attitudes, thinking, and class processes for the year. We will begin our first units for each class at the beginning of next week.

Science

7th - Students began their study of life science by learning to practice the skills of a botanist!  We are collecting tree leaves from the restored buffer around the schoolyard, from home, as well as from the natural buffer along the Browns River. Using close observations of each leaf characteristic, students are learning to accurately identify their trees.

8th - Students were introduced to their study of physical science by considering the Big Bang Theory of how the universe began.  Currently, we are working to gain a perspective on the scale and organization of the universe.  Each student is researching one celestial object to summarize and then share with others next week.

SS

7th - Students have begun exploring the geography of the world through a continents review and have begun the current events program - students will use the Newsela program  for most of their current events.  In addition, much time has been spent exploring the capabilities of Schoology and looking at “digital footprints”, and discussing how student’s school accounts should remain for school use only.

8th - The major activity this week was introducing the current events website Newsela and having students prepare for a debate about the following question: Should the IOC (International Olympic Committee) build a permanent home for the Olympics?

Thanks and enjoy another great weather weekend… although we could use the rain,

Team Fusion

Weekly Communication: September 2

Hi all,

It was a fast and furious three days - Team Fusion hopes your children are coming home tired, but positive.  For those of you receiving this communication for the first time, Team Fusion sends home a weekly communication email.  Generally, the email contains a description of the week’s academics and any important dates and events coming up in the next few weeks. Given school just started, academic summaries will not be included this week.

As we will be digging into academics more next week -  please be sure students have all of their needed supplies. The summer letter (which has the supply list) has been attached to this email, and is located on the team blog.
Team blog link: https://teamfusion78.blogspot.com/

Calendar

September 14 - Two Hour Delay

September 15 - Field Trip Lake Elmore (free)

September 27 - Open House (generally starts around 6:30pm)

September 30 - Burlington Field Trip ($5)

October 12 - Two Hour Delay

October 14 - Montreal Day Trip ($45)

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.

Upcoming Field Trips

Much more detailed explanations of the three field trips will be coming early next week, but a basic summary for each trip is listed below:

• September 15 - Lake Elmore State Park

• September 30 - Burlington
• Grade 7: Seventh Generation visit, investigate Church Street from a cultural perspective, possibly interview the Mayor of Burlington
• Grade 8: Melosira research vessel, Career Unit exploration

• October 14 - Invade Montreal!
• Grade 7: Act as tour guides to the rich culture of the city
• Grade 8: Act as tour guides of the historical connections between Montreal and the United States
• Both Grades: Archeology Museum and over two hours free time with chaperones to investigate the city

Computer Contracts

The computer contracts have gone home for 8th grade students and will be going home Tuesday for 7th graders.  A student must return their contract before they will be allowed to take home their laptop home.

Thanks and have a great Labor Day Weekend,

The Fusion

Summer Letter and Welcome Back!

Summer Letter

Dear Students and Families,

Welcome to Team Fusion!  We hope that everyone has had an enjoyable summer and that you are excited for the year ahead. This letter is intended to provide information to help you begin the year as smoothly as possible. We look forward to a great start and a productive school year.

Our team consists of four core teachers: Mr. Keblin (Math), Ms. Windhausen (Science), Mr. Pless (Social Studies) Ms. Brosius (Language Arts); as well as our Special Educator (Jenn Cote) and several paraeducators who support students in our classrooms. For more information about each teacher, please see the profiles attached below.

Our Philosophy:

We are very much looking forward to building our team. In each of our prior teaching experiences we developed a philosophy grounded in the principles of teaching the whole student and cultivating a strong sense of community.

We are dedicated to improving student academic skills through inquiry tasks and mini-research projects.  An increasingly complex world calls for students to be proficient, not only in core skills, but in how to solve complex social, economic, and environmental problems.  We will strive to offer learning experiences tied to student interests, and will emphasize collaborative learning. We will also recognize the benefits of  integrated curricula and will link learning through common projects, assessments and homework assignments whenever possible. This process towards greater incorporation of learning experiences between the two grades, and the core disciplines - language arts, math, social studies and science - is an evolving one.

That being said, this school year will begin with a focus on building a lasting community based on respect and relationships.  As a team, we incorporate the ideals of Developmental Design into all aspects of our teaching.

Fall Breakfast:

We would like to invite you to join us for an informal breakfast on Friday, September 2nd from 7:30 AM - 8:00 AM in the team classrooms to celebrate the start of the school year.

Although not required, this is a great opportunity to meet all the Fusion teachers as well as other students and their families. We will provide juice and bagels with cream cheese; please feel free to bring a small breakfast item to share.

Fall Field Trips:

Fusion has a tentative team-building field trip in the works for September. More information will be given to students once school starts. The hope is to provide different program options for students to “challenge themselves by choice”.  While this field trip is likely to be for students and staff only, we are planning other field trips this Fall that will require parent chaperone support.  So far, these include:

• Burlington, VT;  late September/early October; 7th Grade Trolley Tour/8th Grade Historic Tour and Melosira research vessel.
• Montreal; mid-October; investigation of history and culture and practice with public speaking

More information on these trips will be shared early in the school year.

Please be advised: The field trips may occur the same day as sporting events - please contact us if there a need to discuss alternate transportation.

What To Bring for the Academic Year:

In preparation for the start of the school year, we ask that you do your best to have the following supplies:

• Pencils
• Colored Pencil Set (8 colors are enough)
• Hand held sharpener (recommended)
• One composition book to serve as a Science Notebook.
• Students will need binder space for all core classes, but especially for Math and Science. The Team recommends either one 2-inch binder for all classes, or two 1-inch binders, with dividers.
• Loose leaf lined paper
• Loose leaf graph paper
• Several different colored highlighters
• Scientific Calculator (The TI-30 models are great and are about $10-15 at Staples)
• Graphing calculators can be helpful, but are definitely not necessary. Since all students will have a laptop, everyone will have access to free web tools that can do the same work.
• Ruler with metric units (Rubberized is better – less likely to snap, or be snapped)
• Cheap earbuds or small headphones to use with the laptops
• A box of tissues to donate to your homeroom teacher (you will thank us later:)

** We will not require students to use assignment books as all assignments will be posted on Schoology. However, assignment books will be made available to students who wish to use them to stay organized.

We recognize that wellness plays a vital role in student learning and success. Students are encouraged to bring in the following items to take care of themselves while in school:

• Water bottle to keep at school - Students will have access to a Hydration Station in the hallway between classrooms

• Healthy snacks
• Extra sweater or jacket

Once again, welcome to the team! We look forward to getting to know all of our students and families!  We welcome your communication so please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have questions or comments. Our contact information is below.

Warmly,

Tom, Lisa, Bryant, Robyn

Team Bios

Bryant Pless - Social Studies

I have taught at Browns River Middle School since 1999.  Much of my continuing education over the past years have revolved around integrating technology and differentiated teaching methods.   Most of my formative teaching experience came from stints as an adventure-based educator and coaching basketball.  I originally hail from the southern United States, spending my summers and college years in Virginia, and the winters in Georgia.  Interests of mine include paddle boarding, canoeing, coaching, reading and exploring various hobbies (ie, puttering).  My family and I live in Jericho Center and can be found, on occasion, eating creemies in front of the store. Bryant.Pless@cesuvt.org

Lisa Windhausen - Science

This will be my ninth year teaching at Browns River Middle School!  I am a career-switcher, previously working in the natural resources management field as a botanist, wetlands ecologist, and invasive species coordinator.  I love science and math and enjoy making connections between these subjects and other content areas, as well as to real-world experiences outside the classroom.  I enjoy hiking, kayaking, swimming, gardening, reading, and skiing.  I live in Burlington with my husband, Jeff and my son, Dylan, who is now in middle school, and our new puppy, Bella!

Lisa.Windhausen@cesuvt.org

Tom Keblin - Math

This will be my fifth year at Browns River and my tenth year as a middle school teacher. My first five years of teaching were as a 7th and 8th grade Math and Science teacher at Milton Middle School.  As a resident of Huntington, I greatly enjoy being part of the CESU community and Browns River Middle School. Currently, much of my life is defined by teaching and time with my young family: wife Sarah, son Mason (age 9), and daughter Evalyn (age 7). However, I always try to find time to get outside, whether skiing (all kinds), running, or biking (road and mountain). I have also played guitar since I was in the 3rd grade and continue to enjoy playing and singing with friends. I always enjoy connecting with students over experiences and passions, and I look forward to learning about those of our students in the coming year. tom.keblin@cesuvt.org

Robyn Brosius - Language Arts

I joined the Browns River community last year and I am thrilled to be a member of team Fusion! I grew up in Huntington, Vermont and attended Chittenden East Schools. As a student I participated in Track and Field and I was actively involved in the Theater Program. After attending college at The University of Vermont, I enrolled in the CCSU Teacher Apprenticeship Program during which I completed student teaching and received my training in the field of education. In my free time I enjoy reading, spending time with my family, trying new recipes, drawing/painting and spending time at the beach. Robyn.Brosius@cesuvt.org