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Friday, April 14, 2017

Fusion Communication: April 14

Hi all,

Whew - one more week. A couple of assessments are happening this coming week - please check in with the team if your child is leaving before Thursday for vacation.

8th Grade Only: Career Unit

It was a great success! Thank you to all families that attended and to those of you who hosted a job shadow.

Great Escape Letter

Please see the attached permission form for the 8th grade end-of-year field trip to the Great Escape! Hardcopies were sent home with students today. The date for this field trip is Friday, June 16th. If you already know that your child will not be able to attend this field trip, please let me know as soon as possible. (lisa.windhausen@cesuvt.org) Otherwise, the permission forms are due Friday, May 26th. The fee for this field trip is $65, which includes transportation, park fee, and lunch; please note, however, there are multiple payment options listed on the permission form.

Reminder from Nurse’s Office:

Please know that if your child texts, emails or calls you from school due to illness or injury, it should be from the Health Office. The protocol is that if a child is not feeling well or is injured, he/she is sent to the Health Office. We, with your student, will decide if a call home to a parent/guardian is warranted. Please ask your student if she/he has been to see the nurse first if there is a request to be picked up. Thank-you for your help on this important matter.

Calendar

April 21 - Student Faculty Basketball game (1:45pm in gym)

April 24 - 28: April Break - no school

May 10 (change for earlier emails) - Delayed Start (last one of the year)

June 16 - Grade 8: Great Escape Trip

Grade 7: Field Trip to Sandbar State Park (rain or shine:)

June 19 - Tentative date for Recognition Night (8th Grade)

June 20 - Tentative date for last day of school

Curriculum Updates

7 - Students handed in their Companion Book drafts today. Next week we will do mini lessons to add lead and ending, talk about how to organize the various sections to best inform the reader and revise and edit these papers into more polished pieces.

8 - Students began drafting their Position Papers this week. Section 1 of the paper (argument) drafts were due today. We will add other sections to this paper next week.

Science

7th - Students explored adaptations of organisms by creating bizarre creatures using zoomorph pieces, and by comparing 3 species of bears. They’re now extending their concept of adaptations to the variety of mechanisms that drive evolution of species.

8th - We explored energy transfer by conduction this week through investigations and computer models. Students will apply their understanding of thermal conductivity in an engineering design project next week!

Math

7: We are into Investigation 2 in Moving Straight Ahead. We are currently examining how rates and starting points from linear stories show up in equations, tables, and graphs. Next week we will be applying this knowledge to equations in slope-intercept form. We will be working towards being fluent with going back and forth between tables, graphs, and equations.

8: This week, we used our knowledge of reflections, rotations, and translations to prove the congruence of angles formed by parallel lines cut by a transversal. We also used this knowledge to prove the sum of interior angles and exterior angles of a triangles are 180 degrees and 360 degrees, respectively. We also explored the effect of dilations on geometric shapes. We are looking to wrap up this unit next week with a unit test at the end of the week.

Algebra: This week, we used our knowledge of reflections, rotations, and translations to prove the congruence of angles formed by parallel lines cut by a transversal. We also used this knowledge to prove the sum of interior angles and exterior angles of a triangles are 180 degrees and 360 degrees, respectively. We also explored the effect of dilations on geometric shapes. We are looking to wrap up this unit next week with a unit test at the end of the week.

7 - Student spent the week preparing a complex task for the district assessment. Please check in with your child about their progress with this project - it is due Monday. Next week will see the culmination of the Sovereign State Game - should be a wild finale!

8 - the Career unit was a major component to the week; it was a great success, with all students presenting and shadowing this year. Students started another unit about bills before the Vermont Legislature; in groups, students selected bills they were interested in researching and discussing with "experts". If any adults would like to support this unit by completing surveys or serving as experts for the following bills, please contact Mr. Pless.

VT Legislature Bill Search: http://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/search/2018

H.170 (main marijuana possession bill)

H.188 (increasing penalties for animal cruelty)

S.18 (freedom of expression for students)

H.177 (An act relating to the moisture content of firewood sold in Vermont)

H.419 (recording of civil or criminal offenses by law enforcement)

H.8 (distracted driving)

H.218 (adequate shelter of dogs and cats)

H.212 (penalties for killing a law enforcement dog)

Friday, April 7, 2017

Fusion Communication: April 7

Hi all,

Bring on Spring! We hope everyone is doing well with mud season - hopeful it will be over sooner than later as students need more outside time:)

8th Grade Only: Career Unit

Career unit is in full swing - about 100% of 8th grade students have completed their career shadows. Please check in with Mr. Pless if you feel your child will need support for the career unit. Presentations will happen on April 11 in the classroom; Career Fair is a more informal event which all families and students are welcome to attend.

Reminder from Nurse’s Office:

Calendar

April 11 - 8th Grade Career Presentations during school hours

April 12 - Delayed Start

April 13 - 8th Grade Career Fair 5:30-6:30pm in Vivace Team Area (all team students are welcome): 8th graders are not required to attend but receive extra credit for doing so. All posters, artifacts and interactives should be present for fair.

April 24 - 28: April Break - no school

May 10 (change for earlier emails) - Delayed Start

Curriculum Updates will return next week - there are multiple assessments due over the next few weeks. Check in with your children about their progress with these assignments.

Friday, March 31, 2017

Fusion Communication: March 31

Hi all,

As Mr. Keblin says, “Winter still has it’s claws in us - and is not letting go!” Other than a happy April Fools, Fusion keeps on keeping on.

8th Grade Only: Career Unit

Career unit is in full swing - about 100% of 8th grade students have completed their career shadows. Please check in with Mr. Pless if you feel your child will need support for the career unit. Students will begin assembling their posters and building their presentations on Monday, April 3.

Reminder from Nurse’s Office:

Calendar

April 11 - 8th Grade Career Presentations during school hours

April 12 - Delayed Start

April 24 - 28: April Break - no school

May 16 - Delayed Start

Curriculum Updates

Independent Reading -- All students should return to 30 minutes of independent reading each day now that we have completed our class novels. The goal for all students is to read 2 books in the month of April -- there is no genre requirement this month.

7th - This week we began our information writing unit. Students listened to a mentor text to practice methods for writing about reading. We spent time exploring the note taking methods and discussing our reactions to the story. Next week students will dig into their choice books and begin to planning for their Companion Books.

8th - This week we finished reading our class novel Chains. Students are currently working on a poster project to demonstrate their thoughts on the book. Next week we will start reading articles to get background information for the next writing assignment: Position Papers. Articles are linked below.

Issue Overview: Political Asylum

Surges and slips: Immigration in America over 200 years

Syria’s Civil War Explained

Pro/Con: Stopping Syrian refugees from coming to the U.S.

Science:

7th: Students worked very hard this week writing a paper on the human body’s interacting organ systems. They completed research notes from a variety of sources, evaluated these sources, wrote thoughtful lead and conclusion paragraphs highlighting their human condition they researched, and wrote at least 3 body paragraphs describing the relevant body systems and their interactions. Their 2nd draft was due today. Next week, we focus on the endocrine and nervous systems while looking at our body’s response to stress.

8th: The focus this week was on the properties of a gas. Students experimented with syringes, bubble wrap and foam cubes to demonstrate the results of compressing and expanding air. Today they created visual notes of the basic properties and behaviors of gases. We will have a short quiz on Monday. Later next week, we explore expansion and contraction of matter that occurs as a result of temperature changes.

Math:

7th: We finished up the Comparing and Scaling unit this week with a unit test on Thursday. We are now beginning our next unit, Moving Straight ahead. This book is the foundation of linear algebra linking stories, tables, graphs, and equations. We will also do some basic solving of one-step, two-step, and multi-step linear equations.

8th CMP: This week, we worked towards developing rules for congruencey for triangles. We will spend some time next week finalizing these and applying them.

Algebra: This week, we developed rules for congruencey for triangles. We had some healthy debate over these and found some caveats with the Side-Side-Angle congruency. Next week will focus on analyzing and performing transformations on a coordinate plane.

7th: This week students continued to develop their entrepreneurial inventions and created advertisements to “sell” their products. We began to investigate what trade looks like in our discussions about globalization and trade barriers, and we put our knowledge into action in our Sovereign State Game where students traded their inventions, natural resources, and even economic “cards” with one another. We ended the week looking at the relationship between the economy and geography, a theme we will continue to look at next week.

8th: This week we continued our conversation of the impact that the Industrial Revolution had on culture, especially in the time period known as the “Gilded Age”. Students investigated multiple aspects of culture - including living conditions, fashion, leisure, and transportation - and were asked to focus on one of any these themes to demonstrate how they perceived the Industrial Revolution changed this part of society, through a mode of representation of their choice. We ended the week with a labor union simulation to learn about this process of negotiation born out of the Industrial Revolution.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Fusion Communication: March 24

Hi all,

So winter continues, but students are focused and learning a lot. See below for all the things happening on Fusion.

8th Grade Only: Career Unit

Career unit is in full swing - about 90% of 8th grade students have completed their career shadows. Please check in with Mr. Pless if you feel your child will need support for the career unit. Job shadows should have been completed by this Friday.

Reminder from Nurse’s Office:

Calendar

April 11 - 8th Grade Career Presentations during school hours

April 12 - Delayed Start

April 24 - 28: April Break - no school

May 16 - Delayed Start

Spectrum Sleepout

Congratulations to Mr. Martin and the Spectrum Sleepout crew! They raised $5400 for the Spectrum Center through this effort.

Curriculum Updates

7th - Students are currently working to complete a Holes poster project this week. Next week we will begin looking at sample companion books and start to plan out students’ papers.

8th - We are almost finished with our class novel, Chains. Next we will begin our study of the Syrian Refugee Crisis by reading the articles linked below. Students will receive an overview on the issue and have the opportunity to write about it from their own unique perspective.

Issue Overview: Political Asylum

Surges and slips: Immigration in America over 200 years

Syria’s Civil War Explained

Pro/Con: Stopping Syrian refugees from coming to the U.S.

Science

Trout Update: Thanks so much to the families who fed our fish over the vacation! They continue to thrive!

7th: Students are busy writing a research paper! They selected one human body condition to use as the context for establishing the claim that the human body is a system of interacting systems. They have identified 3 body systems affected by their condition, and are writing a detailed description of each system. There are multiple check points along the way to keep students on track with this paper. We devoted plenty of class time this week for writing; next week, students will be required to keep this project moving forward mostly outside of class time. The paper is due next Friday.

8th: Last week, students completed their identification of substances in a mystery mixture through multiple days of testing and observations. They submitted their final claim, supported by descriptive evidence of the substances and the chemical reactions. This week, we focused on the structure and organization of the Periodic Table of the Elements. Next week, we will explore the properties of gases.

Math:

7th: We are wrapping up our unit Comparing and Scaling next week with a unit test. We spent some extra time on percents and percent increase and decrease towards the end of this week. Our next unit will be a geometry unit on surface area and volume called Filling and Wrapping.

8th CMP: We are almost finished with the first investigation in the Butterflies, Pinwheels, and Wallpaper unit. We have been analyzing and practicing constructing reflections (flips), rotations (spin), and translations (slide). Next week, we will have a quiz to check for understanding and then move on to congruencey properties of quadrilaterals.

Algebra: We finished with the first investigation in the Butterflies, Pinwheels, and Wallpaper unit where we were analyzing and practicing constructing reflections (flips), rotations (spin), and translations (slide). Next week, will start with congruencey properties of quadrilaterals.

7th: This week we began our economics unit where we have looked at basic economic principles including wants, needs, incentives, consumers, barter, and supply and demand. We also investigated different economic systems around the world, such as traditional, market, and command economies, and students selected one of these systems for the state they have created in our Sovereign State Game. Students are now acting as entrepreneurs from their states, creating an invention or business idea they will try to “sell” to their classmates. Next week we advertise our ideas and begin to trade with other states.

8th - This week we continued our conversation about working conditions by starting to look at the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. We have looked at the causes and origins of this significant movement and also investigated some of the important technology that made this Revolution possible. We finished the week with analyzing how the Industrial Revolution impacted culture, starting with massive migration to cities using maps and graphs. Next week we will continue looking at how the Industrial Revolution impacted culture - including living conditions, the idea of “leisure”, conspicuous consumption - and we will also compare working conditions of this time period with those of countries around the world today.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Fusion Communication: March 22, 2017

Hi all,

So much for the Spring. We can’t check on the groundhog - it’s under 3 feet of snow. Well, some things are a bit more predictable - school is back in session and Fusion continues moving forward. See below for updates and upcoming events.

8th Grade Only: Career Unit

Career unit is in full swing - about half of 8th grade students have completed their career shadows. Please check in with Mr. Pless if you feel your child will need support for the career unit. Job shadows should have been completed by this Friday.

Reminder from Nurse’s Office:

Calendar

February 24 - close of Trimester 2 report card

February 25 - March 6: Winter Break

March 17 - ½ student day/Parent Conference Day

April 11 - 8th Grade Career Presentations during school hours

April 12 - Delayed Start

April 24 - 28: April Break - no school

May 16 - Delayed Start

Spectrum Sleepout

Happening this Thursday Night! Let Mr. Martin know if your child is interested or you wish to make a donation.

Curriculum Updates

7th - We will be watching the movie Holes in class on Monday to celebrate finishing our class novel. Next up -- Companion Books. During our information writing unit students will create Companion Books or guide books to accompany a familiar text. Students are able to use the class novel, Holes to write this paper OR they may choose to revisit an old favorite book. The challenge option is to select and read a new book (students choosing this options should have already started the book and aim to complete it by the end of next week).

8th - We will be wrapping up our class novel, Holes the next week or so. Up next -- Position Papers. We will be examining a social issue (The Refugee Crisis) together as a class. Students will have an opportunity to look at the issue through one of three lenses: Families, Political or World. Each selection will be scaffolded a bit differently. This writing piece will include argument, narrative, explanation and procedural sections.

Math:

7th: We are nearing the end our current unit, Comparing and Scaling. This one has seemed to drag on bit due to the long break and the snow days and half day today. However, we should be wrapping this up towards the end of next week with a final unit assessment.

8th CMP: We have begun a new unit, Butterflies, Pinwheels, and Wallpaper. This introduces the concepts of and explores coordinate relationships of the different types of geometric symmetry: reflectional, rotational, and translational. This week we worked with introducing reflectional and rotational symmetries and performing geometric constructions of these. We will continue with translational symmetry next week.

Algebra: In order to mirror the current Algebra 1 curriculum at the high school this year, we are adding two new units to our curriculum this year while removing some material that will be covered in later years of high school. We will be using CMP materials in order to do this as our math consultant and curriculum team found them to be more than adequate to cover the concepts. This week we have begun a new unit from the CMP program, Butterflies, Pinwheels, and Wallpaper. This introduces the concepts of and explores coordinate relationships of the different types of geometric symmetry: reflectional, rotational, and translational. This week we worked with introducing reflectional and rotational symmetries and performing geometric constructions of these. We will continue with translational symmetry next week.

7th - Students have begun the Economics and Geography Unit. Students continued with the Sovereign State Game - ask about the “Code Red Virus” challenge. Ms. Menard, the student teacher from Johnson State College, is leading the curriculum the next two weeks.

8th - Students have begun the Industrialization unit - ask them about the videos they have watched about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and “Made in Bangladesh” documentary. Ms. Menard, the student teacher from Johnson State College, is leading the curriculum the next two weeks.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Career Unit Overview

Link to document

Fusion Communication: February 24

Hi all,

So much for the snow. Maybe onward to spring?

Parent Conferences in March

The team has filled conference times - if your family needs to reschedule, please contact the team as soon as you can. For families that need a time outside of the times already offered, contact Mr. Pless directly.

8th Grade Only: Career Unit

The career unit was introduced during the last PLP meeting (Monday, 2/20). Please read through the attached letter; please note - there is a job shadow expectation for this unit. February Break is a great time to get those completed.

Career Panel February 22

Thank you to all our panel members: Shaun King, Leslie Dee, Ryan Mercer, Jason Ritter, Deputy Sheriff Brian Welch, and Kristen Barker.

Trout Feeding over Break

Most of the trout are happily feeding when given the opportunity. A few families have reached out to me inquiring about feeding them over this vacation. If you would like to help out, please email me at lisa.windhausen@cesuvt.org with a day and time that works for you and I’ll add you to a feeding schedule. I will leave instructions on the tank. You can expect that it will take ~20-30 minutes, as they should be acclimated to the light for about 15 minutes before feeding, then covered up again after they feed. Thank you!

Calendar

February 24 - close of Trimester 2 report card

February 25 - March 6: Winter Break

March 17 - ½ student day/Parent Conference Day

April 12 - Delayed Start

May 16 - Delayed Start

Trout Update

Reminder from Nurse’s Office:

Spectrum Sleepout

Message below is from Greg Martin:

Dear BRMS Student and Parent(s),

Sleeping Outside overnight on March 23rd is hard and uncomfortable! Imagine having to do it EVERY NIGHT? The perspective and experience gained in participating with us in the Student Sleep Out will be a powerful and meaningful one. Please consider joining us by;

Joining our team, raising $ (raise $25 and you get a hat), sleeping out, having fun, SUPPORTING SPECTRUM PROGRAMS AND HELPING LOCAL HOMELESS TEENS.

Click here;

http://give.spectrumvt.org/site/TR/Events/TeamRaiserWorkshop?team_id=1232&pg=team&fr_id=1070 Click “Join Team” link, BRMS RAIDERS.

Signing up, all of the above, but just come for the PRESENTATION from 7:00-8:00pm on 3/23 and eat pizza. Go home and know you’ve helped and make a difference! *Best for students participating in the play on Friday 3/24.

Sponsor our TEAM or one of our PARTICIPANTS by giving $ to Spectrum here;

http://give.spectrumvt.org/site/TR/Events/TeamRaiserWorkshop?team_id=1232&pg=team&fr_id=1070 Click “DONATE NOW.” Know you’ve helped provide meals, shelter and services for a local, homeless teen!

Thank you for supporting the Spectrum's Sleep Out! You just made sure a struggling teen or young adult will be able to get help when they need it most.Each year, Spectrum provides 2,000 youth with basic needs like food and shelter, coaching and mentoring on life skills, and substance abuse and mental health counseling. If you'd like to find out more about their innovative programs, visit www.spectrumvt.org. Thank you again for making sure Spectrum's doors are open for the next youth who needs help!

*This is my 4th year organizing this event here at BRMS in honor of my younger brother who was homeless and struggling with drug addiction. I'm pleased to say that he is now over one year clean and sober and doing well. Agencies, like Spectrum, have been a lifeline for people in need, like my brother. This is means A LOT to me, so thank you sincerely for your generous donation of time and/or money!

Gregory Martin

5th & 6th Grade School Counselor - BRMS