Sunday, October 28, 2012

Week of October 22

Voyager Housekeeping

⅞ New York City Spring Field Trip

  • ⅞ New York City Voyager field trip letters went out to students with some important information and a “return page” that must be brought back by Friday, November 2.  An electronic copy of the letter will be sent home on Monday.

Voyager FAP Book and Media Sale
  • Please be sure to bring in any books, dvd’s, or cd donations (drop off in our project room) for our sale at the Craft Fair next week.

Parent Conferences
  • Please be sure to sign up for a parent conference.  See the wiki at the following address...



Mr. Merrill’s Wrap Up
On Monday, students were introduced to the book titles for our second round of literature groups.  Our theme is “Mystery and Suspense.”  Ask your student what book they will be reading for our second round.  

The 5th and 6th graders also typed their “Where I Stand” constructed responses and created their first post on our Kidblog.  We discussed and agreed on our criteria for quality blog comments.  Students read and commented on posts at the end of the week.  We also compiled a list of our “Election 2012” vocabulary and started a Word Map activity.  The vocabulary, along with the two constructed responses (Qualities of Elected Officials and Where I Stand) will form the basis for an Argument Essay.

News from Ms. O
Math 5: We know now why mathematicians have rules about the order by which you solve a problem with multiple operations! Help you kiddo understand PEMDAS rules: Parentheses, exponents and square roots (not a big thing in 5th grade!), Multiplication or Division, whichever comes first left to right and lastly Addition or Subtraction, whichever comes first left to right!  When solving these problems students learned to solve one operation and rewrite the rest of the problem, watching the number of operations decrease with each rewrite!  We also got back to algebra working on generalizing growing tile patterns.  Students are using variables, specifically n to represent the arrangement number in the sequence, looking for characteristics that stay the same (we named them constants) and characteristics that change or vary (variable).  They are really getting it!  Quiz coming to check in on this learning and then a grand finale for Unit 1 on statistics!

Thanks for continuing to encourage FASTT Math!

Math 6:  We are finalizing our understanding of the Properties of a Number with a unit assessment on Monday.  Students have been reinforcing computational skills as well as working deeply on their conceptual understanding of the properties that make each number unique.  I had announced that we would head into a short algebra unit and then back into fractions!  This is traditionally a difficult unit for students because some of the rules and properties we use for whole numbers do not apply to fractions.  I will keep close eye on their understanding so that we can scoop up any misconceptions about these kinds of number and address them.  

⅚ Science
Students spent the majority of this week working on new understandings about water on Earth.  We did a few simulations on Earth’s water and spent our long block day at the Allen Brook!  It is fun to learn outside!  Students left this experience wanting to know more.  Each student will have the chance to self-select into a small research group that will return monthly to the Allen Brook to investigate a specialized topic.  This research will be active, including water sampling, tree identification, photographic essays on animal life, and even the possibility of making bat boxes to hang in this natural area. It will be self-guided and collaborative.  We hope to learn more about this important local freshwater ecosystem and contribute to some real science for the Williston Town Planner and other local river organizations.


Ms. Q’s Corner
Math 7
The 7th grade class is right in the thick of figuring out linear equations and and the “y” intercept. The synapses were firing on all cylinders as we defended our mathematical thinking and graphic representations.  The center of this mathematical controversy.....What happens to our graph when a situation calls for an upfront fee, like a phone plan or a group entrance fee and then you have to pay additional amounts for numbers or people or minutes on a phone?  Can we still start our graph at (0,0)? What does it mean when our line starts at (0, 49.99)?  Students had a “Pop Quiz” on scientific notation.  This week-end they will be correcting those quizzes and the Variables and Patterns Check-up 2.

Math 8
Shifting from equations to tables to graphs, students have been discerning the relationship between x and y.  In linear equations, we look to see if there is consistent pattern and if the data creates a straight line.  Now students are not only looking at the pattern, but they are looking for a proportional relationship or an inverse relationship between coordinates.  We explored how to see inverse and direct variations in a table, what they might look like when graphed and the equations they form.  Students will have the “Thinking with Mathematical Models” Unit Test on Tuesday.  Reviewing material on Khan Academy would be a great weekend activity.

Science 7th/8th
Students took two days to complete their Ecosystem Quiz. Results will be available sometime next week.  After the quiz, we explored biological classification through a textbook reading and we classified “hardware” using the different levels starting with Kingdom all the way down to species.  Ms. Cooper our UVM graduate intern, took us outside to do some tree identification. We utilized an online dichotomous key to find what the tree species were.  Next week we will look at what happens to an ecosystem when it is disturbed.

The Week in Ms. Wesnak’s Room  

First, let me just say how nice it is to be back in Voyager! It was very hard to be away, but my recovery has been speedy, and I thank everyone in Voyager for their support.

This week students took the time to finish up and present the projects they had been working on during my absence. Students were working on a project for Language Arts around advertising during the presidential elections and used a FANTASTIC website called The Living Room Candidate. This website was full of wonderful information, including commercials from election years dating back to 1952. Students put together some great presentations and really found the reasoning and persuasive techniques behind media advertising during election years. They were asked to analyze the commercials in a constructed response to help in understanding why a candidate won the presidential race, based on their commercials alone. In Social Studies students were asked to work in groups to put together information and fun facts on the Swing States for this election year. Voyager students once again put together fantastic projects. Their posters told the class not only some fun facts about these Swing States, but they told us some really powerful information such as: which way the state is leaning, how the state has voted in the past, how many electoral votes the state has, the unemployment rate, per capita income, and more.

This week 7th and 8th graders were given their final assignment for our unit on Government and Civics. All of our work around government, what it means to be a citizen, and our work around the political parties and candidates will be coming together in this final essay. Students are being asked to write a 5 paragraph persuasive/argument essay around a political issue of their choice. They will be using direct evidence from both presidential candidates to show both sides of the issue and develop their own view on the issue. This essay is proving to be of heavy interest to the students! They are engaging in serious discussion, looking up direct evidence to back up both candidates views, and are really getting at the heart of this election race. They are reading the candidate’s websites, news articles (online and in print), and are also using the presidential debates as examples of direct evidence. They are working very hard and are being given time in class to get work done, along with peer edit and conference. This essay will not only be handed in on November 6th, but every student will be reading 1 paragraph of their choice to their peers on election day. November 6th will be a big day for our 7th and 8th graders and for all of us! We’re all looking forward to the big day, for one reason or another!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Week of October 15


5/6 Families
A conference letter was placed in your child's mailbox. Please be sure that your child has brought this letter home to you! Thanks!

News from Ms. O

Math 5
Students in 5th grade math have been working their way through several topics of study this week including prime factorization and order of operations.  Focus questions included:  
  • How does a prime factorization help us solve problems?
  • Why do mathematicians have a set of rules for problems that have multiple operations?   

We hope that this work will lead to improved understanding of the properties of numbers and of basic fluency facts.  We will move back into algebra with deeper instruction on decoding cube sequences and do some work with data and statistics to end the unit.  A unit assessment will be administered within a two week period.  

Math 6
We had our first studio day this week in the 6th grade classroom.  Bill Feeley, a resident consultant who works for  district, taught class to the 6th graders to model best practices in mathematics.  The 15 adults in the room were impressed with the efforts made by the students to practice the math habits and interactions reinforced in Bill’s lesson.  This group will be the studio classroom for the year and will have another visit from faculty again in November.  I appreciate the opportunity your children are providing me as an educator.  This work is a privilege and your students will be better mathematicians because of it!  

We are finishing up our work investigating the properties of numbers and will move into an algebra unit when finished.  

⅚ Math Families

Thank you for your continued insistence to practice math facts at home.  Below is a letter from Caitlin Bianchi, the math coordinator, commenting on fluency.

Knowing math facts with automaticity  (without having to figure them out)  positively impacts a child’s ability to complete more complex mathematical processes. Gaining an understanding of the concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division also helps students access higher level math thinking.   The Bridges in Mathematics program includes instruction in computation.  The Connected Math Program does not make this instruction as explicit.

Students participate in activities that help them understand how operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) work and how they are related to each other.   There are also activities in the Bridges program designed to help students learn facts.   For some students, the amount of practice at school is enough.   For other middle school students, additional practice at home is a necessity (particularly since the school focus on fact practice in grades 6-8 becomes much less frequent).  Williston Schools use a CSSU wide fact fluency assessment program to help monitor fact fluency progress and determine the level of additional practice that students need.

As part of this program, children will be assessed on how well they know facts.  You will be provided with information about your child’s progress at conferences. Until your child has met the end-of-year grade level standards for fact fluency, she/he will need to practice facts at home in addition to the work being done at school.  Each teacher will provide families with resources outlining options for practice.  Once our assessments show that your child has met the grade level standards, he/she will not be expected to do additional work at home.

Based on the Vermont Grade Level Expectations for automaticity of facts, students in grades 3 and 4 are expected to be able to add and subtract numbers 0 to 10 with sums/minuends through 20.  4th graders are expected to multiply numbers 0 to 12. 5th and 6th graders are expected to be able to multiply and divide whole numbers through 12.

⅚ Science
This week we will take a pause from the Properties of Matter unit and change focus to introduce our yearlong field work learning about the Winooski River Watershed.  We will be taking a walk with the Williston Town Planner, to the Allen Brook, to begin this adventure!  Students will be able to answer the following questions:
  • What is a watershed?  What is my watershed?
  • What evidence can we collect that tells us about the health of the Allen Brook ecosystem?
  • What are the natural and human impacts on this river system?
  • What role do we play in ensuring an ecosystem’s health?

IMPORTANT Info!!!
Mr. Merrill’s core will take their field walk Wednesday.  Ms. O’s core will take their field walk Thursday.  Any parents are welcome to join!  Touch base with me via email so I can expect you!  We leave school at about 1:20 and will return for 2:50 dismissal.  Please encourage old clothes, warm clothes, potentially rain gear and rubber boots!  We may find ourselves in some wet and muddy areas!


Mr. Merrill’s Wrap Up
This week students wrapped up their first literature group book and project.  Students created character maps or organizers in their Reading Response Notebooks, using details like description, traits, actions, and changes.  In Social Studies, we practiced reading Informational Text.  We read it three times in three different activities, to identify the issues, problems, and the potential solutions to the issues in the upcoming election.  The students will be writing a LEAF paragraph that is due on Tuesday.  The LEAF will be the starter blog post for a blogging activity on the upcoming election with Sterling House.

Ms. Q's Corner
Math 7
The week began with looking at the story that graphs tell us.  We explored the relationship between independent and dependent variables, and began learning to write algebraic equations that represent the relationships between those variables.  We paused to watch a classic 1977 film,  “The Powers of Ten” in order to help us make sense of scientific notation.   We practiced writing very large numbers and very small numbers using this notation.

Math 8
This week delved into a variety of math concepts.  We revisited slope, line of best fit, solving multi-step algebraic expressions and explored inequalities.  We compared and contrasted equalities vs. inequalities, learned how to graph them on a line, and determined  the numbers that could be in the solution set.  We explored the use of words like  “at least”, “within” when placed in context of an inequality.  

Science 7/8th
This week students presented their scientific models of photosynthesis,cellular respiration, energy traveling through ecosystems, carbon cycle, food chains and symbiosis.  While their colleagues presented, we took notes and asked clarifying questions.  The quiz was postponed until Monday,due to an assembly.  Students may have an index card with them during the quiz.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Week of October 8

From the desk of Kim Russ
We still have 40 families that have not purchased binders and planners!  This contribution from you allows us to cover the cost of the binders and planners and most especially prevents us from drawing from other budgetary allowances.  

Don’t forget to make your planner and portfolio payment to Kim Russ. Returning students $7.00 AND new students $12.00.  Thanks! 


Voyager ART project
We have several students who are motivated to create a sculpture or painting outside Voyager House to represent our new image and motto.  We would love an artistic volunteer.  If anyone is good with sculpture, tile, etc. (we haven’t decided what it will be made of), we would love your volunteerism and help!  Any takers?
 

Fundraising
Reminder that Voyager is sponsoring the media sale at the WCS Craft Fair on Saturday, Nov. 3rd. Please send your books/CD's/DVD's/Videos/Records in with your child whenever you can...we are storing them in the Voyager Project Room.  There are also large collection boxes in the front offices of ABS and WCS.  If you are not signed up to collect in your neighborhood -- please collect from your home and tap into friends.  Another great tip:  your workplace!!!!  We sent a note out at my husband's place of business and we've been able to collect 3 boxes!!!  The sale will only be successful if we have merchandise, so please take a moment to collect!!!!
 

NECAP Testing:
Thank you to all the families that supplied Voyager with snacks...brain food. Students have all been working hard during this morning and afternoon sessions. Students have been respectful of their peers by keeping a quiet environment. Thank you Voyager students for doing such a great job this week!

If your son or daughter has missed any NECAP testing, there will be a make-up day on Monday (October 15th) starting at 8:30. Students should come to school on Monday at the regularly scheduled time, sign in with their core teacher, and then be prepared for NECAP testing by 8:30 in the Dining Room.

Literature Group Parent Tip:  
Thanks to a parent who asked, “What happens in lit group?”, we will now have an occasional tip for parents re: literature groups!  Our focus question for this Literature Group session is, “What does it mean to take a voyage?”  Ask your child about the “voyage” in his/her lit book.  They might speak about an actual geographical voyage, or the development of one of the characters in the book!  Our next literature group book will be a mystery.  Look forward to our focus question coming soon!

Spelling Tips By Ms. Sherman:

“When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking”

Using this phrase may help students to remember the order of vowels in a word when two vowels are placed side by side in a word. When this occurs, the vowel that comes first is heard, typically with a long sound, and the second vowel remains silent. This rule is applied when a long vowel sound is heard, but two vowels are place in a word to create that sound.

Examples:

boat (long o sound)
feat (long e sound)
bead (long e sound)

Ms. Q’s Corner

7th/8th Science
The NECAP week ended with the continuation of our Energy Pathway Model Project.  Students are finishing them off and will present them on Monday.  A quiz on our unit is planned for Thursday, October 18th.  Students have a review sheet with quiz topics and should review  vocabulary, reading handouts, class notes and lab experiments.  The big focus is the motion of energy and matter through an ecosystem.  During the NECAP testing, student’s science inquiry journals were assessed.  All-in-all they are off to a good start.  Organization, precision, use of scientific vocabulary and relating scientific claims to quantitative evidences are areas that students need to work on.  We are all looking forward to getting back to class!

Math 7th and 8th
Classes were not held, but I encourage students to visit Khan Academy to work on their math skill.

Mr. Merrill’s Wrap Up
⅚ Social Studies and Language Arts
We wrapped up our NECAP week with a reflection on the Candidate Forum and poster project.  Next week, students will be participating in activities to prepare for a persuasive writing assignment using information from the issues of the 2012 election.  We are also looking forward to blogging with students from other houses about the election.  
Students are reminded to keep up with reading for 20 minutes per night and to check their planners for vocabulary/spelling assignments that are due next week.

News from Ms. O
Math and Science All
Phew!  NECAP testing week is over!  This week learning in my classroom was limited to:

  • a few FASTT math sessions if you were on house during core
  • some reflective writing for math and science
  • lots of reading (following NECAP testing)
  • work on our Lit Group Quilt Square
  • review of our science tests and some rewrites to earn additional points
  • a review of science notebooks using a rubric and a goal for the next checkpoint assessment in three weeks
  • Grade 6 On-demand writing task (to be double scored by November)

Please be reminded that FASTT math sessions will help computational fluency.  Many students have not been on since our first visit in September.  PLEASE encourage this!

Friday, October 5, 2012

Week of October 1


Housekeeping from Ms. Russ and the House
  • Don’t forget to make your planner and portfolio payment to Kim Russ. Returning students $7.00 AND new students $12.00.  Thanks!

  • Thanks to Doug Schmidt and Grace Hemmelgarn, we have a new t-shirt design!  An order form should have come home today.  It likely has some good info on it - ask your kiddo to drag it out of his/her backpack!

Voyager ART project
We have several students who are motivated to create a sculpture or painting outside Voyager House to represent our new image and motto.  We would love an artistic volunteer.  If anyone is good with sculpture, tile, etc. (we haven’t decided what it will be made of), we would love your volunteerism and help!  Any takers?

NECAP Schedule an Reminders:  
Food Donations

  • ⅚ Families:  Juices, Cups and Fruits
  • ⅞:  Cheese and Crackers

Testing starts on Monday.  Please be sure your kiddo is well-rested and has eaten by the time they come to school each day.  Don’t be shy about packing an extra apple!

Please make sure that your child does not miss any testing times.  The schedule is below.
9:00-10:30
Reading 1
Reading 3
Math 2
5th/8th Writing  
5th/8th Writing

1:10-2:50
Reading 2
Math 1
Math 3
Regular Classes
Regular Classes



Ms. Q's Corner
Math 7
We began the week with NECAP test taking strategies and how to discern the best response when given similar answers. A number of students exhibited their constructed responses on  several math problems and explained their thinking.  We then compared their responses  to the NECAP release tasks so we could develop a sense  of  how answers were scored.  The big take away, read the question carefully, show your process with words and pictures,  and highlight your answers clearly.

We finished the week by looking at the stories that graphs tell.  We began discerning the difference between linear and nonlinear models and practiced solving one step and two step algebraic expressions.

Math 8
We began the week with NECAP review and test- taking strategies.  We reviewed multiple ways to find the slope of a line and  looked at a set of data points,a table, a graph, and created equations.  Students are also working through math skill sheets as each week progresses.

Science 7th/8th
This week we revisited our yeast experiments.  We investigated the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration by creating experimental conditions where we limited the amount of oxygen that the yeast had available to them.  We compared and contrasted photosynthesis and respiration and discussed how energy flows through an ecosystem.   We concluded the week with the introduction of our first project.  Students are working within table groups  to create a model that shows the flow of matter or energy through an ecosystem.  Some topics include; Carbon cycle, food chains and symbiosis.  For information on this project you may refer to Jupiter Grades to download the project specifications and rubric.

The Week in Ms.Wesnak’s Room:
7/8 Social Studies and Language Arts:

The election and the race to the White House has taken the front seat for all 7th and 8th grade Voyagers! We had a fantastic close to our work around our state’s government and the current candidates running for state offices, with the Candidate Forum today! A lot of students and staff were dressed in their business best to attend the forum, or be one of the lucky students to actually ask questions to the candidates that were here today. Students were a buzz with chatter around the forum, who they’d vote for, and the issues that were brought up today. Talk to your child about the forum, who they’d vote for and why. With our work around state government closing up today, we are moving forward with building our knowledge around the Presidential Race. We’ve been talking a lot about the electoral college, swing states and why they matter, and what it means to be President. Students were asked to watch the first Presidential Debate this week and that fueled a lively conversation about the candidates, who they are, and what they believe. We’ve been sharing fun facts about past Presidents, the White House, and what we know about the current presidential candidates. Students have a lot of great questions and knowledge to share around these topics, which has made our classroom lively, loud, and active!!

News from Ms. O

⅚ Math students should continue to log onto FASTT Math and FRACTION Nation to build fluency skills in whole numbers and fractions.  Most students should be logging on to FASTT math.  Please ask your child to log on and show you how a lesson works!

5th Grade Math
Students have been working on constructing ideas about multiplication and division and the relationship between them.  Also, students are diving into new ideas like properties of numbers and factors of numbers.  This first unit is really a survey of all math; the lessons move through many strands of math to get kids warmed up and ready to dive in deeply (Unit 2).  Expect that students may not be experts by the time the next lesson comes along.  We will revisit these concepts in each of the 7 remaining units.

6th Grade Math
As we continue to answer the question, “What are the properties of a number that make that number unique and how can we use this understanding to solve problems,” students are finding that very few things in math are a coincidence.  When students can look at two numbers and see that one is a factor of the other, they might then be able to solve the ferris wheel problem in Investigation 3 (have your child show you!) or answer the question, why is it so rare for 13 and 17 year cicadas to emerge at the same time?  We have been having a lot of aha moments in class by really paying attention to a number’s primeness or compositeness (are these words?).

You will also notice that I have been very clear (and yes a little strict) around constructed responses in math.  Mathematicians communicate too and they must do so with clarity and organization.  I hope that this message on mathematical reflections was a good first reminder (and last) that when you write in math, you do so in a way that others can understand.  Please ask your child to see Investigation 1 math reflections, so they can share the LEAF checklist with you.  I know the responses will be better next time.

⅚ Science
As we build our understanding of properties of matter, we find ourselves deep in math.  We are working our way through some investigations with mass and volume.  Ask your kiddo about the football metaphor which likely involves Pam, Skylar, Brianna, Allie, and Keenan.  With this comparison, we worked to deepen our definition for mass (it’s more than just weight - gravity).  We are learning how to use a triple beam balance and will be working with volume next week after NECAP testing.  Creeping towards full understanding of density as a property of all matter...!  

In addition, we are solidifying a date for a walk to the Allen Brook to begin our watershed project, a yearlong field study with the Town Planner, the Friends of the Winooski River, and the Winooski River Conservation District.  I will be looking for some parents to walk and talk with us. Proposed dates are the 24th and 25th, from 1:10-2:45 (depending on your child’s long block day).  I will finalize the plans during NECAP week.  Think about joining us...

Update from Mr. Merrill
⅚ Social Studies and Language Arts
This week students prepared for our Candidate Forum. Candidate Posters were completed and put on display in the auditorium and dining room to create a wonderful campaign season atmosphere.  Many posters were signed by the candidates today, or even “borrowed” by the candidates for their campaigns!  Students also completed a constructed response on the qualities and characteristics of our elected officials.  The forum was covered by WCAX, the Burlington Free Press, RETN, the Williston Observer, and many others.   The students watched some of the forum today in KIVA as it was streamed live on the school website.  Please check out the School Bell next week or see RETN for a chance to watch the forum and discuss the candidates and issues with your student.

Meals for Ms. Wesnak



Dear Voyager Families,
                As you know, Ms. Wesnak will be out for a few weeks due to knee surgery.  We would like to plan some warm and tasty meals for her as she recovers.  We have created a Wiki attached to our Voice page that will allow you to sign-up for different portions of the meal, if you have opportunity and time to help.  Ms. Wesnak has a gluten-free diet, so we need to steer clear of wheat products. Portions can be small (2 people).  Our plan is to have her meals delivered to school by the end of the day, so that we can deliver it to her house.   Thank you for your wonderful meals and positive thoughts!

Take care,