DC Pictures!

Week of May 18th - 22nd

TA’s Notes:

Reminder that all snacks brought in for sharing need to be nut-free!

No school Memorial Day, May 25th!

Have fun 8th graders going to Washington, DC!!

After school with Ms. Sherman:

Just a reminder that our Homework Club will only be meeting a few more times. The last day will be on May 29th. There will not be any Homework Club in June. Also, the ⅚ math help sessions are over.

The Week in Mr. Merrill’s Room (⅚ Humanities):

We spent most of the week preparing for our trip to Mt. Independence and Ft. Ticonderoga. We used an artifact kit from the Vermont Historical Society to dig into primary documents, maps, books, replicas, and real artifacts from the sites to discover a huge amount of history about these places. In our final activity of the week, students used these sources to create their own lesson to teach to classmates.

For our literature groups, students are reading or are part of a read aloud group. The final writing assignment will be to write a book review and and rate the book on a 5 star scale. Our Reading Cafe and Scholastic lesson this week focused on how we make connections when we read. We can connect text to self, other text, the world, and to video. Students practiced using these forms of connection in both lessons.

Finally, a very heartfelt thank you for all of the wonderful notes, treats, and gifts for Teacher Appreciation week. It all helped make a very busy time of year much, much better. Thanks again!

The Week in Ms. O’s Room (⅚ Math & Science):

A special thanks to all families who appreciated me last week!  So kind!

Pictures from this week at bottom...

The Week in Ms. Wesnak’s Room (⅞ Humanities):

This week has FLOWN by! Our 7th/8th grade learning community has been moving and shaking through this week at a high speed! With our Business Convention Unit in its final stretch and the Solar Oven Projects happening with Ms.Q, there has been a lot of action, energy, hands-on learning, and creative thinking happening over here!

During our morning time together students had some time to respond to a few creative writing prompts, and we also took some class time to work on their print advertisement and their FINAL writing piece. The print ads came out great! Students used PhotoShop or Google Draw to create some artistic, persuasive, and clever ad campaigns for their business. Students were asked to write a sales pitch for their product to actually perform at the Business Convention! Students have really taken this last writing piece to the next level, by utilizing all of the persuasive techniques we have studied and by also tossing in a reasonable amount of figurative language. I’ve read through a few of them in their drafting stages, and they were great! Students really focused on their hook or opening statement to draw their target audience in, and used great humor in their writing in hopes to keep their audience listening and intrigued. These sales pitches will be performed at their Business Booth at the Business Convention as students are hoping that these pitches will help in gaining investors! Be sure to mark your calendar for June 4th or 5th from 1:30-2:30 to attend our 2nd Voyager Business Convention! It will take place in Wesnak and Quatt cores and upon arrival you will be given directions and your “Wezzbucks” to invest in the companies of your choice featured at the convention. Students will have all of their work from the trimester on display at their booth, so it is certainly a great event to attend and wonderful end to a fantastic school year!

During our afternoon classes, students took a small break from their Business Convention to learn about economic systems and stocks! Students gained a great deal of knowledge as we worked our way through learning about the global economy, exports, imports, and fair trade. We then moved onto looking at the 4 different economic systems and had great discussions while students also took notes. Students will be asked to reference some of this knowledge and any new vocabulary in their FINAL writing piece, which is on the importance and story behind the wholesale and retail price of an item. As we worked our way through understanding the economic systems, we then moved onto a short documentary by Ray Dalio that focused on the United States Economic “Machine”. In this video, through animation, Dalio does a great job of explaining how the economy works through simple terms, theory, and illustrations. The great part about it was students were able to look at the different markets that are a part of the “machine”, learn about stocks and financial assets, credit, debt, transactions, and how spending makes the “machine” work! Students also learned the role of the government, the people, and businesses in the economic “machine”. After viewing the first part of this documentary, we built a great bridge to bring us to our studies on stocks, shares, and the Stock Market! We watched a couple BrainPOP videos, tested our knowledge with an interactive quiz, and put our gained knowledge to work by answering some questions in class and doing some vocabulary work. Students also did a short stock market study by following a business of their choice and reporting out on KidBlog! It’s been a great week, and our 8th graders are buzzing about the D.C. trip! Wishing everyone a great long weekend, and safe travels for those going to D.C.!!

The Week from Ms. Q’s Room (⅞ Math & Science):

CMP8

We have successfully come to the end of “It’s in the System”, our final book for CMP8.  In this investigation we solved and graphed systems of equalities and inequalities. We learned how to find intersection points or solutions to these systems through substitution and combination/elimination.   Students discussed the landmarks and shaded areas of these systems in context to the problem.  Finally students began the unit test.  The 8th graders received their CSSU Final Review packet and should begin working through this lengthy document.  What a fun DC bus ride project!  We will begin the review in earnest when they return from their trip.  The final exam is at 10 a.m. on June 10th.

CMP7

We utilized all sorts of manipulatives this week to create nets and to find surface area and volume of three dimensional figures.  Students built containers with similar volume but different dimensions, sliced through square prisms to investigate what figures are formed with one cut and clarified the relationship between scale factor, surface area and volume.  We ended the week with a partner quiz.

Science

The weather was not cooperating with us this week as we built, tested and redesigned our solar ovens.  There were many designs, with a variety of success.  We had the Toll House Cookie  bake off today under a brisk wind and partially sunny skies. Certainly not the best conditions, but some of the stoves reached over 200 degrees Fahrenheit.  It did a great job at killing the microbes on our cookie dough and melting the chocolate.  We may have a rematch when the 8th graders get back.  The Solar Oven write-up was due today.

The Week in Ms. O's
Math 5:  Finally go to the end of the fraction unit!  Geometry is in full swing!

Math 6: Completed our algebra unit and are on to data and statistics!

5/6 Science: What is energy and how do you know when something has it?  We spent our week exploring roller coasters and domino runs.  We had two incredible scientist meetings...I should really plan them so you can come in and listen to your little scientists working out their thinking and considering and arguing the thinking of others!  Amazing!

Week of May 11th - 15th

TA’s Notes:

Reminder that all snacks brought in for sharing need to be nut-free!

Thank you to all of the students and parents who made Teacher Appreciation Week an amazing week for all of Voyager House!!  We are so fortunate to have such wonderful families a part of our school!

Pictures from Trout Week:

The Week from Ms. Q’s Room (⅞ Math & Science):

CMP8

Graphing inequalities was the order of business this week.  The 8th graders compared car and SUV usage and CO2 emissions to stay within specific parameters, such as driving at most 1000 miles or keeping the CO2 emission to less than 600 lbs per month. Graphing these linear equalities is really fun and they created neat looking graphs like the one below.

Next week we will complete this unit with solving systems of inequalities.

CMP7

This week we investigated 3-D objects and learned how to find the volume and surface area of rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal and cylindrical prisms.  This work includes accurate measurement, utilizing several formulae and doing multi-step calculations.   Students put these new skills to test in a geometry lab.

Science 7th/8th

Here comes the sun, water, wind and geothermal. We explored and talked about the pros and cons of each of these renewable resources.  Students formed teams of 4 to research solar ovens, select a design idea, and  then build a solar oven.  Next week we will continue to build and test our ovens. Groups will submit a lab report that will discuss how their design works, show their test results and observations. We hope to have a fun bake- off competition next week if the weather permits.  Keep your fingers crossed for warm, sunny weather!

Week of May 4th - 8th

TA’s Notes:

Thank you to all who brought in snacks throughout our SBAC/NECAP testing!!

The Eighth grade graduation ceremony is scheduled for June 11th 6:30-8:00 pm. As is the tradition here at Williston Central School, the sixth and seventh grade parents are asked to help set-up, staff and clean-up the reception that follows the ceremony; it typically runs from 8:00-8:30.  Weather-depending, the reception is either held in the Courtyard or in the Cafeteria. The reception food, drink and decoration plan will be sorted out and on site -- we simply need 8-10 parents willing to come help from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Information will be provided by the Reception Committee in advance of the evening so all volunteers will know what needs to be done. If you're interested, please send your name and cellphone via email to Susan Wickart - susanwickart@comcast.net by June 5th.

Thanks kindly for your support and help. When it’s your child's turn to graduate, you'll see how wonderful it is, first hand, to be able to attend the ceremony and reception and not have to worry about set up and clean up!

Leigh Samuels & Sarah Forbes

FAP Reps

Field Trips!!

• Thursday, May 14th: 5th & 6th graders to Lewis Creek for trout release and Lake Iroquois for fishing.  Permission slip is: Here
• Friday, May 15th: All of Voyager House to Spruce Peak Performing Arts to see, Lifeboat: WWII.  Permission slip is: Here
• Voyager 8th graders to DC May 26th - 29th

8th grade Graduation is June 11th

Last day of school is June 16th, half day!

The Week in Mr. Merrill’s Room (⅚ Humanities):

We had SBAC testing Monday and Tuesday, with some make up time on Wednesday. It was our first time using this test and there were a few rough spots, but overall, the kids did a great job and worked very hard. Thank you to all the parents that sent in food and drink to make the best of our testing time.

We had time for a quick reading and writing lesson on identifying key details that support a big idea. We used a really interesting article on Gorilla Doctors to do this activity. We also continued our study of the colonial era, focusing on the Articles of Confederation, the first attempt at organizing a national government for our country.

Next week is trout week. Monday - Wednesday, students will rotate through a variety of workshops. We have some guest instructors for fly fishing lessons, a trout art project, and a water study of Allen Brook. We are going to Lewis Creek to release the trout on Thursday, and will be going to Lake Iroquois after the release for a lake study, fishing and a bagged lunch picnic. On Friday , we are off to Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center for a play on WWll. Please be sure your student returns the permission slips on Monday.

The Week in Ms. Wesnak’s Room (⅞ Humanities):

This week in Humanities has been filled with commercial work in the morning and discussing the spending and saving habits of U.S. teens in the afternoon!

Most of our students have finished their creative, fun, funny, and persuasive commercials for their Business Convention projects! As the commercials started coming in it was really fun to see the finished product and see how proud the students were of their work. We will be having our “Wezzy Awards” on Monday, where all of the students will watch all of the commercials and will vote for their favorites in a variety of fun categories. Both the 7th and 8th grade classes have been working really hard on these, and we are really excited to send them off to our first group of investors...the students at Blockhouse Bay Intermediate School in Auckland, NZ!!

During our afternoon classes students took part in many class discussions around the spending and saving habits of the average U.S. teenager. We read an article from Jr. Scholastic and looked at statistics via BusinessInsider.com and StatisticBrain.com. Students were shocked by some of the numbers, and we were able to get into great conversations around how statistics impact decisions companies and businesses have to make in the real world. We also discussed how trends impact statistics and vice versa. Students also took part in completing a few journal writes. One of the journal writes was reflecting on their own spending habits, and the other was on bringing together all of the information we had been talking about into one final concluding statement. Students were asked how information on teen spending and saving, and what teens spend money on, will impact the future choices they will have to make for finding success in the Business Convention. This was a time for deep critical thinking and analysis, and a time for students to make great bridges between all that we have been working on. It’s been a fun (and hot) week! Next week we move towards the Stock Market!

The Week from Ms. Q’s Room (⅞ Math & Science):

CMP8

Math was usurped this week with Science NECAP testing, however, we managed to work diligently on the combination/elimination method of finding solutions for linear systems. Students are learning strategies to be more efficient when solving systems of linear equations. Next week we move onto solving inequalities.  The date for the final exam has been set for June 10th at 10:00 a.m. I plan to have a week or so for review before the exam.

CMP7

We had an abridged week with Science NECAP testing.  In math class we are reviewing volume and surface area of 3-D geometric figures.  We reviewed building nets of boxes and had a fun problem looking at composting worms and the amount of material that they compost each day. Students are exploring the relationship between scale, surface area and volume.

Science 7th/8th

This week was primarily focused on completing the Science NECAP. Kudos and congratulations to our 8th graders for staying focused, taking the science seriously, and working hard through the three test sessions.  I am very proud of their work!

Sandwiched at the beginning of the week and at the end of the week was our electrifying curriculum on electricity and magnetism.  Students read, reflected and talked about electricity and its connection with magnetism. We then began our hands-on lab experiments to build circuits, find what objects are electric conductors or insulators, map magnetic fields, find materials that can break through magnetic fields, increase and decrease the strength of electromagnets and figure out ways to form circuits with only 1 wire, a bulb and battery.

The Week in Ms. O’Brien’s Class

Math 5:  We wrapped up our work this week working on the area model of multiplication for fractions.  The modeling work was designed to give students a deeper sense of fraction multiplication and its value in solving problems involving area.  Students have built a tremendous amount of confidence in this area and are solid in presenting their ideas to others.  We are moving on to fraction division for a brief introduction and will finish the year with geometry.  SBAC testing went well for students in terms of holding to a testing protocol and maintaining a certain level of perseverance during the testing.  We will see!

Math 6:  We had one class this week, in the midst of testing and this was to grab another opportunity to work on equation writing.  We will pick up again next week.  SBAC testing went well for students in terms of holding to a testing protocol and maintaining a certain level of perseverance during the testing.  We will see!

Science ⅚:  Students are working on a Pixton Comic Strip project as part of wrapping up their work in the Properties of Matter unit.  Ask your child to see the comic. They are fun, informative, and supposed to be scientific!  There is a rubric attached to the program and you can see that too, when viewing the comic.  It’s a lot of fun.  You could have heard a pin drop in the classroom on work days!

Week of April 27th - May 1st

Hey ⅚ Parents!  Thanks for the snacks for SBAC testing!  It was great to have a little extra nourishment!  The kids always love it!

The Week in Mr. Merrill’s Room (⅚ Humanities):

We started the week off with our Reading Cafe session and students met for the first time with their new literature groups. For our final session, students will be writing a book review. We also attended the 8th grade challenge presentations this week. All 8th graders are required to complete an independent study with a community connection component and present their work to the Voyager community. We had a wide variety of topics and the 5th and 6th graders asked many great questions. Many of them are already starting to think about topics for 8th grade.

We had a short current events activity on the woman who should be on the new $20 dollar bill. It was an interesting debate. We also had a couple of reading and writing activities: One was about our relationship with Cuba and the other was about the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Ask your student about this interesting feud and friendship.

SBAC testing will be in full swing next week. There will be no Humanities homework assigned. This will be a good time for students to catch up on any missing work.

The Week in Ms. Wesnak’s Room (⅞ Humanities):

We were lucky enough to start our week back from break by watching the 8th graders present their yearlong work on their 8th Grade Challenge Projects. We were all very impressed by the amount of knowledge our 8th graders were able to share in front of an audience of about 100 people! The project topics ranged from photography, sports, cooking, art, fundraising for places like The All Breed Rescue and Habitat for Humanity, and even volunteering with veterans and at shelters. Thank you to all who supported these students in completing this amazing work, whether it was driving them to events, listening to their presentations over and over again, or simply being a backboard for ideas...we thank you!!

By Wednesday our normal class schedules resumed and students picked right back up with where we left off in prepping for our big Business Convention! During our AM time together all companies were able to finish storyboarding their commercials and labeling all of their advertising techniques. Almost all companies are now up and filming as of today, and so far these commercials are looking great. Most students are using their own technology to film and edit their work, and once finished we will have a commercial awards ceremony where commercials will be recognized for “Best Special Effects”, “Best Score”, “Funniest”, “Most Inspiring”, etc. with a “Wezzy” award. We’re hoping to have this fun “red carpet” event next Friday. By that point all of the commercials will be off to their first investors, and we will patiently wait for their investments to roll in! Students will be sharing their commercials with our partner classroom in New Zealand, where students at Blockhouse Bay Intermediate will be able to invest in companies that they feel will be successful. By earning investment dollars students will be able to have extras at their final booth for the convention! Lots at stake here! :)

During the afternoon blocks students have been plugging away at their Ethics and Placement writing piece. This is a 5 paragraph informative/explanatory essay where students have to answer questions such as: What is the mission statement or what are the values of your company? Where are your main offices located? How is your product produced and where does this take place? This essay is really aiming for students to dig into what their company is all about and to start taking into consideration their impact on the world. By having to make decisions around using renewable resources or not, making products in the USA vs. overseas in factories, and taking into consideration hourly wages, quality of life, and cost of living, students are really bridging together our studies from both Humanities classes and Science class.

The Week from Ms. Q’s Room (⅞ Math & Science):

CMP8

It was a busy post vacation week in math class.  We got back into the thick of systems of equations with learning to find solutions by graphing lines and solving systems algebraically.  We found solutions by creating equivalent equations, substituting one equation into another, and by combining both equations in order to eliminate terms.  We had to brush up on our PEMDAS and balancing equation skills as we worked this week.

CMP7

We eased into the week with a quick review of all the major concepts of our “Moving Straight Ahead” unit.  We created public records and reviewed and practiced linear problems.  The test took several days for some, and students took their time to show their work and explain their thinking.  We ended the week with beginning a geometry unit called “Filling and Wrapping.”  This unit will focus in on volume and surface area of many different geometric solids.

Science 7th/8th

Due to the excellent 8th grade Challenge Presentations, we had a shorter week of science.  Reviewing Science NECAP test questions, eliminating false answers and investigating the underlying concept of each question allowed all students to review some important science concepts.  We played a fun “speed dating” NECAP question game at the end of the week.  8th Grade Science NECAP takes place Tuesday, May 5th and Wednesday, May 6th.  Get plenty of sleep and have a good breakfast!

The Week in Ms. O’s

Math 5:  It’s been a busy week of working with a new model for fraction multiplication, the area model of multiplication.  Students have been faced with several problem solving situations in which they needed use the area model of multiplication to justify their thinking.  We also completed our Spring fluency assessments for multiplication and division and WOW!  What improvements!  Many students have done very well and are finished taking the tests! Others are still working!  Many see this as an exciting challenge to meet.  32/32 in one minute!  We will continue to practice this vital skill.  Mr. Merrill administered the SBAC to 5th graders.  They did a nice job!

Math 6:  I asked this class, do you like algebra and the response was hilarious!  They are all so into the new math, of solving problems with variables and considering relationships amongst numbers and not actually finding one solution.  We are referring to our work with tables, graphs, and now equations as “finding all of the possible solutions that make the expression or equation true.”  Even after SBAC testing today, I was getting the sense that we hit this unit right on time for the testing!  There was a lot of algebra!  And data which is our next unit! :(  6th grade students took the SBAC in my room all day today and most completed the math sections of the test.  I wasn’t totally surprised at the rigor of the test - lots of questions demanded 3-4 diverse skills to solve.  So it was unusual to see a question that asked for ratios, statistical information like mean, equation writing and unit conversion all in one question.  There was a lot of stamina and persistence in the room.  Good for them!

Science ⅚:  We are wrapping up our Properties of Matter unit this week by reviewing ideas about physical and chemical change and conservation of matter.  Our unit is ending with a project, a comic strip project.  Students will be working on creating a comic online that sums up one new idea from our unit.  They should be creative, but informative.  The project is due May 15!