Week of September 21-25

TA’s Notes:

***Please do not send in any food to be shared among Voyager students***

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

Peace Day was on Monday. We placed our Peace Pinwheels on the lawn in the morning and we wrote peace acrostic poems for our Peace Magazines. Students also presented their Peacemaker Infographics to the class. We continued our read aloud of I Am Malala. Students added new vocabulary to their Tier 2 lists; defining new words and creating word maps.

We continued our study of the components of a sentence; working on identifying action verbs, direct objects, and prepositions.

Our reading practice consisted of identifying reasons and evidence in informational text. We used an article on the Washington Redskins and the battle to change the team’s name. Students practiced finding reasons and evidence that supported each of the claims made in the article. We will be writing next week using evidence from I Am Malala to support reasons for a claim about the book.            

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

Math 5:  

We spent the week working on Multiplication Strategies based on some of the work we have been doing in class.  We discussed and worked on the following strategies:  

• Halving and Doubling - Example is 5 x 44 = 10 x 22 = 220
• Ten Times more or less - Example 2 x 40 = 80 so 2 x 400 = 800
• The Over Under Strategy - Example is 100 x 12 = 1200 then 99 x 12 = 1188 and 101 x 12 = 1212
• Halving - 10 x 88 = 880 so 5 x 88 = 440
• Ratios - 4 x 35 is like 1 x 35, double it and you get 2x35=70 and then double again and you have 4 x 35 which is 140

Although the video link below is about a third grade classroom, it is a good example of the wisdom of mental math.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/third-grade-mental-math

Reminder:  One hour of Moby Max this week. Week begins Monday and ends on Sunday night!  So a few more days for the first Moby assignment.  60 minutes /week = Meeting the Standard Scorepoint 3.  70 minutes/week = Exceeding the Standard Scorepoint 4

Math 6:

This week we...learned more about the properties of numbers by learning about prime factorization.  Prime factorizations allows us to see a number, any number, as a product of prime factors.  For example, the number 100, is the product of 2 x 50, but both of those factors are not prime.  However, 2 x 5 x 5 x 2 is made up of all prime numbers and its product is 100.  Voila! A prime factorization of 100.  We noticed that when you prime factorize a number, it is a property of that number and can allow you to do things like find all the factors of a number.  The prime factorization for 12, as seen in the image below, allows us to find all the factors of 12 - 1, 12, 3, 4, 2 and 6.  

Reminder:  One hour of Moby Max this week. Week begins Monday and ends on Sunday night!  So a few more days for the first Moby assignment.  60 minutes /week = Meeting the Standard Scorepoint 3.  70 minutes/week = Exceeding the Standard Scorepoint 4

Science ⅚:  

We spent the week engineering electromagnets.  Students have learned that a current, running through a circuit, creates a magnetic field and therefore acts like a magnet.  Specifically, we call it a temporary electromagnet.  So cool.  So we engineering a way to pick up paperclips and to strengthen an electromagnet by coiling the wires in our circuit around an iron nail to make a stronger electromagnet without needing to add more batteries.  We collected data (eg. how many paperclips could we pickup with 5 coils, 10 coils etc.) and then graphed our data.  We found that the graphing experience (whoo, this was tough, cuz we are also trying to figure out how to graph) tells us more about the patterns related to coiling wire around an iron core.

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

Tweet the Week:

• Peace week, day off, pinwheels, Recipe for Peace
• #PeaceOneDay; pinwheels, finished Seussosophy, and day off! #PinwheelsforPeace
• #peacepeacepeacePEACE #theendofSeussosophy
• We had a day off due to Yom Kippur!
• Celebrating Peace Day on a peaceful Monday!!
• Peace day and pinwheels. Recipes and reading. + 1 day off!
• Wheel of Fate excitement and Peace Day celebrations!
• #Recipe for Peace for Dayz✌😀
• #MyPeaceMaker. Who’s your hero?
• Peace 1 Day, Wheel of Fate
• #YogaPeace #WheelofFate Wheel of Fate and Yoga is bae #YOLO
• #PlantForPeace #PeaceOneDay

Our week started off like any other with our Literacy Rotations on Monday. Students are continuing to build their vocab through FreeRice.com, independently read, and conference with me about their reading. We are slowly getting into this routine, which is a great ease into the week. On Tuesday we wrapped up our work with Seussosophy and students turned in some very creative written work and illustrations. Coming back to school on Thursday after our day off for Yom Kippur, students took part in a journal write answering the question: Who is your hero and why? The class was prompted by this fantastic, funny, and inspirational video from Kid President: Heroes. This was a great way to start thinking about the great peacemakers of our time, as many see them as heroes too. Students were assigned a short research project to study a Great Peacemaker of their choice. This is a mini project administered through Google Classroom. Students will be working on their research, writing, and editing skills through this piece.

Our afternoons this week have been dedicated to bringing our Peace One Day unit to a close with a little celebration, creative writing, and artistic expression. Monday, September 21st was International Peace Day, so we celebrated by making Pinwheels for Peace. Students expressed their views on peace, tolerance, and nonviolence through words and illustrations on a square piece of paper. With some folding and small cuts in the paper we were able to make a pinwheel with a brass clasp and straw. We planted our pinwheels outside of Voyager House and then spent a little time outside. Students also made Pledges for Peace day. Some of the pledges included inviting someone new to sit with them at lunch, making room for someone on the bus, and leading peaceful yoga during our morning core time. My pledge for peace was geared towards the environment, so every student was given a bulb to plant in the ground now and watch for its growth in the spring - Plant for Peace. This was also in reflection of a Great Peacemaker we learned about named, Wangari Maathai who founded the Greenbelt Foundations. As the week went on students continued working on their Recipes for Peace, and on Thursday we started to build our class cookbooks. Some students added some great illustrations to the book! On Friday we kicked off our United Nations unit! We will continue this unit next week with a focus on understanding what the United Nations does, who is a part of the United Nations, and learning about the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

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

CMP7

This week we continued our work with polygons by looking at symmetry through tessellations. We went back to finding patterns in the external angles of polygons and how knowing the sum of external angles can help us find the sum of internal angles of a polygon.  We ended the week with a check-up and next week we will take a look at the relationship between triangles and their side lengths.  Students will continue skill work using Mobymax at home or during core periods at school.

CMP8

Our work in Thinking with Mathematical Models this week reviewed all things linear; how to find equations from a table, graph, and two points.  We also reviewed our understanding of variables in an equation in context to a situation. Near the end of the week, we dabbled in inequalities and how to represent them in an equation and a graph.  We will have a quiz next week. Students will continue skill work using IXL at home and during core periods at school.

Science 7th/8th

Understanding scale and proportion is an important theme within Next Generation Science Standards.  In our cell investigation we are focusing on the following standard:

MS-LS1-2.

Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function. With emphasis on the cross cutting concept of scale and proportion.

This week began with the introduction of cells and their organelles.  Students are working on creating scaled models of a cell with the parts included.  We are looking to scale up from microns (millionth of a meter) to centimeters and beyond. We calculated the average size of organelles for both plant and animal cells.  From this point students will produce a scale model with emphasis on size and the jobs that organelles play in the role of the cell. The project rubric and outline is in Google Classroom.

Week of Sept 14th - 18th

TA’s Notes:

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

No school Wednesday, Sept 23rd.

FAPAC September 2015 Meeting Highlights Information

To:  Voyager Families/Parents

From:  Shani Varricchione, FAPAC Representative

cc:  House Teachers and Teaching Assistant

The FAP Advisory Council held its first monthly meeting of this school year on September 10th.  FAP is Williston's equivalent of a parent-teacher organization.  We meet each month, our meetings our open to all, and you will receive an email like this every month with highlights of the meeting and a link to the FAP website for the full minutes.  Check the full minutes in a PDF format by clicking HERE.  Below are a few meeting highlights:

Administration Report — It was great to spend time with our new District Principal, Greg Marino, at this month’s meeting.  He spoke about his transition, about next steps for the satisfaction survey results, about communication strategies so we can “Tell the Story of Our School,” and about the important work being done by an engineering firm looking at our school facilities.  Please check out the full minutes for the details!!

Williston Annual Fund —  This fund pays for your children's school field trips, among other educational items.  So please send in your donation today or you can do it online by clicking HERE.

WSD Technology Talk — FAP is hosting this event on Wednesday, October 7th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the Dining Room at WCS. Please join us for this evening parent session where you'll have the opportunity to get hands on and try out some of the Google tools students are using, with guidance from Bonnie Birdsall, WSD Technology Integration Specialist. There will be time for dialogue and questions as well.

We Need Your Help — FAP is your parent-teacher organization.  Parents can serve as House FAP representatives on the FAPAC (specifically Harmony is looking for a co-rep and Voyager needs one or more reps).  We are also looking for a parent interested in learning about the responsibilities of being a treasurer for our organization, as our current treasurer’s term is up after this year.  If communication is your thing, we need someone who might want to help with School Bell articles, with our website, and with other parent communication.  Parents can also help with/on various FAP committees, many of which organize our community fundraisers.  Click here for more information on these and send an email to willistonfap@cssu.org.  Thanks for your consideration.

School Sport Events — Just a  reminder that directions to all school sport events are on the Athletics section of the school website.  If you click HERE it will take you to that location.

Mark Your Calendars for these Upcoming Events -- Dates have been set for many FAP Community Events; check the School Bell over the coming weeks for more information on these.  Those coming up in the next 60 days are listed below and all events are on the calendar on the FAP section of the school website:

    • Craft Fair at Williston Central School -- Saturday, November 7th

    • Scholastic Book Fair in the Williston Central School Dining Room — Monday, November 9th-Friday, November 13th

Our next meeting is on Thursday, October 8th at 8:15 am in the Dining Room at Williston Central School.  We hope you can attend!!!

Please contact me at willistonfap@cssu.org if you have feedback or questions on FAP.  Thanks.

This week with Ms. Sherman:

Most years, I have offered some initial support after school to students, especially to 5th graders around the topic of organization and planning. Many students struggle with this and I would be happy to do some after school sessions about this again. However, in the past, those students that REALLY could use the extra help, were not the ones that stayed after for the support. If this is something that you would like to see happen for your son or daughter, could you please email me at: csherman@cssu.org. This way, I can start thinking about what the group size might be and what to target based on the kids that would attend. Thanks!!

Also- Our homework club has been off to a great start. If you ever have questions or concerns about it, please direct them to me at the above email address!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

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

We kicked of the week with a core meeting. We had a fun greeting, a quick share about the weekend, and we played two truths and a lie. The students had a lot of fun learning about their classmates.

For our current events activity, we watched CNN Student News, students completed an exit card, identifying the big issues of the day and explaining why one story is important or could be resolved.

We continued our read aloud of “I Am Malala” and went back to the book throughout the week. Students added 10 - 12 new words to their Reading Response Notebooks and made several graphic organizers to collect evidence on some themes that are coming up in the book. The students have collected a lot of evidence!

Our Peace One Day unit is wrapping up with Peace Day approaching - 9/21. Students completed their first project of the year, creating an inforgraphic on a peace maker. Students completed research on a well known peace maker, identifying the who, what, where, when, and a quote to use. They then worked in groups to take notes on a shared google doc, and  organize an inforgraph (using google draw). This was a wonderful collaborative project - students had to communicate effectively and cooperatively on the Google apps in real time.

We also came up with our own pledges for peace on Peace Day. Students pledged to create an activity to bring people together, or work on a broken relationship on September 21.

We wrapped up the week with a reflection on our learning this week and made peace pinwheels to put on display on Monday as a school / community activity to show our commitment to the day.

If your student is missing work on Jupiter Grades, I do have some work in my “No Name” folder, this would be a place to check if your student believes he/she passed it in.

Also, I am available to students for additional support every Wednesday from 3-4. Just let me know by email if your student will be staying and the pick up plan.

Missing work - For ⅚ students that are missing work or need time to catch up, Katie Fieldsend will be notifying parents on Monday by email that we would like your student to stay for Homework Club on Tuesday to catch up.

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

Math 5

• Conference Google Docs are out! Please sign up for your conference today.  Conferences for 6th grade are Friday, October 9th and for 5th Grade on October 23rd.  Thanks!

• Planners were handed out!  Please take a peek!

• Brad’s Baseball Shop took a turn this week as we investigated volume (how many baseballs in a rectangular prism shipping box) and surface area (how much cardboard do we need to build the box?).  Students generalized strategies for solving both volume and surface area problems.  Made for some interesting conversations.

• Also, the Baseline Assessment due by the end of September, will be given in pieces.  Students began today and will continue to do this in pieces and parts until complete.

Math 6

• Conference Google Docs are out! Please sign up for your conference today.  Conferences for 6th grade are Friday, October 9th and for 5th Grade on October 23rd.  Thanks!

• Planners were handed out!  Please take a peek!

• We began solving problems using our understandings of multiples and factors this week.  We began the week with two problems, AT THE SAME TIME, problems.  The first was about ferris wheels, the second about cicada emergence.  Both problems inquired, when will the events happen again at the same time?  It turned out that thinking about multiples was the way to solve these problems.  Today we looked at a problem, an apple and trail mix problem that required thinking about, FAIR SHARE.  The solution to this problem required students to think about factors.   We will continue to work on WHEN multiples are the appropriate strategy or factors to solve given problems.

⅚ Science:

• Conference Google Docs are out! Please sign up for your conference today.  Conferences for 6th grade are Friday, October 9th and for 5th Grade on October 23rd.  Thanks!

• Wanna buy a bag of compost for us?  Thanks to Luna’s mom, Deb, we have a new raised bed outside our classroom.  We would love to grow some fall greens, so donate a bag of compost so we can get going!  Where should you bring it?  Just drop it outside of our classroom doors (along the bus parking area!)  You’ll see the raised bed and rainbarrel by my classroom door!

• We expanded our understanding of electromagnets this week by learning more about the circuit.  Today’s discovery, that an electric current creates a magnetic field was subtle, but a powerful one!  It provided renewed interest in Wily Coyotes mechanism, the U magnet with an electric current moving through it.  No wonder he brught the Eiffel Tower into his desert laboratory!  

• Our first science reflection is due next Friday.  5th Graders were able to get a jump on that today.  To date, no 5th Grader finished.  They have next week to complete the Google Classroom assignment. Please ask your child to show you the assignment on Google Classroom.  6th Graders did not begin.  I will get them moving on that assignment next week.

• Upcoming Events
• Investigation of an engineered electromagnet and use of data to construct explanations about power of a magnet.
• Motors and Generators!
• Homemade Telegraphs!  What?!!  You should come in for this one!

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

Tweet the Week:

• Peace research, #Seussosophy, infographic
• This week: Seussosophy, peace work, and creative writing, oh my!
• #Seussosophy is a philosophy, #peaceday infographic fo 3 days
• Real world connections with Dr. Seuss and peace making.
• Seussing some Seuss stories.
• We learned about Dr. Seuss and peace day and peacemakers.
• Yay! Peace is beast. September 21st #cantdescribeit
• Seussosophy is the best!! Peace Day --> 9/21
• Seussosophy and Peace Day. Read alouds and Research. Full week!
• Dr. Seuss story --> make your own story! #Peace
• AM = Seussosophy is #1. PM = Peacemakers for dayz.
• Peace, war, Seussosophy
• Sept.21 is bae because peace day

This week started off with our Monday Morning Lit Rotations. We had groups of students reading, working on vocab, and meeting with me to talk about their books. Each week students will rotate working on vocabulary or reading comprehension. As the week continued on we completed a short unit titled “Seussosophy” in which we read multiple stories by Dr.Seuss that had underlying messages about social justices and injustices. We also uncovered messages around peace and conflict. Students participated in multiple discussions, completed in-class reflections and exit tasks, and identified what makes Dr. Seuss stories different from others. After our time with Dr. Seuss students were challenged to take inspiration from the stories we heard and create their own Dr. Seuss-like stories connected to real world conflicts and social justices and injustices. Students are taking this challenge in stride and are developing some great and creative stories! A lot of students were so surprised that children’s books such as “The Butter Battle Book” and “The Sneetches” had such deep and rich underlying messages about life and the world!

Our afternoon classes have been dedicated to our Peace One Day study. Students developed some beautiful infographics using LucidChart to spread the word about the benefits of an International Peace Day. We then completed a read aloud of the book “Planting the Trees of Kenya”. We learned about the Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai who started the Greenbelt Movement and planted trees throughout Kenya as part of a peaceful protest. Students made a pledge for Peace Day describing how they will make peace or celebrate peace. We closed up the week by starting our Recipe for Peace project and doing a little research on great peacekeepers and peacemakers.

Below are some examples of one of the 7/8 Infographics!

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

CMP7

This has been an amazingly busy week.  As a class, we were gearing up for my Best Practice Studio Class that took place on Wednesday. Over the last five years, I have been taking classes on helping students to engage in math in a positive, thoughtful and intellectually challenging way.  Caitlin Bianchi, our WCS Math Coordinator, has been co-teaching with me for the last few weeks to prepare for the big day when math teachers from our district observe our practice in mathematics.  The class did exceptionally well.  They possessed grit, intellectual curiosity, perseverance, and enthusiasm as we worked through a tricky geometric problem. They genuinely talked about their math process and thinking.  Kudos to our Voyager students!

As a side, students began their online skill work on Mobymax. (45 minutes per week)

CMP8

We have done a lot of data collection! Bridges and weight bearing loads, truss building, and leaky faucets allowed us to see both linear and nonlinear models.  We did more investigation on what a line of best fit entails, and we ended the week with some general skill building.  Incidentally, we are checking out a math skill website call IXL.  Students will work 45 minutes per week on specific skills based on their summer math packet to enhance their understanding.

Science 7th/8th

We began the week with a reintroduction to the microscope.  We looked at the specific parts, how magnification works, and how to prepare a wet mount slide.  We looked at some interesting prepared sides, and then we turned our attention to bugs.  I actually raided my neighbor’s pool filter for all the dead bugs. Each dyad pair was given a “bug” and was asked to draw and identify them through online sources.  They then removed different body parts to see what they looked like microscopically.  The big question was: What can you find out about form and function by looking at a specimen microscopically?

We saw a fly’s honeycomb eye, a spider’s hairy leg, and a beetle’s striated abdomen, to name a few examples.  This observation process required students to observe and conjecture about the specific structure and the function it played in the life process of the creature.   We ended the week with a review of cells and their function.

TA’s Notes:

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

Dates to Remember:

September 16th- Picture day at WCS

September 17th- Curriculum Night & Learning Expo: 6pm in auditorium, 6:30-7:30 in Voyager Kiva, 7:30-8 Learning Expo

September 23rd- No School

October 9th- Parent Teacher Conference Day (more info to come soon) / No School

October 12th- No School

November 7th- 24th Annual Craft Show at WCS- free entry, free parking

November 9th-13th- Scholastic Book Fair at WCS

November 10th- Guest Speaker, Paul Auxman - Anxiety and supports for children at WCS

*Please feel free to contact me for anything at KFieldsend@cssu.org or 871-6148*

Don’t forget to bring a photo or printed picture of your summer SELF!  Our wall has a lot of spaces for our missing Voyagers!

⅚ Jupiter Grades:  Please be sure you have received the parent login information for Jupiter Grades.  For 5th grade families, this is new!  Check out our assessment program on https://login.jupitered.com/login/.  See the folder info that came home earlier in the week.  Didn’t get it?  Email Colleen or Aron.

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

This week we started our first read aloud of the school year -  I Am Malala. Students wrote a Thinking Stem response ( Wow, I didn’t know that… or I was confused by…) in their Reading Response Notebooks. The book is the autobiography of Malala Yousafzai, who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban. It is an inspiring story of courage and hope for change.

Our Peace One Day lessons included a discussion about bullying and students creating role plays to perform and share on the issue. We also used BrainPop to learn about 9/11. Students brainstormed what they know about the topic and questions that they wanted answered. We then took a look at some of the vocabulary that might come up with the topic and viewed a short age appropriate video about the event. Students then used a collection of Q & A repsonses to learn the answers to their questions. They wrapped up by taking a quick online quiz.

Spelling and Vocabulary classes are off and running. Wordly Wise students will have a spelling and vocabulary quiz next week. Check Jupiter Grades for specifics.

On Friday morning, students completed a Degrees of Reading Power assessment. This data will help us with aligning our support system and teaching to the needs of the students.

⅚ Humanities After School Support Time - I will be available for students evey Wednesday from 3-4pm. Please let me know by email if your student will be staying for extra help. Also, just let me know what the pick up plans are for the end of the session.

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

Math 5:  

• We began our work in the Bridges 5 Program this week.  I have attached the letter of introduction for families.  Please feel free to click and learn more about Bridges 2.0.  http://www.mathlearningcenter.org/sites/default/files/documents/family/family-orientation.pdf

• Our work this week has been focused on factors of a number.  We played the Product Game for a couple of days and analyzed strategies for winning.  Students used omnifix cubes to build shipping packages for Brad’s Baseball Enterprise, another reinforcement of factors and products in action.  

• We have been slowly piecing together all of the responsibilities and pieces and parts of the program.  Please take a quick browse through your child’s math folder to learn about all the things we have in there!

Math 6:  

• We began our work in the first Connected Math 3 book this week and things are going seamlessly!   Our first book, Prime Time, is a reinforcement of number and operations, specifically properties of numbers and operations.  There is a project attached to this unit - to publish a children’s book about a special number each student has chosen to explore.  See the description in math folder and on Google Classroom (your child must log you in).

• PS: We were busy Thursday and I did not check in Wednesday homework for 6th grade (First ACE assignment on J grades).  Check with your Voyager to be sure they have completed it!  A bonus weekend if they didn’t!

• I have attached a link for the Common Core standards link to the Connected Math 3 program.  http://assets.pearsonschool.com/correlations/MatFly130083CMP3CCSSCorrelationG6_rev_v4.pdf

Science ⅚:

• Magnet circus designed to play with and explore magnets.
• Scientist meetings to discuss our understandings of magnets and learn how to talk in this circle.
• Demonstrations of magnets in action and solidifying our Claims about the Properties of Magnets.
• Introduction to Engineering and our first engineering task:  To build a motor using our understanding of magnets.
• To come...Electricity and its connection to magnetism!

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

Tweet the Week:

• Captain Cork flew away! Summer’s over - let’s see the LEAFs!
• #WCS will never forget 9/11
• Peace One Day, I Can’t Wait
• Science experiments to writing assignments packed with work but FUN
• 9/11, Captain Cork Challenge, Summer Reading Writing Piece
• 9/11, Peace One Day, Infographics
• Peace One Day, 9/11, Captain Cork, Labor Day
• #PeaceOneDay
• Captain Cork!! 9/11 :( Never Forget

This week our morning classes were focused on writing our FIRST graded writing piece of the trimester. Students were asked over the summer to read a book that was later turned into a movie. Students were expected to not only read the book but to also watch the movie. For this first assignment students will be answering the question: Did the movie stay faithful or stray from the book? This question connects directly to one of our Common Core Standards for the year. Students were administered this assignment through Google Classroom and were provided the following scaffolds and tools to help in finding success in this assignment: in-class work time, peer edits, rubric and standards, and a fill-in-the-blank outline to help in developing their ideas, organization, and structure. We had 2 in-class work days, and 1 day for peer editing. The final piece is due next week! We rounded out our week by spending our Friday morning taking the DRP.

Our afternoon classes have been dedicated to viewing the Peace One Day documentary, “The Day After Peace”. Students seemed to be really engaged in the film and the journey of Jeremy Gilley the founder the Peace One Day organization. Students took part in short discussions with a partner and with the full class. We also took time to reflect on the documentary using a prompt administered through Google Classroom. To bring our week to a close students were introduced to their first mini project, which is to create a Peace One Day infographic to inform people why it would be so beneficial to support Peace One Day or take part in Peace One Day activities. We will be showcasing these infographics using the Voice and my class website. Students are really enjoying the program we are using called, “LucidChart” and they are developing some really creative work! We also took some time on Friday afternoon to talk about 9/11, share stories, and reflect on the impact that day made on our country.

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

CMP7

We had a shortened week, but a week full of everything polygon.  We classified different polygons, looked for commonalities and differences between all groups and subgroups of polygons and reviewed how to use protractors to measure angles. We began talking about the relationship between the number of sides of a geometric figure and the sum of the internal angles.  Students logged onto Google Classroom and Mobymax.  Both applications will be utilized this year.

CMP8

8th graders began the week with a series of experiments and games to collect data. We played the Wooly Mammoth game, where each roll of the dice brings birth or death.  This system of inputs and outputs showed a non-linear trend. We then looked at bouncing a ball and recording the drop height and bounce height, building a bridge with different layers and collecting data on the mass that it can hold before it folds. Both of these models showed different trends.  We discussed line of best fit and practiced finding the equation from data on resting heart rate and exercise.  Students logged onto our Google Classroom and a new online math program called IXL.

Science 7th/8th

Captain Cork was put through his/her paces this week.  Students continued to find ways to get Captain Cork safely to the landing zone deep within enemy territory.  Students did multiple trials, recorded data and did some redesigning of their devices using limited resources.  Only 1 team from each class was really successful in getting Captain Cork to the safe zone. An engineering lab report is due on Monday. Students access Google Classroom and Birdbrain Science.  Birdbrain Science is an online science resource for science readings on many important subjects.  The program assesses understanding and reading level while giving Next Generation Science Standard content.