2019 NAEP Testing - 8th Graders
- All Voyager 8th Graders will take the NAEP test on Friday, February 8th.
- Test Time: 12:30-2:30
- Lunch: 11:40
- Recess: 12:00
- Location: Community Room
- Students will be brought down to the designated testing location at the designated time
- No cell phones, Chromebooks, calculators or other electronics are allowed in the testing location.
- Students may bring a book to read if they finish early
- Students will be dismissed at the same time
- Every year the 8th graders get to submit a quote and baby picture to go along with their school picture. This is a fun part of the yearbook although it is not required. Every 8th grader received an email with a link for their quote. Baby pictures can be emailed to me or your house TA. If the picture is a hard copy you can also give that to me or your house TA. Please make sure your name and house is written on the back so we can get the picture back to you. Pictures will be returned to you within a week of the deadline.
- The deadline for quotes and baby pictures is February 18th.
- Please contact abeauregard@cvsdvt.org with any questions.
- To order online go to jostensyearbooks.com
- Yearbook Order Form
Meal Train For Matthew Yandow
amerrill@cvsdvt.org
jroof@cvsdvt.org
mquatt@cvsdvt.org
After School Homework Club: CHANGE IN DAYS OFFERED
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IMPORTANT LINKS
ACADEMIC UPDATES
Mr. Roof - 7&8 Humanities
This week, students worked hard to complete Survival Unit comparison and contrast essays. They compared and contrasted their survival skills learned in the Voyager winter survival unit with the survival skills exhibited by the main character in their survival literature group book. Students had two different sets of notes to use in addition to an organizer so that their ideas and evidence were clearly thought out before writing the essay. We are focused on providing reasoning and analysis when using evidence, so that the connection to the claim is
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Ms.Q/ Mr. Sironi
CMP8
This week in CMP8 students showed a lot of grit and determination to complete their Growing, Growing, Growing Unit Assessment. It was a fairly lengthy and comprehensive test. We are not moving into linear systems. Students learned a new form of linear equation called the standard form. Ax + By = C. We practiced changing slope intercept form y= mx +b into standard form and vice versa. This skill will allow students to find solutions to linear systems algebraically. We finished up the week with solving an equation with two variables.
CMP7
We began the week with revisiting the “Statue of Liberty” problem. This problem had students use known lengths (Liberty’s tablet = 7.2 meters) to figure out how tall the Statue of Liberty is. Students used many different strategies to find their solution. We then moved onto investigation 1.1 which focused on the definition of “similar” figures. We used a rubber band stretcher to create an image that was scaled. We looked at all the properties of these similar images: side length, angles, perimeter and area. We also began to work with scaled figures and looked at what happens to the lengths, angles and area of figures as they go through a transformation.
Science:
How big is space? What is gravity? Why is gravity important in understanding how the universe formed and what happens in it today? Is there a way to measure it? We explored these lofty questions with discussion, demonstrations and evidence. Students began the “Story of the Universe” project, which will allow them to create a cartoon, animation or other media that models change over time in the cosmos.
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Mr. Merrill - ⅚ Humanities
We are really excited to start the Stock Market Game next week. There has been a lot of preparation going on so we can start trading on Monday. Ask your student about the stock market and what stocks they are interested in investing in on Monday. I will provide more details about the game next week.
Students also completed their compare contrast paper for our Survival unit. Comparing their survival experience to the experience of the main character in their literature group. Students made Venn diagrams, mapped out a compare/contrast essay in their notes, wrote a first draft, and typed a final draft.
Ms. O’Brien Classes
5/6 Science:
This was a fun week of learning! We had several scientist meetings about falling objects on Earth, building a significant public record on the questions we have about Wile E. Coyote and why he falls to Earth (and why all the other relatable phenomena we brainstormed happen too!). Our first investigation this week was to drop objects in pairs and view slow motion video to determine which object hit the ground first. We chose all spherical objects that are about the same size (field hockey ball, baseball, foam ball) for this task, so that we could eliminate the variables of size and shape. The difference between the objects was their mass. Students learned how to use the triple beam balance to measure the mass of each object and then predetermined which pair they would drop and then dropped them. Slow motion video was helpful in this pursuit, because students had to view the video first, then record the data. Students worked hard on experimental design, making sure that variables like height, the protocol for the drop and other variables were held constant. We had a lot of varied data (which is great!), forcing another investigation where we dropped objects constrained by a string. We will discuss findings on Monday!
Math 5:
It was a great week of geometry! Our week of learning included:
We had a super productive week in math, working specifically on what we know about the characteristics and area of parallelograms to figure out how to find the area of a triangle. Students moved quickly beyond counting unit squares inside the polygon to tried and true strategies for finding area. We used these skills and understandings to then find the areas of composite shapes, two dimensional shapes that are composed of parallelograms and triangles. It was awesome to provide multiple opportunities for students to apply their new understanding.
I’m super impressed with how driven the kiddos have been in their learning this week. We also have had many successful days of homework completion for all students...perhaps the first time ever! I appreciate the extra effort students have put in during core time! We ended our week building polyhedra, three dimensional solids created from two dimensional polygons. It is a great next step, given that they understand area of two dimensional figures. Next week, we will pursue side lengths that have decimals. This is the next step in computational fluency and will be a brief unit to build abilities in multiplication and division of decimals!
- More dates have been added to the Meal Train for Matthew Yandow, a former WCS student (and brother of Voyager's Mackenzie Yandow) who had a stroke on October 21 of last year. Matt is now a 16 year old sophomore at CVU, and is just returning part time to school after missing almost three months of instruction. He is also attending OT and PT appointments multiple times a week. His mom, Amy, has been busy driving him all around to all of these appointments and has not been able to return to work, so the meal train has been really helpful for the family. Please consider bringing them a meal if you know them and you are able to. Here is the Meal Train Link. If it's inconvenient for you to bring a meal to their house after school, you can drop it off at Voyager House with Ted Milks and he will see that it gets delivered to the family. Thank you for considering!
- A clear and calm morning routines helps students to enter their school day successfully. We are encountering more and more students coming to school between 7:30-7:55 am and we are not equipped to handle the numbers. Please do not drop your child off prior to 7:55 am unless it is absolutely essential. If you have to drop your child off early, please reinforce that the expectation is that students sitting in the front lobby until 7:55 am and engaging in a quiet activities. Ex. listening to music, reading or finishing homework. Thanks for your help with this. - Jackie Parks
- 8th Grade Challenge help is being provided through our Spark program on Thursdays. Harbor teachers, Ms. Griffin and Ms. Taylor, will be available on Thursdays from 3:00-4:30 to give students assistance from any house! It's a great time to get work done and get great advice and instruction on your challenge.
- Please email tmilks@cvsdvt.org and your core teacher if your student will be absent, needs to be picked up during the day for an appointment, or will ride a different bus home. Core teacher emails are:
amerrill@cvsdvt.org
jroof@cvsdvt.org
mquatt@cvsdvt.org
After School Homework Club: CHANGE IN DAYS OFFERED
- Voyager House offers an after-school program to all 5-8 grade Voyager students who would like a smaller, quieter setting for work completion. We accept any student who is motivated to be there and willing to work independently and who is open to support. We may also recommend this opportunity to students who are in need of work completion or who consistently fail to complete assigned work. It has been a great program for students and we are happy to have the staffing and funding to offer it again this year. Ms. Kim and Ms. Allison, our two house paras, will be the contact adults for this group.
- Every Tuesday (2:00-3:00) and Thursday (3:00-4:40) right after dismissal.
- Occasionally cancelled due to staffing. We will let you know as far in advance as we know!
- A late bus is available for transportation home.
- Membership is through interest and motivation as well as strong recommendations from teachers.
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IMPORTANT LINKS
- Student Assistant Professional (SAP) - https://spark.adobe.com/page/ssMYvqB70CDFQ/
- WCS Athletics - Click this link to the website to view all information regarding the WCS Athletics program.
- Google Site - an important site for regular communication coming from Voyager. This site will be modified weekly and should be bookmarked on your desktop or laptop. This site contains a link to weekly academic summaries as well as important upcoming events. https://sites.google.com/cvsdvt.org/voyagerhouse/home
- Google Classroom - an online planner platform where students can check on daily assignments. This is in lieu of a paper planner. Just ask your child to log in using his/her email. It is important to know that this is not an assessment database. We do not check completion of the assignment on this platform. However, we do ask that YOUR CHILD press the button MARK AS DONE when an assignment is completed. This will make it easy for you and your child to discuss completion of work.
- Google Mail - an email system used by Williston Central School. All students have an email account and students use it regularly to communicate with peers around collaborative work and project-based learning. This is a great way for teachers to communicate with students and a great way for students to get reminders about assignments from Google Classroom.
- Jumprope - an online platform for assessment of the targets. Students can view weekly or biweekly his/her achievement on the targets by logging in using his/her email and a password. This password was emailed to each student in a letter last week. *Habits of Learning, like homework completion and collaborative learning skills will be posted on a biweekly schedule. This is where you CAN SEE whether your child is in good standing on daily assignments. https://nyc.jumpro.pe/login/
- Protean - an online Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) platform used primarily at this point by 7th and 8th graders. ⅚ students may post executive function skills reflections, personal interest projects, and other measures of growth and reflection after 1st trimester. https://app.protean.me/index.html
- IXL - a program that supports students on math and language arts skills. https://www.ixl.com/signin
- Moby Max - a math program used by ⅚ math students to build computational fluency and fill gaps in understanding on major concepts. Students have a username and password for this program.
- Typing Club - a program used by the ⅚ humanities students to build typing skills.
ACADEMIC UPDATES
Mr. Roof - 7&8 Humanities
This week, students worked hard to complete Survival Unit comparison and contrast essays. They compared and contrasted their survival skills learned in the Voyager winter survival unit with the survival skills exhibited by the main character in their survival literature group book. Students had two different sets of notes to use in addition to an organizer so that their ideas and evidence were clearly thought out before writing the essay. We are focused on providing reasoning and analysis when using evidence, so that the connection to the claim is
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms.Q/ Mr. Sironi
CMP8
This week in CMP8 students showed a lot of grit and determination to complete their Growing, Growing, Growing Unit Assessment. It was a fairly lengthy and comprehensive test. We are not moving into linear systems. Students learned a new form of linear equation called the standard form. Ax + By = C. We practiced changing slope intercept form y= mx +b into standard form and vice versa. This skill will allow students to find solutions to linear systems algebraically. We finished up the week with solving an equation with two variables.
CMP7
We began the week with revisiting the “Statue of Liberty” problem. This problem had students use known lengths (Liberty’s tablet = 7.2 meters) to figure out how tall the Statue of Liberty is. Students used many different strategies to find their solution. We then moved onto investigation 1.1 which focused on the definition of “similar” figures. We used a rubber band stretcher to create an image that was scaled. We looked at all the properties of these similar images: side length, angles, perimeter and area. We also began to work with scaled figures and looked at what happens to the lengths, angles and area of figures as they go through a transformation.
Science:
How big is space? What is gravity? Why is gravity important in understanding how the universe formed and what happens in it today? Is there a way to measure it? We explored these lofty questions with discussion, demonstrations and evidence. Students began the “Story of the Universe” project, which will allow them to create a cartoon, animation or other media that models change over time in the cosmos.
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Mr. Merrill - ⅚ Humanities
We are really excited to start the Stock Market Game next week. There has been a lot of preparation going on so we can start trading on Monday. Ask your student about the stock market and what stocks they are interested in investing in on Monday. I will provide more details about the game next week.
Students also completed their compare contrast paper for our Survival unit. Comparing their survival experience to the experience of the main character in their literature group. Students made Venn diagrams, mapped out a compare/contrast essay in their notes, wrote a first draft, and typed a final draft.
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Ms. O’Brien Classes
5/6 Science:
This was a fun week of learning! We had several scientist meetings about falling objects on Earth, building a significant public record on the questions we have about Wile E. Coyote and why he falls to Earth (and why all the other relatable phenomena we brainstormed happen too!). Our first investigation this week was to drop objects in pairs and view slow motion video to determine which object hit the ground first. We chose all spherical objects that are about the same size (field hockey ball, baseball, foam ball) for this task, so that we could eliminate the variables of size and shape. The difference between the objects was their mass. Students learned how to use the triple beam balance to measure the mass of each object and then predetermined which pair they would drop and then dropped them. Slow motion video was helpful in this pursuit, because students had to view the video first, then record the data. Students worked hard on experimental design, making sure that variables like height, the protocol for the drop and other variables were held constant. We had a lot of varied data (which is great!), forcing another investigation where we dropped objects constrained by a string. We will discuss findings on Monday!
Math 5:
It was a great week of geometry! Our week of learning included:
- A review and introduction of new geometry language, with terms like congruent, perpendicular, and parallelism
- An application of these terms when identifying and naming characteristics of polygons
- A riddle game where students were given one clue at a time and needed to eliminate shapes that did not meet those criteria
- The introduction of Paul Klee, an artist who uses geometric shapes in some of his art. Students then produced a piece of geometric art to mirror this artistic strategy.
We had a super productive week in math, working specifically on what we know about the characteristics and area of parallelograms to figure out how to find the area of a triangle. Students moved quickly beyond counting unit squares inside the polygon to tried and true strategies for finding area. We used these skills and understandings to then find the areas of composite shapes, two dimensional shapes that are composed of parallelograms and triangles. It was awesome to provide multiple opportunities for students to apply their new understanding.
I’m super impressed with how driven the kiddos have been in their learning this week. We also have had many successful days of homework completion for all students...perhaps the first time ever! I appreciate the extra effort students have put in during core time! We ended our week building polyhedra, three dimensional solids created from two dimensional polygons. It is a great next step, given that they understand area of two dimensional figures. Next week, we will pursue side lengths that have decimals. This is the next step in computational fluency and will be a brief unit to build abilities in multiplication and division of decimals!
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