Humanities Update (5/6)

Hello Families of House C Students:

It's another Friday, so here's another update of the work done this past week in Humanities!

We started off this week by watching some debate examples. We used one to analyze the format of a debate, and a second served as an exercise in 'tracing an argument' - being able to identify the parts of an argument in an oral presentation. This is a skill that will be utilized for the remainder of middle school and through high school! In in the midst of a presidential election year, it also seems like quite a good skill to have!

We continue working on our debate preparation with a goal of presenting our actual debate at the start of next week. Students finalized their individual research and evidence collecting, and spent time with their debate team to plan. (They are still using procon.org for the majority of this work).

We introduced the concept of an argument claim, and what makes it different from writing a claim for  an opinion or informational text. After identifying some good examples, students worked to develop their own claim in response to the question: "What food system best supports the needs of the United States?" This might be an interesting thing to talk about with your student! What is their claim? What evidence do they have to support that claim?

While 8th graders were taking their science NECAPs, we spent some time working on our independent book projects. Students are now just 25 days from when their book project and blog post are due. These assignments are on Google Classroom.

We completed another weekly check on our United States geography and capital naming! It might be interesting to ask how they view their progress on this skill so far! Links to practice are on Google Classroom!

As mentioned above, we will have our debates next week. We will also introduce the format of a  written argument, so students can build on their claims. It should be an exciting week!

T3 Progress Reports

House C students were sent home with their progress reports on this afternoon (Friday). Please let your child's advisor know if you did not receive them.

Humanities Update (4/29)

Hello Families of House C Students!

Here is an update about the work done this past week in Humanities!

In order to create a more complete argument, we’ve been introducing students to responses to The Omnivore’s Dilemma. One article called The Omnivore’s Delusion, written by a farmer named Blake Hurst, questioned many aspects of Michael Pollan’s book. In addition, and to work on our listening skills, we listened to a discussion between Hurst & Pollan, hosted on National Public Radio.

We applied our close reading skills to a modified version of an article from Seven Days about James Ehlers, a passionate advocate for water quality in Lake Champlain who presented in our science classes on Thursday. We used our NPS (Non-Fiction Positioning System) Coordinates - which help readers know what an author is trying to communicate - to better understand the text and to gain some background knowledge for Thursday’s presentation. NPS Coordinates include metaphors, similes, comparing and contrasting, expert opinions - we use these as road signs that help point the way to understanding the reading! Your student should have a handout that displays what each coordinate is and what they mean.

For the last part of this week, we have been preparing for a debate. Students have been assigned topics such as college education, school uniform, violence in video games, and tablets vs. textbooks. They have spent time researching both sides of the argument on procon.org and are now in the process of creating their debates. Some students may not have finished this preparation; there is a two-page worksheet that they should use to capture their best arguments for their side as well as some arguments that might come their way from the other side (and rebuttals to those counter-arguments).

Next week, we will be debating these topics in teams, with an eye towards using these skills to complement their argument writing.

Students are now just over a month from when their book project and blog post are due. Those assignments are on the Google Classroom.

We will also be completing weekly quizzes on the United States geography and capitals! Links to practice are also on the Google Classroom!

Please let us know if you have any questions. We hope you have a great weekend.

Humanities Update (4/17)

Hello House C Families:

Happy break week! Since this is a week away from school, and since we have been working hard on some interesting things, we thought we'd take a moment to let you know what we've been doing in humanities, as it may spur some thoughtful discussions (and we know that sometimes the only response to "What did you do in school today?" is..."Not much!")!

As you may have heard, we are reading a student edition of The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. We are using this as an informational text for students to work with in creating an effective argument. Over the past three weeks, we've been reading about three food systems: Industrial, Industrial Organic, and Local Sustainable. Students have been collecting arguments for and against each food system and upon their return to class, we'll start creating arguments for which food system students think is best to meet the needs of our community. We will also read some articles written in response to Omnivore's in order to get a sense of both sides of the argument and to round out our understanding of the material.

On Friday, each student highlighted one piece of evidence and created a poster to display in our classroom. Students then participated in a gallery walk to collect evidence they might not have already had on their note sheets. Their work is really informative and eye-catching. This book has been the fuel for some really interesting discussions, and we encourage you to ask your child about what they're thinking about!

To link geography skills to the content of the book, students have undertaken a series of activities to sharpen their geospatial thinking skills. They first thought about some of the foods they typically eat in a week. Then they used several maps to determine where those foods would likely have come from if bought in a conventional supermarket and mapped the states of origin of those food products. Based on that data, they wrote paragraphs to analyze what grows where, why there, and why we should care. Many students still need to follow through with all of those steps. It would be great if they could work on that over the break.

We are 44 days away from our book projects and blog posts being due (May 31). As a reminder, each student is expected to read at least two books per trimester, and then complete a book project about one and a blog post about the other. Hopefully students are finding books that interest and entertain them! You can find the links to the assignments here: Book Project - Blog Post.

We are also working on knowing our state capitals. We've used this very catchy song and video as a way to remember them. Students have completed two attempts at naming all 50, and on Friday, we set a goal for our third attempt, which will take place shortly after returning from break. This might be a great opportunity to ask your student to name the capital of a certain state - or to watch the video with them and challenge each other!

Finally, in celebration of National Poetry Month (and to go along with Omnivore's Dilemma), we spent some time on Friday looking at the grass and making observations related to our senses in Milton Middle School's field. Students then wrote a short poem about the experience, or about the grass, or about the strange request of looking and listening to grass. We hope they share their work with you!

We hope that this break week is refreshing for our students and that you get some time to enjoy their company. If you have any questions, please let us know. Thank you for you all that you do.

Color Run

 

Greetings House C families,

The next big thing in fundraising is here: The Milton Color Run.
On May 14th, at Bombardier Park, at 10:00 a.m., we will be running a 5K with tons of color.
Check out this video for more information about the Color Run:
http://shop.schoolathon.org/EventIndex.asp?EID=183883 (The video is on the right side of the page)

Registration is $30 to participate in the run. Students can get pledges from relatives and friends to run. Students will receive prizes depending on how much they raise. PLUS students will receive 50% of the amount donated in their name to their Boston Field Trip Account. Donations need to be received by April 25th.

Students have received a registration packet (or can get one from their advisor). There has been a lot of interest shown, but we now need folks to register on the website to show their commitment. The website to register is http://shop.schoolathon.org/EventIndex.asp?EID=183883

Our School Code is 140066

This has the potential be a big, big event. This event is open to everyone in the community, so spread the word.

Thanks for your support!

Spring Conferences

Dear Families,

The days are getting longer and spring is in the air! It’s time for Student Portfolio Conferences! Your child has done much learning and growing over these past months. We invite you to a Portfolio Conference, where your child will present work from each class that he or she has thoughtfully selected to demonstrate learning and growth.

These conferences are important to your child and represent many hours of preparation. The portfolio process helps students build life-long skills including: organization, self-evaluation, and communication. Most importantly, the portfolio process helps your child take more ownership of his or her learning and be more accountable for his or her academic progress. Studies show that children benefit greatly from having meaningful conversations about their learning with important adults in their lives. Thank you for the important role you play in this process!

Please visit http://bit.ly/housecconferences9 to indicate your preferred conference time. Any caring adult is welcome - parents, adult siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors. If no adult is able to attend at one of the times offered, we will gladly make arrangements for you to conference with your child at another time. Conferences will take place in the Middle/Elementary School Library.

We look forward to seeing you!

T2 Progress Reports

House C students were sent home with their progress reports on Friday. Please let your child's advisor know if you did not receive them.

House C Welcomes a New Member To Our Team

House C would like to welcome Gloria Crowe, consulting teacher.  Gloria has been a member of the Milton Town School District teaching team for the past ten years.  She has worked in both elementary and middle levels.  We are privileged to now have co-teaching in math full time.  This is a great opportunity for your students and we are excited to have her join our team.

These Pictures of Us - 12/21

photos by Anna Kaigle, Kyle Raftery & Raneen Salha

House C is looking forward to our photography exhibit, which serves as the culminating event to our humanities unit about Personal Narratives. As a reminder, this event will be Monday, December 21, starting at 4:00 (and going until 6:30).

Your learners have been creating an installation that summarizes who they are and how they see themselves in the world. Learners have been exploring how to communicate through images, working with rules of photography and our visual arts teacher (Ms. Baldwin) to help set up and take some inspiring photographs. As the above examples show, the work is striking and thoughtful. 

This is an exciting project that has resulted in some terrific art. We hope you can drop by and stroll through our gallery between 4:00 and 6:30 on the 21st. (This is very similar to an art exhibit in that you may come and go as you please!)

Light refreshments will be served. Please let me know if you have any questions.

School and House News

Hi folks,
Here are a few updates for you all:

• The MMS Boosters have organized a school-wide food drive. Each house is gathering non-perishable items to donate to the local food shelf. There is a collection box in Ms. Fabri's room. If possible, please support your child in bringing in items for the cause. The house that collects the most goods will be awarded lots of free books.
• By this point, all trimester 1 report cards have been mailed home. Please contact us if you have any questions.
• Orders placed through the MMS Boosters Apparel Fundraiser are in and have been distributed to your child. Look for those today.
• It's the time of year for the Calendar Raffle fundraiser. See the note below from Mr. Smith:

Dear Families,
               It is once again time to sell the February Calendar Raffle. It is our most successful fundraiser and the best opportunity for your student to earn money for Boston. We have over $1000 in prizes including four tickets to a UVM basketball game, a teddy bear from Vermont Teddy Bear Company, and gift certificates from local restaurants and businesses. Tickets are $10.00 and if your ticket is drawn it goes back into the raffle. For each ticket that your student sells, they will earn $9.00 in their field trip account. If your student sells 10 calendars, they will get $90 into their account. Every student in the middle school should aim to sell at least 10 calendars. If your student is in 6th or 7th grade this will ensure that you will not need to pay for the full amount of the Boston trip when your student reaches 8th grade. By the end of 6th grade, students should have at least $100 in their account, by the end of 7th grade there should be at least $200 in their account. If your student is in 8th grade, the total cost of the trip this year is $350. The eighth grader that sells the most calendars, will have a special activity afforded to them in Boston. This activity will be determined based on the student's interest.

These calendars make great holiday gifts.
These calendars will be available to your student beginning tomorrow. There will be a letter about how the raffle works and it will include how much your student has raised to date. Please check the amount and make sure it is correct.
I would like to thank April Rand for her hard work in collecting many of the prizes that are on the calendar this year.
If you have any questions, please call Joe Smith at jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org or call at 893-5529.

Thanks,

Joe Smith

House A - Consulting Teacher

Boston Coordinator