Weekly Update 4/2/18

Good Morning Families! 4/2/18

A quick reminder: today is a half day! Also, Check your mailbox for

report cards!

This week students will have 3 days of Math SBAC testing for a little

over an hour on each of the three days, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  

Our SBAC testers and Science Fair finalists will be honored with a brief

assembly (15 minutes) on Friday morning, April 6 from 7:30- 7:45.

For Literacy class, students should be reading a minimum of 20 minutes

per night.

Math practice worksheets and answer keys can be found at mathdrills.com

Fraction work would be most helpful.

Social Studies:  This week students will wrap up their timelines on the

Westward Expansion events that we have been learning about.  All timelines

should be finished by Wednesday.  If you would like to see your son/daughter's

timeline, they are online in their google drives.  We will then move onto

"The Oregon Trail". This will focus on some of the hardships some of the early

pioneers experienced.  We will learn about this through a video and a simulation game.

Language Arts students will continue learning about the Lewis and Clark expedition

in preparation for their own Journal or story writing.  Sign of the Beaver book

summaries are very past due!  Please ask your student about handing in

their summary.

REPORT CARD INFO:

We would like to thank you for your continuous support and patience with the

report card delay.  Our tech specialists have been trying to solve the mystery

of the disappearing report card comments and other glitches in the program.

Below you will find the directions for viewing all teacher comments through

Power school that the should have been visible on the report card.  Also,

PBGRs written in all capital letters in PowerSchool are the grades that show

up on the report card. For example, PBGR.MMS.ELA.R READING is a report

card grade.

1. Sign into PowerSchool

2. Click on the STANDARDS GRADES tab

3. Click on the teacher/ course

4. Scroll down to the PBGR grades

5. Click on the comment icon in the T2 column.  

6. To view the next teacher's comment, continue to scroll down, and repeat steps 3-5.

Thank you,

Team Independence

Weekly Update

Hello, Families! 3/27/18

As you know this is SBAC week for all of our middle school students.

Yesterday was a successful day overall. Testing will continue through

Thursday 3/29, and will run Tuesday- Thursday of next week.  

Monday, April 2 is a half day of school.  Lunch (brown bag) will be served.

A huge congratulations to Kylie Agan, Lorelei Right, Jacon Rathbun and

Carter Abell for their award winning science fair projects. These students

took home money, medals and certificates for their efforts.  Carter Abell

has been invited to Washington D.C. to present his work! We are so proud!

Math students are working on long division the old fashioned way!  Parents can help!

Worksheets and answer keys can be found at mathdrills.com

LA students have a Sign of the Beaver summary that was assigned Feb 16,

and many are still not complete.  Students will be given a heads up today if they still

owe the assignment and the expectation is that it is completed by the end of the day

on Friday.

To keep skills sharp,  Literacy students are expected to read a minimum

of 20 minutes per night.

Science fair students are looking at chemical compounds and matter.  The classroom

looks like a real testing laboratory!

Thank you!

Team Independence

3/19/18 Weekly News

3/19/18

Hello, Families!

Announcements:

• This week parents/ students should receive report cards in the mail

• Spring Sports Meeting - Monday, 3/26 at 6:30 pm in the MS Gym.

• This is a busy week of preparation for Science Fair finalists and

Junior Iron Chef participants.  We wish all of you good luck in your
Saturday, March 24 presentations!

• SBAC (Reading and writing) begins Monday, 3/26 and continues

through 3/30. Math SBAC is the following week.

In Language Arts, students will finish public speaking presentations today,

due to the snow day.  It is wonderful to see the courage our students possess

to stand and deliver in front of their peers.    We will spend the rest of the week

refreshing our reading skills and strategies that have been introduced throughout

the year.

Math students are expected to be practicing their Math skills on Mathdrills.com  

Worksheets and an answer key are available on this site.

Social Studies:  Since we were pushed back a day due to the snow day, the

vocabulary quiz will now be this week.  Also, students have been working in

groups on posters which they will use to "teach" the class about one aspect of

Westward Expansion.  By the end of the week, students will be putting these events

into a timeline.
QUIZ - Friday (students should study the 6 words from their vocabulary

worksheet)

Literacy- As always read at least 20 minutes a night, it makes a world of difference!

 By Tuesday, Chapter 8 reading and questions for a Wrinkle in Time should

be complete.

Have a great week!

Team Independence

Weekly Parent News 3/12/18

3/12/18

Hello Parents!

This week, the book fair is set up in the library.  Students will have limited (if any) time

to visit during the regular day, so please make sure to arrange time after school.  

The book fair is open each day unit 8 pm, and Friday until 5 pm.

Students should bring home a permission slip to be signed and return to their

advisory teacher.  This will allow them to walk to the high school on Thursday,

March 15 to watch a dance company performance.  They will ride buses home

from there.

Social Studies:  This week we will continue with our new unit on Westward

Expansion.  Students are working in groups to specialize in one topic on expansion.  

They will create posters to teach the rest of the class. We will answer questions

based on the presentations.  At the end of the week we will have a quiz on vocabulary

words.

1.  Complete questions - note taking in class from presentations

2.  QUIZ Friday on vocabulary words

Language Arts: Students should be practicing their presentation skills of face,

pace and voice. Presentations will start on Wednesday.  Students that have

not completed last week’s Sign of the Beaver summary need to complete

it this week for homework.

Literacy: Students need to complete chapters 6 & 7 and the accompanying

questions for A Wrinkle in Time.

Math:  Please continue to practice decimals and operations.  

Worksheets can be found on Mathdrills.com

Weekly Update 3/6/18

Hello, Families! 3/6/18

We hope you had an opportunity to enjoy time with your students during this much needed break!

This week will be a busy one, as it is the conclusion of the second trimester.  
Report cards can be expected in the mail sometime next week. Students will start their
new UA classes today as well as enjoy a a new mix of classmates in their core classes.

We are so very proud of our Annie actors, singers, stage hands, prop masters and artists!  
What a wonderful performance by a talented group of individuals!

Please note that the middle school athletes meeting has been postponed.  
The new meeting time is TBA.

Social Studies:  This week we are starting a new unit called "Westward Expansion".  
The focus will be on how the United States expanded to its current size post American Revolution.  
This will include how a state becomes a state, the ways in which the U.S. acquired land, and many
of the challenges with expansion.  The assignments this week:

1.  Definitions / Sentences (5 vocabulary words) - due Wednesday

2.  Map of US acquisitions - due Wednesday

3.  Questions for 1 assigned acquisition - due Friday

Language Arts: students have two assignments due this week.

1. Sign of the Beaver book summary

2. 300 word story, research or skit with script- to be practiced for a public
speaking grade next week.

3. Past due assignments that must be completed by Friday:  

• Sign of the Beaver Reading assessment (received by students on February 16 and officially   

assigned February 19)

• Sign of the Beaver informational paragraph (received by students on February 16 and

officially assigned February 20)

In Literacy, students will need to read through the end of chapter 4 in A Wrinkle in Time and
complete the visualization close read sheet that accompanies chapters 3 & 4. These are both
due tomorrow, therefore, need to be finished tonight.  
Chapters have been copied so that students may take them home.

Have a great week!

Team Independence

Team Independence Weekly Update

Hello Families!

We would like to congratulate all of our students for their successful completion of the 2018 Science Fair!  Feedback from judges stated that students presented with confidence and enthusiasm, we are so proud!

There is a dance this Friday, February 16.  Students will “dress-up” which consists of wearing something other than a t-shirt or sweatshirt, if they choose the option of changing up their look for the night.  $4.00 gets students in the door starting at 7:00 and snacks will be sold.  The dance ends at 9:00pm.

Social Studies:  This week we are back into our unit on Colonization and Settlement.  We will finish comparing and contrasting Plymouth and Jamestown early in the week and then we will begin review for an assessment which will take place Friday.  Here is what they need to work on:

1. Squanto questions or character portrait (their choice) - due Tues

2. Review worksheet (2 sided) on Plymouth and Jamestown - due Wed

3. Review for assessment - 15-20  minutes per night starting Wed.

In Language Arts, students will finish the Sign of the Beaver novel.  A summary of the book will be required by the end of Friday’s class and an assessment will take place on Tuesday of next week.  

In Math, students completed the STAR assessment and many improved since the last test in September.  Please ask your child about their results.

Literacy students took the STAR reading assessment last week, and are reading A Wrinkle in Time this week in class.  

Weekly Update 2/5/18

Good Morning Families!

This week, students will be engaged in Science Fair preparation.  
The Science Fair will be held this Thursday night from 5:30- 7:30
in the Middle School gymnasium and surrounding classrooms.
Within that time frame, students will locate judges to whom they will present
their project, participate in raffles and can choose to be involved in a scavenger hunt.

Students will be taking the STAR reading and math assessments this week.
Reading will take place on Monday in Literacy class, and math will occur on Friday
during math classes.

Morning math with Ms. Johnson will be held on Mon, Wed, & Fri 7:00-7:30
focusing on geometry and statistics.  Please contact Amy if you are interested i
n this opportunity for your child. ajohnson@mymtsd-vt.org

Social Studies:  Last week we focused on the Plymouth settlement.  
This week we will be taking a break from our Colonization and Settlement Unit
and focusing our energies on the Science Fair projects.  We will utilize our time
on writing and editing to help get the projects ready for Thursday's big event.

Language Arts: Students will be finishing Science Fair writing as well as
continuing with the reading of the Sign of the Beaver.  There will be no homework in
Language Arts, other than to continue work on Science Fair writing.

Literacy: Students will begin reading A wrinkle in Time this week when not engaged
in the Science Fair.