What a week! Middle School held their annual Math Carnival on Friday for families and students and finished writing the 2025 Middle School Play, Set in Stone.

Announcements:

• Tuesday, 1/21- Thursday, 1/30: Middle School Immersion –*Additional information below*
• Thursday, 1/30: Middle School Play at 7 pm in the Gym
• Tuesday, 2/4: MS Field Trip to the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT. Students will leave school at 9:30 am and return by 1:30 pm.

Math

This week in Middle School math, students engaged in an exciting blend of critical thinking, creativity, and hands-on learning. After designing and refining their own Math Carnival games, they took the opportunity to test each other’s creations. They collected data to calculate experimental probabilities and analyze the results. The experience provided a valuable hands-on application of math concepts, allowing students to connect theory with practice in a fun and interactive way.

The week ended with the 5th Annual Math Carnival, a lively event where students showcased their hard work and math skills. It was an afternoon of friendly competition, laughter, and learning as Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary students played the carnival games.

A heartfelt thank you to all who attended and supported our Middle School math students. Your presence helped make the event successful and created lasting memories for everyone!

Humanities

Students completed week two of playwriting. Their original script, Set in Stone, is ready for final editing and will be finalized for the start of Immersion Week 1 on Tuesday.

Immersion Weeks involve turning the script that students created over the last two weeks into a full production. This includes creating the set and props with Ms. Reid and Mr. Frisk, working with Mrs. Kirk to block the scenes, memorizing lines, learning how to run the tech for the show, and moving the set and props on and off the stage as needed for each scene of the show. During the first week, students will be blocking the show until lunch and then continue with classes in the afternoon. During the second week, rehearsals will run the full day leading up to a performance for students on Wednesday, 1/29, during school and a final evening performance on Thursday, 1/30, at 7 pm.

*Be on the look-out for additional communication about the show in the coming week.*

Science

Welcome to 2025, Middle School families! We hope you had a nice new year an are excited for what’s to come in 2025.

Here are some dates to keep in mind:

• Friday, 1/17: Math Carnival in the Gym from 1:30-2:30 pm
• Tuesday, 1/21- Thursday, 1/30: Middle School Immersion
• Thursday, 1/30: Middle School Play at 7 pm in the Gym
  

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Math

This has been an exciting week for Middle School math! Students returned from the break eager and refreshed and jumped right into a unit on Probability. Students discovered the difference between theoretical and experimental probability. They calculated the theoretical probability of choosing each color of an M&M and then took data of which color M&M they drew from the bag to calculate the experimental probability. Students worked diligently all week to brainstorm an idea for their own probability game, created a blueprint, and then worked to create the physical game. The Math Carnival will take place on Friday, January 17th, and students cannot wait to put their games to the test.

Humanities

In Humanities classes this week, students worked together to write the plot for this year’s Middle School play. The overarching idea for this full-length play is first decided by the 8th-grade class. This year, the play is about a solved mystery about an object in a museum and the backstory to this object. Then, students created a plot line with the skeleton of the play and scene-by-scene summaries. Next, they developed their characters. This involved writing their personality traits, any particular traits in appearance, an example of what they might say, and how their role contributes to the plot. Next, any relationships between characters are established. Finally, the classes began writing the scenes. Next week students will have the opportunity to write in mixed-grade groups as well as with their class. By next Friday, the script will be drafted!

Beginning on Tuesday, 1/21, the Middle School will spend most of the day immersing themselves in the play they wrote. They will create the set, gather/create props and costumes, block the scenes, and put on a final performance for you on Thursday, Jan. 30th, at 7 pm.

Science

Wow! What a week! As Middle School wrapped up classes before winter break, students also had a chance to work on some Middle School traditions: door decorating, raising money for a nonprofit, gift giving, holiday celebrations, and the winter concert. First, the entire middle school participated in the annual door decorating contest (which, as many of you saw, is more of a hallway decorating contest).  6th grade created a winter scene with a ski lift, ski lodge, and a door that opened to all of their lovely faces! 7th grade recreated the Polar Express with cars that viewers could walk through! 8th grade’s creation had a holiday Where’s Waldo? theme that asked viewers to find characters from the book. Younger peers and teachers walked through the hallway and voted. The 6th grade ended up having the most votes!

Next, students spent time celebrating on Thursday! The day began with Mrs. Banay coming in to cook delicious Israeli donuts for the middle school. Almog also created 3D-printed dreidels for each student. Then, the middle school opened their Secret Snowman gifts. There were a lot of smiling faces and laughter as students took guesses about the identities of their gift-givers. The students then enjoyed delicious food (thank you, parents!) and some movies.

The 8th grade worked hard to complete the products for their Fraser WoodShop pop-up shop that took place before the concert on Friday. They ended up selling out of the charcuterie boards and sold many of the beautiful ornaments they designed and created on the glow forge. All money will go to the nonprofit they selected, Ben’s Lighthouse.

Finally, students participated in group concert rehearsals this week, leading up to Friday’s fabulous performance. The Middle School is undoubtedly talented!

The Middle School Team wishes you and your family a wonderful winter break full of togetherness and memories. We look forward to welcoming students back after the New Year. We have a lot to look forward to in 2025!

There is a lot going on in Middle School!

First of all, 8th-grade Leadership has been working hard. They have completed the collection of holiday gifts from the FWM community to be delivered to a local Newtown family needing assistance this holiday season. Next, they have been busy with their business, The Fraser WoodShop, creating the 2024 Holiday Ornament and beautiful charcuterie boards (limited number) to sell before next week’s holiday concert! All proceeds will go towards Ben’s Lighthouse.

Next week, we look forward to the following:

• Door Decorating Contest! We will decorate by grade level with whatever winter-themed decorations are brought in!
• PAJAMA DAY: Thursday, 12/19, is PJ day for Middle School!!!
• Holiday Party: Thursday, after an all-school concert rehearsal, we will have our winter party.
• Secret Snowflake: Students should bring in a gift ($15 limit) for their assigned secret snowflake.
• HOLIDAY CONCERT: 10 am start. The attire is dressier than normal (no dirty sneakers, sweats, ripped clothing, etc.) STUDENTS CAN LEAVE WITH THEIR FAMILIES AFTER THE SHOW.
  

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Humanities

Grade 6 Humanities classes focused on finishing their second class novel, Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper. This week, they worked on small group discussions in which they prepared their own questions. They read through and identified the climax of the novel and worked on writing a novel reaction at the end of the week. The students will watch the newly released movie version of the book next week in Humanities! Also, earlier this week, one of Mrs. Lamb’s favorite poets, Nikki Giovanni, passed away. In her memory, students read “Knoxville, Tennessee” and discussed the notion of nostalgia. Then, they composed their own pieces about a place they find nostalgic.

The 7th grade Humanities class is two assignments away from finishing their third class novel, The Giver, by Lois Lowry. In addition to their nightly reading, the class began each day with a book discussion before transitioning to the much-anticipated Community Project. This is a favorite among 7th-year students and involves partnering with another classmate to create their own version of Utopia. The groups must consider and write about multiple factors before presenting their imagined community to their peers. Government structure, the environment, essential resources, and economics are only a few of the components of their Community they must consider. It will be exciting to see how these turn out!

8th-grade Humanities classes this week focused on drafting an essay and the play. The Reimagining History essay has students develop a singular change in the early days of the colonies and write about the possible effects of this change that would be immediately seen and even felt today. Students researched and composed their drafts with individual writing goals this week. Next, they came up with the big idea for the 2025 Middle School Play! They aren’t ready to share with their classmates yet, but all will be revealed soon.

Math

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Prior to the break, the school came together for a celebration led by the Middle School. The program included the presentation of the elements, class gratitudes, singing “Light a Candle for Peace,” cultural blessings, and sharing bread. It was a wonderful way to send us off for the long holiday weekend.

This week brought the first glimpse of snow for most of us. Middle School students enjoyed being outdoors, especially throwing snowballs. Students are welcome to bring in snow gear whenever we have snow so they can enjoy being outside. We suggest all students have a spare set of gloves left in their lockers for the spur-of-the-moment snowball fight.

Here’s what went on in classes this week:

6th-grade Humanities continued working on their class novel, Out of My Mind. Students had smaller group discussions, which they led themselves, and participated in large group discussions surrounding the assigned chapters. They will continue in the book next week. The 6th grade also worked on writing this week. The class completed editing practice, continued conferences with Mrs. Lamb, and began their longer December writing assignment based on a few prompt choices. One of the choices, to write a persuasive letter to Mrs. Lamb with a plan for the Middle School trip, was a favorite choice. The students are still working on them and will read aloud once completed.

The 7th-grade Humanities class is devouring the book The Giver by Lois Lowry and, with it, discussing the notion of Utopia. This fictional dystopian novel sparked a conversation about what is not perfect, what might be perfect, and what would need to be perfect in order to make Earth a utopian place to live. Students are almost finished drafting pieces that speak to this idea. Next, students will imagine their own Utopia in an interesting group project called The Community Project.

The 8th-grade Humanities class completed their first novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here, by Eric Gansworth. In the end, the themes of friendship, loyalty, belonging, and growing up stood out among students. They led discussions this week using questions they developed. Additionally, the 8th grade workshopped their thesis statements for their “Reimagining History” essay. They will spend next week researching and drafting.

Separately, the 8th grade worked in Leadership to create more of the Fraser Woods annual ornaments that they will sell at the pop-up shop before the winter concert. They also tried to finalize the design for their latest item, a charcuterie board.

Math

Pre-Transition: This week, the class dove right into Chapter 4, “Using Subtraction.” Students learned all about three different models for subtraction: the takeaway model, the slide model, and the comparison model. They also used fact triangles to find related facts for addition and subtraction. The class closed out the week by taking the Chapter 4 quiz.

In addition to classes this week, Middle School participated in Fire Prevention Day and prepared for next week’s Thanksgiving Gathering. First, students listened to a presentation by Bethel Assistant Fire Chief Bill McAllister and a couple of volunteers from the Botsford Fire Department. Then, they were shown how machinery like the jaws of life and the technology involved in the fire uniforms can help save lives. Finally, students jumped on the truck!

In preparation for the Thanksgiving Gathering, the Middle School baked breads. It sure smelled delicious around the building! Last week, students chose recipes that they wanted to bake and prepared them in Advisory this week. Students baked lemon bread, lemon raspberry bread, Japanese milk bread, chocolate chip banana bread, and gluten-free apple bread. The 8th grade is also prepared to host next week’s school-wide Thanksgiving Gathering.

We hope you have a wonderful break full of people that bring you joy. We are grateful for you.

Humanities

6th grade Humanities continued reading Out of My Mind this week. The class is working towards annotating their nightly readings in order to lead their own discussions. This week, students were asked to develop discussion questions instead of nightly comprehension questions. Then, they sat in two groups using their discussion questions to guide the chapter reviews. The groups utilized a circle format to help with listening and responding thoughtfully. This proved to be quite successful. Mrs. Lamb enjoyed sitting in and listening as the class led themselves. Additionally, a final writing piece was introduced and mostly drafted for the descriptive writing unit. Second-round writing conferences began as well.

7th grade Humanities classes worked on writing this week. The class reviewed mechanical editing marks and practiced using an Everyday Edit. They finished drafting their literary analysis essay, which proves a statement from the novel to be true using specific examples and direct quotations from the novel as support. Some students completed initial self-editing checklists, and the class will hopefully begin peer edits next week. The class has been working on current events, which will be presented on Monday.

The 8th grade has been busy between Leadership and Humanities classes. In Leadership, they collected and organized all of the FWM community’s donations for the Thanksgiving Food Drive. This week, students also completed the 2024 Fraser Woods Ornament and Limited Edition Ornament designs that will be sold at the pop-up Fraser WoodShop booth before the winter concert. Students created a prototype then got to work quickly, cutting 30 ornaments on the Glow Forge.

In Humanities class, the 8th grade is in the last third of their class novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here. They began their initial brainstorming for their history essay, Reimagining History. This essay requires both research and making a cause-and-effect claim. They must make a change to something in the course of the history of Native Americans after European contact and imagine a few subsequent effects of that change. Would anything be different today?

Math

Pre-Transition: This week, students wrapped up their learning of Chapter 3. They began the week by learning how to add simple fractions and mixed numbers and reviewing how to apply the properties of angle addition. The class closed out the week by playing a review game of Jeopardy and taking the Chapter 3 test. Students will dive into Chapter 4 when they return from Thanksgiving break.

It finally reached brisk seasonal temperatures this week. We ate inside the later part of the week but still enjoyed both outdoor recess times daily.

In addition to our weekly schedule, we were able to attend a celebration of Diwali. Parents, students, and Mrs. Dutt led the presentation with a brief history, a book, a traditional dance, and delicious Indian food.

Here is what went on in classes this week:

Humanities

6th-grade Humanities continued to work on their descriptive writing unit and began a new class novel. They are finishing writing conferences for their leaf writing and composing their “Shark Attack!” piece. Their new class novel, Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, has been an exciting read so far. It is written from the perspective of the protagonist, Melody, who lives with cerebral palsy and cannot speak. The classes focus on empathy and compassion in both their work and discussions. Students have also been identifying elements of descriptive writing in Draper’s novel, which is plentiful in the pages.

7th-grade Humanities classes completed the novel A Long Walk to Water this week. With it, the class watched a TedTalk given by the novel’s protagonist, Salva Dut. He talks about Water for South Sudan, the nonprofit he began in the US to build well systems for villages in South Sudan. The class also looked at the personal experiences of the Lost Boys from Sudan coming to the United States. This gave them a unique perspective of what it is like to come to the United States and experience a culture that is completely different from the one they know.

8th grade continues to read their class novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here, and relate what they read about life and challenges on a reservation to the experiences of Native Americans in the 1800s. This week, they read about the legislation passed, treaties signed, and court cases that were ignored concerning the relocation and movement of tribal nations, particularly the Cherokee. Next week, they will study the Flight of the Nez Perce in 1877.

Math

Pre-Transition: This was an exciting week for pre-transition! Students continued their learning in Chapter 3. They learned how to name and measure angles by using protractors, applied the properties of angle addition, and explored how to add fractions and mixed numbers. The class will wrap up Chapter 3 next week with their unit test on Friday, November 22nd.

What a beautiful week to be outside! We are enjoying the gifts of warm lunches outside as long as we can.

The middle school teachers are proud of the students and how they navigated a unique start to the week in our country, as many of the adults in their lives went to the polls. On Wednesday, the middle school began the day with a circle to acknowledge the spectrum of feelings in the room and to also validate that it’s OK to not feel a certain way regarding the election. Using a talking piece, the middle school gave profound ideas about how they can support each other even when they do not agree. This part of the circle gave the adults in the room such warmth and affirmed that they are truly models for our community.

Here is what went on in some of the MS classes this week:

Humanities

On Monday and Tuesday, grades 6 through 8 learned about the election process in the United States as well as the overall requirements and responsibilities of the three branches of US government. Overall, there were two items they learned that were surprising: first, the importance of the elected congress members in the legislative branch to write and pass laws; and secondly, the electoral college and its function in a presidential election.

6th-grade Humanities classes spent the rest of the week writing. They completed their leaf writing draft and are in the process of completing one-on-one writing conferences with Mrs. Lamb about the piece. Next, they began a descriptive writing piece called “Shark Attack!” This piece charges the students with composing the narration of a video clip as if it will be used in a nature documentary. They need to use specific word choice, figurative language, and imagery to convey the five senses. With Ms. Hunsucker, 6th grade Humanities students embarked on a new project: Walk a Mile in My Shoes. Each student draws one of their shoes from observation and incorporates little-known facts about themselves into their designs. This gives peers the opportunity to build empathy and connection with each other while exploring their own identities.

7th-grade Humanities classes spent the remainder of the week discussing their class novel, A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park. Using annotations as well as guided discussion questions, students are learning about the Lost Boys of Sudan. Additionally, they wrote and shared informal writing in response to prompts surrounding the election.

8th-grade Humanities classes finished the week with a discussion surrounding their class novel If I Ever Get Out of Here. Additionally, the 8th grade finished illustrations and began assembling their picture book about the Powhatan Confederacy before and after contact.

Science

This week, 6th-grade students have worked to master their graphing skills using the SULTAN method scale: units, labels, titles, accuracy, and neatness. Their progress in these last few weeks has been impressive, and with it, our Introduction to Science unit is coming to a close. Next week, the class will begin working on our first content-specific unit!