The middle school had a busy and festive week filled with creativity, teamwork, and lots of fun!

We kicked things off with hallway decorating, and the results were pretty sweet. Working together, students transformed the hallway into a whimsical gingerbread house, complete with candy-inspired details and wintery touches. Every part of the hallway showed off their imagination and teamwork.

After all that effort, the middle school came together for a holiday party to relax, celebrate, and enjoy time with one another.

One of the highlights of the week was our Secret Snowflake gift exchange. Organized by the students, it brought lots of excitement, laughter, and smiles as gifts were exchanged and Secret Snowflakes were revealed. It was a perfect way to spend our last full day before break.

The week wrapped up with the Winter Showcase, where students shared their talents in so many ways. They wrote and presented original poetry, displayed their artwork in the art show, and spent weeks rehearsing for the winter concert. It was amazing to see their confidence grow and their hard work pay off.

The 8th grade also held their Fraser WoodShop pop-up sale, selling ornaments, cutting boards, magnets, and seed bombs. All profits are being donated to the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary here in Newtown, CT.

As we head into winter break, we’re so thankful for the energy and positivity our middle school students bring each day. It’s been a fun and memorable year so far, and we wish everyone a happy and restful holiday break!

See you in 2026!

It was another fun week in Middle School as we decorated the MS hallway and rehearsed for the winter concert. Students can’t wait for you see it before the Winter Showcase on Friday! 8th-grade students collected and wrapped presents for the Holiday Gift Drive and worked on completing seed bombs, ornaments, and cutting boards for the Fraser WoodShop sale at the Winter Showcase.

Announcements:

• Thursday, 12/18: Class Winter Party: Pajama Day, Secret Snowflake Gift Giving, and yummy treats!
• **Please bring in the Secret Snowflake Gift wrapped by Thursday morning, 12/18!**
• Friday, 12/19 @ 10:30 am: Winter Showcase & Fraser WoodShop Pop-up Shop (Park & grab the shuttle at Sand Hill Plaza!)
• Check with your MS student(s) to make sure they have their refillable water bottle with them.
• MS Flower Schedule
  

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Humanities

This week, all Humanities classes worked on completing the plot line and scene summaries for this year’s Middle School play. Students also developed their own character ideas, writing about the type of character they would like to play, how they contribute to the plot, defining traits, and sample lines. So far, the show is coming together great! It will be exciting to finally write dialogue for the script next week.

Additionally, 6th and 7th-grade classes learned more about the Lost Boys from Sudan. They watched two short National Geographic videos documenting what it was like for those who traveled to America and then responded to questions about them. While giving them a different life path, students observed how they navigated such a drastic culture change.

The 8th grade finished reading their class novel, <em>If I Ever Get Out of Here</em>. The final week of reading was full of suspense and also tied up the many conflicts that arose in the story. In the end, the theme of friendship really shone through. Students had some deep discussions throughout this novel regarding Native American culture, racism, and defining true friendship.

Math

Pre-Transition: This week in Pre-Transition, students wrapped up Chapter 3. They completed the Chapter 3 Self-Test and spent time reviewing all key concepts before finishing the week with the Chapter 3 assessment.

Transition: Transition students kicked off the week with a fun Jeopardy-style review of Chapter 3 concepts. They then took the Chapter 3 assessment and ended the week beginning Chapter 5, “Patterns Leading to Addition and Subtraction.” Students practiced adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers.

Algebra: In Algebra, students began the week reviewing Chapter 3 and taking the Chapter 3 assessment. From there, they moved into Chapter 4, “More Linear Equations and Inequalities.” Students solved percent problems using equations and learned how to use graphs and tables to model real-world linear relationships.

Geometry: Geometry students started the week with the Chapter 3 quiz. They continued learning how to recognize and use algebraic postulates, justify conclusions involving angles and segments, and determine the measures of angles formed by parallel lines, perpendicular lines, and transversals.

Algebra II: In Algebra II, students began Chapter 3, “Linear Functions and Sequences.”  They learned to determine slope and intercepts from an equation and identify key properties of linear functions. Students also explored modeling linear combination situations and practiced graphing lines written in standard form.

Science

This week, 6th and 7th-grade students kept working on their unit, Combining and Separating Matter. This week, students supported their learning with class work, readings, and a laboratory session. In this laboratory, students had the chance to use their knowledge to separate a mixture of iron filings, salt, sand, and glass beads. They know a physical combination can be separated by different processes previously studied, such as magnetic force, sifting, filtration, decantation, and evaporation. They were able to separate each of the substances. Before any hands-on activity, students formulated the key questions, the hypothesis, and designed a plan to separate the given mixture. As a first step, they used a magnet to separate the iron filings, and the second step was sifting to separate the glass and plastic beads. The leftover mixture contained salt and sand. Knowing that salt is soluble in water, they decided to use water to dilute the salt and let the mixture settle. Decantation was the next step to separate the sand and the salty solution. They also used filtration to clean the solution and trap the suspended particles(sand) in the filter paper. Finally, they used evaporation to remove the water and get the salt in a solid state at the bottom of the beaker. They were very excited, and they enjoyed every step of the class.

Eighth graders this week learned more in detail about eukaryotic cells (animal and plant cells). They also learned how a group of cells forms tissues, a group of tissues forms organs, and a group of organs forms systems. The hands-on project of this chapter was to make a Cell Cake. Students were able to bake two cakes and decorate them, modeling eukaryotic cells: one of them as an Animal Cake and the other one as a Plant Cake. Eighth graders were very excited learning about the cells, structure, properties, and functions of each organelle that forms a cell. They started baking the cakes from scratch and decorated them with candy simulating each organelle that is part of the cell structure. Students made sure to label each part and explain their function in the life of the cell. At the end of the project, the eighth graders enjoyed eating the cakes that they had made.

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving Break and had time with those who bring them joy. The Middle School led our school tradition of gathering to share breads that students baked, listen to messages of gratitude, and give blessings in the cultures representing our community.

The weather is becoming colder, and we are getting closer to Winter Break. For Middle School, this time of year contains fun traditions, new and old. One new tradition the FWM 6th and 7th grade worked on was decorating and donating a tree to the Festival of Trees in support of Newtown Youth and Family Services. The tree was decorated with hand-crafted symbols of friendship, including bracelets, laser-cut ornaments, letters of affirmation, and various flowers representing what friendship means to the students. The theme of friendship was selected by students due to their belief in its importance during the holiday season. Trees are on display Saturday and Sunday, 12/6 & 12/7, at Trinity Episcopal Church on Main St. in Newtown, and spectators can choose their favorite trees, and each will be raffled.

Announcements:

• Help the 8th grade and the Newtown Fund satisfy the holiday wish list for a Newtown Family of 6 in need. Click Here to sign up to help Family #26. 
• Thursday, 12/18: Class Winter Party: Pajama Day, Secret Snowflake Gift Giving, and yummy treats! More information to come!
• **Please bring in the Secret Snowflake Gift wrapped by Thursday morning, 12/18!**
• Friday, 12/19 @ 10:30 am: Winter Showcase & Fraser WoodShop Pop-up Shop (Park & grab the shuttle at Sand Hill Plaza!)
• Check with your MS student(s) to make sure they have their refillable water bottle with them.
• MS Flower Schedule
  

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Humanities

This week, grade 8 presented their Internship Projects to the Middle School Community. Each of them had robust experiences that gave interesting perspectives on a variety of occupations. These experiences offered appreciation for the professions as well as a behind-the-scenes look at different businesses. Additionally, the 8th grade continued reading their class novel, <em>If I Ever Get Out of Here</em> and decided on the much-anticipated big idea for the Middle School play! The class will begin the plot next week.

Grades 6 & 7 Humanities classes completed the class novel, <em>A Long Walk To Water</em>. Students also began learning more about the countries of Sudan and South Sudan, as they were the setting for the class novel. Additionally, students completed editing practice as well as lessons on annotating narratives and how they can differ from informational reading. Next week, the classes will begin the plot for the Middle School play.

Math

Pre-Transition: This week, students continued their work in Chapter 3. They learned how to name and measure angles using a protractor and, once they had a solid understanding of angles, moved on to finding missing angles in triangles and quadrilaterals using their sum theories. To wrap up the week, students practiced adding fractions and mixed numbers by finding common denominators through the least common multiple. Students will review all Chapter 3 skills and take the Chapter 3 test on Thursday, December 11th.

Science

This week, 6/7A and 6/7B students started a new unit, “Combining and Separating Matter”. They learned the concepts of a pure substance and mixtures, types of mixtures, and how to identify if a mixture is homogeneous or heterogeneous. They also learned that mixtures could be liquid, solid, or gas.  They talked about the mixtures they find in their daily life. They also learned about classifying mixtures such as solutions, colloids, and suspensions. They are understanding their differences and examples of each of these mixtures. In addition to that, they learned what the Tyndall Effect is and where they can find it in nature. The class observed it with the help of an aerosol.

On the other hand, eighth graders also started a new unit about cells. They started learning about the Cell Theory and how it kept developing through the years with the help of technology. They also learned that the cell is the basic unit of life, or the main building block, in all living organisms, regardless of whether they are unicellular or multicellular organisms. The classes also talked about the types of cells, Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic. They learned about their differences in structure and functions using pictures and models where they were able to see inside the cells, identifying each organelle and its general functions. Within the eukaryotic cells, students studied animal and plant cells and their differences. All this learning was supported by classwork, videos, pictures provided by the Discovery Education tech book, and some other trustworthy sources that facilitate the students ‘ understanding of each of these topics.

The week started a bit quietly while the 8th-grade class was away for their internships Monday through Wednesday. The Middle School looks forward to hearing about their experiences before Thanksgiving break. The 8th grade is also busy organizing Leadership initiatives of the WIN Thanksgiving Food Drive and Holiday Basket Program, in addition to preparing for their Holiday Fraser WoodShop pop-up at the Winter Showcase!

Also included in this week’s pictures, you will find an amazing outdoor space created by some of our Middle School students called The Honey Bunch. They have been working on it this fall during daily outdoor time, and they recently gave us a tour!

Announcements:

• Help the 8th grade reach their goal of providing a Thanksgiving meal and groceries for two small families this week!  Click Here to sign up to help Family #1. Click here to sign up to help Family #2-Gluten & Dairy FREE.
• Friday, 12/19 @ 10:30 am: Winter Showcase & Fraser WoodShop Pop-up Shop (Park & grab the shuttle at Sand Hill Plaza!)
• Check with your MS student(s) to make sure they have their refillable water bottle with them.
• MS Flower Schedule

Math

Pre-Transition Mathematics: This week, students worked through adding positive and negative numbers by learning how to slide on a number line. Then the class dove into the world of angles! They learned how to use protractors to measure and draw angles, and they practiced with a fun collaborative activity. Students closed out the week by learning ways to name angles, as well as the meaning of a linear pair and adjacent angles.

Transition Mathematics: This week, students played an interactive review game to practice adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. Then, they showed off their knowledge of these skills by taking the Chapter 3 quiz. To continue the week, the class learned how to make estimates through rounding. The week wrapped up by learning to order and compare decimals and fractions by converting decimals to fractions and vice versa.

Algebra: Algebra students began the week by reviewing the concepts learned so far in Chapter 3 and then taking the Chapter 3 quiz. The week continued by developing fluency with solving single and multi-step linear equations and inequalities, and students learned how to graph them on a number line. Eighth graders, who were at internships, worked on solving single and multi-step algebraic equations, and they also practiced moving a decimal to the other side of the equations by multiplying by the reciprocal.

Geometry: Geometry students had a shortened math week due to internships. This week, they completed Lesson 3-2, which focuses on positive and negative rotations of shapes to a specified degree. Students learned two ways to do this: first, by using a protractor and, second, by using tracing paper.

Algebra II: This week, students finished Chapter 2, a unit centered on direct and inverse variations and the Fundamental Theorem of Variation. Students will take the Chapter 2 Assessment next week before the break.

Science

At the beginning of the week, middle school students focused on organizing their science binders. These binders have five sections where they can file their classwork, homework, laboratory work, notes, and assessments in a very organized way. It is very important for the students to understand why organization and filing of their work is key in their learning journey. It makes it easier to keep track of their information and find it, and makes it easier to study when they must be ready for assessment time. Also, this week, Middle School students from 6^th and 7^th grade are learning about the definitions of Accuracy and Precision and how important these concepts are for the science world. These concepts are applied in research in every field, such as medicine, outer space science, engineering, and many other applications in the real world. Lastly, students are mastering their measuring skills by practicing with our interactive laboratory in class. On the other side, 8^th Graders were out most of the week doing their internships, but they are starting to learn fundamental basic concepts about Biology as an introduction to Life Science.

Humanities

6th and 7th grade Humanities classes continue to explore the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa by visiting a few each day in Google Earth. They observe the countries’ physical features, architecture, and capital cities, and then read about their demographics, including land area, population, languages spoken, and cultural makeup. Additionally, the class read their class novel, <em>A Long Walk to Water</em> about a young man, Salva, and his journey across Sudan by foot as one of the Lost Boys.

8th grade students spent the week working on their internship projects. In addition to visiting a business for 3 days, they keep a daily journal, create a presentation about their experiences, and write a reflection. This meaningful opportunity allows them to step outside of their comfort zone and take a closer look at specific careers and how businesses run.

We had a great week in middle school! We had a few special experiences, including a Veteran’s Day Presentation and our trip to CVH. First, we were able to hear from Jennifer Mills, an FWM parent, retired Navy officer, and former diplomat. She gave a comprehensive presentation about who veterans are in our country and the different branches of the military. Next, Our middle schoolers enjoyed a hands-on learning day at the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary. Using the beautiful Learning Barn and industrial kitchen, students worked in groups to bake breads that will be shared with our school community on Tuesday, November 25. They then headed onto the trails with the CVHAS education team, where they explored the sanctuary while “thinking like animals.” Students imagined how bats and bears find food, choose shelter, and prepare for hibernation. It was a meaningful day of teamwork, creativity, and outdoor learning!

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE OUTDOORS: As part of our program, we regularly spend time outdoors throughout the school year. This includes time outside in the colder, winter months and even when there is snow on the ground. Please ensure students are dressed for the seasonal weather with an outer layer that can withstand colder temperatures for up to 30 minutes. We require a jacket as well as covered arms and legs when temperatures dip below 50°F. This is a great time of year to send in a pair of gloves and a hat to keep in lockers. Also, start thinking about winter boots for those days we will be out in the snow as crocs and athletic shoes are not suitable. Thank you for your attention to this.

Announcements:

• Check with your MS student(s) to make sure they have their refillable water bottle with them. 
• Monday, 11/17 – Wednesday, 11/19: 8th Grade Internships
• MS Flower Schedule

Math

Pre-Transition: Pre-Transition started the week off with a review of all Chapter 2 concepts, before demonstrating their knowledge on the Chapter 2 assessment. Then, students dove headfirst into Chapter 3, learning how to use fractions to add mixed numbers or numbers with mixed units.

With two exciting events this week, the Middle School was busy! The culmination of a month-long science project resulted in a successful Science Fair on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday morning, students gathered in the gym and listened to a presentation celebrating Diwali given by classmates. Students were even able to participate in an Indian dance and sample some delicious Indian cuisine.

A special thanks to the 8th-grade Leadership class for organizing a successful food drive this past week. The 8th grade organized the donations, checked for expiration dates, and loaded the vehicles for delivery. The FAITH Food Pantry in Newtown was grateful for the generosity of our school community. Thank you to all who donated!

Announcements:

• Please ensure students are dressed for the seasonal weather with an outer layer, as we will continue to go outside. We require a jacket as well as covered arms and legs when temperatures dip below 50°F.
• Check with your MS student(s) to make sure they have their refillable water bottle with them. 
• Monday, 11/17 – Wednesday, 11/19: 8th Grade Internships
• MS Flower Schedule

More About Science Fair

A middle school Science Fair is an exciting event where students get to explore their curiosity and research projects. It allows them to apply the scientific method to investigate questions about the world around them, in Biology, physics, and chemistry. During the fair, students presented their projects on display boards, shared their understanding and findings with other students and parents. Middle school students were able to practice their communication and critical thinking skills. This year, there were a variety of interesting projects, including a basic introduction to microbiology and how the presence of microbes is everywhere in our surroundings. All students followed the safety rules and protocols while they performed their experiments. The FWM Science Fair is a way to encourage students to learn through discovery and help them develop confidence in their scientific abilities.

Upcoming Announcements:

• Wednesday, 11/5, 2 pm: Middle School Science Fair
• Monday, 11/17 – Wednesday, 11/19: 8th Grade Internships
• MS Flower Schedule

This week, our Middle School students showed incredible leadership and kindness as they teamed up with our youngest learners for their trip to the Peace Garden Pumpkin Patch! They helped pull wagons, guided students through the pumpkin patch, and held their hands as they picked out the perfect pumpkin to take home. It was heartwarming to see our older students being such wonderful role models and making the day extra special for the younger classes.

We also kept the Halloween spirit going with our annual Costume Parade. Students showed off their costumes, some of which were even created here during MakerSpace!

To wrap up the week, Middle Schoolers enjoyed a Halloween celebration filled with sweet treats. It was a fun and festive week that reminded us how our special school community is full of teamwork, creativity, and lots of smiles!

Thank you for the wonderful conferences with your children this week. It is such a pleasure to be able to meet together and talk about the growth and goals of the Middle School students. Ending the week with Halloween Movie Night was fun!

Humanities

6th and 7th grade Humanities classes continued their study of China. This week, they learned more about the Great Wall, the end of Imperial China, and a few of the events leading to the fall of the Qing Dynasty, particularly the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion. Additionally, the classes are learning how to annotate an article when reading for information. For Poetry Tuesday, students read “Litany” by Billy Collins. This humorous poem that makes fun of traditional love poems had students reading a variety of metaphors. In addition to choosing their favorite metaphors in the piece, they were charged with writing one as if it had been published with the poem.

8th grade Humanities classes consisted of completing memoir drafts, self-editing, and peer editing their pieces. The class also worked on sentence structure, focusing on compound sentences. On Poetry Tuesday, students read the poem “The Swingset” by Grace Walton. This poem led to a conversation surrounding nostalgia and growing up.

Math

Pre-Transition: The week began with a review of the Chapter 2 skills that have been covered so far, including identifying place values, comparing and ordering decimals and fractions, multiplying by multiples of 10, and rounding. Students took the Chapter 2 Quiz on Tuesday and wrapped up the week learning how to round numbers to the nearest, next, or preceding number.