Happy February, Middle School families! It’s been a great week that included 8th-grade internship presentations to the upper elementary and middle school students and teachers.

A component of our 8th-grade program includes a unique Internship project. This allows students to engage with professionals and experts, gaining real-life experience and information. The internship project has students reach out to business professionals and ask to become an interns for three days. This looks different depending on the profession, but students might be working right alongside professionals, observing and engaging in interviews about the work environment and culture. They complete daily written journals, a presentation about their experience to be delivered to the community, and a written reflection.

You will see pictures of this year’s presentations in our photos this week. These presentations made the teachers see that these 8th graders are ready to become high schoolers! It is completely bittersweet.

Here’s what went on in the other classrooms:

Science

6th-year Earth Science students are exploring their unit, Natural Resources. From this unit, students will be able to classify a natural resource as renewable or non-renewable, provide examples of ways humans depend on natural resources, compare and explain how natural resources form, explain the importance of using natural resources wisely, and cite ways in which humans can do so. Students began the week presenting their research on the impact of using non-renewable resources if restrictions are not implemented.

Humanities

6th-grade Humanities students have been focused on the region of North Africa and the Middle East. They have particularly been looking at the current political maps of the region and had an assessment identifying countries. Next, they went back in time to look at the maps of 3 ancient civilizations: Indus Valley, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, focusing on bodies of water and major cities. Next week, students will begin to look at how societies organized and comparing to today. Students ended the week completing their research notes for this trimester’s research project, A Moment in History and began their research essays, which are due on the revised date of Wednesday, 2/14.

7th-grade Humanities classes had a great time presenting their Community Projects that they have been working on this month. This is a group project that had students look at the idea of Utopia stemming from their class novel, The Giver, and create their own ideas of what this might look like in a community. They brainstormed, wrote responses to each of the required components of the community, and created presentations to their classmates trying to convince them that their community is, in fact, Utopian. As each group presented, students wrote notes about what they were on board with, what they questioned, and whether or not they would consider living there. In the end, they anonymously voted on the community they felt most embodied Utopia. Of the four groups, there was a tie between 2! Finally, students ended the week completing their research notes for this trimester’s research project, A Moment in History and began their research essays, which are due on the revised date of Wednesday, 2/14.

The 8th grade had a busy week! With Mrs. Lamb, they started the week by giving the first run-through of their internship presentations, receiving feedback, and making revisions. Then, they were able to give their final presentations to the upper elementary and middle school classes. With Mr. Newman, students examine the first five presidents, looking at who they were, what similarities they shared as people, and the challenges they faced as the first leaders of a new country.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday! We hope everyone had a great week. The middle school has been immersed in projects since returning from winter break. Across disciplines, they are working both independently and together to accomplish long-term goals. Project-based learning is an important component of the Middle School curriculum!

Humanities

All three Humanities classes are in project mode!

Grade 6 Humanities class has been busy getting themselves set up for success with their research project surrounding the theme, A Moment in History. They brainstormed two ideas that they discussed with the class and then selected their final topic. From there, they learned about writing thesis statements and developed one to guide their research. Next, they began writing questions that would be answered during the research process. They reviewed taking research notes, keeping track of their sources, and using reliable sources. Separately from their research, students are learning about Oaxacan art culture, stemming from their recent class novel, Becoming Naomi Leon.

Grade 7 Humanities class has also developed and selected their topic for their research project surrounding the theme, A Moment in History, and wrote their thesis statement to guide their research. Now, they are developing questions that will be answered during the research process. Concurrently, students have completed the class novel, The Giver, by Lois Lowery and are working on two items surrounding the novel. The first is a collaborative assignment called the Community Project that has students working to create a Utopia and considering different factors of society. The second is an independent writing assignment, having the students continue the novel and forming a more satisfying ending.

Grade 8 is set up for two upcoming projects: an Internship Project and an Expert Project. Internship Projects occur the third week of January and involve the students visiting a business, observing, and sometimes participating in the day-to-day operations. The students will submit daily journals, a written reflection, and a presentation for the middle school community upon completion. Next, the 8th grade selected topics for their Expert Project as well as wrote and workshopped their thesis statements to guide their research for the next several months. The end product is a 5-10 page research paper and a 15-20 minute presentation to the FWM community about their topic. They will even interview experts in the field as primary sources. This is the beginning of an exciting time for the 8th-year students!

Math

Science

6th-year Earth Science students have begun writing their formal lab report on how density affects the movement of seismic waves. Earlier in the week, students represented a change in density and seismic waves using a shoebox, rocks, marker, and golf ball to simulate energy traveling through a medium while recording the waves on paper. Each student worked alongside a partner on this project while compiling their data and analysis individually.

It’s time for a well deserved break for these Middle School students. We ended 2023 with a great week. We started with a wonderful presentation from Rotem Banay teaching the children about Hanukkah including the history, significance, and how it is celebrated. She also made a delicious dessert to share with the students. Additionally, the Holiday concert was joyful and a great community gathering. Leadership classes executed their first ever shop for The Fraser WoodShop before and after the concert. It was quite successful, almost selling out of items. Middle School Leadership will be making a donation to Ben’s Lighthouse with the money made from their store.

Thank you, families for a wonderful fall. We are grateful for you and wish you a peaceful and rejuvenating New Year. Thank you for your kindness and support with all Middle School happenings. See you in 2024!

Michelle, Megan, and Zak

Click here to view more photos from the show!

What a week! Chef Showdown! was a huge success. Students certainly put in the work, supporting each other every step of the way. It is amazing how much progress has been made in eight school days.

An incredible benefit of the immersion experience is that the students can see each other in a totally different light. There are talents revealed, as well as opportunities to step outside of comfort zones. All form new connections and reinforce those already existing between the MS students.

Thank you for coming and supporting our original Middle School production. Seeing the words that students write come to life on stage is always a highlight. All of their hard work with memorizing lines, remembering their blocking, creating the set pieces, and changing the set during the play all culminated in two successful performances. Additionally, it is a joy to listen to the students talk about the process of writing and executing the play in the question-and-answer segment following the show. The students saw every piece of what it takes to put on a show, including setting up and breaking the set.

Congratulations! Time for some R&R this weekend!

It’s been a great first week of Immersion! We started the week with a full cast read-through of the script. From there, the days begin with warm-up games, and then students work either on the stage blocking with Ms. Sutherland, running lines with Senora Ray, or building the set and gathering props with Ms. Sara, Mr. Fuchs, and Mrs. Lamb. The set is just about done, the back drop is up, and the entire play is blocked. The teachers are impressed with how well the students work together and learn their lines. We are also grateful for the parent volunteers that have worked on set pieces and costumes this week. There is a lot of positive energy!

Next week, the Middle School looks forward to finishing rehearsals and performing LIVE for the middle school families and Fraser Woods community on Wednesday evening, December 6th at 7 pm, and another show for the younger students during the school day on Wednesday. We will wrap up by taking down the set and having our cast party on Thursday.

Happy Friday! It is a great week in middle school! The culmination of a few big projects occurred this week: the script for our middle school play, Chef Showdown, and the presentation of trimester independent study projects.

Chef Showdown

In Humanities classes this week, students worked together to write the script for Chef Showdown, a full-length play that they developed in all aspects. First, 8th-grade students brainstormed the overarching idea for the play. This year, that main idea is a reality TV cooking show. Then, students created a plot line with the skeleton of the play. 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 class wrote the scenes. They sat in a variety of combinations, with one person writing ideas from the group and another editing and formatting. The end product is humorous, nail-biting, and full of personality.

Come see Chef Showdown on Wednesday, Dec. 6th at 7 pm.

Independent Study Presentations

New to this year’s Middle School schedule is Independent Study. This twice-weekly class is completely student-run, with projects of the students’ choosing. In the first week, students decided what they wanted to study or create and then decided upon their final product/presentation. The sky is the limit with this project, and it was amazing to see and hear what the students created this fall.

Please enjoy the photos from the week.