This week, we finished writing the Middle School Play called Sugar Hills Heist! It is incredible to watch the original idea and plot transform. Mrs. Lamb is incredibly impressed by this writing group. They really paid attention to the overall plot and writing goals, as well as adding details and lines to develop the characters. They also gave incredible feedback throughout the process making sure to minimize plot holes and maximize the personality of the characters. Save the date for March 12th at 7:00 pm!

6th year Earth Science students have been reading several articles related to their unit on Natural Resources. The most recent article titled “Sustainable Forestry” discussed past and current practices used nationwide to ensure our forest remains a renewable resource rather than nonrenewable. Earth Science students were able to test the efficiency of their wind turbines, demonstrating alternative practices to renewable energy. 7th year Physical Science students are just beginning their unit on Kinetic Energy. This week in class, students will begin designing and constructing their roller coasters, applying their working knowledge of potential and kinetic energy. 8th year Life Science students are learning about the nervous system, breaking it down into the central and peripheral nervous system. Students will be required to create a visual representation (stop motion, working model) of the nervous system, promoting a hands-on learning approach. 

In Pre-Transition math class, students officially started chapter 7 on the UCSMP textbook. The topics covered this week include the rate model for division, drawing arrays and picturing divisibility, using factorization to make division easier, and integer division. Students are able to use the chapter 6 connections about multiplication and make further connections to division. 

In Transition math class, students are working hard to get through the last few lessons of Chapter 8. This week we covered new topics such as graphing y = ax + b by using a table of values, solving ax + b = c, and solving ax + b < c. Students are confident in their ability to solve one step and two step algebraic equations and enjoy using Desmos to graph the linear functions. 

In Algebra 1 math class, students are excited to start learning about the quadratic equation. We are learning about solving ax2 = b, the basic ideas about functions with equation  y = ax2, and how to graph y = ax2+ bx + c. Students will finish this chapter after the school play is complete and the spring break holiday is over.

Math Joke: What do baby parabolas drink?……Quadratic formula.

Please remember, next Tuesday (March 3, 2020) we will be attending the Museum of Natural History in New York City. We plan on leaving FWM school at 7:30am and arriving back around 8:00pm. Please have your child (children) arrive at school no later than 7:15 to ensure we are all ready to depart by 7:30. If our arrival back to Newtown changes, you will be notified as soon as possible. Please bring a bagged lunch with a drink as we have a designated time and location for us at the museum.

This was a very short 3 day week for the middle school students. We hope everyone has a safe and restful President’s Day long weekend. We celebrated Valentine’s Day on Wednesday February 12th with fun snacks and drinks brought in by the middle school parents association. Thank you to everyone who helped contribute the tasty treats. The students really enjoyed the celebration. 

In Humanities this week, 6th year students began reading The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Inspired by the text, students will learn more about Ancient Egypt. Next, 7th year students worked on European geography. They are studying the rise of Hitler and the qualities that made him such a powerful leader. Students began reading Four Perfect Pebbles by Marion Blumenthal Lazan, a memoir of her and her family’s experiences during the Holocaust. Both 6th and 7th years completed vocabulary units as well. 8th years spent some time moving forward with their expert project research and received feedback about next steps. They are also finishing the overall scene outline of our play that we will begin writing next week! 

6th year Earth Science students have been constructing wind turbines as part of their unit on natural resources. Students were tasked with designing and creating a windmill that will be able to lift a weight. Students have built their designs using popsicle sticks, cardboard, and 3D printers. 7th year Physical Science students have conducted several labs as part of their unit on chemical reactions and equations. Students performed a laboratory experiment requiring them to find a ratio of baking soda, citric acid, and water, resulting in the coldest temperature. Students were required to write a formal lab report concluding this experiment. 8th year Life Science students represented concepts relating to gene mutation along with the presentation of their DNA model. Students performed an in class activity on the punnet square which demonstrated what genes (dominant/recessive) are passed down from one’s parents. 

In Pre-Transition math class, students are learning how to multiply mixed fractions with whole values and other mixed fractions. This has been a challenging skill to master and will continue to be our focus next week. The students had great success with being able to identify if the product of two numbers will be a positive or negative outcome. Keep studying as the next chapter assessment is Thursday, February 20th.

In Transition math class, students are learning about multiplication as shortcut addition (collecting like terms), multiplication with negative numbers, and the rate-factor model for multiplication. Students are able to identify the properties used to solve these arithmetic operations and can successfully complete the word problems by setting up the cross out method for rate multiplication. 

In Algebra 1 math class, students are learning about the important exponent rules. Students have created a single unique note sheet to keep all their formulas and rules in one key area. Students are practicing how to simplify expressions with square roots, cube roots, powers of products, and quotients. 

Math Joke: Why was the equal sign so humble?……Because she knew she wasn’t greater than or less than anyone else.

Please register for the MS Acadia Trip by next Friday, 2/14!!!

http://www.grandclassroom.com

Thank you to all who came to watch our 6th & 7th year scholars give their presentations on Thursday night! Research Night was the culmination of a multi-week investigation into a topic surrounding the theme, Historical Events. Students used an inquiry-based research method to develop and support their thesis statements.

The expository paper included 3-5 pages of writing, in-text citations, transitions, an interesting introduction, and a summative conclusion. Skills such as locating reliable resources, word and sentence variation, organizing information, and paraphrasing were included.

For their presentation of 5-10 minutes, students were asked to use the research that was relative and interesting to their topics to achieve the answer to the question, “What do I want my audience to walk away knowing?” The visual component to their presentations included audio clips, video segments, pictures,  and some quotations relating to the topic. The students focused on their voices being the main focus for information and doing as little reading as they could.

The Middle School teachers are incredibly proud of the students showcasing their individuality in their topics. Congratulations!

Happy Friday! Thank you for those of you who registered for our MS trip to Acadia. Deposits are due by 2/14. http://grandclassroom.com/

Next Thursday, 2/6 at 6:30 is Research Night! Come and see 6th & 7th year students present their knowledge about topics surrounding an event in history!

6th and 7th year Humanities classes are just under a week away from Research Night! This week, students brought in their paper drafts and focused on properly formatting in-text citations and using transitions in writing. They also completed the visual component of their presentations. They will begin running through them in class on Monday and making final revisions to their papers. 8th years continue their unit on U.S. history from the lens of Black Americans. This week, they looked at the Atlantic slave trade and its effects on populations, economies, and individual rights in countries of Western Africa, the Caribbean, Northern South America, the UK, and the United States. Students also concurrently looked at government structure including the House of Burgesses as well as the 1st & 2nd Continental Congress meetings. Finally, they looked at causes of the American Revolution (financial implications of the French & Indian War, British taxation, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, & the Coercive/Intolerable Acts). 8th years also presented current event topics this week.

In Science this week, 6th year Earth Science students are learning about natural resources. The unit began by identifying similarities and differences between renewable and nonrenewable resources. We went outside to create a small (contained) fire consisting of leaves and sticks, acknowledging we can not relight them after they have burned. This lead students to understand why management practices need to be in effect to control certain resources based on their ability to regenerate. 7th year Physical Science students are learning about chemical reactions and balancing equations. Building upon prior knowledge of chemical reactions, students are able to see how the product of a reaction is different from the initial reactants. Students were able to use manipulatives that are representative of how changing any value of reactants affects the value of its products. 8th year Life Science students are working on constructing their 3-dimensional DNA models as part of their genetics unit. These models will illustrate the components found within DNA, genes, chromosomes, and alleles.

In Transition Math, students are confident in their ability to identify congruent angles and sides in a parallelogram. Students took notes on the important properties of a parallelogram and transversal line segments. We learned about the triangle sum property and how to calculate the distance between points (We had so much fun using the Pythagorean theorem!).

Have a beautiful weekend!

Happy Friday, Everyone! If you plan on sending your child, please register for the FWM 2020 Middle School trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. Visit the school trip webpage at www.grandclassroom.com, click “Find My Trip / Register” and search “Fraser Woods Montessori School”. There are different payment options available.

Electives

Second trimester electives are running well, and it is a period that MS students and their teachers look forward to in their rotating schedule. It is fun to have teachers facilitating classes separate from their usual roles.

Ms. Sutherland is running Dance again for the second trimester. There are six dancers participating in this trimester’s elective. Students will learn a new dance style each week including Ballter, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Contemporary. Dancers will have the opportunity to perform a short student-created dance during our last class all together. Dancers will also get to lead a warm up activity of their choice to help everyone get stretched and ready for a fun class.

Mr. Brown is running a Strength Training elective this term. The goal of this elective is to introduce students to a variety of exercises, promoting fitness and well being. Mr. Brown has turned a portion of the school’s back area behind the gym into a separate gym facility. It currently includes medicine balls, wall balls, free weights, box jumps, tension bands, a curl bar, a bench press, and jump ropes. Students will be partnered up each class, rotating through different exercise stations at 5 minute intervals after proper warm ups and stretching have been achieved. If anyone would like to donate unwanted gym equipment, please reach out to Mr. Brown. It would be greatly appreciated.

Mrs. Lamb is running Playwriting, specifically working on this year’s Middle School play. It has been decided that a play surrounding a heist will be the theme this year. A rough plot line with some details about important characters have been created. Because this is completely student-led, any big decisions made to the play in the elective have to be presented and voted upon by the rest of the students in middle school. We had a vote this week for the play’s antagonist. This involved presenting the character development and how it would fit into the plot. This decision effects the entire plot, so it was important to have the students in the elective present their ideas. It’s looking like an interesting play!

Opportunity for MS students regarding the Snow Ball hosted by our Parents Association:

Students are welcome to attend the Snow Ball on Saturday, Feb. 1st with an accompanying adult (tickets can be purchased online or at door); however, if they would prefer to participate in the event by volunteering, there are plenty of jobs available, including set up the day before, working at the event, and clean up afterwards. The Sign Up Sheet is posted on the Humanities classroom door.

6th & 7th year Humanities classes continue to work on their research projects. They are looking at reliable sources, reviewing inquiry-based research, and organizing information. Students are learning/reviewing the importance of finding relevant information and keeping track of resources to later give credit in their papers through in-text citations. The 7th years also continue to plan their essay using the novel A Long Walk to Water to support the quotation from the main character, “Quitting leads to much happiness in life than perseverance and hope.” 8th year Humanities students will finish the novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here, over the weekend. We have covered many themes from friendship and loyalty to bullying and racism in this novel, and it helps students have insight into reservation life. All classes also completed another unit of vocabulary this week.

Happy New Year, Middle School families! Mr. Brown, Ms. Sutherland, and I would like to express our utmost gratitude for your generous class holiday gifts. We hope you were able to have a peaceful time with family and friends over the past few weeks.

This week, students began their new Community Service rotation for the second trimester. We considered students’ input before placing them, and I think we are off to a great few months.

In Humanities, we are on to new projects! The 6th and 7th years have embarked on their research projects surrounding the theme, A Moment in History, which they will present on the evening of February 6th. The historical events that students have selected are incredibly interesting. Here is a preview of a few topics: Hurricane Katrina, D-Day, and the ratification of the 19th amendment (Women’s voting rights). Students have already developed thesis statements and questions to guide their research, and they are ready to go! 8th years are just about done selecting their topics for their Expert Project. More about those topics to come. 8th years are also finishing up the novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth, and should be complete in the next week. Finally, it was a current events week for all!

6th year Earth Science students are working on their Earthquake Safe Building project. Students have a limited budget of supplies to create a 4-story building that will be able to withstand excessive shaking. 7th year Physical Science students have begun their unit on Molecules. Currently, they are learning about the similarities and differences between covalent and ionic bonding. Following this concept, we will dive deeper into the electron configuration present for each atom. 8th year Life Science students are on the unit Meiosis. We have discussed the process of cell division and genetic variation. Students have been able to discuss this in depth following a video about Dolly, the sheep which was cloned in 1996.