Halloween Oct. 31st Tucana math

Both grades have three graphs of (time vs heartbeats) for 3 stories read on Friday, today they made graphs of what they expect a listener to think of their story. They have been requested to turn in the four graphs and a hard copy of their story. Some already have.

The look of gradebook online has changed. Please take a look. Student led conferences are coming and they will be able to explain what papers go with the items listed.

Have a great Halloween!

10/31 Science

The last day for the 1st Quarter is on Friday- Students/parents should be checking in with their teachers and on Powerschool to find out how they're doing

7th grade students- should have completed their science test today.  If they are not finished, they need to schedule an appointment with me (reads/needs, lunch, afterschool) when they can finish it.

8th grade students- should complete a learning log around the ecosystem card sort that we did in Friday and today's class

October 28th, Tucana math

7th grade was assigned no new tasks but should have page 30&31#5-8 done.
8th graders received their check-ups back and I would like corrections on a separate sheet of paper and stapled to the original as soon as possible as the first quarter ends Friday,
November 4th.

Both 7th and 8th made graphs representing heartbeats for three stories read in class today. On Monday they will create a graph that predicts what they believe their listener will graph for the story. When each of them has completed a reading of their story and graphing some one elses they will compare them and see what they find.

10/27 Science

7th grade students have a performance-based inquiry assessment tomorrow.  They can use their notes, wiki, and feedback on previous labs to help study.  Any questions?  Click the link to access the teacher page.

8th grade finished up the test today.  Thanks for your hard work!

10.26 Humanities

Finish narrative (short story) organizer for your scary story.

Study 4 traits of government, flow charts of where they came from, and spelling words for test next Wednesday.

Tucana math, October 26,2011

First I would like to thank the Board members for the visit today. The students were excited to see familiar faces they have seen on TV and in the community.

7th graders: We are continuing work with similar figures, co-ordinate plane, proportions and scale factors. The task at hand is page 31 & 32 # 5 - 8.

8th grade: There will be a check-up tomorrow on cones, spheres, and cylinders. Students will be allowed to use their planners which have the formulas. Labsheet 3.3B, page 40#15, and questions #18 -22 will be checked with #22 being a focus. (#19 we addresses bases which were triangles or squares)

10/25 Science

8th grade students have a performance-based inquiry skills test tomorrow.  Students should remember/review your target goal.  Get plenty of rest and have something to eat for breakfast!  We've been practicing these skills since last year.

7th grade students have test on Friday (10/28).  What did you learn today about graphing?  What should all good graphs have?

Tucana Math, October 25

7th grade: today we did corrections on the check-up No new tasks were assigned

8th grade: There is the possibility for a check-up tomorrow but students had difficulty with the assignment today so we may put it off . They should have Labsheet 3.3 B, page 40 #15, and page 41&42 #22, 18 - 21 (#19 they have been asked to address the triange and the square bases only) done in preparation for the check-up.

10.25 Humanities

Review 4 Traits of Government (Natural Rights, Separation of Power, Consent of the Goverened, Representative Democracy), Where they came from (Magna Carta, Natural Rights, Iroquois League, House of Burgess, Mayflower Compact) and spelling list with definitions. *Quiz will be next Wednesday, Nov. 2nd

10.25 Boston Fundraising Update

The Tag Sale was a big success. We raised $1228.50 from the tag sale itself. We also got a $1,000 grant from the The Redducs Foundation. The grant was a very pleasant surprise.

I would like to thank all of you who helped out. Whether it was through donating items, working at the storage unit, baking goods, setting up, or taking down, without you this event would not have been a success.

I would also like to thank ACE Storage in Milton who so kindly donated their space to hold the goods for our tag sale. I would recommend that you would support them for your storage needs.

Schwan's raised just over $1,000.

We now have $23,000 to fundraise.


Middle School Dance
This Friday is the Middle School Halloween Dance, from 6:45-9:00. It is $3.00 with costume, $5.00 without. Because of the football game, students should be dropped off at the back of the school, where the buses drop off and pick up students, and enter at the back door. Once inside the dance, students are not allowed to leave the dance until 9:00, unless they are being picked up early by an adult. All proceeds will go towards the Milton Middle School Boston Trip.

Calendar Raffle
For the next couple of weeks, we will be soliciting donations for our February Calendar raffle. Prior to February, people will buy a calendar and during each day of the month they will have a chance to win a prize. We already have movie tickets and a couple of Vermont Teddy Bears. We have already asked several local businesses to donate to this raffle. We know that we have many awesome parents who work at some very cool places and we are wondering if your place of employment will would consider donating to our cause. If you have something to offer, please contact Michelle Anemikos at 893-4547 or anemikos@comcast.net or contact Heidi Slayton at sherw05468@comcast.net or contact me at 893-3230 ext. 217 or jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org.

Harvest Dinner - Save That Date
The Harvest Dinner will be Thursday, November 17th, from 5:00 - 7:00. This is the opening night of the high school's production of Grease, so make it a dinner and a show. More information to follow.

Thanks,
Joe Smith

October 24, 2011 Tucana math

Students were given a handout on the Mathematic Process Standards we will be reporting on this quarter. They were asked to put these in their "Note" section.

8th grade: Additional Practice worksheet- will be used as data for those process standards

7th grade: page 27 A,B,C,D and F

10/24 Science

Welcome back!  I hope everyone had a pleasant break. 

8th grade students have a test on Wednesday (10/26) 

7th grade student have a test on Friday (10/28) and should graph their results from the "Sticky Tape Lab" to the best of their ability.  Bring the graph with you to class tomorrow.  We will discuss it then.

October 19th, Tucana math

The students are wished a wonderful four day weekend.
There are no new tasks.
Students have papers for their Notes section which should be complete and the vocabulary should be defined.
8th graders: The cylinder net labsheet with surface area and volume, page 40#15, and page 42 #22 & 18 - 21 are assignments which should be complete.
7th graders: organize your notebook and make sure page 27 A-D should be complete.
All of these were assigned previously and they had class time today to do them.

10/19 Science

Students will have a test in science next week.  It will be a performance-based lab.  As of now, 8th grade is scheduled to take the test on Wednesday and 7th grade is scheduled to take the test on Friday.  This may be subject to change.  Students can use their notes, previous classwork and the wiki to help prepare them for the test.

October 18, 2011, Tucana math

Both grades are expected to make sure the "Notes:" section has: Percents on a Numberline, Combining Signed Numbers (front and back), Proportions, Perimeter and Area, and Number Properties completed. The "Vocabulary section should have the words from the beginning of year and yellow highlighted words from their booklets defined. These will be used as data in the student-led conferences.

7th grade: page 27 A-D was started last week - please keep working on this providing proportions for figures which are similar

scale factor is a vocabulary word which should be defined in the vocabulary section.

8th grade: Labsheet 3.3 of a cylinder net was handed out yesterday and students were to calculate the surface area and volume. Support for their responses is expected. page 40#15 and page 42+# 18 - 22 with 22 being the most important problem.

10/18 Science

All Tucana students should complete the "Sticky Tape" lab for homework.  8th graders should graph their data.  This assignment is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.

10.18 Humanities

1) FIX WRITTEN RESPONSE ON CIVILIZATIONS and

2) WRITE A SUPER 6 PARAGRAPH: WHAT CONDITIONS (UNDER THE FEUDAL SYSTEM) WOULD
CAUSE SOMEONE TO WANT TO LEAVE EUROPE?

10/18 Science

7th grade-challenge homework (not required but encouraged) Complete a learning log around what you learned in science class today.

8th grade-using your understanding of graphs, graph the results of the "dancing raisin" lab for tomorrow's class.

Tucana math, Wednesday October 12th

7th grade: the 7th grade finished their NCAPs yesterday so we are picking up the pieces with Mug's Hat page 24 and labsheet(s) 2.2A and another with 4 grids used to plot the the various hats. We also reviewed page 33 #14 - 18, and page 34 #20 - 26. The ACE work, pages 33 & 34, use many fractions and percents with co-ordinate points so we have been reviewing skills.





8th grade: the 8th grade is still testing so last Friday we used some clay to and transparencies to look at cylinders, cones, and spheres. Students were asked to look at the fractional part of the cylinder filled by the clay sphere when air spaces were removed. We also used popcorn to explore the cylinder and cone. We will continue to look at this when we finish NECAPs.

10/12 Science

7th grade only- Students worked on procedure writing today.  For homework, each student should write a detailed procedure on how we set up the "Moldy Bread Lab"  The procedure should include the key elements we discussed in class today.  I will collect 5 procedures randomly at the end of class tomorrow.

10.12 Boston Fundraiser - Tag Sale

Dear Parents,

I am still looking for students/parents to be at the ACE Storage Unit tomorrow from 4:00 - 7:00 and on Saturday from 11:00 - 1:00.

Please let me know if you can help out. I can be reached at 893-3230 ext. 217 or jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org.

Thank you,

Joe Smith

Tucana Celebration

Congratulations to all who pushed themselves and persisted up Mt. Mansfield today!  It is a challenging climb and you should be proud of this accomplishment regardless of whether or not you made it to the summit.  Hopefully, you enjoyed the scenery and learned that the journey itself (smelling the roses) is more important than the destination.  Many thanks to our chaperones for helping our team out today!

Mt Mansfield Hike

On Monday, October 10th, Team Tucana will hike up Mt. Mansfield.

What to wear/bring:
- Shoes/sneakers that support the ankle (no sandals, flip flops, flat or open-toed shoes)
- Dress in layers (long sleeve shirt, a wind breaker or a light jacket for higher elevations--it's best to overdress than to underdress.)
- WATER--please bring plenty of water.
- Lunch and snacks for a picnic on the mountain (fruit, trail mix, sandwich or 2, etc.)
- Bring rain gear, in case of a light rain.  Check the weather forecast and plan accordingly.

Optional:
- A camera/camcorder
- journal
- other?

Attn Families - Boston Fundraiser!

Dear Parents,


On Saturday, October 22nd, we will be holding a tag sale at the Milton Middle School from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. This will be in conjunction with Milton Elementary School's Team Expedition's tag sale being held at the Elementary School. The idea is to create a "Come to Milton" campaign to visit our two gigantic tag sales. Here is how you can help.


1) Clean out your house, garage, shed, barn, closet, attic, car, office etc. and donate any gently-used goods to the tag sale. Items can be dropped off at Ace Storage, Unit # 14 on Landfill Road in Milton. People will be there to collect goods on:


Wednesday, October 12th from 4:00 pm. - 7:00 pm.
Saturday, October 15th from 9:00 am. - 1:00 pm.
Wednesday, October 19th from 9:00 am. - 1:00 pm.


You can also drop goods off at the school on October 22nd from 7:00 am. - 10:00 pm.


If these times do no work for you please contact me, Joe Smith, at 893-3230 ext. 217 or email jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org to make alternative arrangements.


2) Help collect donations at Ace Storage at the above times. We need someone to unlock the unit and be there while people bring their items.


3) Help set up the day of the tag sale. Set up will take place from 6:30 am – 9:00 pm. We will be looking for a truck to help move the goods from the storage unit to the school.


4) Help break down the tag sale. Breakdown will be from 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm.


5) Bake delicious food. Please drop off at the school on the 22nd between 8:30 am and 12:00 pm.


6) Spread the word. Let your family members, friends, and co-workers know about the tag sale. Post on Facebook, Tweet, or any other place where people will see it. Encourage them to donate goods and to shop on the 22nd. One person's refuse is another person's treasure.


7) Shop at the tag sale and find all those hidden treasure.


Please remember that we are asking all 8th grade families to participate in at least three fundraisers. Here is an excellent opportunity for you to participate for those of you who are not comfortable going door-to-door selling items.


Please contact me to let me know how you can help.


Thanks,
Joe Smith


Follow the Mitlon Middle School Boston Trip on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Milton-Middle-School-Boston-Trip/

Team Reminder

Please bring in your Mt. Mansfield permission slips and money ASAP!!  If you are interested in chaperoning on Monday (10/10), please contact rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org.

10/3 Humanities

• NECAP testing begins tomorrow. Get a good amount of sleep and do your best. We know you can do it!


• Students should put all final touches on their humanities projects using feedback from classmates. Also, edit a final time to catch mistakes before they become public. Our learner celbration for sharing projects will be on Friday.

October 3, 2011, Tucana math

8th grade:*Quiz corrections are an assignment if less than 60 points were earned but it is open to all to earn half of the credit they lost if they do corrections.
*Corrections need to be done on a separate piece(s) of paper, stapled to the original and placed in the tray.
*The 2nd page of release tasks for NECAP 2010 is also a task that was assigned.
7th grade: *Page 24, A-E, Mug's Hat, Labsheet 2.2 A
*For page 24 C ratios need to be created