Families please join us on Friday, June 8th if possible

Hello Tucana Families! We cannot believe the end of the year is upon us! It has been a pleasure to work with each and every one of your students. We will be hosting a final Learning Celebration this Friday, June 8th. We would like to invite you to attend Team Tucana's Futurist Convention on Friday from 8-9:50am. This convention will include the products created by students during our Futurology unit. Students studied the past and present trends of a topic of their choosing, and used that information to create a prediction of how that topic will be different in the future. Students will explain their predictions and justify those claims using evidence from the past and present. The convention will take place in rooms 209, 210, and 213. You are invited to attend for any portion of time, whether that be for 15 minutes on your way to work or if you'd like to stay for the entire convention to see the work of all our students. We hope to see you then!

May 31st Tucana math
We are working on an integrated unit, Futurology, were the students are expected to bring learning from each subject to the project they are choosing. Please talk with them about the project and what they would like to present.

Students in both grades have been given time to correct assessments given on May 18th.  These are now in Power School.  If you student has a raw score of less than 85 points I suggest they do corrections.

We are also working with rational numbers and I will be asking students to work with me.

5/21 Science

7th Grade Students- received back their scored Ecoscenario projects.  Parents/Guardians should ask their son or daughter to see the rubric.  Students can make corrections and improve their scores.  They also received back a quiz today called Midsummative 8.  Students can make corrections on this as well.  

7th Graders

Please return signed permission slips for the "Power in Unity" days (Wednesday, May 23rd to Friday, May 25th)  We are asking for parent/guardian permission for a walk on Wednesday from the Middle School to the Elementary School, a hand over hand moving brigade and walk to Bombardier Park on Thursday and a field trip to Echo Science Center and voyage on the "Spirit of Ethan Allen" on Friday.  Read the packet carefully and returned a signed copy to your advisory teacher as soon as possible. 

Friday, May 18th, Tucana math

Grades 7 & 8 the two handouts on rational numbers (1-6 on each) should have been submitted.

Permission slips for the 7th grade unity days are needed.

Both grades will be having check-ups on Friday and both have numbers 1-6 with work on rational numbers due tomorrow.  Some have turned these in with the work shown and others need to finish them.

7th grade: page 35#7, page 37#11-14, page 38 #16 should be completed
8th grade: page 54#3-5, pages 55&56#9&10 should be completed

Last Day of School & 8th Grade Celebration

It's amazing how fast time flies!  The last day of school will be on Tuesday, June 12th.  Students will be served lunch before being dismissed shortly after 12pm on that day.

The 8th grade celebration will also take place on June 12th at 6pm in the MMS/MHS auditorium.  We hope to see all of our 8th grade students and their families as we commemorate their hard work and efforts during their time at Milton Middle School.  If you have any questions, please email one of the team teachers for more information.

abakr@mtsd-vt.org
rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org
sehret@mtsd-vt.org
sendres@mtsd-vt.org
amacbeth@mtsd-vt.org

5/14 Science

7th and 8th grade students will have a quiz tomorrow.  Students should review their notes and recent activities to prepare for it.  If they have any questions, I'll be available through the teacher help page on the wiki or they can see me during reads and needs.

7th grade: vocabulary: slope
page 35#7, page 37#11-14, page 38#16
8th grade: vocabulary: exponential decay, decay factor, decay rate
page 50&51, 4.2 Fighting Fleas
Both grades:The first 6 problems for adding and subtracting rational numbers and the first 6 problems for multiplying and dividing fractions are due Thursday, May 17th.
Bits and Pieces fraction work was returned today.

May 11, Tucana math

7th & 8th: Please show your work on the following two handouts:
 Skill: Adding and Subtracting Rational Numbers  (1-6)
Skill: Multiplying and Dividing Rational Numbers (1-6)
These will be collect Thursday, May 17th

7th grade: On Monday, May 14th page 28A, page 29B, and page 30A will be collected

May 9&10,2012, Tucana math

7th grade: page 28 A, page 29 B, page 30 A

5/9 Science

Tomorrow, 8th grade students will have the second and final day of NECAP testing.  The test will cover science content from grades 5-8.  They should get plenty of rest and eat something for breakfast to be prepared for the exam tomorrow.

May 8th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 29 B and page 35#7
8th grade:  Vocabulary: scientific notation
Page 53#1&2, page 55# 8

May7th, Tucana Math

7th grade: vocabulary: y-intercept (0,b), coefficient (m)
page 28 A
grade8: page 49 A-E, page 41 #21 - 23

Friday, May 4th, Tucana math

7th & 8th:  Drawing of multiplication and fraction problems.  Handouts pages 17&19 (Finding LCD)
Challenge: use primes and factor trees to find the LCD, possibly venn diagrams also

May 2nd, Tucana math

7th grade: page 42#35-37  work with linear equations and PEMDAS
8th grade: vocabulary: compound growth
page 37A-D

May 1st, Tucana math

7th grade: page 32#3, page 34#5 and please make a graph
Challenge problem: page 44#43
8th grade: page 39#9, page 40#10-15, page 40#16&19, page 40#17 (exponential & linear)
page 41 #20.

4/30 Science

7th grade- Students will present their ecoscenario projects on Weds, 5/2.  A final draft of their individual report is due Friday, 5/4.

8th grade- Students should draw their F1 generation Larkeys.  They should also try to answer the question "why did all F1 offspring look the same?"

April 30th, Tucana math

7th grade: Collected Bits&Pieces Additional Practice Investigations 1&2
               Review: page 26 A-D ( this was done before vacation and we reviewed it today
8th grade:   Collected Bits&Pieces Additional Practice Investigations 1&2
               Review: page 34
New: Vocab: growth factor and growth rate, Page 36# A-D

Thursday April 19th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 24-26 the portion that should be done is a graph with Henri and Emile on the same co-ordinate plane , x-axis needs to go past 30 seconds and y-axis needs to go past 75 meters
8th grade: page 39#3-8

Wednesday, April 18th, Tucana math

7th grade: pages 24&25 A&B
8th grade: pages 38#1&2 follow on from page 34 A&B

4/16 Science

7th grade students- 1st draft for the Ecoscenario individual report is due tomorrow.

8th grade students- should complete a learning log based on what we did today around "Larkey Genetics."  There are many students who haven't handed in their report and will receive 3 "Insufficient Evidences" for the individual report.  Ask to see your son or daughter's scored rubric.  It will say on the top whether or not they've handed in their report.  Scores for the individual report are listed on the back of the rubric.

Monday, April 16th, Tucana math

7th grade: worksheets: Additional Practice Bits and Pieces - front
Additional Pracitice Moving Straight Ahead - all
8th grade: Corrections for Check-up on Investigation 1&2 Growing Growing Growing are an assignment if less than 60 was earned, and open to others.
Returned: pages 13, 16,&17
Collecting: pages 21 water hyacinths, 22 bread mold, 23 snakes
8th grade New tasks: Additional Practice Bits and Pieces - front
page 31#32 should be added to pages 30&31

Tucana families please join us this Thursday!

Please join us on Thursday, April 19th
as all 7th and 8th grade students
present a night of visual, media, and performance art.

Milton Middle School
Equality Celebration
6:00- 8:00 pm

We encourage you to bring family and friends as our students are looking
forward to sharing their hard work with the Milton community!

Thursday, April 12th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 15#10
8th grade: page 30 & 31 #24-31
LCM for ##30

4/11 Science

7th grade- Ecoscenario projects (group and individual report) will be due Tuesday, 4/17.

8th grade- Received their scored Ecoscenario rubrics back.  Parents/Guardians can ask their son or daughter to see their report and rubric.  Students have the opportunity to make corrections on their scores and are encouraged to do so.

April 10, Tucana math

7th grade: pages 10&11 A&B
8th grade: page 29#21, 22(tables needed), page 18#14, page 29#23
check-up tomorrow Growing, Growing, Growing Investigations 1&2

Monday, April 9th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 18#23,
8th grade: page 27#9-13, page 28#15&16

Friday, April 6, Tucana math

grade 7:page 17#15&17
grade 8: page 23 A-D

4/5 Science

7th grade students-should complete the paraphrasing worksheet for homework tonight.  We will discuss it at the beginning of class tomorrow.

8th grade students-there are many students who haven't handed in their individual report.  Please get that to me as soon as possible.

April 5th, Tucana math

7th grade: vocabulary: variable, substitution, equation, table, graph
There is a check-up tomorrow
8th grade: page 26#6, page 27#8

April 4th, Tucana math

There were no new tasks today. Please be sure you are caught up with your assignments.

Tuesday, April 3rd, Tucana math

7th grade: page 12&13 #3&4
8th grade: page 22 A-E

Monday, April 2nd, Tucana math

7th grade: page 14&15 # 7,8,9 should be completed
8th grade: page 25#3&4

Friday, March 30th, Tucana math

not new tasks today
Please be sure your tasks to date are complete and in your "Current Work"

Thursday, March 29th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 14&15 #7,8,9
8th grade: page 20&21 A

3/29 Science

8th grade-should choose one of the organisms from today's "Hawaii: Stangers in Paradise" videos and write a 1 page paper answering the following prompts:

1) Discuss the organism's adaptation for obtaining the basic requirements for life and for reproducing offspring.

2) Discuss how your organism's adaptations might be a disadvantage if the environment were to change.

Tuesday,March 27th, Tucana math

The third quarter closes Friday. All back work should be in by the end of today.
grade 7: page 8&9 A
grade 8: page 10 should be complete., page 15#25-30, page 16#35-38

3/26 Science

7th grade- students started their ecoscenario projects in science class today.  They may have to purchase some materials for the group component of the project.  Please see me if your group is having trouble getting materials and I can make some available to you.  Click here and scroll down to #10 "Ecoscenario project" to find the project guidelines, rubric and helpful websites. 

8th grade-students should complete a learning log about 'adaptations' for tonight's homework.  This assignment is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.

Monday, March 26th, Tucana math

The 3rd quarter closes Friday, March 30th - back-work and corrections will be accepted until Tuesday, March 27th.
7th grade: page 12#1&2, page 17#9, page 18#2--22
8th grade: collected problems assigned on page 9, 11,&12
Page 10 Problem 1.4 A-D

March 23rd, Tucana math

To both grades: The third quarter ends Friday, March 30th, be sure to check PowerSchool and get in corrections and/or back work.
Both 7th and 8th grades have assessments back this week(March 19th week) and I am awaiting corrections.

7th grade: complete page 7 A-C be sure you have a clearly labeled table for B.
8th grade: no new tasks are being assigned but ones that have been assigned should be complete - especially 1.3 with plans for the peasant, king and queen & the ACE questions

March 22nd, Tucana math

7th grade: page 7 A-C
tables, graphs and equations for three people
8th grade: page 13#22, page 16# 34, page 17#47

March 21st, Tucana math

7th grade: vocabulary on page 5 of "Moving Straight Ahead"
8th grade: page 9 of "Growing, Growing, Growing", A-F

March 20th, Tucana math

7th grade: There is an assessment on Accentuate the Negative tomorrow. The questions answered in class and page 70#8-25 and page 71#26-29 are good sources of review.
8th grade: Page 16 #31&33, page 17#39-46
(the king's plan one has the equation 2^n-1)

There is a new challenge problem in the bin for those who are interested.

Thursday, March 15th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 53#24 word problem
8th grade: page 7 A-F

Teusday, March 13th, Tucana math

7th grade: Page 56#29,
(collected today page 55 #27&28 work needed to be shown)
8th grade: no new tasks
There was a check-up on the first investigation of FFPC, quadratic graphs, tables, & sketches.
Many did not have the Additional Practice done - it is being collected

3/12 Science

7th Grade- Students should complete the conclusion questions on the back of the "Milkweed-Bug Hatching Investigation" for tomorrow's class.  They can also make corrections on the "Osmosis in an Egg Lab"

8th Grade-Ecoscenario projects are due Friday, 3/16.  Students can also make corrections on the "Osmosis in an Egg Lab" & "Midsummative 6 Quiz"

Monday, March 12th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 55 #27 & 28 wiil be checked tomorrow
It should be done with work shown
8th grade: tomorrow, Tuesday, March 13th there will be an assessement on the 1st Investigation in "Frogs, Fleas and Painted Cubes" FFPC. It will assess our work to date on quadratic relationships. We have been focusing on lengths of rectangles with fixed perimeters.

To align with the other 8th grade classes, the FFPC booklet will be collected and we will start work with "Growing, Growing, Growing".

Friday, March 9th, Tucana math

both grades: Write-up for student-led conference - use items in and organization of the math binder to support your statements.
"Learner Conference Portfolio Reflection"
What learning about the standard does this demonstrate?
(Specific evidence of what you know/can do.)

3.8 Notice of Student-Led Conferences

Hello Tucana Families!
The following letter was sent home on March 7, 2012. Please send the bottom portion of the original letter back with your top two preferences. You may also email us to request a time (abakr@mtsd-vt.org). Thank you!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Tucana Parents and Guardians,
We hope you can attend a Student-Led Conference on the evenings of Thursday, March 15th and Wednesday, March 21st in room 209 (Humanities room). Educational research tells us that children benefit greatly from having meaningful conversations about their learning with important adults in their lives. To that end, your child will present to you artifacts of their learning from the second and third quarters—work from each class that s/he has thoughtfully selected to demonstrate learning and growth.

Anyone is welcome—parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, etc. If no adult is able to attend on these dates, we will gladly make arrangements for you to conference with your child at another time as we do expect each student to conduct a Student-Led Conference with one or more adults who are invested in their learning.

We look forward to seeing you!

Sincerely,

The Teachers of Team Tucana:
Amira Bakr
Sharon Ehret
Rob DeCicco
Stacey Endres
Amy Macbeth

Time slots are as follows:
___ 3pm on Thursday, March 15th.
___ 3:30pm on Thursday, March 15th.
___ 4pm on Thursday, March 15th.
___ 4:30pm on Thursday, March 15th.
___ 5pm on Thursday, March 15th.
___ 5:30pm on Thursday, March 15th.
___ 5:45pm on Thursday, March 15th.

___ 3:30pm on Wednesday, March 21st.
___ 4pm on Wednesday, March 21st.
___ 4:30pm on Wednesday, March 21st.
___ 5pm on Wednesday, March 21st.
___ 5:30pm on Wednesday, March 21st.
___ 6pm on Wednesday, March 21st.
___ 6:15pm on Wednesday, March 21st.
___ Please contact me to schedule an alternative time.

March 8th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 55#27&28, all work shown
vocabulary: median, range, mean
assessed Labsheet 3ACE and graphs (page 54#25)
8th grade: Additional Practice handout for Investigation #1 Frogs, Fleas, and Painted Cubes
collected page 11 #1&2

3/7 Science

Welcome back!

7th graders-1) should complete a learning log around "limiting factors."  This assignment is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.  2) Received the "Osmosis in an Egg" lab back today.  Students are strongly encouraged to make corrections on it.  This lab will constitute their 3rd quarter grade in science!

8th graders- 1) Ecoscenario projects are due 3/16.  This includes the group and individual portion of the project.  Click here to see the project rubric.  2) Students received back a quiz with 2 grades on it, called Midsummative 6.  Students are encouraged to make corrections on it.

3.7 Boston Update

Dear Families,

I want to thank everyone who came out and supported our students at the spaghetti dinner and the played. We raised $932 for the trip to Boston meaning we have less the $5,000 to raise.

I also want to inform you that our Little Caesar Pizza, Pizza Fundraiser is underway. Yesterday students received the order forms in advisory. They are due back to their advisory teacher on March 13. Pizza kits needs to be picked up at the school on Thursday March 22. More information will follow about the pick-up.

People can order online at www.pizzakit.com At checkout, they will be prompted to put in our fundraiser info:


Group ID: 87681
Fundraiser ID: 242788
Name of Organization: Milton Middle School


As incentives we are offering the following:

-3 top sellers in the school will receive two 2-for-1 passes to the Pump House at Jay Peak.
-Anyone who can sell $400 worth of product will have met the fundraising requirement.
-If everyone in an advisory participates in the fundraiser, that advisory will receive a pizza party.

Thanks,
Joe Smith

March 7th, Tucana math

7th grade: Labsheet 3ACE (page 54#25 a-c) include graph
(Pages 64&65 ( with two labsheets), page 69 #3&4, page 71 all,page 72 #30
should be complete from before break)
8th grade: page 10 A 1&2, B 1-5
(pages 6, 8, 11#1&2, 16 #14-16 should be complete from before break)

2/24 Science

7th grade- Students just completed a quiz in science.  When we return from break, the quizzes will be graded and returned to them.  Students are encouraged to make corrections on it if they scored a "W" or an "I."  If anybody has any questions, students/parents can meet with me or email at rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org

8th grade- students began a group and individual ecosystem project.  Students are not required to meet with their group over break but may choose to do so if it will help them with their project.  Students may also need to purchase materials for the group component.  If this presents a challenge, please email me and we can make materials available to them.  Students can click this link to find information about the various ecosystems they are required to report out on.

Student-led conferences

Team Tucana will not hold conferences on Tuesday, March 6th.  Instead, we've scheduled tentative dates of Thursday, March 15th & Wednesday, March 21st.  We will send something home with your son or daughter when we return from break.

February 24th, Tucana math

7th grade: organize notebooks and prepare for return after break by having :
pages 64&65 with labsheets 4.1A&4.1B, page 71 all, page 69#3&4, page 72#30 and
page 70#8-25 (page 70should be done with NO calculator and all work shown)
in "Current Work"
8th grade: organize notebooks and prepare for return after break by having :
pages: 6,8,11#1&2, 16#14-16, page 10A 1&2, B1-5 done and in "Current Work"
Students were encouraged to have assessment corrections done and submitted
some chose to keep them and continue working

Thursday February 23rd, Tucana math

We are getting ready for break and students should be organizing their notebooks so they can find work when we return.
7th grade:new task page 70#8-25 no calculator and show all work
These tasks should be complete and in the "Current Work" section of math notebooks:
page 64&65 with labsheet 4.2A&4.2B, page 71 all, page 69#3&4, page 72#30
8th grade: new task: page 10 A1&2,B1-5
Test corrections should be in as soon as possible all questions with 1's should be corrected
These tasks should be complete and in the "Current Work" section of math notebooks:
pages 6,8, 11#1&2, 16#14-16

Wednesday, February 22nd, Tucana math

7th grade: page 64&65 with 2 labsheets should be complete,
new task: page 69 #3&4, page 72 #30
8th grade: page 11+ #3-5

Tuesdat, February 21st, Tucana math

7th grade: page 64 &65
8th grade: vocabulary on page 7 & distributive property, page 8 all

2.21 Humanities

Study for Friday's test!

Please use the Study Guide given to you in class listing important vocabulary and other main ideas from the government unit.

Monday, February 20th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 71 all, collected handourts: Skill: Adding adn Subtracting Rational Numbers & Additional Practice Investigation 3
8th grade: page 6 all, page 11#1&2, page 16#14-16

Spaghetti Dinner on 2-23

Dear Families,

This is to remind you that the Spaghetti Dinner will be February 23rd from 5:00 - 7:00 followed by the Phantom Tollbooth at 7:00. The cost of the dinner is by donation and the Phantom Tollbooth is $5.00. You do not need to go to both.

In order to make this dinner successful, WE NEED TO GET THE WORD OUT and encouraging people to attend. The more people we can get to come the better. Because everything is donated, all of the money raised goes directly to Boston. I have attached the flyer to this email to help spread the word.

We are looking for the following items to be donated.

Salad Dressing
Salad Ingredients
Drink Mix
Baked goods for dessert
Bread
Table Clothes (these will be returned)

If you make a donation and/or your child helps out at the dinner this will count towards one of their 3 fundraisers.

Thanks,
Joe

2/16 Science

7th grade-we are doing a lab called "Osmosis in an Egg."  Students are expected to complete the problem, plan, hypothesis, procedure and data table section of their lab report.

8th grade-should complete a learning log around today's reading on Mono Lake.

Thursday February 16th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 69 #1&2 show the steps and do the work down the page to stay organized and show the use of P E MD AS
8th grade: no new tasks, challenge problems are available
Students are doing sincere work on the assessment for "Looking for Pythagorus"

7th grade: Students should complete page 63 A-D omit C & A3
work should be shown and they should work down the page to keep notation clear and organized
8th grade: Assessment on Looking for Pythagorus,
In class we looked at the Triangular Inequality (Notes were given)
Page 40 #16&17, page 57#24&25 to used the Pythagorean Theorem to determine if they were right triangles and observe the Triangular Inequality.

7th grade: vocabulary: rational numbers, order of operations,
Notes Page 60-62 (Transparency 4.1B) Order of Operations
page 63 A-D (do C last)
Corrections from Investigation 1 are past due
8th grade: The assessment will be Thursday, February 16th,
Collected today: Wheel of Theodorus/labsheet 4.1 and page 53+ #1,3,4,7,9
extra review problem page 58+ #27 - 37,
handouts used for review :Investigation 1#11-14, Investigation 3#24-36,
Skill: Exponents & Square roots

2/13 Science

7th grade students- should write a conclusion paragraph based on the "Photosynthesis & Cellular Respiration Lab" we did in science class over the last few days.

8th grade students- should make corrections on their "Osmosis in an Egg Lab" and complete a learning log around the idea of carrying capacity from today's reading.

Monday, February 13th, Tucana math

7th grade: two handouts should be done with work shown:
*Skill: Adding and Subtracting Rational Numbers
*Additional Practice Investigation 3
8th grade: the assessment will not be Tuesday but it will be one day this week
handout: Additional Practice Investigation 3 was assigned and should assist with preparation for the assessment

Bottle Drive

I'd like to thank everyone that participated in the bottle drive on Saturday!  When I have the figures of how much we raised, I will let you know.

Bottle Drive Part 2

We need drivers and volunteers!  If you can help, please call or email Mr. DeCicco at 893-3230 X622 or rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org

Bottle Drive

When:

Saturday, February 11^th from 10:30am-3:30pm

The Cause:

100% Proceeds will help finance 8^th grade trip to Boston

How can I donate?

·      Students will go door-to-door in Milton on Saturday, 2/11 asking you to donate cans.

·      You can arrange a special pick up of bottles/cans by calling Mr. DeCicco at 893-3230 ext 622 or emailing rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org

OR

·      Bring cans/bottles to Rene’s Deli and tell them it’s for the 8^th grade trip to Boston from now until May 2012.

YOUR SUPPORT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!

February 9th, Tucana math

7th grade: Do Skill:Adding and Subtracting Rational Numbers (show work)
collected Skill: Adding Integers
8th grade: 4.3 & 4.4 for those who have all corrections done
Corrections on Inv 2 & 3 if not done

February 7th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 45 B & page 50 #1 collected at the end of class,
Combining Signed Numbers notes with enhancement for multiplication and division,
vocabulary: algorithm, rational numbers, commutative property

8th grade: page 50 and 51 (4.3) 30-60-90 triangles
collecting page 53+ #1,3,4,7,&9 and The Wheel of Theodorus tomorrow
We will be havng an assessment on Looking for Pythagorus either the end of this week or the beginning of next

2.7 Humanities

Read "Experimenting with a Nation" and answer questions due tomorrow.

2.11 Bottle Drive Fundraiser

I want to thank everyone who participated in the calendar raffle. We sold 702 tickets, raising over $7,020! This was by far the most successful fundraiser we have ever done.

Bottle Drive
On February 11th, we will be going around town to collect bottles. If you are interested in helping drive or if you would like to have your bottles picked up please contact Rob DeCicco at rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org or 893-3230 ext. 622 or Joe Smith at jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org or 893-3230 ext. 217. You can also drop your bottles off at Rene’s starting on February 4th and tell them that you would like to donate the bottle refund to the 8th Grade Boston trip.

Thank you,
Joe Smith

February 6th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 45A, page 50#1
Combining Signed Numbers Notes enhanced
Quiz corrections are an assignment if they earned less than 60 points
8th grade: vocabulary: similar, corrresponding sides, corresponding angles, reflection
page 51 A-C, Quiz corrections are an assignment if they earned less than 60 points

2/6 Science

7th grade- should either write a summary paragraph based on what we read today or answer one of the two focus questions for homework.

8th grade- should complete the "Oh Deer" assignment we started in class today.

2/3 Cairns Field Trip

As of now, there are a lot of students who have not handed back the Cairns Field Trip permission slips and money.  Please bring in both the forms and money tomorrow!!!

2/1 Science

8th Grade- should write an objective statement for and graph the results from the "Milkweed-Bug Hatching Investigation"  This assignment will be checked at the beginning of class tomorrow.

February 1st, Tucana math

7th grade:page 18#31, page 20 #48, Quiz tomorrow (Thursday)
8th grade: page 53# 1,3,4,7,9

January 31, 2012, Tucana math

7th grade: page 38#34 Mug's rules for QI, QII, QIII, QIV and support lists
page 39#38 - 40
8th grade: page 47 Quiz tomorrow (Wednesday)

1/30 Science

8th grade- should write a conclusion paragraph on the "Photosynthesis/Cellular Respiration Lab" for tonight's homework.  This assignment will be checked at the beginning of tomorrow's class.  Students who received back a copy of the "Osmosis in an Egg Lab" should consider making corrections on it.

7th grade-those students who I haven't met with yet to grade their cell projects should schedule an appointment with me within the next couple of days.  I'm available to meet during lunch, recess, reads & needs, and after school.  Students who received their cell project grades back today should consider making corrections on it.

Monday January 30th, Tucana math

7th grade: p31#1, page 27 A1 number lines, A3 two number sentences for each of the
number lines, A5
8th grade: p34 A-D, p41#19-23 with support

January 25th, Tucana math

7th grade: no new tasks
8th grade: corrections on check-up
This assignment will be used as a study point assignment.

1/25 Science

7th grade model cell project has been pushed back to Friday (1/27)

8th grade "Osmosis in an Egg" lab due Thursday (1/26)

1/24 Science

7th grade-As of now, cell project is due this Thursday (1/26)

8th grade-Spent most of today's class writing up the "Osmosis in an Egg"  Lab.  If they have not finished it, students should complete it for homework.  This assignment will be collected tomorrow.

January 25, Tucana math

7th grade: page 17#20-29 with number lines. vocabulary: absolute value on the "Combining Signed Numbers" handout
8th grade: page 38#1-7 show support, page 31 should be done first (at least the 1st 4 drawings with areas and side lengths labeled.

1/23 Science

7th grade students began their model plant/animal cell project in class today.  They may need to get some materials for it.  Students should be reasonable.  Simple household materials are just as effective as store-bought materials.  Any questions or concerns, please email me at rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org.  As of now, the project is due this Thursday, January 26th.

8th grade students should complete a learning log around diffusion/osmosis/active transport. 

Student of the Semester Celebration

Dear Students & Parents/Guardians,

The student of the semester celebration ceremony is rescheduled for Tuesday, January 24th.  It will be held in the library from 6:30-8:00pm.  We hope you will be able to make it.  Someone (teacher or student) should let you know about this date/time by Monday.  Congratulations to all of the students who have been selected!

January 20th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 16&17 #9-19, number lines drawn and measured with a ruler need to demonstate the responsed to 9&10, corrections were collected
8th grade: page 29#49 + 50 also handout Lenghts of Lines should be done and supported.

1.20 BOSTON UPDATE

Dear Families,

I wanted to give you a quick update our fundraising efforts.

Amount raised to date $13,125.00
Amount needed to be raised $14,858.00

Considering we are half way through the year this good, but we need to continue the strong effort.

February Calendar Raffle

We have raised $2940 on the raffle. Making it our most successful fundraiser to date. It would be great if we could reach $5000 and make one last great push this weekend. The last day to hand in raffle tickets is Friday, January 27th. Tickets brought in after this date will be put into the raffle but it count towards any of the student incentives such as the Pump House tickets, the pizza party, or the advisory ice cream party.

Bottle Drive

On February 11th, we will be going around town to collect bottles. If you are interested in helping drive or if you would like to have your bottles picked up please contact Rob DeCicco at rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org or 893-3230 ext. 622 or Joe Smith at jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org or 893-3230 ext. 217. You can also drop your bottles off at Rene’s starting on February 4th and tell them that you would like to donate the bottle refund to the 8th Grade Boston trip.

Spaghetti Dinner/Phantom Tollbooth

On February 22nd, we will be having a spaghetti dinner in conjunction with the showing of the middle school play, the Phantom Tollbooth. We will be looking for food donations. If you can help, please contact Joe Smith, at jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org or 893-3230 ext. 217.

Once again thank you for all of your support. Please do not forget that the second installment is due tomorrow January 20th.

Thanks,
Joe Smith

January 19th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 9 A-D1&E, corrections on a separate piece of paper and stapled to Comparing and Scaling assessment
8th grade: Page 29#47&48, #51 - 53

1/18 Science

7th grade students-should complete their drawing of a plant and animal cell.  This assignment will be collected at the beginning of class tomorrow.

January 18, Tucana math

7th grade: vocabulary: (highlighted words on page 5&6) defined in Vocabulary section of notebook, page 9 A-D
8th grade: Assessment tomorrow, review from pages 23, 24 25, & 26

January 17th, Tucana math

7th grade: Find "Combining Signed Numbers" in your notes and make sure the 8 questions on the back have number lines and correct solutions. There is also a handout, "Skill: Integers" and the vocabulary word: integer
8th grade: page 22 B&C and hand out requesting lengths of segments

1.13 Humanities

Complete assigned reading for Chains and/or Forge book groups. See you Tuesday!

1/12 Science

7B- had a hard time focusing in class today.  They should write a reflection that answers the following questions in their science journal: 1) What does a productive science class look and sound like? 2) What is my role in our current classroom environment?  3) How may I better participate and contribute to a positive learning environment?

We will review our class norms and discuss our reflections tomorrow.

8th Grade-did a great job with the model plant and animal cells!  If we haven't conferenced for a grade yet, please schedule a time when we could meet.

January 12, Tucana math

7th grade: page 58&59 should be complete
Comparing and Scaling assessment tomorrow
8th grade: page 26#39-41, #42 use slopes to demonstrate right angles

8th Grade BOSTON Update

January 9, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This is a reminder that the second installment of $25 for the Boston trip is due on January 20th.

I also wanted to give you a quick update on our fundraising efforts. As of today, we have raised over $12,000. However we still have a little over $15,000 to go, so we need to continue the good effort in raising the funds to ensure that we are able to go on this trip. We are currently selling the tickets for the Calendar Raffle. We will also be doing a bottle drive after the weekend of the Super Bowl and a Spaghetti Dinner, which the date is still to be determined. Please remember that each student does need to participate in at least three fundraisers or sell 20 calendar raffle tickets.

There has also been a change to the itinerary for the Boston trip. Blue Man Group was sold out and therefore we will be going to see Sheer Madness instead, which is a comedy whodunit, where the audience is part of the show.

As a reminder, the date for the field trip is from May 23-25, 2012. You can pay the remainder of your balance at any time. The third installment of $25 will be due February 24th and the final installment will be due April 6th. A full refund will be offered until April 1st. No student will be denied going on this trip because of financial concerns. If you need a scholarship, please let us know.

Below is the tentative itinerary for Boston:

May 23 7:00 a.m. Leave Milton Middle School
11:00 a.m. Arrive at Emerson College
1:00 p.m. Go to Museum of Science
5:00 p.m. Pizza at Emerson College
8:00 p.m. Sheer Madness

May 24 Small group exploration of Boston: Students will break into groups of 8-10 and visit different museums, such as the Mass Museum of Art, Franklin Zoo, Fenway Park, etc., based on their interests. Do you have any info about dinner that night – will this be on the students?
May 25 9:00 a.m. Leave Emerson College, walk Freedom Trail, eat lunch at Faneuil Hall
1:00 p.m. Boat cruise of Boston Harbor
3:00 p.m. Leave Boston
7:00 p.m. Arrive back in Milton
If you have any questions, please contact your student's team's Boston representative:

Aquila – Tom Keblin ext. 646 tkeblin@mtsd-vt.org
Cassiopeia – Joe Smith ext. 217 jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org
Pyxis – Jana Fabri. ext. 658 jfabri@mtsd-vt.org
Tucana- Amira Bakr ext. 678 abakr@mtsd-vt.org

Thank you,
Joe Smith

1.11 Humanities

Read for book groups.

January 11th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 53 A&B
Comparing and Scaling Assessment coming by the end of the week
8th grade: page24#7-34, page 25 #36-38.
collected page16# 31-34, page 19 5by5 dot paper with 8squares -
areas and sidelengths labeled (no irrational numbers as decimals)

January 10th, Tucana math

7th grade: page 58 & 59 #21-23
These are more complex problems with proportion and missing pieces which help review for the upcoming assessment on Comparing and Scaling. It may be as early as this Thursday.
Collected page 50 & 51
8th grade: page 23 # 4-6 is to be added to the dot paper we worked on in class. Tomorrow I will be collecting: pages 16#31-34, page 19 with 5by5 dot paper and 8 possible squares with areas and side lengths labeled, Notes with the radical and lists of n, n squared, and
the square root of squared.

1/9 Science

8th Grade- Model Plant/Animal Cells due tomorrow, 1/10.

January 9th, Tucana math

7th grade: proportions and unit rates are needed and should be provided
page 55#1&2, page 57#15-17
8th grade: Vocabulary: reciprocal, parallel and perpendicular
page 16 #31 graph the parallel and perpendicular lines using different colors
slopes of parallel lines are the same
slopes of perpendicular lines are negative reciprocals

January 6, Tucana math

7th grade: no new tasks
page 50&51 should done with proportion and solutions
(solutions can use Adrianna's method with the idenity or the crossproduct)
8th grade: vocabulary: irrational number, perfect square,
radical and hypotenuse (these are in notes)
Page 19 on 5by5 dot paper - 8 squares with the areas and
side lengths as whole numbers or radicals

January 5th, Tucana math

7th grade: vocabulary: crossproduct
Pages 50&51 A-D work with proportions
8th grade: Notes - lists of: n (1-25), n squared, the square root of n squared
introduced to the radical
Page 19 A - 2.1 Looking for Squares
find 8 squares that fit in the 5 by 5 dots, areas of them and the side lengths

1/5 Science

8th grade students are constructing model plant and animal cells in science class.  Click on the link and scroll down to #9 to see the project overview.

7th grade students should complete a learning log about what they learned in science class today.  Focus question: What is the 10% rule and how does it relate to energy cycles in an ecosystem?

1.4 Humanities

Students should share permission slip with families regarding the film, The Patriot, to be viewed on Friday. Students who are not given permission should return the permission slip indicating such and will be given an alternate assignment to also consider the impact of war on civilians.

January 4th, Tucana math

7th grade:collecing page 45 #27 - 31 unit rates done two ways
start page 50 A&B
8th grade:
page 13&14 #15-25 with Labsheet 1ACE, page 16#31-34

1/3 Science

7th grade-should write down a minimum of one paragraph in their science journals.  How did they use energy today?  What sort of activities did they do?

8th grade-should finish the microscope packet reading.  Students should annotate the reading using the annotations learned from humanities class.

Tucana math, January 3, 2012

7th grade: unit rates are the focus: page 38 A&B, page 45#27-31
8th grade: area of different shapes We are using different strategies that need to be expressed:
breaking the shape into pieces with 90 degree angles, making a shape with a 90 degree angle that includes the space you want to find the area of, and/or using formulas for rectangle and/or triangles appropriately with the 90 degree angles expressed.
Labsheet 1.3 Page 11 A-C

1.3 Fundraiser Announcement

Dear Families,

On January 7th, we will be doing a Christmas Tree Pick-up. Donations will be accepted for the 8th Grade Boston trip. If you are interested in having your tree picked up, please contact Joe Smith at jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org.

Families, if you could please spread this information in you neighborhoods it will be greatly appreciated. Also we will be looking for a few parents with pick-up trucks to help out.

Thank you for your continued support and I hope you have a Happy New Year!