Sept 23rd Tburg MS Weekly Update

Festivities will begin at 5:00pm, outside of the middle school cafeteria (weather permitting), on the east side of the building. There will be a BBQ chicken dinner, ice cream from the PTO, and informational tables set up until 6:00pm. Dinners cost $12.00 and include half a chicken, coleslaw, salt potatoes, a roll & butter. All proceeds from the dinner go to support the 8th grade trip to Washington DC. Place your order HERE . All orders must be received by Monday, 9/26, and can be paid for at pickup with a check made out to "Trumansburg Middle School Washington DC Trip."

For the rest of the evening, families can follow the schedule below to meet with grade-level teams, hear about our special courses, and visit our newly-renovated STEAM Suite.

We can't wait to see you there!

Counseling Office

Greetings,

It is with a heavy heart that I share my decision to take a new position with another school district as School Social Worker. It was a difficult decision as I adore the students, staff, and teachers of Trumansburg, as well as the community of Trumansburg. I am grateful for the two plus years I have had in the Middle School and the chance to work with and get to know the amazing folks in our Middle School. This was so very evident through the District’s response to instruction through COVID and a large construction project in the Middle School. I leave knowing that the Social and Emotional needs of students are well cared for by very capable and compassionate individuals. If you want to connect with me prior to leaving, my last day is Friday, September 30th.

Paul Rhudy, LCSW

School Social Worker

RULER (Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, Regulate) Update:

This week students will be introduced to the idea of creating a safe and desirable classroom and school community through the “Charter”. The Charter is a tool we use through RULER to support students in expressing how they want to feel when they are in school, and what they can do to allow those emotions to be present within themselves and their classmates. These Social and Emotional Lessons will culminate on Friday October 6th, when each Grade will gather, Assembly Style, to develop a grade level Charter.

Here is a link previously shared that outlines RULER and the specific tools we are working with the students on this year.

5th Grade

5th Grade Daily Planner (Please bookmark for your use)

Please help your 5th grader remember to charge their Chromebook and to bring a water bottle.

Science: Students will be observing the moon nightly beginning Tuesday or Wednesday. Meanwhile, we are building sun dials and learning how the rotation of the Earth causes night and day.

ELA: This week students worked hard to show their skills as readers on their iReady reading diagnostic and fall DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) screening. These diagnostics will occur two other times this school year (winter and spring). We also mapped out our own Writing Process and completed a writing sample. Next week we will be preparing an informative and fun visual for Open House on Thursday night and starting our first class novel!

Math: Students have practiced how to use exponents to name place value units and to explain patterns in the placement of the decimal point. This week students will learn about standard and expanded form of numbers to the thousandth place as well as comparing and ordering decimals. Their weekly math practice will be assigned Monday, 9/26 and will be due Thursday 9/30.

Social Studies: We have begun to look at the earliest Americans and the various migration theories. Next week we will take a closer look at some early North American civilizations.

6th Grade

6th grade planner (please bookmark this link)

Please remind students to bring a reusable water bottle to fill up at school.

Social Studies: Students have been very busy this week with maps. Students have created amazing autobiography islands. Students are also exploring different types of maps and what maps need. We looked at different regions and what classifies a region. We have also had so much fun listening to music from around the world and finding out where the music is from.

Math: Geometry has started. In math we have been deconstructing and reconstructing shapes to find areas. We will practice using the traditional formula for area. Students will have a BMR every week-it is assigned on Tuesday and is due Friday.

Science: Everyone was shining bright this week as we turned our attention to the stars in the night sky and explored their characteristics and life cycles. We also did work with perspective and scale of objects in the Universe - not everything is at it appears. Next week’s focus will be on investigating gravity’s role in Universe and begin developing our models of the Universe.

ELA: We have started the novel The Lightning Thief and have been practicing annotating right in the text. We’ve also started an essay that reveals the stories behind our six word memoirs.

Band 6: Band 6 Lesson Schedule Link

7th Grade

7th Grade Digital Planner (Please bookmark this link.)

Thank you for reminding students to bring their Chromebook and charger to school everyday.

Social Studies: Students this week will be discussing “What is History?” and considering the language we will be using to read, write, think about, and discuss history this school year (historical and geographic context, primary and secondary sources, analyze, evidence, breaking down sources, etc.).

Science: This past week students learned more about tree leaves and started their collections for the Tree Identification Project. Their homework over this past weekend was to collect 3 leaves from a tree not on the school campus (see Google Classroom for instructions). The Tree project provides an active way of learning about taxonomy and how scientific collections are made, as well as helping students develop observation skills and, hopefully, introducing students to the joys of getting to know trees personally. We also took a look at our biospheres and made observations on the changes that have occurred. This week students will continue to add species to their plant presses and will learn how to use a dichotomous key to identify the trees.

Math: This week we worked on the Math iReady diagnostic and pushed through that pretty well. Then, we took a break and played some online and in person math games while practicing and refining our multiplication skills! Next week we will continue to practice while jumping into our first unit!

ELA 7: What a busy week! Using Sandra Cisneros’ vignettes in The House on Mango Street as a mentor text, we wrote our own vignettes about seedling moments in our lives (or fictional moments). Then as we continue to celebrate National Hispanic Month, we researched notable people of Hispanic and Latin heritage and created mini posters. This coming week we will dive right into our first book this year, A Long Walk to Water. Please remind students to complete their homework reading and short writing assignments each night.

Music: This past week, we have been listening to and discussing different genres of music. Students chose an artist to focus on, and identified that artist’s musical style/genre. We also started using some musical vocabulary to describe what we hear when listening to a song. It’s harder than you think! In the coming week, we will dive deeper into musical genres and also beging talking about our ‘True Colors’. How do we learn best? What does our personality tell us in terms of how we like to do things? What drives us nuts? We shall see…

Health: We’ve ventured more into elements of mental/emotional health this week! Students should hold a better understanding of what influences personality, the difference between self-esteem and self-compassion and ways to strengthen their resilience. They also learned much about their peers via mini-presentations about themselves.

7/8 Band: 7/8 Band Lesson Schedule 9/26- 9/30

We had a great week of lessons and rehearsals! Students are getting back into the swing of remembering their materials and remembering when to come to their band lesson! Please encourage your student to get organized with their band folder, books and music.

World Languages: In Ms. Cederstrom’s French and Spanish 7 classes we have been learning greetings, basic vocabulary to introduce oneself, and how to count from 0-12. Please remind your student to bring in at least one photograph of themself (or of a pet, favorite stuffed animal, etc.) for next week’s writing project. I am happy to print out photos for them if they email them to me.

8th Grade

ELA 8: The class has started reading Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. As we read, we’ll explore themes of acceptance and rejection in terms of social pressure. What do we consider “normal” behavior and who/what sets these “norms”? Students are expected to follow the reading schedule and will receive time in class. Students will also have time this week to make up the iReady diagnostic.

Social Studies: Students will be working on an interactive site called PBS Learning Media to identify and locate primary and secondary sources. We will also continue discussions on how our identity shapes the way we see ourselves and others. And how our identity influences the choices we make.

Algebra: This week we are finishing our iready diagnostic. We are going to solve equations, focus on the properties of real numbers, have a quick quiz, and then review slope and y-intercept.

Math 8: This week we are finishing our Iready diagnostic. We will be applying the order of operations to simplify expressions. After that we will work on variable substitution. There will be a quick quiz on those two on Thursday. After that, we will move on to converting rationals.

7/8 Band: 7/8 Band Lesson Schedule 9/26- 9/30

World Languages: In Ms. Cederstrom’s French I classes we have been reviewing some of last year’s material, such as how to introduce oneself and others and talk about likes and dislikes. Please remind your student to bring in a photograph of themself and at least one additional person, pet, friend, family member, etc. they would like to write about for next week's assignment. I am happy to print out photos for them if they email them to me.

Clubs & Activities

8th Grade Washington, D.C. Trip

It is NOT too late! You still have today to order a chicken BBQ dinner for this Thursday the 29th before Open House begins. We hope you will join us starting at 5pm on the front lawn. Dinners must be ordered ahead of time - by Monday the 26th. Payments will be made when dinners are picked up. All dinners will be packaged to go - so even if you aren’t planning to attend Open House you can swing buy and pick up dinner for the family. Spread the word to your family and friends.

Dinners cost $12.00 and include: ½ a chicken, coleslaw, salt potatoes, roll & butter. Proceeds help to support the cost of the 8th grade trip to Washington DC. Use this form to place your order now!

Thank you in advance for your support.

Student Council

Student Council elections are happening next week and our first meeting will occur on Tuesday September 27th after school. We need YOU at the meeting - hope to see you there. Any student that needs to ride the late bus needs to fill out a late bus form by 1:30 on the day they want to ride. Contact advisors Bill Begeal or Nadine Salib to get signed up for the bus.

PTO

Community

It's time to register for the Fall 2022 Trumansburg/Ulysses Youth Services program offerings, aka Programs with Ethan 🙂. All programs are FREE and provide snacks. To register, please click the link found at the bottom of this post. If you have questions, please contact Ethan at egc24@cornell.edu or by cell at 607 592 5111

Middle School

Play for the Future: Tuesdays, September 27 - October 25. Join Ethan ("the fun") and Cornell University Ph.D. student Julia Jaffe ("the brains and the fun") as we help research spaces for youth by playing at playgrounds/play spaces around Ulysses and Ithaca. The program will be 5 weeks, with 3 days of play and 2 days of art projects and youth input. The first day of program will be PLAY with the second day being ART and reflection. Days will then alternate to mix things up. Past participants of Photovoice encouraged to join! Help make youth spaces better for future generations! Program meets in middle school Room 118 (Ms. Bryant's). Space is limited. Pickup is at the middle school front loop @ 5pm.

Cooking/Baking and Trumansburg Harvest Market: Thursdays, September 29 - November 18. 2:45-5:00pm. This is a two-part program: the first part being a cooking program where we make delicious meals and maybe some sweet treats; the second first being a program where we run a free market (one in October and one in November) from the Ulysses Philomathic Library. **Please note: Participants will cook for themselves/their cooking group. While it may happen, do not expect participants to bring home a meal/dessert for the family.** Participants who volunteered this summer at the Summer Market are encouraged to join and will receive an automatic placement. Program meets in middle school room 118 (Ms. Bryant's). Pickup on cooking days is at the school. On Market days, it is at the Ulysses Philomathic Library, 74 E. Main Street, Trumansburg.

High School

Dungeons and Dragons: Wednesdays, September 28 - October 26. 2:45-5:00pm. All new high school programming! Join Ethan Wednesdays after school for in-person Dungeons and Dragons. Both new and experienced players are welcome! Program meets at the high school (room number TBD). HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ONLY. No exceptions. Pickup is at the high school front loop @ 5pm.

Outdoor Education in the National Forest: Fridays, September 30 – October 27 2:45-5:00pm. Join Ethan in the National Forest for outdoor skill-building. Fires, shelters, stoves, bear hangs, and more. Participants will take a van to and from the National Forest. Space is limited. Pickup is at the high school front loop at 5p.

Program Registration Link

Building Contacts

Main Office: Brenda Everhart, 607-387-2825

Nurse's Office: Julie Carpenter, jcarpenter@tburg.k12.ny.us (preferred) or 607-387-2827

Student Services Team: 607-387-7551 ext. 1449

Bryce DeSantis, School Psychologist

Lisa Magee, Administrative Assistant

Paul Rhudy, LCSW, Social Worker

Claire Valletta, Guidance Counselor

IT Help: help@tburgschools.on.spiceworks.com or 607-288-2821 (Monday - Friday 8 am to 4pm)