Middle School
Weekly Update
Week of January 29th
01
CONTENTS
Calendar
2/8: 5th grade band informance; 7:00 in the gym
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Office Updates
From Ms. Amodeo
Over the past two weeks some families have received attendance letters and/or requests for meetings regarding their student's attendance. Please know that, per state law and Trumansburg CSD Board Policy, we are required to periodically contact households to discuss the importance of attendance and to offer support where needed. Understandably, this practice has fallen off over the last couple of years, but we have reinstituted it and will be sending out these notices regularly going forward. We understand that it has been a challenging year in terms of COVID, the flu, RSV, and other ailments, but we also want to support students being in school as much as possible. For your reference, the Board Policy can be found HERE (page 346).
Also for your reference, the attendance section of the Student Handbook is below.
"Students are required to attend all sessions of school while enrolled. Acceptable legal reasons for absences are personal illness, medical appointment, death in the family, religious observances, or quarantine. If a student is absent from school and a parent has not contacted the Attendance Office, School Messenger will call the student’s guardian in an effort to confirm the absence. State regulation specifies that we receive a written excuse for each absence (preferably on the day the student returns to school). Therefore, all absences will be recorded as illegal or unexcused until a written excuse from the parent/guardian is received. Please email: MSAttendance@tburg.k12.ny.us to notify the school regarding absences and their reasons. If you do not have access to email, please call the Attendance Office (387-7551, Ext. 1425)."
Over the last two weeks I have met with groups of students in grades six through eight who are interested in revising our Dress Code. I have been impressed by our students' maturity, passion, and critical thinking in discussing the topic, and I applaud them for advocating for changes they feel would improve our school climate. Taking into consideration feedback from these students and thoughts from our staff members, we have written a Draft Dress Code HERE (the current Dress Code can be found on page 15 HERE.) We feel that this revised language allows us to maintain a safe and orderly school environment while allowing students greater freedom and acknowledging practices that have historically disproportionately impacted our female students.
I welcome any suggestions or feedback you have regarding these changes.
Best,
Ms. Jean Amodeo
Principal, Trumansburg Middle School
Office Updates
From the Athletic Director
Attention spectators, students and supervisors who plan on attending home athletic events:
In an effort to improve safety, the first 3 rows of the bleachers will now prioritize families and older adults. This means that students and anyone under the age of 21, will be expected to sit in rows 4-19 all of the way across including the visiting team. There will be row information taped to the fist 3 rows as reminders.
Also, disrespectful behaviors such as inappropriate gestures/actions during the national anthem, foul language, disrespect towards any adults including, but not limited to, supervisors and officials, and disrespectful cheers that send a negative message such as Booing or all examples of singling out any athletes from either team, will lead to immediate ejection from the game as per the IAC rules on sportsmanship. If anyone is asked to leave and does not, the game will immediately be stopped and will not continue until the individual exits our facilities.
Remember, our ultimate goal is to cheer on our teams as positively as possible and if you cannot do that, you may not be allowed to attend athletic events, and may also be asked to complete a sportsmanship class to help improve your behaviors before being allowed to rejoin our athletic family.
I thank you for your dedication in ensuring that when people think of Trumansburg, they are not only excited to be here, but compliment how positive of an environment it is for all.
This announcement will also be read at the last few home games this basketball season.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.
Best,
Tiffany L. Beam
Athletic Director
School Nutrition
Though school meals are no longer subsidized for every student, free and reduced-priced meals are available to those who qualify. The application can be found HERE.
To add funds to your child’s school lunch account, you can use our online system at MySchoolBucks or you can send a check directly to the TCSD Food Service Department. Students may always pay cash if they choose to as well.
What’s for lunch? Check My School Menus
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: This week we are working on concentrations (the ratio of solute to solvent) in solutions. We have lots of labs and lots of vocabulary. Just ask your young scientist!
ELA: This week students began to write an informational essay about how New Years is celebrated in different parts of the world. This culminates time reading about traditions for China, Romania, Scotland and Spain. We also continued to make progress with our New Genre book as students worked toward their Week #3 reading goal.
Math: The students just took their mid module assessment for adding and subtracting fractions. These will be handed back on Monday with test corrections due on Thursday. This coming week we will begin adding and subtracting mixed numbers.
Puberty and Hygiene Health Lesson concluded on Fri 1/27. Q&A sessions will occur during the lunch periods Tues, Jan 31 through Thurs, Feb 2 for those interested in learning more.
Band 5: Some groups changed and some group numbers changed. Please check the group list AND the schedule carefully. This is preparation for third quarter and hopefully it will not change again. Many 5th graders have earned (or are about to earn) their yellow belt! Everyone should be practicing lots in preparation for our “informance” on February 8th.
Practice Pointers: You can help your student practice by asking them to “make a plan”. Ask them to fill in the blanks of this sentence: “I will practice my instrument at ***time*** in ****place****.” An answer could be “I will practice my instrument at study hall in school.” or “I will practice my instrument after dinner in my room.” Then giving a gentle nudge about their plan at the decided time, it still feels like their idea and plan.
6th Grade
6th grade planner (please bookmark this link)
Please remind students to bring a reusable water bottle to fill up at school. Students need pencils! Please send your student in with a few pencils! Healthy snacks are a great idea to send in with your student, they are growing at a rapid rate.
Social Studies: Students are gearing up for the big Athens and Sparta debate! Students spent last week learning the art of debating. They also worked on gathering facts and crafting their arguments. The debate is Tuesday and we are getting excited.
Math: Students learned two new strategies for finding percent. We learned a double number line technique and tape diagrams. Students are encouraged to find a method that works for them.
Science: Students spent the week exploring convection currents and how they impact plate tectonics and earthquakes. We also had a trout day on Friday.
ELA: In ELA we learned two new strategies to improve our writing-transition words and show, not tell. Show not tell is when writers use detail to explain an event, using their five senses really helps writers add to their writing.
Health begins Monday, Jan 30th → Students will need a one-subject or composition notebook for this class. We begin class this week focused on engaging a growth mindset, learning the 3 aspects of health and understanding SMART goals for supporting one’s health. Please look for a course description to be sent home, too!
Music: Our class made a video of our African Drumming Ensemble and a video of our Xylophone ensemble. They have worked hard and have really turned into musicians! Enjoy!
Band:The students are very much enjoying our new (and quite challenging!) piece Cayuga Lake Overture. We will be working on trios and getting more concert pieces soon. See Practice Pointers below! :)
Practice Pointers: You can help your student practice by asking them to “make a plan”. Ask them to fill in the blanks of this sentence: “I will practice my instrument at ***time*** in ****place****.” An answer could be “I will practice my instrument at study hall in school.” or “I will practice my instrument after dinner in my room.” Then giving a gentle nudge about their plan at the decided time, it still feels like their idea and plan.
7th Grade
7th Grade Digital Planner (Please bookmark this link.)
Science: This is the week students present their 3-D Cell Models (due on Tuesday, Jan. 31)! This is typically a fun and effective learning opportunity. Thank you to everyone who supported students in their model-making efforts.
Social Studies: Students this week are finishing their essay on the Causes of the American Revolution. This was a heavy upfront workload building our graphic organizers, but the satisfaction of having a well-written essay is very apparent in our 7th graders as they read their final drafts. We are then continuing to discuss the American Revolution, including an analysis of the Declaration of Independence. We will be using an interactive “You Choose” book to read aloud as a class about the different paths people took during the war & voting on the outcomes. See the link here for more information about the book.
ELA 7: This week we began discussing stereotypes. We discussed what a stereotype is, how stereotypes affect our lives and the lives of others, and stereotypes in Disney movies. Each ELA class set a goal of reading 1,000 minutes, and they met their goal; so we celebrated reading this week!! Please continue to encourage your seventh grader to read. This coming week, we will talk about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story.”
Music: This past week, we explored how the addition of (or absence of) music affects the overall experience of watching anything on screen. Classes used a scene from the movie ‘Wonder Woman’, took the music out, and replaced it with something different. We definitely saw and heard first hand what this does to our emotional reactions and overall viewing experience! With the 2 hour delay Monday, and the 1 hour delay schedule Tuesday, we pushed the due date for the ‘BandLab: Texture and Sound’ assignment to the end of this week (2/3).
7/8 Band: Help students make sure they have their instrument and music for lessons and rehearsals this week! What should students be practicing? 1. Rhythms from Noteflight for the upcoming assessment
2. Scales (the C scale plus scales up to 2 sharps & 2 flats)
8th Grade
On February 2nd at 8AM (1st period), we will be welcoming Jennifer Ptasznik and Keith Williams to our library to talk about TST BOCES P-TECH Academy! This informational session will be a great opportunity for our interested 8th grade students to learn more about the P-TECH program and see if they might be interested in attending.
About P-TECH: Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) is a six-year program at TST BOCES centered on science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and social justice education that prepares students for careers in Computer Science and Advanced Manufacturing. Students enter in Grade 9, and complete college coursework at Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) throughout their career at P-TECH. P-TECH offers three degree pathways through TC3: Applied Science and Technology, Computer Information Systems, and Computer Support Specialist. Upon completion, students will graduate with a Regents Diploma and an Associate’s degree from Tompkins Cortland College at no cost to the students' families.
Any interested 8th grade students are welcome to attend. Students must sign up with Ms. Magee in Student Services by the end of the day on February 1st. Please call or email Claire Valletta,(607) 387-7551 ext. 1485, with any questions. Thank you!
ELA: Students are continuing to read Homer’s “The Odyssey”, with built-in time to make up back-work before the end of the 2nd marking period. Students are also working toward completing the iReady reading diagnostic. After Tuesday, students are encouraged to complete the diagnostic at home and/or during free periods.
Social Studies: This week we are exploring the role of labor unions during the Age of Big Business and labor. Students will be participating in a labor union simulation. But instead of one group being a workers’ union, there will be a student union. And instead of one group being management, there will be an administrative group. So, a school setting that they can relate to! Both groups will establish a set of demands, then negotiate to settle on a contract.
Algebra: Students are finishing up sequences, both arithmetic and geometric. Ask your students if they know the difference between the two, how to find the explicit formula, and find a given term. We will move on to exponential growth.
Math 8: Math 8 is swapping up an assessment on solving multi step equations. Ask your students to show you the final product. We will start proportional relationships and word problems this week. We will also move on to the slope formula.
7/8 Band: Help students make sure they have their instrument and music for lessons and rehearsals this week! What should students be practicing?
1. Rhythms from Noteflight for the upcoming assessment
2. Scales (the C scale plus scales up to 2 sharps & 2 flats)
3. New band music- we got another new piece this past week!
Clubs & Activities
Musical
Yearbook
Beauty and the Beast rehearsals are underway. Cast, keep up to date with rehearsals and other important information via our Beauty and the Beast Jr. website.
If you are a cast member (or parent of a cast member) and have not yet signed up for our REMIND app, please email tparker@tburg.k12.ny.us to get the sign up information. Remind is a way that we send quick text message updates or changes. Remind also allows you to directly text Tammy Parker (Producer) or Danny Trippett (Director).
PTO
Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date with all of our events.
Stay tuned for the date of our next meeting!
We have a MS Yearbook google classroom code, staff application and a Remind sign up packet your student will bring home once they have attended a meeting.
If your child attends a meeting and needs to ride a bus home they MUST complete the weekly google form emailed out by Ms. Magee, no later than noon of the meeting day.
Questions? Email Tammy Parker tparker@tburg.k12.ny.us or Lisa Magee lmagee@tburg.k12.ny.us
To order a yearbook go to www.YearbookOrderCenter.com and use the order number 18914
If you would like to submit pictures to possibly be used in our yearbook please go to http://www.hjeshare.com and enter the word “doig” in the school code box to upload from your computer or get the HJeshare App and upload right from your phone!
Building Contacts
Main Office: Brenda Everhart, 607-387-2825
Attendance: Lauren Conners, 607-387-7551, x1425
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
Brian Cobb, LCSW, Social Worker
Claire Valletta, Guidance Counselor
IT Help: help@tburgschools.on.spiceworks.com or 607-288-2821 (Monday - Friday 8 am to 4pm)
Newsletter items/help/unsubscribe: Gail Brisson, gbrisson@tburg.k12.ny.us