Middle School
Weekly Update
Week of June 9th
01
Friday is a B Day
Calendar
Wednesday, June 12-Friday, June 14: 8th grade D.C. Trip
Wednesday, June 19: no school (Juneteenth)
Thursday, June 20: 6th grade field trip--trout release
Friday, June 21: School Dance
Monday, June 24: 5th & 7th grades field trips to Taughannock
Tuesday, June 25: 6th & 8th grade field trips
Wednesday, June 26: Dismissal at 11:30
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Office Updates
From Ms. Lomax
Last week, the middle school completed its Spring round of iReady testing in reading and math. Our results -- the percentage of students currently performing at or above grade-level, and degree to which students are showing a year or more of growth from where they started in the fall -- are excellent. Our students are demonstrating their learning at the highest levels we've seen since the Pandemic. Congratulations to our students who have worked so hard and to our teachers who have provided them with aligned instruction and supported them with additional interventions in WINN periods and Support Labs. Great job everyone! Students' individual iReady results will be sent home to families along with the final report card.
Congratulations, also, to our 7th and 8th grade students on their fine Spring concert last week, and thank you to everyone who took part in our Day of Service on Friday.
Chromebook Return
Starting Monday, June 10th, all students will leave their Chromebooks at school so that our IT staff can start their end-of-year inventory. Please have your student bring their Chromebook and charger on Monday, June 10th.
Students who need to bring their Chromebooks home to study for a Regents exam will be able to do so.
Service Day
A huge thanks to Trumansburg Education Foundation and the PTO for supporting our Service Day on Friday, June 7th. Many thanks as well to our volunteers who came out to help run activities: Marvin Pritts, Megan Williams, Zach Koslowski, Kristy, Rob, and Sally Montana, Chad Doolittle, and Mr. Grove. We also had many high school volunteers who pitched in and kept activities running smoothly. We are also extremely grateful to Bike Walk Tompkins for coming out to do a bike maintenance workshop, to the village offices and UPL for hosting groups, and to Jane George for bringing along some rescue kittens and a puppy for folks to cuddle.
Students did an amazing job! They built picnic tables and benches, got the school gardens in tip-top shape, made snacks for everyone, created beautiful art for the building, wrote letters to lift the spirits of military personnel and seniors, painted rocks to drop off at the Sasha Bruce House (a youth shelter in Washington, D.C.), made gift bags to welcome incoming 5th graders, picked up litter, spread mulch, and took many, many photos of the day. Their positive energy and enthusiasm made it a really fun morning.
Service Day
5th Grade
5th Grade Daily Planner (Please bookmark for your use). Please check your students’ take home folders and planners with them daily. Calling ALL PENCILS!!! Please remind students to bring spare pencils from home with them to school (either daily) or to store in their lockers! We are giving them the same messages here at school. THANK YOU!!!
ELA: This week students worked hard to edit, revise and complete their final drafts of the 4th Grade Letter. Students are eager to send these letters to their assigned 4th graders next week! Keep working hard!
Science: Your kiddos should be able to describe the parts and functions of the human digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems, highlighting the role of capillaries (tiny blood vessels) in the function of each. They can also read to you an ode they wrote to their alveoli (tiny air sacs in our lungs). Now we’re moving on to the nervous system, learning about stimulus & response, instinctual v. learned behaviors, and sensory perception. We are finishing the year with really interesting stuff here in 5th grade science!
Math: We are in the home stretch of lessons on the coordinate plane. Students spent the week analyzing patterns created by mixed operations. On Monday we will review the topics we have covered in this unit to help prepare for our test on Tuesday, 6/11.
Health: Students shared exchanges this week about celebration and holiday foods, nutrient-rich foods they like as well as surprises they hold about the sugars in different foods they eat. Conversations also included how to make healthier selections when eating fast-food. An introduction to physical activity emphasized the importance of averaging 60+ minutes per day and students shared the many benefits they personally get from being active! Next week we will set goals and track progress as well as set the stage to begin conversations about puberty and body changes.
Band: Mrs. Posegate’s Lesson Schedule Regular lessons will end 6/10 Mrs. Posegate will still meet with select students.
5th grade band members should keep their instruments for the summer and try to play and practice whenever they can to keep their skills sharp. To encourage this here are some Summer Music Offerings: Summer Lessons with Mrs. P ♫ Camps and lessons available at Opus Ithaca ♫ Summer Band with the Ithaca Youth Bureau MS Theater Camp with Mrs. Lewis and HS Drama Club
6th Grade
Social Studies: Students have been hard at work researching and planning their medieval projects. Students have picked the topic they want to research and how they want to present this information. They will share their projects in a small medieval festival on June 24th.
Math: We have spent the last week looking at statistical data in order to find the mean, median, mode and range. We have also looked at how data is presented and learned about outliers in data.
Science: This week we spent time investigating the cause of the seasons. Students explored solar angles and how they affect the length of day and how direct the sunlight hits the planet. Students will take a quick assessment to demonstrate their new understanding. Also next week we will be turning our attention to the Moon. I encourage them to take a peek at the Moon, find out where it is in the sky, what phase is it in. Too cloudy? Not enough time? Have them check it out online.
ELA: We celebrated students' success on their iReady diagnostic with a sweet treat. Students had another literature circle in which they had great conversations about Flush. Students are researching multiple issues impacting water. They will pick one topic in order to create a pamphlet to educate others.
Band: Mrs. Posegate’s Lesson Schedule Regular lessons will end 6/10 Mrs. Posegate will still meet with select students.
5th grade band members should keep their instruments for the summer and try to play and practice whenever they can to keep their skills sharp. To encourage this here are some Summer Music Offerings: Summer Lessons with Mrs. P ♫ Camps and lessons available at Opus Ithaca ♫ Summer Band with the Ithaca Youth Bureau MS Theater Camp with Mrs. Lewis and HS Drama Club
7th Grade
7th Grade Digital Planner (Please bookmark this link.)
Please remind students to bring pencils, their Chromebook charger, and a water bottle to school.
Please make sure that all Chromebooks and chargers come to school on Monday.
Science: We had lots of fun messy labs on osmosis this week. First we observed and collected qualitative data on carrots in salt water and pure water. In the next lab we collected quantitative data on the mass of orbeez in different substances. For the final lab we removed the shell of a raw egg, exposing the cell membrane to observe osmosis.
Math 7 & Pre-Algebra: This week we took our last iReady diagnostic! In Pre-Algebra we’ll be wrapping up our work with surface area and volume with a performance task. Math 7 students will continue their work with surface area and get their projects back. Math 7 students will do some review work with integers and order of operations. Both classes will start the last IXL diagnostic
Music: This week, we will continue work on the BandLab Final project. Students have chosen the scene that they plan to write music for and started composing.
7/8 Band: Congratulations on a wonderful concert! Regular lessons will end 6/10. After that, Mrs. Robertson will only be meeting with 8th graders who are playing at the Moving Up Ceremony. Stay tuned for some information on ways to keep playing your instrument over the summer.
7/8 Band Lesson Schedule week of 6/10
Chorus: Chorus Lesson Groups. Chorus Lesson Schedule
8th Grade
Parents: Reminder--Students should be emailing their teachers when absent -- that way they can know what was covered in class. Also please follow the below steps to check assignments in your child’s Google Classrooms.
ELA: Last week, in small groups, students chose a scene from Romeo & Juliet to perform for this week. Students will choose the scene, cast the parts, and present.
Social Studies: We are wrapping up the Civil Rights Movement, doing some review, and ending with a Hexagon assessment.
Chorus: Chorus Lesson Groups
7/8 Band: Congratulations on a wonderful concert! Regular lessons will end 6/10. After that, Mrs. Robertson will only be meeting with 8th graders who are playing at the Moving Up Ceremony. Stay tuned for some information on ways to keep playing your instrument over the summer.
7/8 Band Lesson Schedule week of 6/10
Student Council
Clubs & Activities
Washington, D.C. Trip
Our last Student Council meeting will be on June 11th. As a celebration we will be walking to the Ice Cream Bar for a treat to wrap up the year.
End of year dance will be on Friday June 21st from 7-9pm. The dance is open to all students in grades 5-8. There will be a DJ, and concessions sold. Presale tickets will be $5 sold at lunch during the week of the dance. Tickets at the door will be $7. Come and celebrate the end of the school year with your friends. Hope to see you there.
Looking ahead to next year we are looking for current 7th graders who are energetic, organized, and have a vision for what can make our school even more awesome to run for president and vice-president of Student Council for the ‘24-’25 school year. Interested candidates should see Mr. Begeal or Ms. Salib for an election packet. We will have voting in the first week of next year’s school year.
You must sign up for the late bus with Mr. Begeal or Ms. Salib by 1:00 PM on Tuesday.
Summer Reading Camp
Students attending the trip had a meeting on Friday to go over plans for the trip, how to prepare for bag check and they got a glimpse of their chaperone groups and roommates. Reminder to families - bag check will be on Tuesday night in the MS gym from 7-8 pm. All items need to be packed and dropped off that night including any medications that the nurse has received paperwork for. Chaperones will check and tag bags for storage in the gym overnight. Students should arrive to the MS at 5:15 am on Wednesday. They should plan to eat something before arriving at the bus, we won’t be stopping for lunch until 11. Buses will be departing at 5:45 am. We cannot wait for people - as we have timed events that the group needs to be in the city for. Families and students are encouraged to join our WhatsApp group chat, which we will use to communicate any changes to our plans, post photos etc. QR code to join is found in the informational packet handed out at the parent meeting. Looking forward to a great trip! Please contact me if you have any questions.
Volleyball Camp
Coach McLennan will be running a volleyball camp from July 15-18. Ages 10-14 3:30-5:30, Ages 15-18 5:30-7:30. $50. Use link to sign up! https://cayugalakers.sportngin.com/register/form/634783704
Community
Community
Primitive Pursuits Overnight Camps
Overnight camps offer a distinctive set of benefits, providing young people with opportunities for self-discovery, skill development, and lasting connections. Join us in the expansive Arnot Forest with historic lodge, cabins and over 4,200 acres of wilderness to explore!
Back to the Earth for Ages 9-12:
Embrace the Adventure!
Gain foundational outdoor skills to last a lifetime. Overcome challenges with creativity, while playing hard, eating well, gaining independence, finding new interests and building self-confidence.
Campers will make a home base around the comforts of wilderness cabins and venture into the surrounding forests and waterways to practice outdoor living skills with new friends and reconnect with the wild earth. For campers looking for more adventure, there will be opportunities to sleep under the stars and go on a wilderness overnight trip.
Forest Awakens for Ages 13-16:
Ignite your inner spark!
Awaken to the sounds of birds and rustling leaves in a forest base camp made of tents, tarps and natural shelters. Campers will base their activities out of this home in the forest, cooking meals together and forming a community of nature-inspired leaders.
Camp leaders will offer advanced skill development and opportunities for more independent challenges and leadership development, as well as deep relaxation and rejuvenation. They’ll guide campers in making choices with intention and purpose, crafting meaningful stories and relationships, and mastering skills of self-reliance.
Full Moon Camp for Ages 13-16:
The Forest Awakens at night! This will be a specialized week for night time adventures under the light of the full moon. Playfulness and creativity will light our way as we craft stories and dream big together. Time for reflection, personal discovery and rejuvenation (think, sleeping in!) will abound.
Register at primitivepursuits.com
Building Contacts
Main Office: Brenda Everhart, 607-387-2825
Attendance: Lauren Conners, 607-387-7551, x1425
Nurse's Office: 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