Middle School
Weekly Update
Week of March 10th
01
Calendar
3/11-3/14: Spirit Week (see Student Council note below for details)
3/15: No school for students
4/8: No School
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Office Updates
From Mrs. Lomax
Thank you to all of the families who attended the Staff Slam on 3/1. Proceeds from the packed event will benefit the Student Council, PTO, and Sports Boosters. A special thank you to the reigning CHAMPION team of Middle School Doigs:
Bill Blessing
Andrew Burton
Brian Cobb
Brenda Everhart
Stefani Fitzpatrick
Jason Ford
Zoe Golden
Dewitt Grove
Jean Lomax
Conor Megivern
Andrew Moore
Tammy Parker
Toby Puleo
Todd Robinson
Matt Taves
Cayla Thompson
Brooke VanDerzee
Erick Whelpley
The year is flying by and the third progress reporting period ends this Thursday, 3/14. Now is a great time for you to talk to your student(s) about any work they need to finish up.
Last week, the Board of Education voted to give back an unused snow day. There will be no school on Monday, 4/8, which is the day of the total solar eclipse.
If you and your student are interested in learning more about the eclipse, check out this website from the South Central Regional Library Council.
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 practiced writing an extended constructed response using all of the great strategies we have learned about THEME. Activity #4 was assigned on Wednesday and due Friday so that they could wrap up our Free Read Book unit.
Math: Students spent the week converting between large and small customary units of measurement. Students also began multiplying fractions by fractions. Their exit tickets on these skills will be returned on Monday. Next, students will continue to deepen their understanding of multiplying fractions and will begin multiplying mixed numbers.
Social Studies: This week we completed and exhibited our GRAPES of the Inca final projects. We also worked on a Google Maps scavenger hunt. Next week we will begin our Mesoamerican Museum project. We are welcoming material donations for the students to use. Cardboard boxes, cardboard tubes, yarn, string, plastic containers are all welcome.
Science: Please ask your young scientist about our Mudsquad test last week. As we turn the corner from chemistry into biology, we smash headlong into March Mammal Madness! Here’s the trailer, some basic info, the bracket and tons more materials. With the brand new 5th grade NYS science test coming up in mid-April, you know it’s going to be a busy month!
Band: Mrs. Posegate’s Lesson Schedule Band rehearsals are going well! We now have 2 songs for our spring concert that should be part of student practice - Popcorn Prelude and Bugler’s Dream. Students are also assigned something in Making Music Matter. It is flagged and circled.
6th Grade
6th grade planner (please bookmark this link)
***Students are in need of pencils-please make sure your student has pencils for school. Check their backpacks!! Please encourage your student to fill out their planners or check the digital planner.
Social Studies: Students learned about the different philosophies in Ancient China-Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism. Next week students will debate which philosophy was best for China. 2024 is the year of the dragon-students will be designing their own dragon. Ms. Valletta will be visiting next week.
Math: We are wrapping up unit rate and ratios. We will have a quiz next week. Students have a review sheet to complete. We will be moving into percentages soon.
Science: This week we have been focused on figuring out what has happened to the Appalachian and Ural mtns. over the last 500 million years - we also checked out what had been happening to the land that would become Tburg. Learned a bit about Alfred Wegener through a catchy song that maybe they have shared with you. We ended the week investigating what is causing the mountains to shrink and then compared uplift rates to the erosion rates to determine what these mountains might look like in the future. We will be wrapping up our Plate Tectonics and Rock Cycling unit next week!
ELA: Students continue to write their own narrative that follows a plot structure and has character development. Students are learning how to write dialogue. So many rules!! In addition to narrative writing, your student is currently reading and analyzing a speech by Steve Jobs and unpacking central idea, quotes that support the central idea, and vocabulary. After that, we will read a speech by Barack Obama and focus on similar skills.
Health: Lessons this week will focus on how to read a food label & healthy snacks. Applying their knowledge from the first few weeks of class, students will prepare an informational poster that combines some health concepts and ideas while promoting healthy living. This week will conclude with a food harvest bag design.
Band: Mrs. Posegate’s Lesson Schedule Preparation for NYSSMA solo fest is well under way. Students have about ½ of their solo assigned to them and are working to learn and memorize 2 scales. Please encourage frequent practice sessions - lots can get done in 10 - 20 minutes. Thanks for your support.
Chorus: MP3 Lesson Schedule / MP3 Lesson Groups
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.
Science: This week we learned about artificial selection and cladograms. The amount of dog breeds created through artificial selection is amazing! Next week after school on Tuesday and Thursday there will be reviews for the unit assessment. The assessment will be the following week on Wednesday (3/20).
ELA 7: Our journey with Cole in the novel Touching Spirit Bear continues. Will Cole survive? Will Garvey and Edwin show up before it’s too late? Will Spirit Bear return? As we ponder these questions, we are applying our knowledge of recessive traits to understand that a Spirit Bear is really a black bear with white fur. As we are witnessing the effects of Cole’s anger toward the world, we need to continue to come to class equipped with our reading completed every day.
Rattenborg’s Small Class ELA 7: We just finished writing an essay on The Giver and are watching the movie this week. After that, we will write short stories with a clear plot and narrative elements.
Social Studies: This week we finish up our unit on the Constitution in Practice! We will be starting our unit on Westward Expansion on Monday with a lesson on the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. We will be starting a poster project on Lewis and Clark Tuesday. I do have posters to hand out to the students, but if you could send one in with your student, that would be much appreciated.
Math 7 & Pre-Algebra: View a short slideshow with just a few pictures from our week. This week is the week leading up to Pi Day!! Thank you to the many families who have signed up to help. We still need pies and servers for period 5 and a few other spots remain open. If you can help, please sign up using this sheet. Last week we worked through real-world equations and inequalities, ending up with an assessment on Friday. In Pre-Algebra we worked on this and wrapped up solving systems of equations algebraically. We also circled back to solving them graphically to review the important skill of graphing linear equations.
Music: This week, we started a mini unit on music and the Civil Rights Movement. Students gained some background knowledge about what the Civil Rights Movement was, and we are starting to explore why music and song was an important part of it.
7/8 Band: NYSSMA students have their solos picked out and have started working on them as well as learning and memorizing 7 major scales. HERE is a timeline as to what NYSSMA students should be working on, and when they should have it accomplished. Cramming right before a performance is never mentally or physically good! All band students are now working toward an assessment on their band music in preparation for spring performances. HERE is a link to what students are responsible to play for this assessment. Please encourage regular practice- students can get a lot accomplished in 20 minutes!
7/8 Band Lesson Schedule/Groups- week of 3/11
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.
Algebra: Students finished up their unit on quadratics. They should be able to graph a quadratic and solve a quadratic equation using various techniques. On Monday there will be a quiz which will involve solving an equation using the methods of factoring and completing the square.
Math 8: Students worked on the concept of volume this week and calculated the volume of Cylinders, Cones, and Spheres. There will be a quiz on Tuesday next week covering this topic. Students will be given a reference sheet with the formulas.
Science 8: We have been learning about Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion. Students learned about the effects of mass and speed on Kinetic Energy of moving vehicles. We also played a little marble billiards to see Newton’s Laws in action.
Regents Earth Science: We have been studying about the properties of our atmosphere and how they affect weather. Students got to use a sling psychrometer and find the dewpoint and relative humidity of different parts of our middle school building. We have been keeping a weather journal with data for each day which we will use in an upcoming lab looking at temperature, humidity, and air pressure.
Kotler’s ELA 8: This week, students will begin reading The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli. Before starting the text, we will first read “The Colossus of Rhodes”, learning about the ancient statue that inspired the Statue of Liberty. We’ll next read the Emma Lazarus poem, “The New Colossus” (found at the base of the Statue of Liberty). Tuesday, we will begin reading chapters 1-2 w/ guided questions in class on Tuesday (ch. 1-7… due Friday)
Rattenborg’s Small Class ELA: We just finished writing an essay on The Giver and are watching the movie this week. After that, we will write short stories with a clear plot and narrative elements.
Social Studies: We have been analyzing primary source documents related to the effects of the Great Depression, as well as actions taken to address the problems. Students will be writing an essay using these documents, as well as other information learned in class.
Chorus: Lesson Schedule / Lesson Groups
7/8 Band: NYSSMA students have their solos picked out and have started working on them as well as learning and memorizing 7 major scales. HERE is a timeline as to what NYSSMA students should be working on, and when they should have it accomplished. Cramming right before a performance is never mentally or physically good! All band students are now working toward an assessment on their band music in preparation for spring performances. HERE is a link to what students are responsible to play for this assessment. Please encourage regular practice- students can get a lot accomplished in 20 minutes!
Clubs & Activities
Talent Show
IT'S BACK! On Saturday, April 20 at 7 p.m. in the HS auditorium we will hold a district- and community-wide event that provides the chance for Trumansburg to show off its talent.
TYPES OF ACTS: We are looking for a variety of group and solo acts: comedians, dancers, magicians, musicians, and more (but no lip-syncing, please).
WHO MAY AUDITION: Students (from elementary school through college) and adults of all ages. Your act should be well-rehearsed and as polished as possible for the audition. (Note: Student a cappella acts need pre-approval by a Tburg music teacher.) If you can show us your skills in a well-prepared act that's 5 minutes or less, we'd like to see it!
AUDITION DATE/TIMES: Auditions will be held Saturday, March 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the HS band room. You must apply for an audition time slot using the Google form (link and QR code below). A team of judges will hear your audition and, depending on the number of interested performers, we may need to make selections. We will announce the final list of participants during the week of March 31. Keep in mind that the act you show us in the audition is the act you will perform if you are selected.
If you're interested but know that you cannot audition on March 23, email both Hope Lewis and Alicia Bronzetti as soon as possible to arrange another time:
hlewis@tburg.k12.ny.us
abronzetti@tburg.k12.ny.us
SHOW DATE: If you are selected, you must be available to attend a dress rehearsal on April 20 between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and, of course, to be at the show that evening starting at 7 p.m. If you cannot take part in the show on April 20, please do not sign up for an audition slot!
Clubs & Activities
Student Council
Student Council is announcing a Spring Spirit Week, Monday 3/11-Thursday 3/14. Show your spirit and help us usher in spring the themes will be as follows:
Monday - PJ Day
Tuesday - Bed Head Day
Wednesday - Celebrity Day
Thursday - Color Wars (8th grade-Blue, 7th grade-Red, 6th grade-Purple, 5th grade-Orange)
There will also be a dance for students in grades 6-8 on Thursday night 4/14, from 6-8pm in the MS gym. Pre-sale tickets will be sold during lunches for $5, tickets will also be sold at the door for $7. The theme for the dance is GREEN.
Next student council meeting will be Tuesday 3/12 in room 306.
Yearbook
Yearbook Club will meet in the Media room (next to the Tech room) on Tuesday, March 12th, from 3-4:00pm.
*Students needing to ride the bus will be dismissed at 3:35pm to get on the late bus. Students getting picked up/walking home will be dismissed at 4pm.
Any student participating in Yearbook Club who needs to ride the late bus must let advisors Lisa Magee or Tammy Parker know by 12:00pm on the day of the meeting.
Future Meeting Dates:
March 12th
March 14th
March 28th
Order your Middle School Yearbook Now!
Click YEARBOOKORDERCENTER and use school code 18914.
Modified Sports
Registration is open for Spring Sports.
Modified Track and Field begins on March 18th.
Modified Softball and Baseball begins on March 25th.
Use the link on the district athletics page or go to https://hello.students.arbitersports.com/ to Register today.
See Mrs. DeSantis ldesantis@tburg.k12.ny.us (Track) or Mrs. Thompson cthompson@tburg.k12.ny.us (Softball) if you have any questions. Baseball will be coached by Coach Doolittle and he can be reached at cdoo56@gmail.com.
Physicals need to be updated in advance in order for you to begin practicing on the start date.
Clubs & Activities
Drama Club
Washington, D.C. Trip
Please check the Drama Club website for the rehearsal schedule.
PTO
8th Grade Washington DC trip - Our trip is scheduled for June 12 -14th.
Parents stay tuned for the date of the mandatory parent meeting concerning the 8th grade trip that will happen in the beginning of May. There will be a student meeting concerning the trip the week before we depart.
Please be sure to follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tburgpto
Community
Community
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