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Calendar
Weekly Update
Week of September 17th
01
Open House: Thursday, September 28th
Middle School
Office Updates
From Ms. Amodeo
We had a great first full week of school and are looking forward to another busy week including iReady ELA testing on Monday and Tuesday, and Picture Day on Wednesday.
Last Friday we bid farewell to our middle school nurse, Mrs. Carpenter, as she accepted a position with the Health Department. We are very pleased to welcome long-time school nurse and T-burg parent, Ms. Cassie Campbell, to our team beginning on Monday, 9/25. Many thanks to Ms. Iacovelli and Ms. Ladd as they take care of our MS students in the interim.
Please join us Wednesday, 9/20, at 6pm in the ES STEAM room for our first Tburg PTO meeting of the year! Childcare for your little ones (in the ES library) and free pizza will be provided. Elementary and middle school families and staff are welcome as the ES & MS are now collaborating as one PTO. Come meet other members of the school community and help us plan a year of fun activities for students and families, including roller skating, ice skating, fundraising dinners, and seasonal special events. We would love new participants! Questions? Please email: tburgmspto@gmail.com.
We will hold a chicken BBQ fundraiser just prior to the Middle School Open House night on 9/28. All proceeds from the dinner go to support the 8th Grade trip to Washington DC. Use this link to place your order. ALL ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MONDAY, 9/25. There will not be any extra meals, so order yours today.
Recently, there have been some upsetting stories in the news regarding students being subjected to hate speech online and in schools. Our students need help responding to what they see and hear, and they need our guidance to understand the offensive nature and historical background of some language. Please take the time to discuss this topic with your student(s) and the fact that hate speech is not tolerated in our school community. More information about the Dignity for all Students Act can be found HERE.
Office Updates
Student Services
We hope you have enjoyed the first full week of school!
Please note: our drop deadline for accelerated and elective courses is Friday, September 22nd!
Students will not be permitted to change these courses after the drop deadline (except in extreme circumstances). This includes students in accelerated courses who are struggling. Please help your student make this decision before September 22nd. We encourage you to start checking in with your student now (if you haven't already) to help them make an informed and thoughtful choice. Here are the courses that adhere to this deadline:
- Pre-Algebra (7th Grade only)
- Algebra (8th Grade only)
- Earth Science (8th Grade only)
- Studio Art (8th Grade only)
- Make (8th Grade only)
- Band
- Chorus
If your student would like to drop one of the above classes, they must do so by Friday, September 22nd. Please call or email Student Services or your student's teachers with any questions or concerns.
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).
Science: We are starting an astronomy unit called “Sun, Moon, and Planets” by observing shadows and seeing how the rotation of the Earth causes day and night. Beginning this week - and lasting 4 weeks - their homework will be nightly sky observations. I hope you can help them get outside after dark to observe the moon and stars - or clouds - at least a few times per week.
ELA: It was a busy week in ELA! Students started the week by learning about their first assignment titled, Notebook Design and we set up our interactive notebooks for class use. We also took time to familiarize ourselves with daily routines, protocols and most importantly each other to help develop our classroom climate.
Math: The students spent the week multiplying and dividing decimals by 10's, 100's and 1,000's with and without the help of a place value chart. Next week we will be learning about exponents, expanded form, and word form. We will also be having a first practice assignment, given out Monday and will be due on Thursday. If there is part of the practice assignment your student isn't sure of, it's possible we haven't covered it yet in class. Don't worry! They will be instructed on it before the due date!
Social Studies: This week we had a visit from our Student Services team, reviewed Geography skills, and started our first read aloud.
Band: Band students are meeting with Mrs. Posegate this week to try the mouthpieces and choose the instrument they want to play! So exciting! Please watch for information to come home about which instrument your student chose and what supplies will be needed for lessons. 5th grade lessons will start the week of October 2 so students will need to have an instrument and supplies by then.
Chorus: Welcome to chorus! More information will be sent home next week.
6th Grade
6th grade planner(please bookmark this link)
Social Studies: In social studies, we began work on our autobiography islands to review map skills, landforms, and bodies of water. We mastered three power words (and their word parts): geography, chronological, and hemisphere.
Math: Students have started the year out with a review of decimals. We are also starting algebra. Last week we reviewed the Order of Operations (PEMDAS). We will begin evaluating expressions with variables next week. Students will be getting a new decimal homework on Monday.
Science: Science students began the weather unit by investigating hailstorms. We are looking at what causes hail storms to occur and patterns in weather maps.
ELA: Students are working hard in ELA. We have been working on our six word memoirs and they are great. Students also began reading Lightning Thief. They should be reading every night and annotating. We are using the book to make inferences about Percy. Ask your student what an inference is?
Band: The sixth grade band is sounding so great already and they are doing very well with rehearsal behavior expectations as well! Bravo! Lessons will start this week on the same days as our band rehearsals. They should know what day and what period they have their lesson. Ask to see if they do! :) Here is the lesson schedule to confirm. Does your student have a music stand for home practice? Here is a nice one from Hickey’s music.
Chorus: Welcome to chorus! More information will be sent home next week.
7th Grade
7th Grade Digital Planner (Please bookmark this link.)
Science: Our science class made vision boards of our goals for the year. The boards were beautiful combinations of pictures, quotes, and writing. We also calculated the volume of different items they chose around the classroom. Next week will continue measurement and students will demonstrate what skills they have been developing on Friday 9/22 during a lab practical.
ELA 7: We began our week reading a poem called “Butterfly” by Caroline Schwind and engaging in a thoughtful conversation about how a falling butterfly reminded her of 911. We watched Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story,” and we talked about why the single story is harmful. We are still reading 20 minutes every day and recording our minutes on our bookmark. Many of us have finished our first book, and we’re onto the next one. Thank you for encouraging your 7th grader to read.
Rattenborg’s Small Class ELA 7: This week we will wrap up our mini study on how to read and summarize nonfiction texts. We are learning the following vocabulary words: compensate, dedicate, appreciate, replicate, collaborate, discriminate, consolidate, speculate, and reciprocate. Our first class novel will be Hello, Universe.
Math: In math 7 and pre-Algebra we worked more on taking risks in problem solving in our visibly random groups while we work collaborative at the whiteboard. We are learning about our class routines as we work through our first assignments, and we’re almost ready to get our groups for our upcoming project. We will have a guest speaker Monday to talk to us about event planning. She is coming into our classroom virtually through Google Meet. Here is a short video explaining how our class works - from Google classroom, IXL, Go Guardian and more.
Social Studies: Hi everybody! This week we worked on our map skills and started our unit on Pre-Columbian Native American Cultures
World Languages: This week students were introduced to some basic greetings and goodbyes, as well as how to say how they are doing and give their name. Students will be deepening their knowledge of how to introduce themselves in the target language next week. Please remind your student to bring in an empty box (cereal, cracker, shoe, etc.) for the “Box of Awesome” Project by next Thursday 9/21 if they are in Ms.Cederstrom’s class.
Health: We completed the first week of Emotional and Mental Health. Next week includes lessons/activities on how to express feelings in healthy ways, self-control skills for dealing with difficult feelings, how to get help for troublesome feelings, and understanding stress, stressor and their impacts on personal health.
Music: We had a great week in music class! We are learning class routines and establishing what we need and what we want from each other. We have begun an intro to our first unit talking about school appropriate music and musical genres.
7/8 Band: We are off to a great start! 7/8 Band lessons start Monday, 9/18! Please help your student locate: Making Music Matter Book 1, and Making Music Matter Book 2 (8th graders have this- 7th graders don’t yet). The district purchases 1 copy of both of these books for each student. If the book is lost, we ask that if possible, families replace it. Order online at Hickey’s Music and they will deliver to school! 7/8 Band Lesson Schedule/Groups- week of 9/18
8th Grade
Science 8: We have begun our unit study in chemistry. This week your student became a chemist! Students used their observation skills on a Mystery Mixture. They studied 9 pure substances and will continue their studies next week as they search for the combination of substances in the Mystery Mixture.
Regents Earth Science: We have begun our first topic of study - Topography. We began this week with some lab skills finding the density of marble. Students also learned about a scientist from over 2,000 years ago who figured out an incredibly accurate measurement of the earth’s circumference. Ask your student about Eratosthenes, what he did, and how he did it.
ELA 8: This week, students are beginning reading (fluency) assessment (word per minute) and writing a paragraph to exhibit their writing skills. Students will begin reading Touching Spirit Bear as a class (Wed./Thur.) and will choose an independent reading book to have with them throughout September (all students are expected to read the first 10 mins. of study hall). Lastly, students will prepare their ePortfolios for the year ahead!
Rattenborg’s Small Class ELA: This week we will wrap up our mini study on how to read and summarize nonfiction texts. We are learning the following vocabulary words: compensate, dedicate, appreciate, replicate, collaborate, discriminate, consolidate, speculate, and reciprocate. Our first class novel will be Hello, Universe.
Social Studies: Historians-in-Training have analyzed primary sources from my life to better know me and practice how to think with a historian mindset. Students completed both a political and physical map of the United States. We will be going outside next week for our Map Challenge!
World Languages: This week, students reviewed ways to introduce themselves in the target language. They will continue to review and deepen their knowledge of how to talk about their identity in the target language next week. Please remind your student to bring in an empty box (cereal, cracker, shoe, etc.) for the “Box of Awesome” Project by next Thursday 9/21 if they are in Ms.Cederstrom’s class.
7/8 Band: We are off to a great start! 7/8 Band lessons start Monday, 9/18! Please help your student locate: Making Music Matter Book 1, and Making Music Matter Book 2 (8th graders have this- 7th graders don’t yet). The district purchases 1 copy of both of these books for each student. If the book is lost, we ask that if possible, families replace it. Order online at Hickey’s Music and they will deliver to school!7/8 Band Lesson Schedule/Groups- week of 9/18
8th Grade D.C. Trip
8th graders - Plans for this year’s Washington DC trip are underway. The dates for this year’s trip will be June 12-14th. Our hope is that ALL 8th graders will be able to attend this year’s trip. There will be a meeting with all 8th graders to present the trip, behavior expectations for the year, and ways that you can help with the trip. If you have any questions see Mr. Begeal in room 306.
One thing that you can do to help support this year’s trip is to bring your family to the MS Open House on Thursday Sept. 28th and order chicken bbq dinners - proceeds from the dinners go to support this year’s trip.
Finally, thank you to the parents and students who helped with the Grassroots parking fundraiser. This was the biggest fundraising year that we’ve ever had and it couldn’t have happened without you!
Farm to School
During our Day of Service in June, students planted in some of our established gardens and also created some new plantings, including two raised beds of herbs and a small berry patch. How everything has grown while they were gone!
Herb bed
Tech Garden
Container garden & berry patch
Clubs & Activities
Student Council
Athletics
Hey 8th Graders! Interested in running for Student Council President/Vice President? Get a running mate and see Mr. Begeal or Ms. Salib for an election packet. We need strong leadership with good ideas that will help make our Middle School an even better place to be. Student Council meetings will start the first week of October - afterschool.
Any student interested in joining Student Council is welcome. We meet twice a month afterschool and in the past have planned the school dances, Spirit Week, community support fundraisers (SPCA, Food Pantry) and purchased equipment for the school. . If you have ideas for our school and want to be involved in making them happen we would love to have you join us at our meetings.
Fall sports are underway including soccer, cross country and football. If you are interested in signing up, please check out our Athletics Homepage at tburgschools.org for the blue box titled Fall Sports Sign-Ups to get signed up!
Modified Girls Volleyball and Modified Boys Basketball will begin on October 23rd so registration will open on Monday, September 25th. If we have enough for 2 teams, we will have a 7th grade team and an 8th grade team for both sports.
PTO
Ski Club
First PTO Meeting of the year:
Wednesday September 20th at 6:00 PM in the Elementary School STEAM room. Free childcare and free pizza will be provided! Please join us!
Questions? Please email tburgmspto@gmail.com
Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date with all of our events.
Ski Club information will come out soon. In the meantime, mark your calendars! There will be a Ski Swap at Greek Peak on October 6th.
Community
Youth Theatre Forum
- Tuesdays from 4:30-6:30pm from Sept 26 - December 12
- FREE and we’ll have a meal at every rehearsal
- Open to anyone in 7th-12th grade (or if not in school, of equivalent age)
- Meets at the Tompkins County Public Library
- Want to be involved but don’t have a way of getting there? Contact us and we can help brainstorm options.
- SIGN UP
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