February Happenings

 As always, there seems to be so much to add to one of these posts to keep you in the know about what we are up to.  I keep an ongoing list so that I don't forget to leave anything out and then when it comes time to write another post I sit back and think, "Wow, we've been busy!"  Each time we write to you we mention how proud we are of our team and this continues to be true.  During one of our Morning Meetings this week, the students had to complete this sentence frame and include a positive attribute of our team.  "This sure is a ________ team because we..." 

Responses from the students included: loyal, flexible, communicative, kind, intelligent, diligent, hardworking, and the list goes on.  They also had tangible evidence to support their claims.  It was such a great way for them to reinforce all the pro-social behaviors that our students exhibit.:) 

Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability

After several sessions with our mentors, students have created their groups and done their big-picture planning. Right after the break, they will meet again with our mentors from Up For Learning to drill into the action steps of the projects.  Here are the project goals that the Wizards students have identified and decided to focus on...

• Getting FREE period products into the bathrooms at CBMS
• Raising awareness about the Global Goals at CBMS
• Engineering a brook clean up device
• A necessities drive
• Reducing single-use plastic in the cafeteria at CBMS 

Wizards also got to participate in a Zoom call with students from other schools who are also working on CPS projects too.  They zoomed with students not only from Vermont but also Mississippi and Nepal! The students reflected that they thought it was really cool to talk to students from all over the globe and to hear about their projects. We were impressed with our students' maturity both when speaking and listening during this call. They represented CBMS in such a positive way. GO TEAM WIZARDS! 

Jaqueline Woodson: A Virtual Author's Visit

We had the opportunity to participate in a zoom call with an award-winning author this month! This event was sponsored by Facing History & Ourselves. This connected so well with our Language Arts unit because she spoke about her memoir Brown Girl Dreaming. 

Language Arts

We are currently reading March: Book One which is John Lewis's graphic novel memoir. It focuses on the integral parts of his early life that led to his involvement in the Civil Rights movement. Ask your child to share with you what they have learned about the following topics...

• 1955: The Watershed Year (They should be able to explain what a watershed event is AND give an example.)
• Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
• School Desegregation: The Litte Rock 9 and Ruby Bridges

Social Studies

We are currently working to answer the question, "What factors caused human evolution? 

Students have participated in a variety of activities, including creating a slideshow for their designated species of early humans that have deepened their understanding of early human existence and survival. Here is an example of Sky band's slideshow. While creating their slide shows, students learned how to use valid and reliable sources and how to cite them accurately. They then had to present their findings to the class. 

After reading an article about Hunting and Gathering and identifying the main ideas within each subheading of the text, students got to play a hunting & gathering game this week. Ask them about the game...and the learning.:) 

Math

We have moved on to our next unit Dividing Fractions.  We are currently working on developing a solid conceptual understanding of the meaning of division.  For most students, this is the first time they come across situations when the quotient or answer to a division problem is greater than the total being divided.  

Science

We continue to do activities and experiments that are allowing us to inference how the small particles that makeup matter behave.  This week we made "thermometers" using a plastic bottle and straw.  We used these thermometers to see what happens when we applied heat and cold to the bottle.  Students are currently working on modeling to explain what they observed.

Friday's Pre-Break Celebration

Just for fun, because our hard-working, diligent students have earned it, we will be having a Fun Day.  Student groups are planning Minute to Win it games and then we will be watching Ender's Game, another dystopian movie. The movie is rated PG-13 so please let us know via email if you do not want your child to watch the movie. you can find more information about the movie here at Common Sense Media. 

PS- Students have determined with their groups what supplies they can bring from home to run their games.  So they might be asking to borrow some items from home.:)  Thanks for your support!

See you all in March!