And now we're settled!

Our figurative language challenge champs! 

What a beautiful view from our classroom! 

We are finally past the hectic nature of the start of the school year where everything is new, the questions are numerous, and our brand-new middle schoolers are still trying to adjust. At this point, they have settled into the routines and the expectations. They are engaging in their learning and showing that they can step up to the responsibilities, expectations, and independence that come with the transition to CBMS. They are on the right trajectory and we can't wait to see how far they progress in their two years with us! 

Open House: Thanks to those of you who made it to Open House on the 16th. The kids did an excellent job being tour guides and showing you what they've been learning. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Our conference day is filled to capacity! It is wonderful that so many families are able to attend conferences.  If you didn't get a slot for the 4th, please reach out to Ms. Michael and we'll get you scheduled for another time in November. NOTE: These are traditional-style conferences. We will discuss your student's transition to middle school and their progress thus far. It is your choice whether or not to have your student present at the conference as fall conferences are not student-led. 

Sugarbush Winter Sports Program: Students brought home a blue packet detailing the cost of our Winter Sports program. Included in the packet is a rental agreement form that you will need to fill out if your student will be renting gear for our Sugarbush days this winter. Please return those forms ASAP. 

Gratitude:  Ms. Michael wants to take a moment to express her sincerest thanks to Ms. Delay and Ms. Durren. In Ms. Anderman's absence, these two amazing educators stepped in to keep the momentum of learning happening for our students. We were lucky to have qualified people in the building willing and able to teach math and science.  Ms. Anderman will be returning on Monday the 28th!

Google Classroom Invites: If you received an email from Tiffany Michael inviting you to join Google Classroom, it was not a hoax.:)  I sent invites to families recently. You do not have to accept the invite but if you want to be able to view your student's Google Classroom where (some) assignments are posted and keep tabs on their work, then accept the invite.  The kids are still learning how to properly use this platform so reach out to Ms. Michael with any questions. 

Language Arts:  We are still reading Restart as a class.  Here are some things you can ask your child about what they are learning...

What are some of the conflicts in the story? What types of conflicts are they? 

Which narrator do they prefer and why? 

What new vocabulary words have they learned and are they trying to use them in conversation at home?

For writing, they are working on writing claims, evidence, and reasoning responses to what they've read. We will work on this skill of defending a claim with evidence in ALL classes both in writing and in discussions. It's one the students get a LOT of practice with. 

Social Studies: Students have been learning about our United States government and the function of its three branches. Since it is an election year, we have been reading non-fiction articles about how a candidate gets nominated for president, the requirements to be a candidate, and what political parties are. The students were also briefly introduced to the history of voting rights.  Next week we'll be focusing on the election process. Please ask your student to give you reasons why it is important to vote! The kids just read a Scholastic News article today about how and why this is a historic election. Ask them what they learned. Maybe this is the time to remind everyone to cast your vote on or before November 5th. :) Throughout history, people fought for this fundamental right. It's our civic responsibility to honor their struggle and participate in our democracy. 

Mindfulness: During WIN block Ms. Michael is teaching the students mindfulness strategies.  The kids are reporting that they feel more calm and relaxed. Here is more information about what mindfulness is and why we teach it on our team. Today students did a gratitude practice and what they shared afterward was extremely sincere and heartwarming. 

Math: In math class, students have been solving problems involving division of whole numbers with answers that are fractions. They have been drawing and analyzing diagrams that represent sharing situations and have used these diagrams to make connections between multiplication and division. Students have also discovered ways of finding the product of a fraction and whole number, connecting the product to the context and diagrams.

Science:  Science these last two weeks has been great. We have begun to explore the natural world around us through lessons on how interactions happen in nature. We started with focusing on what a food chain is and how food chains can be intertwined. We moved onto different parts of food chains in more detail by starting with plants and how they fit in and now how decomposers like fungi help keep our environment from building up with waste materials over time. Students have been eager, active participants in discussions and have helped each other learn and grow in their understanding of the material.