Tri-mester 2 Progress Reports

Hello Parents,

We want to let you know that students are bringing Trimester 2 progress reports home today.  They are in an envelope with a bright yellow half sheet of paper attached to it.  Please review the progress reports with your son/daughter.  Initial the yellow sheet so we know that you reviewed the reports and send that sheet back to school with your son/daughter to be handed to the Advisory teacher by no later than Friday, February 6.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the specific content teachers.  The email addresses and phone #s are on the yellow sheet.  Thank you.

Have a great weekend.

House D

Humanities - Social Studies: 1/26 - 1/30

Hello Parents,

I hope everyone had a good weekend.  We are into our last week of the unit on Industrial Revolution / Exploitation.  Here is what is happening this week:

Monday:  homework is to study for Quiz.  Two worksheets (Life in the North, and Telling it Like it is).
Tuesday: Quiz
Wednesday:  homework is to complete rough drafts for written pieces on timeline assignment (I attached that   assignment  on Edmodo so if you are not connected as parent, have your son/daughter open their account so you can have access to it)
Thursday:  rough drafts due
Friday:  by end of class, hand in completed timeline

On a side note.......when we began a review for the quiz, I asked students to get the two worksheets out.  Most students went into their binders and found them easily.  There were quite a few students who lost one or both.  A good activity for home would be to help your son/daughter organize their binders (for those that need it).  I was trying to make a point that in order to study for the quiz, they need the completed worksheets to study from.  Building good work habits and work ethics are essential for success........this is a theme we will continue to work on especially for those 8th graders moving on to High School next year.

Let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks.

Mr. Burton

Science Fair Due Dates

We have been working hard in class coming up with science topics of interest, doing research, and coming up with testable questions.  Here are some important due dates:

Wednesday, January 21        Choose Topic

Wednesday, January 21         Collect and read background information

Wednesday, January 21        Ask a testable question and write hypothesis

Thursday, January 22            Design a fair test, identify variables, create data table

Thursday, January 22            Complete materials list and procedure

By Monday, February 2        Perform investigation and collect data  

Tuesday, February 3              Complete data table and graphs

Thursday, February 5            Write Data Analysis section

Monday, February 9              Write Results and Conclusions section

Tuesday, February 10            Finish putting poster together

Thursday, February  12         Science Fair Night!!!!

Here is a copy of the letter sent home with students in the first week of January.

January 5, 2015

Dear Families and Guardians,

We are excited to be holding the second annual Milton Middle School Science Fair on the evening of February 12, 2015. This will again be on the same evening as the February Milton Community Dinner so you can enjoy a great meal before experiencing the impressive work our students will be showcasing.

All students in grades 6-8 will be expected to participate in the science fair. Hands-on scientific investigation and engineering will be highlighted that evening with students demonstrating their understanding and application of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) principles. Over the next six weeks students will research, design, test, analyze, and present a project that uses scientific inquiry to solve a problem. As twenty first century citizens, our students will have to make some of the toughest decisions of any generation, based on their understanding of emerging science and technology. Doing science is essential to understanding science. Science fairs involve students in the practices of science and engineering, requiring them to apply those skills to a topic of interest to them.

Time will be given to students during the school day to work on their project. We recommend that students continue much of this work at home as well. Students will be given project guidelines and time-lines at school and teachers will check in with them periodically. However, much of the work will be self-directed. Families are encouraged to offer support and reminders, but allow children to do the projects by themselves.

We are encouraging support from the community in helping to once again make this experience a beneficial one for our students and for Milton Middle School. Please call or email with any questions or potential resources. More information will follow as the night of the Science Fair approaches.

Thank you very much in advance for your support!

Sincerely,

Milton Middle School Science Teachers:

Rob Decicco – House A Greer Krembs - House B Nathan Caswell – House C Janet Smith – House D

rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org gkrembs@mtsd-vt.org ncaswell@mtsd-vt.org jsmith2@mtsd-vt.org

893-5511 893-5519 893-5507 893-5528

Humanities- Social Studies 1/12-1/16

Hello Parents,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. This week we will continue with our work on life during the Industrial Revolution. We will have more of a focus on what life was like in the North where the Industrial Revolution took root. Work for the week is as follows:

Monday night :Study for quiz (notes and vocabulary) - notes have been uploaded to student Edmodo accounts
Tuesday: Quiz - Industrial Revolution
Wednesday: homework is to finish guided reading questions if they were not completed in class.
Friday: possibly a quiz on material from guided reading questions. I will announce on Wednesday if there is going to be a quiz.

Have a great week.
Mr. Burton

Humanities- Social Studies: 1/5-1/9

Hello Parents,
     I hope everyone had a nice holiday. We are back in action and are starting our next unit of study. The unit will focus on "The Industrial Revolution" and the different consequences of that time period. Yesterday, I began with a present day look at "overseas" factory work for U.S. businesses. Today and for the rest of the week I will go back in time to look at the origins of the industrial revolution and how the factory system evolved. So far, no homework is planned as we only have a classroom set of textbooks that we are working from. If needed, I may make photocopies, or lend out books if individual students fall behind in classwork. Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week.

Mr. Burton