This Week in U.S. History: 1/30-2/3

Hello Parents,

Sorry I have not kept this up to date the past couple of weeks. Report cards are a busy time, but the good news......quarter 2 report cards are done and should be mailed out this week. For my class, you will see that three standards were assessed. I used the persuasive essay, which was a three week process with background information all the way to writing final drafts, for one standard and then the whole unit around colonial America for the other two. I would like to see students scoring "3"s to show that they are meeting the learning objectives for the quarter.

We are currently in a new unit called "The Road to Revolution". Our main focus is on the main events that led to the American Revolution, the fact that many colonists felt that their basic rights were being violated, and how people organized themselves to inform people of the events that were unfolding. Last week, students created a timeline with many of these events and they researched five of their choice. The timelines are being used as the "assessment" instead of a test or quiz. They were due last Tuesday and I am still missing many (I will try to update powerschool this week to reflect quarter 3 assignments). At the end of last week and today, students were creating "Broadsides" - sort of like a newsletter informing people of an event. The Declaration of Independence was considered a broadside. They could create theirs in the form of a poem, song, rap, newsletter, or cartoon. These are due WEDNESDAY. Lastly, students will work in groups starting tomorrow and lasting until next Friday to create a skit on a specific event. Students will need to create a "character profile" for the person they will portray in their skit. This will be due on FRIDAY of this week. This week's assignments are:

____ Broadside (due Wednesday)
____ Character Profile (due Friday)

Have a great week. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Mr. Burton

Jason and the Argonauts

Hi,

Your child should have received a permission slip to see Jason and the
Argonautts at the Flynn Theater. The permission slips are due with the
$11 by January 31st. Please make sure that you student brings them in.
Scholarships are available. If you need a scholarship, please just return
the permission slip.

Thanks,
Joe

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Task for Jan. 24

Math Task for Jan 24, 2011
Quick Note: I will assign questions in levels. Level 1 everyone should
complete, Level 2 increases the challenge and the problems with asteriks
are taking concepts even further.

7th Grade: ACE(1.1-1.3) Pages 16-2 Level 1: #6-29 Level 2: Level one
plus #30, 31 *49-51
8th Grade: ACE(1.1-1.3) Pages 12-18 Level 1: #1-10, 14-25, 33, Level
2: level one plus 26-28 *37-39

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SOS event

Reminder: Student of the Semester celebration is tonight, Jan. 24, at
6:30, in the auditorium.

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Task for Jan 23-27

Math Task: Jan. 23 - 27, 2012

7th Grade:
_____ 1.2 Pages 10 & 11 A-E
_____ 1.3 Pages 12-13 A-E
_____ ACE(1.1-1.3) Pages 16 - 20 Assigned Problems

8th Grade
_____ 1.2 Page 10 A-D Labsheet 1.2
_____ 1.3 Page 11 A-C Labsheet 1.3
_____ ACE(1.1-1.3) Pages 12-18 Assigned Problems

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Boston Update

Dear Families,

I wanted to give you a quick update our fundraising efforts.

Amount raised to date $13,125.00
Amount needed to be raised $14,858.00

Considering we are half way through the year this good, but we need to
continue the strong effort.

February Calendar Raffle

We have raised $2940 on the raffle. Making it our most successful
fundraiser to date. It would be great if we could reach $5000 and make
one last great push this weekend. The last day to hand in raffle tickets
is Friday, February 27th. Tickets brought in after this date will be put
into the raffle but it count towards any of the student incentives such as
the Pump House tickets, the pizza party, or the advisory ice cream party.

Bottle Drive

On February 11th, we will be going around town to collect bottles. If you
are interested in helping drive or if you would like to have your bottles
picked up please contact Rob DeCicco at [ mailto:rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org
]rdecicco@mtsd-vt.org or 893-3230 ext. 622 or Joe Smith at [
mailto:jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org ]jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org or 893-3230 ext. 217. You
can also drop your bottles off at Rene's starting on February 4th and tell
them that you would like to donate the bottle refund to the 8th Grade
Boston trip.

Spaghetti Dinner/Phantom Tollbooth

On February 22nd, we will be having a spaghetti dinner in conjunction with
the showing of the middle school play, the Phantom Tollbooth. We will be
looking for food donations. If you can help, please contact Joe Smith, at
[ mailto:jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org ]jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org or 893-3230 ext. 217.

Once again thank you for all of your support. Please do not forget that
the second installment is due tomorrow January 20th.

Thank you,
Joe Smith

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Task for Jan 17-20

Math: Jan 17-20

7th Grade:
Reflection on thier Learning
Beginning a new unit called Accentuate the Negative. Task from the
flirst Investigation will be assigned.

8th Grade:
Reflection on thier Learning
Beginning a new unit called Looking for Pythagorus. Task from the flirst
Investigation will be assigned.

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2nd Installment Payment

January 9, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This is a reminder that the second installment of $25 for the Boston trip
is due on January 20th.

I also wanted to give you a quick update on our fundraising efforts. As
of today, we have raised over $12,000. However we still have a little
over $15,000 to go, so we need to continue the good effort in raising the
funds to ensure that we are able to go on this trip. We are currently
selling the tickets for the Calendar Raffle. We will also be doing a
bottle drive after the weekend of the Super Bowl and a Spaghetti Dinner,
which the date is still to be determined. Please remember that each
student does need to participate in at least three fundraisers or sell 20
calendar raffle tickets.

There has also been a change to the itinerary for the Boston trip. Blue
Man Group was sold out and therefore we will be going to see Sheer Madness
instead, which is a comedy whodunit, where the audience is part of the
show.

As a reminder, the date for the field trip is from May 23-25, 2012. You
can pay the remainder of your balance at any time. The third installment
of $25 will be due February 24th and the final installment will be due
April 6th. A full refund will be offered until April 1st. No student
will be denied going on this trip because of financial concerns. If you
need a scholarship, please let us know.

Below is the tentative itinerary for Boston:

May 23 7:00 a.m. Leave Milton Middle School
11:00 a.m. Arrive at Emerson College
1:00 p.m. Go to Museum of Science
5:00 p.m. Pizza at Emerson College
8:00 p.m. Sheer Madness

May 24 Small group exploration of Boston: Students will break into groups
of 8-10 and visit different museums, such as the Mass Museum of Art,
Franklin Zoo, Fenway Park, etc., based on their interests. Do you have any
info about dinner that night – will this be on the students?

May 25 9:00 a.m. Leave Emerson College, walk Freedom Trail, eat lunch at
Faneuil Hall
1:00 p.m. Boat cruise of Boston Harbor
3:00 p.m. Leave Boston
7:00 p.m. Arrive back in Milton
If you have any questions, please contact your student's team's Boston
representative:

Aquila – Tom Keblin ext. 646 tkeblin@mtsd-vt.org
Cassiopeia – Joe Smith ext. 217 jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org
Pyxis – Jana Fabri. ext. 658 jfabri@mtsd-vt.org
Tucana- Amira Bakr ext. 678 abakr@mtsd-vt.org

Thank you,
Joe Smith

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Task for Jan 9 - 13

Math Task for Jan 9-13

7th Grade
ACE(4.2) Pages 55-62, #3, 18-21, 25
ACE(4.3)Pages 55-62 Assigned problems
Unit Test on Thursday
Unit Reflection on Friday

8th Grade
ACE(3.3Pages 53-60, )#4-8, 32-35
Page 60, problem #42
Unit Test on Wednesday
Unit Reflection on Thursday

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This week's Task

Math Jan. 3-6, 2012

7th Grade:
ACE(4.1)Pages 55-62
4.2 Pages 52-53 A-E

8th Grade
ACE(3.1) Pages 53-60 #1, 13-17, 20-24, *40
3.3 Page 52 A-D

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U.S. History: 1/3-1/6

Hello Parents,

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. Students were pretty excited today to talk about some of their gifts and things they did over break. I want to announce a new addition to our class. We have Brady Murray from UVM who will be an intern for the semester. He was the intern for Joe Smith in the fall.

In U.S. History we are starting a new unit, "The Road to Revolution". We will look at issues that students feel passionate enough about to be moved to action. We then will look at current issues around the globe, types of protest, and any results from protest. We will then apply this to colonial times when many in the colonies rose up against British policies and rule. You may see an interview come home tonight or tomorrow as part of a homework assignment. I want students to interview an adult about some current or past protests, type of protest used, and any results that followed. Students can interview any adult so this assignment may end up being completed at school. The following are this week's assignments:

____ interview (due Thurs)
____ Vocabulary Quiz (Fri.)

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great week.

Mr. Burton