BAMS NEWS

 

June 2018

A MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL LYMAN

Dear BAMS Families,

This is one of my favorite times of the year but it's also an incredibly busy time in the school. Our eighth-grade families are preparing for the move up ceremony on June 13 and all the other transitions that happen when you move on to high school. Seventh grade families are considering summer learning opportunities and working their way through the first year of middle school. It's an exciting time for everyone! As you can imagine, there is a lot going on in our school this time of year. I hope you carefully review the list of events listed in this newsletter.

 I want to highlight a few recent accomplishments and events in celebration of the great work we do at BAMS. …

The SBAC testing went very smoothly. In addition to math and English, 8th-grade students were assessed in Science using the SBAC software. No more NECAPS!!

The following staff was recognized for service to the district at our annual retirement dinner: 5 years: Kate Burt, 10 years- Junie Pereira, Janis Nadler, Daisy Frederick, Mikaela Simms, 15 years- Nancy Goodhue, Patty Timney, 20 years- Christie Thereault, Peggy Maxfield, Cory Stark, Paula Starkweather. Thank you for your years of service!

Our annual talent show was an amazing success! Our students who performed set a high bar for performance and I was very proud of them for performing at such a high level in front of their peers. I would like to thank our student leadership coordinators Caitlin Campbell and Gabby Raccio for their incredible work in organizing the event.

The Taurus Museum night is June 5 at 6:30 and the Canis evening is June 6 at 6:30. All Canis and Taurus families are welcome!

Teams have and will be taking field trips as we finish the year. These are often some of the most memorable experiences for our students and staff! Please be sure you are returning permission forms. Thank you 

Our last parent night of the year will be held during the BAMS dress-up dance in the cafeteria. There will be prizes and fun! An additional message will be sent home.

Friday Night- Dress-Up Dance!

TIME:      7:00 to 9:00

               Doors open at 7:00.  Plan for your ride to pick you up at 9:00.  

WHO :     All BAMS students may attend the dance.  You must be enrolled

               at BAMS to come to our dances.

Cost:       $5.00 - benefit to Student Leadership

What to Wear:

                Dress Code Appropriate clothing. We would like students to dress-up for the occasion.   

Additional information

Once you arrive at the dance you must stay until 9:00.

                    (We are open to exceptions if approved before the dance.)

If you need to arrive at the dance later than 7:15 due to another school sponsored event you must bring a note to Mr. Lyman or Mr. Daughton before the end of school on the day of the dance.

Dances are chaperoned by BAMS Staff and Administration.

We hope to see you there!

Move-up for 8th grade on June 13, last day for 7th on June 19 (½ day)

HONOR ROLL ASSEMBLY

Lauren Petrie shared some great photographs with us of the latest Honor Roll Assembly. 

NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY- 

The library has purchased a new database: CultureGrams Online. The aim of CultureGrams has been to foster understanding and appreciation of the world's countries and peoples by creating and publishing concise, reliable, and up-to-date cultural content.

URL:  http://online.culturegrams.com

If you are outside the building you will need to login.  

Username:  Cultures1

Password:  Brattleboro

Stay tuned for Ms. Linney’s Best of 2018 book list which will be posted to the BAMS website, very soon.

All books and materials are due back to the Library by June 8th, 2018. All 8th graders should plan on clearing up any outstanding debt before the Move-Up ceremony on June 13.

BAMS SUMMER PROGRAMS

Incoming 7th and 8th graders: 

We are very excited about the BAMS Summer Programs 2018.  Students are able to participate in up to six weeks worth of hands on enrichment and academic programs.   Please see the attachments for weekly descriptions and enrollment forms.  If you have any questions please contact Kate Burt at 802-689-0023 or kburt@wsesu.org

Looking forward to a great summer!   

2018 BAMS SUMMER LEARNING REGISTRATION 

2018 BAMS SUMMER PROGAM EXPLANATIONS

TEAM DRACO NEWS

The Draco science lab has been the site of some chemical reactions, loud noises, and discussions about the relationships among matter and energy.  Our focus on atoms and molecules will wind up with a study of polar molecules and water. The final unit is designed to help students understand electromagnetic radiation, color, and the duality of light.

Draco Social Studies will finish the year focused on economics.  We’ve been busy this quarter with a few projects on US history and we will get after the remaining economic proficiencies with the time we have left.

Draco English has made it through the various sentence parts, phrases and clauses, and all the way to our goal of compound and complex sentences!  They are now beginning to learn everything they will need to know about commas and semicolons.  At the same time, we have begun working on our This I Believe essays.  You may check out many inspirational examples of these on their website at thisibelieve.org.

Draco students have been exploring many algebraic topics as we near the end of the year.  Students have explored area models as a way to model the distributive property.  Students are expanding their equation solving skills to include problems with the distributive property.  We are adding a new relationship for students to explore - quadratic functions!  We are using graphs, tables, and equations to explore this relationship similarly to how we learned about linear and exponential functions.  Our focus on algebra will continue until the end of the year.

TEAM LEO NEWS

Science: During this last quarter we continue exploring concepts of force and motion. This is a very hands on unit, in which students will create and test design solutions  to problems involving speed, acceleration motion, collisions and more. With a solid understanding of these concepts, students will design and construct complex Rube Goldberg machines to showcase their understanding of concepts in force and motion.

Math:  We completed a unit on geometric transformations, specifically Translations (slides), reflections (flips), and rotations (spins). Students used a combination of tools and mathematical reasoning. We jumped headfirst into variable expressions and equations, learning to simplify and solve through multiple steps. We will continue this work following SBAC testing to assure concepts necessary for Algebra at the high school.

English: I am so floored by the ELA final project designs I am seeing from our students. Students were tasked with creating a project around a topic that means most to them, and finding a solution to a problem at the school, district, city, or state level. I have seen so many incredible ideas; how to bring more nutritional supports to our school, finding more flexible seating options, and how to make our school more energy efficient. Students will present their designed projects at the end of the year for their final grade.

Social Studies: I will be going on maternity leave starting May 22nd. We are very excited to welcome Nick Yialiades to our team as a long term substitute! His email is nyialiades@wsesu.org. The final project will be focused on the ways groups and individuals have brought about change in society. This is the conclusion to our year long study of US history with a focus on the perspectives of marginalized groups. I am so proud of the growth of our team over the last two years and with everyone the best of luck in high school!

TEAM TAURUS NEWS

In Mathematics, students have been learning about linear relationships.  Students can solve problems involving linear relationships by analyzing tables, graphs and equations.  The next unit will explore two and three dimensional objects and students will solve for surface area and volume.  Students will be applying their use of variables to solve equations involving prisms and cylinders.

Science classes will finish out the year in studying weather and climate. Key ideas students are learning are the properties of air, characteristics of atmospheric layers, what causes wind, and how moving air masses cause weather changes. The classes will then look at the factors that affect climate, different climate zones, and they will also complete a project comparing Vermont's climate to that of another location.

The students are now working on their end of year Ancient World museum projects.  They have chosen a topic and developed a thesis and have begun their research. They will be creating a museum display of their research along with a model of artifact to accompany their display.  They will display their work in the BAMS MPR on Tuesday, June 3rd at 7pm. The entire family is invited to come and view all the displays, and to ask questions of the students about their work. It's a great night, the kids are always proud of their work, and it means a great deal to have areal audience come and see their effort, much more powerful than simply earning a grade.  Mr. Powers will be sending home a more complete invitation later this month, but the whole family is invited to the 7th grade Ancient Civilizations Museum Night.

The best way to help your child with their project is to ask them questions about it.  You could ask them what their thesis is, what information they are collecting, how they are thinking of breaking their research into subtopics.  You could also ask them about how they plan to display their research, and what they will make as a model. All the students are to make a model that is related to their research.  Parents may help with the model, but please remember to let the kids take the lead with the project.

Taurus English students have recently finished working on responses to literature and other assignments based on the story Gilgamesh the Hero by Geraldine McCaughrean.  Emphasis was put on the revision process and using feedback to improve the quality of the work. To end the year, classes will be studying mythology.

At Taurus Team Town Meetings, teachers present Taurus Bull’s Eye Awards in order to recognize the positive things students do.  The following students have recently received Bull’s Eye Awards for their contributions to Team Taurus: Gabby Blouin, Chloe Chase, Anna Cummings, Elena Hannigan, Hunter LaBarge, Sage Parker, Erik Sorenson, Dallin Wachtelhausen, and Lindsey Wright.

The Aldebaran star is the brightest star in the Taurus constellation.  At the end of each quarter, Taurus teachers present the Aldebaran Award to a student who consistently goes above and beyond with the respect they give to other people, with their effort in the classroom, and with their positive attitude.  Congratulations to Margot Potter, our third quarter winner!

TEAM CANIS NEWS

Team News

We will celebrating the end of the our first year together with a trip to Spofford Lake on Thursday, June 7th. Permission slips will be coming home soon. We are asking for $5 to cover the cost of the buses, food and swimming fee.

Social Studies--

In Social Studies, we started researching for our museum projects. All students are doing an individual project on the ancient world. The display will be a tri-fold board with a thesis statement clearly shown and be accompanied by an artifact the student created. We will learn how to use the library to find sources, efficient ways to find information, and support the claim made for the thesis statement. The final projects will be displayed for the community.

English

In English language arts, students have been working on listening skills by using podcasts to answer questions and create informed opinions. We have also been focusing more on how to appropriately use commas with different types of phrases and clauses in a sentence. For our last major unit of the year, we will be learning about mythology with a strong focus on Greek myths. Students will be able to compare similarities and differences in creation myths from many different cultures, discuss how ancient (and current) cultures dealt with the unknown, and apply their knowledge of Greek myths through a variety of writing and reading assignments. I look forward to closing the school year with this engaging, high-interest topic!

Science

Canis Major science students have been investigating energy. Using marbles and superballs, we are learning about the difference between potential and energy energy and the variables that affect them. In this unit, we will learn how to design and perform “fair” experiments  by testing the variables that affect the period of a pendulums. We will also learn about the different forms of energy and how better understand the conservation of energy.

Math

Canis Major math classes have just finished a unit on 3-Dimensional Geometry, called Filling and Wrapping.  Students have used formulas and learned larger concepts to find the Volume and Surface Area of a variety of 3D shapes.  We are now starting our last unit of the year, which focuses on basic and advanced probability concepts. Students will begin by understanding the difference between experimental probability, where they conduct an experiment and trials, and theoretical probability.  We will explore many ways to find theoretical probability, including area models, tree diagrams, and multiplication of fractions. This unit also serves as a reteach and review of many fraction and percent concepts. Students will finish this unit by working in groups to create games of chance and display them in a carnival type setting.

BAMS 2017-2018 YEARBOOKS

Yearbooks will be for sale soon. Please watch for more details.

Contact Ms Thereault at cthereault@wsesu.org or 451-3971 for any questions.

NEWS & TIPS FROM OUR HEALTH OFFICE

Be Tick Smart: Protect, Check, Remove

The best way to prevent tickborne diseases is to prevent tick bites.  In Vermont, tickborne illnesses are most often transmitted when ticks are most active during the warm months.

Protect yourself from tick bites by:

- Covering up wear long pants, long-sleeves and long socks.

- Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and tuck shirts into pants to keep ticks on teh outside of your clothing.

- Apply insect repellent with up to 30% DEET on skin and clothing when you go outdoors.

- Ticks prefer wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter. 

Check and Remove

Check your body after being outdoors. Look at all parts of your body. 

Remove any ticks you find using a fine-tipped tweezers to pull straight out.

For more information check out:

http://www.healthvermont.gov/disease-control/tickborne-diseases/prevent-tick-bites-tickborne-diseases

Below is a link to an informational flyer regarding health insurance.

Got Health Insurance

IMPORTANT DATES

To view the BAMS calendar, click here.

Tuesday, June 5, 7-8:30 pm, BAMS MPR, Team Taurus Museum Night

Tuesday, June 5, 6:30-8 pm, BAMS Jazz Band Rehearsal

Wednesday, June 6, 6:30-8 pm, BAMS MPR, Team Canis Museum Night

Thursday, June 7, Team Canis Field Trip to Spofford Lake (rain date 6/11/18)

Friday, June 8, 7-9:00 pm, BAMS Dress Up Dance, hosted by Student Leadership

Monday, June 11, Team Draco Field Trip to Boston, MA

Tuesday, June 12, 6:30-8 pm, BAMS Jazz Band Rehearsal

Wednesday, June 13, Team Taurus Field Trip to Spofford Lake (rain date 6/14/18)

Wednesday, June 13, 6 pm, BUHS Gymnasium, BAMS Move Up Ceremony (also the last day of school for 8th grade only )

Thursday, June 14, Fourth Quarter Ends

Monday, June 18, 10-11 am, Vermont Foodbank Drop @ The BUHS Student Parking Lot 

Tuesday, June 19, 12:30 pm, Early Release, Last day of school for 7th Grade