BAMS NEWS

 

December 2017

A Message From Principal Keith Lyman

Please accept my apology for the lack of a regular newsletter so far this year. I would like to improve and enhance our communication with families and it is my hope this newsletter will help. We have decided to implement an electronic newsletter to get the word out about our school. By emailing the newsletter, we will save a lot of copying, postage expenses and many hours of folding, labeling, and stuffing envelopes. As you learn how to navigate the document, be sure to click the arrows to go to each section. This new software allows for photo galleries, videos, electronic links to websites and documents, and even an archive of previous versions. We hope you like it!

The school year has been off to a terrific start so far and I would like to share a few highlights with you. Our staff began in August with several major goals for implementation this year. One of the key areas of focus has been implementing Developmental Designs (DD). DD is an approach to instruction that provides consistency across the school in our advisory program, some of the classroom strategies, and how we communicate expectations to students in all areas of the school. We dedicated our professional development during the Thanksgiving week to learning more about DD as a staff. 

We are committed to effectively implementing a new period titled skills block. This daily, thirty-minute class is designed to teach all students new skills based on academic data. Students are being graded using the habits of work (HOW) rubric. You will notice this class and the HOW grades on report cards. Our teaching teams are creating what we call "interdisciplinary units" this year. These units are designed to combine academic disciplines in order to create engaging and unique educational opportunities. 

Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs) are part of our movement to personalized and proficiency-based learning. PLPs are web-based portfolios designed by the students so they can learn and document who they are as a learner and share their strengths, interests, reflections, goals and many other areas of their learning and progress with others. All students will participate in a student-led conference during their time at BAMS and the PLP is a primary source of information for the conference. 

Of course, there are countless other events and opportunities that help to make BAMS a special place for our students. I hope your child is able to take advantage of as many as possible during the year. I encourage all students to participate in additional opportunities such as BEAMS, sports, and music. These programs create additional learning opportunities for our students that go beyond the regular curriculum and helps to keep students engaged and excited about school.

I wish you and your family a happy holiday season. As a reminder, December 21 is a 1/2 day with a 12:30 dismissal. We will be on the break until January 2, 2018!

All My Best,

Keith Lyman- Principal

TEAM TAURUS NEWS

In Mathematics, students are studying integers and rational numbers and their relationship to models and the real world.   For the next unit, students will be investigating relationships comparing numbers in various forms.  Students will be exploring applications with fractions, ratios, rates, differences, and percents with models and in real world situations.  

The first few weeks this fall focused on creating a social contract within social studies classes, then representatives from each team came together to create the school social contract: Be Productive, Be Responsible, and Show Empathy. Next, students studied human origins and migration, followed by several geography units including a focus on Africa and the Middle East. Students got a chance to see two guest presenters, and do a simulation related to Israel and Palestine with Amar Langsdorf, who is student teaching through the Spark social justice teaching program. Joe Powers replaced Anne Koplinka-Loehr as the Taurus social studies teacher starting on December 1, and will be teaching through June 2018 (as well as next fall, if all goes as planned). Mr. Powers plans to teach about imperialism, Asian geography, and river valley civilizations, among other things.

In science, students have learned about properties of matter and atomic structure. Students created a model of an element or molecule and included information specific to that substance. Currently, students are discovering the forms of energy and how energy conversions occur. The next unit of study is how temperature and particle motion of a substance change as energy is added/removed. Then students will use engineering skills to design a greenhouse that traps and retains heat the longest.

Taurus English students have spent a great deal of time learning, practicing and applying reading strategies. These signpost strategies- Aha Moment, Again and Again, Memory Moment, Contrast and Contradiction, Words of the Wise, and Tough Questions- help students recognize, analyze, and discuss different literary elements. To learn and apply these signposts, students have read excerpts from short stories and novels, and have read the short stories “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers, “The Scribe” by Kristin Hunter, and “The Bully” by Roger Dean Kiser.

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: Lily Bingham, Jacob Cardinal, Maria Carfora, Chloe Chase, Eli Cohen, Iain Conley, Anna Cummings, Josh Curtis, Madyson Davern, Christina Douglass, Chloe Everest, Aiden Fletcher, Cameron Frost, Troy Fu, Marcella Galdamez, Cadance Gilbert, Elena Hannigan, Angela Jobin, Ayoub Lajhar, David Lumonya, Avery Martin, Ami Mercier, Sage Parker,  Margot Potter, Simon Rae, Joey Reynolds, Callen Sherman, Koda Skaggs, Edwin VanBoekhout, Brooke Whelan, Brinly Woodcock, and Lindsey Wright.

TEAM CANIS MAJOR NEWS

Team News - Canis Major had a very fun and profitable Halloween dance. We earned $700 towards our field trip fund. Thank you all who baked goodies and thank you Ms. Raccio and Mr. Libardoni for taking a pie in the face!  Our Yankee candle fundraiser will be in soon.  We earned approximately $2342.  So far this year, our team has raised over $3000! Way to go Big Dogs! We are looking forward to going skating as a team before the holiday break. Look for a permission coming home soon.

Science - In science students have been learning about direct versus indirect evidence and how to make and support a claim using evidence.   Through this unit, we will gain a better understanding of the size and structure of atoms, develop models to show the difference between atoms and molecules and investigate the relationship between thermal energy and the motion of atoms.  We will build on this understanding by looking at how atoms change (physical vs. chemical change) and how they move (diffusion).  These two topics will help us improve our laboratory skills and will introduce us to designing and performing “fair” experiments.   In addition, students will improve their ability to write scientific arguments and explanations using claims, evidence and reasoning.   

Math - In math, students just finished the unit “Comparing and Scaling.”  They have spent the last four weeks working on strategies around proportionality involving fractions, percents, unit rates, and ratios.  Students learned how to write and solve proportions as a strategy to scale amounts up or down to any other amounts.  Many students just finished an independent or group project of choice to practice these concepts in a real life situation.  We are just starting a new unit that applies all of these skills to shapes instead of just numbers.  Students will explore similarity and what it means for two figures to be similar.  They will find and use scale factors to scale shapes up or down.

English Language Arts - In ELA, students have been working diligently on learning about verbs. Next, we will be learning about what makes a complete sentence by defining subject and predicate. Students will be able to use their newfound knowledge about writing and constructing proper, detailed sentences to write creatively within the coming weeks. After the December break, students will be reading the novel The Misfits by James Howe.

Social Studies- In Social Studies, students are working on the geography. We memorized the countries and landforms, discussing why different countries were formed and how geography isolated some regions and brought other areas together. We had two guest speaker s, one from Libya and the other lived in Israel. Each shared life experiences from different cultures. When we finish geography, we will move on to economics.

TEAM LEO NEWS

Science: We have just completed our unit on human heredity and genetics. From here we will begin to look at how genetics and changing environments are related to help shape the inherited traits of all living organisms.  We will be gathering evidence through multiple case studies that help to shape our understanding of natural selection.  From here we will create a scale model of our earth’s history, and the timeline of development of life on earth.  

Math: We are at the end of our Thinking with Math Models unit on linear and non-linear functions. Students will be taking their Unit Test on Tuesday, December 5th. We are currently dealing with solving inequalities and writing solutions in both of their forms.

Following the Thinking with Math Models unit, we are going to start a unit called “Looking for Pythagoras”. In this unit, students will study the background of area, triangles, right triangles, and the relationships between the side lengths of a right triangle. It is helpful that parents not directly teach students the algorithm of the Pythagorean Theorem.

English: We are well into our narrative writing unit! As a class, we are exploring what makes a piece of writing cohesive and engaging. After we study the many tools of successful narrative writing, we will be writing three stories from our own lives, picking our favorite, and creating our own story telling podcast!

We are also well into our first round of Independent reading. Book talks will be due December 13th, and be ready to begin on December 15th.

Social Studies: We have just finished our study of Indigenous Peoples and we are moving on to a unit on slavery. As part of our unit, we are reading a Jefferson's Sons. This novel is about the children Thomas Jefferson had with his slave, Sally Hemmings. The novel explores ideas about freedom in early America, slavery, and the complicated family relationships within the system. There is nightly reading homework during the week, please encourage your student to share about the book! While reading Jefferson's Sons, we will also be learning about the history of slavery in America and many forms of resistance employed by enslaved people. We will also discuss the role of women in early America and the various levels of unfreedom experienced by them.

TEAM DRACO NEWS

Draco English is beginning their unit on perseverance by reading Laura Hillenbrand's young readers’ version of Unbroken, the true story of the amazing survival of Louis Zamperini.  We will augment this narrative text with informational research about the power of grit to lead us to success.  We, of course, are continuing our grammar study.

In science, we have completed our units on “Phases of the Moon” and “Adaptations of Life” and are beginning to examine the “stuff” of the universe.  In this unit we will consider atomic theory with a goal of understanding some aspects of chemical reactions.  This will eventually lead to a study of light.

Draco Social Studies is beginning our exploration of Civics within the context of the Declaration of Independence and other founding documents. We will also focus on the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Draco Math is starting a new unit called Looking for Pytahgoras.  In this unit, students will identify rational and irrational numbers and approximate irrational numbers between integers. Students will also learn and apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in a variety of situations.

BAMS CHORUS NEWS

On November 17th and 18th four BAMS Chorus students participated in the Connecticut Valley Fall Music Festival, held at Hartford High School. These students were accepted into this chorus through an audition process in October and prepared five pieces in preparation for the festival. During the festival, they rehearsed and performed with other selected students from all over southeastern Vermont. Congratulations to Ada Melton-Houghton, Amanda Rodriquez, and Nicole Potter on a beautiful performance!'

BAMS SPANISH STUDENTS CELEBRATE THE MEXICAN HOLIDAY OF DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 

Seventh and Eighth Grade Spanish students did a wonderful job decorating their classroom in preparation for the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). This included making flores de cempasúchiles (Mexican marigolds) and calveras de papel picado (cut paper skulls ). Finally, on November 2, we celebrated with music, face painting, Mexican hot chocolate and making skull-shaped cookies on November 2. ¡Fantastico!

Check out the photo gallery here  

BAMS PEAK PROGRAM

Students in the PEAK program have been busy participating in a variety of activities from rebuilding a bike, caring for plants as part of a science experiement, harvesting organic spinach and greens, visiting the Retreat Farm, Madame Sherri's Forest, The Slate Quarry and Geochaching at the Vermont Welcome Center.  Enjoy the photos. 

MEAL CHARGE POLICY FOR WINDHAM SOUTHEAST SUPERVISORY UNION

The new policy for the 2017-2018 school year has been released and the USDA is requiring all school districts to notify households of the meal charge and collection policy/procedure, click here to view the policy.  We have attached the policy to this newsletter for your convienance and have highlighted some of the changes here for you. 

As a school community,  we will not allow children to be hungry, but it is vital that  food service bills are paid.  For your convenience there is an online website where meal account balances can be checked and payments can be made to your child’s meal account. The website is called My School Bucks and you may  click here for access to the site or simply go to www.myschoolbucks.com.  Please consider completing an application for the for Free/Reduced Meal program, even if you are not certain you will qualify, as we may be able to provide assistance. Applications are available in the BAMS front office and once completed they may be  submitted to Mr. Lyman. 

As this school year progresses, we ask that you please bring your child's account up to date.  All unpaid balances will become part of the child's permanent school record.  If your student carries a balance on their cafeteria account, they will be able to charge for a meal until their negative balance exceeds $25.00.  At that point, your child will not be able to make additional charges for any meals. They will be provided an alternative meal that meets nutritional guidelines.

Brattleboro Union High School has a policy that requires all students to resolve their student debt before graduation. We also may refer your debt to small claims court; we would prefer to resolve this issue without exercising that option.  We urge you to pay your child's bill to help prevent a large payment in the future.

If you have questions or need assistance regarding your child’s meal account, please contact the BAMS front office at 802-451-3500 and we will direct your call to the appropriate person to assist you.  

BAMS WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK PAGE

Please friend us on Facebook or check out our website to keep up with the latest news at BAMS.  Any changes to events scheduled at BAMS, sporting events, extra curricular activities or last minute changes of any kind will be posted on our Facebook page and the BAMS website.  You can find us on Facebook here and our BAMS website here. 

IMPORTANT DATES

To view the BAMS calendar, click here.

Monday, December 4- 10-11 am, Vermont Foodbank Drop @ The BUHS Student Parking Lot

Monday, December 4- 7-8 pm, BUHS #6 Board Meeting, Cusick Conference Room

Friday, December 8- Midterm Ends

Friday, December 8- 2-3 pm, Circus/Yoga Residency Show, BAMS MPR 

Friday, December 8- 2-9:30 pm, Team Leo Dance, BAMS MPR

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

Monday, December 18- 7-8 pm, BUHS #6 Board Meeting, Cusick Conference Room

Thursday, December 21- 12:30 pm, Early Release

Friday, December 22-29- December Recess

Monday, January 1- No School