February 22, 2013

Science Fair- Thursday, March 28th @ 6:00 pm

Ms. Laberge and Ms. Skapof introduced this year's science fair for 7th and 8th graders on Friday. Students received a packet explaining each step of the science fair process.  A list of due dates can be found here.

Students will work throughout the month of March to design, carry out, analyze and present a testable question.  Students may work with partners, though will need to complete a permission slip signed by parents in order to do so.  We only have 8 classes scheduled to work on projects (Tuesdays and Thursdays) so students should be prepared to work outside of class time.

FAPAC February Meeting Highlights

To:  Swift Parents
From: Liz Neeld,  acting FAPAC Representative

The FAP Advisory Council held its monthly meeting on February 14th.  Check the full minutes in a PDF format by clicking HERE.  Below are a few meeting highlights: 

Williston Wins: About 50 percent of Williston School District families participated in this so far.   All house fieldtrips and activities that students have done so far this year have been paid for by FAP and we are looking to replenish the funds for next year’s trips so that we can continue to support them at the same level.  The suggested donation of $40/student, or any amount that is affordable, can be made to Williston FAP at any time.  A parent survey will be going out in the next month to collect feedback on this fundraising approach and the responses will help guide our funding and fundraising efforts in the future.  See the full minutes for more information on this.

Proposed School Budget:  Walter Nardelli, District Principal, led a discussion of budget highlights, including the 1:1 iPad proposal, the co-teaching model, and other items.  Please see the minutes for some of the issues raised during this discussion.  And remember to vote on Tuesday, March 5th!!
Regarding the 1:1 iPad discussions, please check out the school website for information on this, including frequently asked questions and other helpful information.  Click here to get to that information.

Next FAPAC meeting is on Thursday, March 14th at 8:15 am.  All are welcome!!!
Please contact me at lneeld711@gmail.com if you have feedback or questions on FAP.  Thanks.

March Dance Chaperones- Only two Chaperones have signed up

Swift House will be hosting the next middle school dance on Friday, March 8th at 6:30.  Please sign up to chaperone here.  (This really is fun!)  We we request that students in Longchamp and Donnelly's Core bring two-2 liter bottles of cold soda or juice and Mrs. Skapof and Mrs. Laberge's core bring individually wrapped snacks.

Stock Market Game Update

We discovered that the 5/6th graders should be in the "Elementary" category, so you will notice that the Region is different than the 7/8th graders.  The lessons this week looked at Risk, What Causes Stock Prices to Change, and the Ripple Effect.  All students also looked at Current Events by reading our Scholastic (5/6) and New York Times Upfront (7/8) magazines and had class discussions.

 7/8th Graders
1st Place Swift (3rd Region and 8th overall) Team A242: Brock W., Matthew M, Cam L, Aaron W
2nd Place Swift (13th Region and 39th overall) Team A232: Jeff and Baxter ? (2nd Portfolio)
3rd Place Swift (14th Region and 41st overall) Team A231: Alyse, Eliza, Julia N, Molly

5/6th Graders (Check back for names)

1st Place Swift (13th Region and 34th overall) Team A259:
2nd Place Swift (20th Region and 56th overall) Team A253:
3rd Place Swift (37th Region and 106 overall)  Team A247:     
  

Some Pictures from the Week

After vacation, we will upload more to our Swift Photo site, accessible from our homepage.  Remember that the password is "flyforever."  You may download any picture without charge.

 
Faculty (Swift Teacher is Pink) vs Student Basketball Game- Friday Afternoon  - TIED SCORE!

 Students make a foul shot while the Swift Adult team watches.  Note Mr. Hunt, Brock W. and Miss Goracy!

Mr. Hunt takes a shot!

Bryant and Olivia's Float in the Mardi Gras Parade in the morning.

Ms. Memoe parading through Swift!

 
 

Friday, February 15, 2013

March Dance Chaperones

Swift House will be hosting the next middle school dance on Friday, March 8th at 6:30.  Please sign up to chaperone here.  (This really is fun!)  We we request that students in Longchamp and Donnelly's Core bring two-2 liter bottles of cold soda or juice and Mrs. Skapof and Mrs. Laberge's core bring individually wrapped snacks.

Stock Market Update-  Our top five teams

This week, students have learned about mutual funds and bonds.  Some students have diversified their portfolio, including these types of investments.  Our top teams as of Friday morning are below.  The regional ratings is Chittenden County and the  Coordinator Rankings are the state.   There are only four middle schools with more than five teams.  The Rankings, however, include high school teams!

Swift House Ratings on Friday, February 15th

First:  Brock W., Matthew M, Cam L, Aaron W- Team 242
Second:  Bryce, Storm, Katelyn- Team 251
Third:  Jackie, Annie, Chiara Al, Hannah N. - Team 244
Fourth:  Alyse, Eliza, Julia N, Molly - Team 231
Fifth: Hannah B, Bray, Jojo, Caroline - Team 259

These ratings change daily!  Many students jump on the computer first thing in the morning to check their portfolio ratings.  Next week will be the last week of instruction for the stock market.  Students will be learning about risk and what makes the stock market change.  Although the Stock Market Game will go until April 12th, we will be looking at the history of the 20th century (7/8) and Native Americans/Early Explorers (5/6)  through an economics lens.  They will be given time to trade each class.

Science Fair- Thursday, March 28th @ 6:00 pm

Ms. Laberge and Ms. Skapof introduced this year's science fair for 7th and 8th graders on Friday. Students received a packet explaining each step of the science fair process.  A list of due dates can be found here.

Students will work throughout the month of March to design, carry out, analyze and present a testable question.  Students may work with partners, though will need to complete a permission slip signed by parents in order to do so.  We only have 8 classes scheduled to work on projects (Tuesdays and Thursdays) so students should be prepared to work outside of class time. 

Next Week is Theme Week!

Students are very excited about next week's theme week.  Our schedule will be slightly different and students will not have world language or their regular related arts classes.  Chorus and Band will still occur, but at 1:10 instead of 11:50.

Upcoming DC Deadline:

Friday, February 22nd:  Overview Article, Subfocus Questions, Preconcept Map

Calling 8th Grader's Baby Pictures for Yearbook

The Yearbook Committee is looking for baby pictures for our current 8th graders by Friday, March 8th.  Please send them in and envelope with your child's name and team on the reverse side.  Students should give them to Mrs. Barland.

Update on the Stock Market Game - Saturday, February 16th

 Things change quickly!

Team 242 has moved up to 4th place in the region and 9th place in the state and continues to be 1st on the team!

Team 244 is now 10th in the region, 37th in the state and 2nd on the team.

 

Friday, February 8, 2013

Swift Students Invest in the Stock Market

The first week of the Stock Market Game has gone very well for all of the Swift Students.  Students are using ipods, ipads, smart phones, and computers to research and analyze their stocks each day.  Beginning next week, we will be posting our top five team's portfolios with their rankings.  This is a fabulous project-based learning experience for all of our students.  Feel free to email articles about companies to your child.  As of Saturday 2/9, our team is ranked 2nd of 4 middle schools.  A Brown's River teacher's team is first!  The competition begins!

Students are using lots of different devices to gather short and long-term stock prices as well as company research.  Ipads, mini-ipads, iphones, itouches, and other smartphones are being used in class!

Rankings as of February 9th

Next week we will publish the names, but students know which group they are in.  It looks like two team from Mrs. Donnelly's Blue SS group are 4th and 5th.  This will change greatly each week!

Spring Science Units with Mrs. Skapof and Mrs. Laberge - Heat, Light, Sound and Electricity

We have begun our spring science standards, looking at energy flow in heat, light, sound (5/6 only) and electricity (7/8 only).  Both the 5/6 and 7/8 groups have started by exploring heat transfer: how heat flows through different states of matter to reach equilibrium.  To explore this topic students are researching animal adaptations for dealing with heat, or lack thereof.  As they research the adaptations they will apply the terms conduction, convection and radiation.  For example, a polar bear's black skin allows it to absorb a great percentage of the sun's radiation, helping keep it warm in the coldest temperatures.  Students will be presenting their findings next Thursday of Friday. 

 

NAEP Testing for 8th Graders on Tuesday

Eighth graders will be participating in the NAEP Testing on Tuesday morning.  These tests are administered nationally and used to look at achievement throughout the United States.  Though schools and parents do not get individual scores, our students represent Vermont.  We want them to do their very best, so getting sleep the night before and a good breakfast is important.

Swift Welcomes Nina, our Thai Scholar

Thursday, Swift welcomed Nina to our school during our kiva meeting.  Baker played a piece for her, Ms. Longchamp presented her with a Swift pin, and Nina introduced herself.  Nina teaches English at an all girl's school in Thailand.  We are looking forward to learning more about her culture this semester.

March Dance Chaperones

Swift House will be hosting the next middle school dance on Friday, March 8th at 6:30.  Please sign up to chaperone here.  (This really is fun!)  We we request that students in Longchamp and Donnelly's Core bring two-2 liter bottles of cold soda or juice and Mrs. Skapof and Mrs. Laberge's core bring individually wrapped snacks.

Washington, DC Trip

Students had their first DC trip meeting on Thursday and were given the project check-off sheet.  We use the process that we use for independent projects for this trip, so all students are familiar with the requirements.  We only want to take students who are personally committed to learning on this trip.  We believe that the learning aspect is the most important, and this has been seen year after year in the student engagement and excellent behavior during the trip.  It is the student's responsibility to make every meeting and deadline.  If a student misses a meeting or deadline, a facilitator will meet with them in order to see if they are truly invested in this optional trip.  If they miss a second meeting or deadline, a note will go home to the parent and a discussion will occur as to whether the student has the maturity and commitment to attend the trip.  If a third miss has occurred, the student will not be able to attend the trip.  We are always here to help support our students through the process.

Washington, DC is a long way from Vermont, and students are also aware that behavior in the classroom is an indicator as to whether they are ready for such a trip.  Students who are not displaying "SMART" behavior regularly in school will be withdrawn from the trip.

Ms. Longchamp and Mrs. Skapof will be the "home-base" crew this year, and are already planning enriching activities for the week the DC trip students are gone.

Swift "Early" Birds

This is just a reminder that Swift House opens at 7 am for students who would like to come in early to do work.  Ms. Longchamp is the early facilitator this year and thanks you for reminding students to have a plan for what they would like to accomplish during this time.  Most students find this time very productive and use is responsibly.  Those that do not will be asked to come in at the regular school-day time at 7:50.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Open House

Thanks to everyone for participating in our January Open House.  Students were so excited to share their learning with you.  We appreciated the time you spent listening and giving feedback to our students.  Students will have the opportunity to make a more formal presentation of their learning to their peers in the coming weeks.  Many presented today, and we will have more present in morning meetings and kiva throughout the next couple of weeks. 

Marko, The Magician

Thanks to everyone who helped out and came to see Marko, the Magician last Saturday.  The fundraiser was successful, raising $1,829 for our DC Field Trip!

Thai Scholar, Nina, Coming to WSD Next Week

Williston Schools will be hosting a teacher from Thailand, beginning Monday.  Swift House will be officially welcoming her on Thursday.  We will be asking a couple of students to share some music, and we will be giving her a sterling silver Swift pin.  Mrs. Donnelly and Mrs. Longchamp will be inviting her into social studies classes during the spring semester to share her culture.

New Literature Groups Begin Monday

Students will begin new literature groups on Monday.  Please ask them about their books as well as their reading schedules.

New Science and Social Studies Classes Begin Monday

With our open house over, we will start ten weeks of new classes in science and social studies.  We will be running these class as we did in the fall.  We will be alternating "Blue" and "Gold" days (science and social studies), allowing for long blocks of time for research, inquiries, and activities. 

Swift Students and The Stock Market Game

All students on Swift House will begin their social studies classes with an engaging introduction to the stock market by participating in the Stock Market Game (SMG).  Students will be divided into teams of 3-4 and given 100,000 to invest.  The simulation runs from February 4-April 12.  SMG is the only market simulation that is endorsed by the New York Stock Exchange and is correlated to voluntary national and state standards in Math, Economics, Business Education, English Language Arts, Family and Consumer Sciences, Technology and Social Studies. It is run by a non-profit foundation that does not accept advertising or merchandise company products in delivering the program. It has more than 30 years of educational programming built into and around it and is played in schools around the world.

We encouraged students to look at the products they use on a regular basis and come into school with some ideas of companies in which they would potentially invest.  We will be posting the rankings of the top portfolios!  If you'd like to read up on the game, visit www.stockmarketgame.com.

Front Door Locks and Cameras at WCS

All visitors to WCS will have to press the intercom button located above the handicap button and speak with the receptionist before being “buzzed” in. Press the button briefly, and stand by the buzzer as you identify yourself and wait to be admitted. You do not need to hold the button to talk. This will be the new process for entering the school building during the school day.

Scripps National Spelling Bee

Qualifying Test: Wednesday, February 6th at 12:30 in the WCS Dining Room.  If your child is interested, please see the School Bell for spelling lists.