Friday, May 29, 2015

May 30, 2015


               There are more Rube Goldberg machines to see at the end of the Flyer...

 

Open House- June 9th @ 6:30 pm

Please Mark Your Calendar

All Swifties will be sharing their spring research projects at this Open House, so be sure to join us!  The evening will begin at 6:30 in the auditorium as 8th graders stand at the podium to give us a one minute overview of their research.  We will then head to Swift House to learn more about students' 8th grade challenge, Washington DC and science and history projects.

As always, you-- the parent audience-- do wonders for the students' excitement and investment.  They are truly enthusiastic about presenting to you, so be ready to hear what they've learned.  Keep in mind that this is a separate event from the 8th Grade Challenge Community Panel presentation which is happening in the morning.


Last Weeks of School

Swifties have two or three major tasks as we head into our last 2.4 weeks of school:
  1. Preparing for the Open House on June 9th at 6:30 pm
  2. Reflecting on their learning by assembling their portfolios and completing Nexus reports 
  3. Preparing the the Community Panel Presentation (8th Graders Only) 
Students should have note-cards prepared and should be practicing for these presentations.  They have great work to share and we want them to share it with pride and confidence.  Please be sure you have taken note of these other upcoming events as well:

 

 Week of June 1-5

  • Washington DC -or-
  • Home Team Activities

 Week of June 8-12

  • June 8th: Fun Day (middle school students volunteer to be helpers)
  • June 8th: Awards Ceremony during school day
  • June 9th: 8th Grade Challenge Final Presentations & Luncheon @ 8:30 am
  • June 9th: 6:30pm: Open House for ALL Swift Students 
  • June 11th: Sandbar: Swift House picnic and 8th grade celebration
  • June 11th: 8th graders’ last day of school
  • June 11th: 8th Grade Graduation @ 6:30 pm 

Week of June 15-16

  • June 15th: Students write letters for Core Placement
  • June 16th: Last day of school for K-7th grade (1/2 day)

Core Placement- Input Opportunity

On the last day of school, we will meet with fourth grade teachers to learn about our new Swifties for 2015-2016. We will also ask current students to write a letter to us indicating their preference for core placement, including core teachers they would like to work with (top two), peers they would enjoy having in core with them, and whether or not they would like to be a mentor. We use all of their feedback very carefully while balancing cores for the next school year, working hard to balance grade, gender, as well as academic and social needs.

If you have specific input about core placement that you would like us to consider in this process, please e-mail your son or daughter's core teacher before June 15th so we can take it into consideration. As mentioned, it is a great balancing act in which we try to meet everyone's needs!


Rube Goldberg Projects

Swifties displayed stunning perseverance  while working on their Rube Goldberg machines!  They planned, assembled, described,tested, and recorded their machines in five days and many, many tries.  To see a group setting up dominoes for the 8th time, or readjusting their Lego-man zipline to hit the ball just right, is to see the ultimate in student teamwork and determination.

Jonas and Adam building

Ruben placing dominoes

Dylan, Gosha and Storm with more dominoes

Ella and Lily almost ready to test

A selection of videos follows.  To see the list of all videos, visit the WCS Youtube site.  Try to imagine the amount of time required to create 15 seconds of good "Rube Goldberg" video!



Bobby, Baker, Nick and Bryant



Demi, Gabby, Trevor and Gus


Eric, Eve, Jazmyn, Ruben


Jagger's Group


Adam, Koell, Ethan, Jonas



Bray, Lily, Alexis, Ella

Jimmy, Bryce, Shelby, Brayden, Gabby

Sunday, May 17, 2015

May 15, 2015

Appreciated!

Wow!!  Thank you, parents, for the many gestures of appreciation last week.  We so enjoyed the FAP-sponsored breakfast, the amazing Dessert Day, and the cards, cookies and flowers that appeared on our desks. These moments remind us of how lucky we are to work in a supportive community like Williston. Thank you, thank you!

Community Panelists Still Needed...

Please consider being part of our community panels for 8th grade challenge presentations. If your son or daughter is not yet in 8th grade this is a great way to see how the projects come together. If you know of any potential panel members, please e-mail them the letter below. Grandparents, family members, former Swift House students, former Swift House parents are all great potentials.  Thank you for your help!

Dear Swift Friends and Families, 

Swift House will be holding our annual 8th Grade Challenge presentations on Tuesday, June 9th. We are in need of 16-20 adult volunteers to serve as panelists for the students. Parents, mentors, grandparents, former teachers all make for great audience members. These community volunteers will listen to approximately 5 presentations which are about 20 minutes each. During this time the volunteers will ask questions and provide feedback to the students. 

After the presentations each volunteer may join the 8th graders for a celebratory lunch. Please arrive in the Swift Kiva between 8:00-8:15AM, presentations will start at 8:30AM and continue to 11:00AM. Lunch will be served in the Dining Room immediately following the presentations. Please let me know if you would like to participate in this annual Swift House event and support our 8th grade class by e-mailing me at lbarland@cssu.org. 

Regards, 

 Lisa Barland


Life Studies: Rube Goldberg and Beyond

On Monday we will begin a week-long physics challenge, specifically creating Rube Goldberg Machines. Students will work with small groups to create an overly-complex machine to complete one simple task.  This year the challenge is to drop Mentos into soda.  For a detailed overview of the project components, see the student handout here.  To view successful projects from students in Swift House two years, check out the videos below.




After our Rube Goldberg week students will all be working on Independent Projects, Washington DC Projects and Eighth Grade Challenge Projects during our science and social studies block through the end of the year.


No Homework Club- Tuesday, May 19

Ms. Cammann has another commitment on Tuesday and will be unable to facilitate Homework Club.  Core teachers in are committee meetings that afternoon as well.  If this causes a particular issue for afternoon care for your son or daughter please e-mail his or her core teacher directly-- we're happy to help problem solve!


Burlington International Airport Tour

For my 8th Grade Challenge I chose to study Commercial Flight. As part of the project all the 8th graders are required to do a community connection. For my community connection I wanted to get other students interested in aviation. So I decided to give the opportunity for 10 students from Swift house to go on a tour of the Burlington International Airport and take a tour.

On May 13th we left at noon for the airport for the tour. When we got there we got set up with our badges for security reasons. Throughout the tour we went to many different areas of the airport and learned a lot from each part. Some of the highlights of the tour were going through the security checkpoint and looking at the security machines. We learned about the different security machines and how they work. Another highlight was, we got to walk right onto the terminal and see a plane pull up to its gate.

To finish it off we went up to the old control tower and got a great view of the whole airport. Overall we all learned a lot about how an airport works and the different jobs at an airport and I think everyone had a fun time to.

~Andrew W, Swift House 8th Grader

BTV Airport Tour Crew

It turns out that Al's Fries is on the return flight from BTV...


Narrative Writing

All Swift students just completed a narrative writing project in which they were asked to compose and illustrate a story.  Many worked with partners and all were successful in combing text and images to create engaging final projects.  Please check out one example by click on the image below.  We hope to upload more soon.





Thursday, May 7, 2015

May 8, 2015

Volunteers Needed for 8th Grade Graduation

The Eighth grade graduation ceremony is scheduled for June 11th 6:30-8:00 pm. As is the tradition here at Williston Central School, the sixth and seventh grade parents are asked to help set-up, staff and clean-up the reception that follows the ceremony; it typically runs from 8:00-8:30. Weather-depending, the reception is either held in the Courtyard or in the Cafeteria. The reception food, drink and decoration plan will be sorted out and on site -- we simply need 8-10 parents willing to come help from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Information will be provided by the Reception Committee in advance of the evening so all volunteers will know what needs to be done. If you're interested, please send your name and cellphone via email to Susan Wickart - susanwickart@comcast.net by June 5th.

Thanks kindly for your support and help. When it's your child's turn to graduate, you'll see how wonderful it is, first hand, to be able to attend the ceremony and reception and not have to worry about set up and clean up!

All Shook Up Variety Show 

Saturday, May 16, 2015 , 7pm
Williston Central School
Please join us for an evening of entertainment and help raise money for the Joe Shook Scholarship Fund, sending children with disabilities to Partners In Adventure summer camp.  See the flyer below for more details.



8th Grade Challenge Presentations

Parents- Please consider being part of our community panels for 8th grade challenge presentations.  If you're son or daughter is not yet in 8th grade this is a great way to see how the projects come together.  If you know of any great potential panel member, please  forward this e-mail to them.  Thanks!

Dear Swift Friends and Families,

Swift House will be holding our annual 8th Grade Challenge presentations on Tuesday, June 9th. We are in need of 16-20 adult volunteers to serve as panelists for the students. Parents, mentors, grandparents, former teachers all make for great audience members. These community volunteers will listen to approximately 5 presentations which are about 20 minutes each. During this time the volunteers will ask questions and provide feedback to the students. 

After the presentations each volunteer may join the 8th graders for a celebratory lunch. Please arrive in the Swift Kiva between 8:00-8:15AM, presentations will start at 8:30AM and continue to 11:00AM. Lunch will be served in the Dining Room immediately following the presentations. Please let me know if you would like to participate in this annual Swift House event and support our 8th grade class by e-mailing me at lbarland@cssu.org.

Regards, 

Lisa Barland


Science Happenings

All Swift students have been studying the properties of light energy,  such as the fact that white light actually contains all colors of the spectrum.

Zach S captured the spectrum through a diffraction grating


Students view a red/green/blue illustration through different lenses


Winter Gear for Vermont Refugees

Hello dear families,

My name is Prince Yodishembo and I am doing immigration for my 8th grade challenge. For my community connection I presented to some of the houses in the school about my immigration journey. Now for the second part of my community connection I would like to have a donation drive for the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program. The donations needed for the donation drive are any winter gear (boots, hats, mittens, scarfs and ex.) that your family doesn't need anymore or that don't fit you or your children. Thank you in advance for all the donations. You can find a box at the front office of WCS.

Thank you,

Prince Yodishembo


Theater Announcement

8th graders who are interested in participating in the FALL Musical at CVU - There will be a Theatre Program Meeting at CVU on Wednesday, May 20th from 3:15 to 3:45. INCOMING FRESHMEN ARE VERY WELCOME TO ATTEND. The title of the CVU Musical will be announced and you’ll also receive Audition information as well. Auditions will be held in Mid August, so it will be important to get all of the Audition information before next school year. 8th graders who are considering participating in next year’s Fall Musical please plan to attend this meeting at CVU in the CVU Theatre.


SHAC

WHO IS SHAC? A group of caring staff members who are dedicated to helping students make healthy choices about nutrition and exercise. Our mission is to promote a healthier life style that will last a life time. The group consists of Lisa LePrevost, School Nurse, Shannon Dugger, School Counselor, Kim McMahon, FACS teacher, Sarah Klionsky, SAP Counselor, and Nadine Paffett-Lugassy, Planning Room Specialist.

During the month of May SHAC will offer an opportunity for all students in grades 6-8th to exercise by walking after school. The group will meet at 3pm in the Health Office at WCS. The club will start off with a healthysnack and taste testing. A nutrition topic will be discussed during the first 30 minutes. After snack, the group will use pedometers to track their walking progress. We will have a walk and talk discussion as well. Incentives and rewards will be offered. The last session will be a celebration of our accomplishments!

WHEN: Mondays and Wednesdays May 4th to May 27th TIME: 3 – 4:30 pm after school (rain or shine)

WHERE: WCS – Will meet in the outer office of the Health Office

If your son or daughter may be interested, please let his or her core teacher know! Permission slips will be given to interested students.


What do kids wish for Williston?

The Town Planning Commission would like to know! The Williston Planning Commission is hosting two events this week to hear from ALL town residents about what they'd like to see as priorities -- these events are the 'kick-off' phase of public participation in the 5-year Town Plan revision. As part of those events, we will be offering a special kids' table of maps, stickers, and other materials with a chance for kids to comment, draw ideas, and help the Planning Commission hear young people's perspectives (kids' names will not be collected - just ideas!).

The events are: Thursday May 7th, 7-9 pm AND Saturday, May 9th, 1-3pm.  Both events are in the WCS Dining Room, light refreshments to be served. Of course, we'd love to hear from parents too! What do YOU like about current plans or wish the Town would prioritize in land-use, transportation, and infrastructure decisions?

Join us! Note to Scout Troops -- this is a good opportunity for community service! For more info about Kids' Wishes For Williston activities: Meghan Cope (Planning Commission member, WCS parent): meghancope@gmail.com

Student Work

Students have been working hard on illustrated books in writing class.  We will be scanning and sharing these examples in the week to come, but here is one book from a literature class to give you an idea of how creative these kids are!

Sky by Isaac G


May the 4th (Be With You)

In celebration of Star Wars Day (May the Fourth Be With You!) the Swift House facilitators put on costumes and Jonas H treated us to a team quiz on Star Wars Trivia.  Thanks, Jonas!

Ewoks

Yoda/Trivia Master

The whole cast...