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Team Endeavor NewsSocial Studies Students spent April focusing on the Civil War, looking at the compromises leading to it, major events, and the impact of the war. They have had the chance to choose the difficulty level of this unit (Gold, Silver or Bronze) and many students have really challenged themselves by taking more difficult work! Simulations of major battles as well as clips of Ken Burns' "The Civil War" and the movie "Gettysburg", and a giant rented North America map (taking up half the gym!) were used to look at the geography of the war. In early April, we looked at the law-making process, which involved the team traveling in two groups to the Vermont State House in Montpelier. Students saw a legislative session - including getting introduced in the House - got a tour and depending on the group, did a scavenger hunt in the Vermont History Museum or a judicial session in the State Supreme Court. We are looking at the events that followed the Civil War in the South and students will complete the year with an independent study on a 19th century topic that interests them. – Mr. Fries Language Arts "The play's the thing!" - William Shakespeare. Students will read a number of plays and work on speaking with expression and emotion. The power of narrative is strong, and we'll enjoy some very special stories in play and narrative form. Finally, we'll wind up loose ends by reviewing our writing NECAP scores, recognizing those who have met the goal of reading 24 books this year, and preparing for the Lowell portion of our field trip. We'll separate into three groups and work on activities entitled "Bale to Bolt", "Workers on the Line" and "Yankees and Immigrants". It has been a sincere pleasure working with this talented, versatile, and loving group of students. It will be exciting to see them “Step Up” on June 8. – Mrs. McEnerny Students recently took a geometry test demonstrating proficiency with surface area, volume, the Pythagorean Theorem, angle relationships, and more. Between now and the end of the year they will study a variety of topics starting with probability and bi-variate analysis.
This year's eighth graders have been very enjoyable to work with. They are an intelligent group of students. I have been particularly impressed with my Integrated 1 students who have worked hard all year. Special recognition should go to Nathan Rowell, John Duke, and Josh Newton for consistently helping other students in that class. – Mr. Nary
Science Recently we finished units on weather, forms of energy, energy conversions and thermal energy. In addition to having the opportunity to take bronze, silver, or gold quizzes, students have been able to take a bronze, silver or gold “route” through the unit. This new structure to class has meant a lot of extra work for both the students and me, but the students really seem to enjoy the flexibility, freedom, and rigor it has provided, along with the self-discipline and organizational skills it teaches them. Every student is responsible for meeting a core set of learning targets that meet the state standards, however, the silver and gold routes include additional learning targets and activities that stretch the students to explore additional material and/or complete additional tasks. I am overwhelmed with how willing the kids continue to be to challenge themselves to set and reach high goals for themselves in science! We are ending the year with a unit on forces and motion. We have just finished our first section on speed, velocity, and acceleration in time for the NECAPs. After the NECAPs we will continue this unit as we learn about balanced and unbalanced forces, forms of friction, and Newton’s Laws. To conclude the year, we will build and race fan cars. – Mrs. Muzzy
For more information about Team Endeavor, including team news and assignments, visit Endeavor. |
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