December 9, 2016 In this edition: * Principal’s Letter *Upcoming Events *Cafeteria News *Music News *Honor Roll *AAA *Students of the Month *House News *PTSA News *Community Happenings Seasons Greetings, As many of us do during the Holidays, I find myself torn. There are many blessings that the Holidays bring, a sense of excitement, joy, and anticipation. At the same time, we are bombarded with thoughts, images, and media that also show us the pain, suffering, and unpleasantness that are part of the lives of so many others. Sometimes, these are very close to home. Perhaps strangely, it is at these times that I am most thankful for my chosen profession. It is in what I do, it is in what we do as a school and community that gives me hope. Each day we look to our students, our wonderfully creative and dynamic students, who reinvigorate our sense of optimism and renew our belief that something better is always possible. We take heart in recognizing their potential to create a world less likely to produce the hurt and negatives we see around us in our daily lives. This affirms not only our choice, but also our obligation to invest ourselves in our students each and every day. Earning the right to call ourselves a great school will require a continuous determination and commitment to see that all students, regardless of who they are and how they come to us, leave us better prepared to meet the next set of life’s challenges. Our commitment must also include the development of the curiosity, character, and conscientiousness that will prime them not only for personal success, but for productive and compassionate citizenship as well. This is a charge we share as a school and a community, and it is never more important than during the Holiday season. On behalf of Bath Middle School I want to wish you all the best over the Holidays and into the New Year. Respectfully, Brandon Ward Principal Bath Middle School Monday, December 12: 6 Grade Math Team Meet, Portland, 8:20 – 12:00 Monday, December 12: 7/8 Grade Math Team Meet, South Portland, 2:00 – 6:15 Wednesday, December 14: Environmental Stewardship Expo, BMS Cafeteria, 5:30 – 7:00. Hosted by BMS 7th Grade. See the attached flyer for more details. Friday, December 16: Progress Reports go home to parents Friday, December 16: PTSA Holiday Basket drawings Friday, December 16: 7th Grade to the Chocolate Church, 8:35 – 10:45 Monday, December 19: BMS 6/7/8 Grade Winter Concert @ 6:30 in the gym Friday, December 23 – January 2: Winter Break December breakfast and lunch menus are attached. Many thanks to the Bath Middle School Student Council for their generous donation of $1000 toward exercise equipment for our fitness room. We were able to purchase another treadmill and an exercise bike!! The fitness room is open most days after school from 2:00 -­‐ 2:45 for BMS students to use. The Student Wellness Team would like to welcome the following 6th graders to our team -­‐ Coco Cashman, Rilie Harper, Julia Perow-­‐Ridley and Lucy Mercer. We're sure they will be great representatives for the 6th Grade!! YOGA COMES TO BMS Workout fads come and go but no other exercise program is as enduring as Yoga. It's been around for 5000 years and for good reason! People of all ages and fitness levels can do the most basic of poses and stretches and get results. By doing them regularly, we can build our flexibility, balance, strength and mindfulness. Please join us with your student, in mid to late January as the BMS Wellness Team and Fuel Up to Play 60 have teamed together to offer a free beginner yoga class for students, their parents and staff members, right here at BMS. Please join us! And stay tuned for more details. The BMS Winter Concert for Grades 6-­‐8 Band, 7th and 8th Jazz Band, and 6-­‐8 Chorus will be on Monday, December 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the BMS Gym. The concert is open to the public. ALL ARE WELCOME! Students should arrive between 6:00 and 6:15. Concert dress is white shirts or blouses, black pants or skirts, and dark shoes. The following BMS music students auditioned and were accepted to this year's 2016-­‐2017 District III Chorus & Band Festival: Gabe Croteau: Trumpet Sopranos: Samantha Melquist & Aroura Rock Altos: Olivia Duggan, Emmaleigh Fish, Hadley Wong, & Catelyn Bradford Baritones: Edward Crews, Dylan DeMerchant, & Thomas Read Congratulations! For concert schedules, jazz band schedules, lesson schedules, and other information relating to BMS music, please visit our blog at: http://bathmiddleschoolmusic.blogspot.com/ The members of the Greenhouse Club are pleased to announce a new partnership with Garbage to Garden! With support from the Student Council, we will begin to compost food scraps and paper products from the cafeteria, which will be brought off-­‐site to continue the decomposing process. In the spring, we will be provided with compost for the greenhouse and the apple orchard. We plan to begin the composting program on Wednesday, January 4th. Parent volunteers are needed during lunch times to help facilitate the sorting of food scraps, recycling, and trash. If you are available to help during lunches, please email Maria Newcomb ([email protected]). If you are interested in learning more about Garbage to Garden, visit their website at www.garbagetogarden.org. 6th Grade – 1st Quarter High Honors: Dylan Barr, Jason Bisson, Jr., Emily Boyle, Kadance Burden, Maryssa Cavallaro, Margaret Dempsey-­‐
Blair, Connor Dever, Kadyn Doyle, Riley Dunn, Adriana Gonzalez, Haley Jackson, Aleigha James, Dalton Johnstone, Sophia Kovacs, Taylor Mario, Wyatt Wallace, Liberty Wyman Honors: Faye Aitken, Aqil Alaboudi, Dyllan Arsenault, Hannah Baker, Sophia Barber, Curtis Bebee, Tristan Beveridge, Sophie Booth, Lanye Brewer, Antonio Brown, Colleen Cashman, Madison Davis, Severen Denyer, Benjamin Foreman, Zachary Foreman, Ivianne Gonzalez, Daniel Hafford, Abigail Hinds, Makayla Hooper, Camdyn Johnson, Camren Jones, Madysen Kaler, Dana Lord III, Sadie McNish, Lucy Mercer, Marissa Miles, Gabe Morrison, Julia Perow-­‐Ridley, Izaak Phenix, Brandon Read, Haley Seluke, Wyatt Shipley, Caleb Sommers, Cody Stewart, Christopher Swinburne, Ciara Thorne, Eaghan Wright Honorable Mention: Kenyah Allen, Aidan Beecher, Ethan Boynton, Danielle Bryant, Nathan Goodman, Rylie Harper, Liliana Johnson, Zander Kirk, Caleb LaRose, Saydee McCall, Jayce Moody, Nathan Nickerson, Natalie Styles, Elijah Torrey, Andrew Willey, Jennifer York 7th Grade -­‐ 1st Quarter High Honors: Lily Clifford, Audrey Crews, Edward Crews, Olivia Cunningham, Isaac Ensel, Aviva Feinberg, Elliot Harkins, Samantha Melquist, Delaney Pascuzzo, Aidan Shields, Jonah Smith, Wren Tetreault, Hadley Wong Honors: Gabriel Aucoin, Alexandrea Brooks, Fionna Cashman, Olivia Chabot, Cecilia Cole, Greta Crabtree, Caitlyn Crowell, Natalie Damon, Elliot Dorr, Cody Emerson, Emmaleigh Fish, Kyle Fredericks, Grayson Fuller, Cayden Green, Thomas Guild, Magen Hagerthy, Trevor Hanna, Kassidy Hart, Nathaniel Jewett, Joshua Knost, Julia Lucas, Fiona Mann, Lucas Martin, Linville McDonough, Emily Myers, Venice Nash, Mary Parker, Margaret Pinkham, Allison Reblin, Gracie Rolfe, Caroline Skroski, Shawn Sprague, Jr., Kennedy St. Pierre, Sawyer Stead, Isabel Strelneck, Samuel Taft, Joshua Ter Mors, Drew Walden, Ashlyn Wyman, Campbell Wyman Honorable Mention: Miranda Burpee, Robert Fitzmaurice, Beau Haddad, Gracie Hawkes, Soren Langord, Molly Poulin, Dawson Trask 8th Grade – 1st Quarter High Honors: Hannah Bauer, Benjamin Brewer, Eleanor Carrolton, Meghan Fowles, Eiden French, Boden Gould, Ty Knowlton, Conner McNish, Aroura Rock, Althea Rogenes, Marissa Williams, Libby Wyman Honors: Anastasia Alaboudi, Katelyn Anderson, Caleb Avery, Sydney Barr, Helen Bertlesman, Abigail Carpenter, Gage Crabtree, Dylan DeMerchant, Caden Denslow, Hannah Gates, Isaiah Genthner, Kylie Grendell, Autumn Hawkes, Hailie Johnson, Brianna Koehling, Brook Kulis, Hunter Martin, Nathan Molyneux, Keonna Moore, Mikayla Moore, Jacob Mowry, Alexandria Nickerson, Dylan Phenix, Dylan Potter, Nina Powers, Veronica Prager, Aidan Pryor, Thomas Read, Danee Rogers, Brogan Shaw, Isabella Short-­‐Galuza, Ilana Sinclair, Sarah Staeben, Ethan Upham, Ciaran Wright Honorable Mention: Julia Baker, Sydney Barber, Maxon Brochu, Rylie Cowette, Kaylee Garland, Nicholas Gaynor, Robin Hale Krull, Logan Kane, Deliah Lamarre, Aaron Landel, Mason Savary, Isaak Sinclair, Samuel Sinibaldi, Mark Werner Popham House Reid House Dyllan Arsenault Jason Bisson Sophia Kovacs Baxter House Emmaleigh Fish Magen Hagerthy Fiona Mann Acadia House Boden Gould Aroura Rock Sarah Staeben Dylan Barr Sadie McNish Marissa Miles Kennebec House Seguin House Popham House Reid House Kennebec House SeguinHouse Most Outstanding: Sophia Kovacs Most Improved: Annabelle Mason Most Academic: Dyllan Arsenault Baxter House Most Outstanding: Gracie Rolfe Most Improved: Dawson Trask Most Academic: Hadley Wong Acadia House Most Outstanding: Sydney Barber Most Improved: Deliah Lamarre Most Academic: Hailie Johnson Edward Crews Venice Nash Joshua Ter Mors Sydney Barr Benjamin Brewer Conner McNish
Most Outstanding: Taylor Mario Most Improved: Haley Sewall Most Academic: Ivianne Gonzalez Most Outstanding: Wren Tetreault Most Improved: Gracie Hawkes Most Academic: Gabriel Aucoin Most Outstanding: Gage Crabtree Most Improved: Nichelle Moody Most Academic: Dylan Phenix Winter fell gently to the ground this week in the form of soft fluffy snowflakes, which collected cooperatively on every available exposed surface. It is too bad all the storms we will endure this season do not arrive in the same manner. Lore has it that the calendar date of the first storm we have with enough accumulated snow to track a cat will set the number of severe winter storms we will have over the winter. Monday’s storm came on the Fifth of December -­‐ so will we get five big storms this winter? We’ll have to wait and see. In Math class students have been working very hard learning about the prime factorization of numbers. This is helping us in understanding different types of relationships between numbers. The classroom economy has also been tweaked a bit to further help our classroom run more efficiently. Each student has one or two classroom responsibilities that they get "paid" for in this token economy. They are saving their "money" to purchase rewards throughout the school year. Through this process they certainly are learning a lot about money management. Ms. Morris wants all parents to know she will be offering after school help every Monday throughout the rest of the school year. She will be staying after school until 3:00 these days to help with assignments, homework and/or basic skills practice. Hopefully students will take advantage of this time and use this help to their advantage! In Writing class, we are composing an informational piece of writing. Emphasis is placed on developing note taking skills, organizing an essay into the standard 5 paragraph essay format, writing strong thesis statements, and citing sources. In Literacy, students are participating in a Bingo reading challenge. Each student must have an approved chapter reading book done by Friday, December 9, followed by a book project December 16th. Students will then begin work on their second chapter reading book. Those looking for a challenge are encouraged to look at our BINGO reading challenge rubric for prizes. In Humanities we have begun our exploration of ancient Egypt. To begin our journey, we have been looking at how the Nile River shaped the early civilization. Students have been learning about the gifts of the Nile and will be comparing the Nile to the Kennebec. We will continue through Egypt by investigating the social pyramid, the Gods, and the structures put in place by ancient Egyptians designed to order their world. Our focus in science has shifted from the study of weather and climate change and now we have begun our investigation of soil and water in the ground. This work will take us into the New Year and will include the introduction of new vocabulary, the graduated cylinder and measuring water by the milliliter, proportion, percentage, and how to identify the five components of soil. After we have absorbed the vocabulary associated with this unit we will begin exploring the composition of the soil samples, which were donated to get a better idea of the ingredients, which make up good soil. Please encourage your sixth grader to dress warmly and to wear appropriate winter weather clothing now that the season has arrived. We go outside every good-­‐weather day for recess and now that we have snow and winter temperatures it is time to be dressed accordingly so to be safe and warm when outside. Happy December! We only have a couple more weeks before we head into the holidays. There is still much to complete before the break begins and we need kids to stay focused to accomplish all that needs to be done. Progress reports will be sent home with students next Friday. Reminder, this is not a report card, just a glance at how your child is doing so far this quarter. If they are doing well, we hope they continue with the good progress. If they are struggling, this lets them know they have a few more weeks to change things around. Students need to continue to read 30 minutes a night and complete their reading logs. Many have reading goals to meet before the holiday break. Our expectations for Habits of Work has increased and students are spending their crew time assessing themselves in those areas. We are really focusing on the use of the planner so if you haven't been checking those we ask that you have your child show you the planner so you can see what they need to work on and if there are any problems arising as they would be documented there. In Humanities, we are winding down our investigation of Ancient Egypt. Students are finishing up several assignments and will begin to prepare their project due before break. This will involve fixing and improving previous assignments, creating a cover and table of contents, adding pictures to paragraph pages and completing any other assignments that may be missing. This project grade will be worth 50% of their quarter grade and will not be accepted after the holiday break. Science classes have been working towards wrapping up our weather and climate unit. In class, students have been researching and then writing paragraphs about various topics including the greenhouse effect, sea level rise, and the impacts these events will have on the natural and man-­‐made environments, both across the globe and locally. The hope is to have a team of students eventually use all of this research to create a website that informs the public of our findings and spark conversations about what climate change means for Maine residents and ways we can adapt to and fight against climate change. Next week we begin a new unit: Astronomy. We will take advantage of our long, dark winter days to make observations and gain a greater understanding of what's happening in our universe and beyond! We would like to extend a huge thank you to the Acadia house students who helped make our eighth grade all-­‐school crew a success: Nina, Sarah, Anastasia, Marissa, Veronica, and Isaak. Congratulations to Nina and Eleanor for sharing their original writing pieces at the FLOW reception. Great job! Good Luck wishes to Ethan A. as he and his family move to San Diego. We will miss you. Research, note taking, distinguishing valid website, and presentation skills were used to produce slideshows on Vietnam recently in Humanities class. Students have also been learning about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Humanities class. We have discussed the tragic events that took place 75 years ago, read about the sacrifices made and watched video clips of the attack. Lest we forget. In Tech Ed, the Architectural design unit the Acadia house has been working on is complete. There have been some very cool design/models created. From now to the holidays students will have an opportunity to present a proposal to plan and create a product of their choice. Those students who wish to work on a different design challenge may work on a tabletop “Mini-­‐golf /pool “ game. On an 18” x 24” plowed base plan, design and construct a three hole (minimum) mini golf/pool game, ask your son/ daughter which challenge or product they’re choosing to produce. In Algebra we are midway through our third unit working with Inequalities. Students are solving multi-­‐
step inequalities before moving on to compound inequalities next week. In CMP math we have been working with the relationship between areas of squares and their side lengths leading up to an investigation of square roots. Next week we will be using these skills as we investigate the Pythagorean theorem. In Science, Acadia House scientists have really begun to explore chemical reactions! We are exploring how the properties of the substances before a reaction can be very different than the properties after a reaction. We even explored this during a lab. We took two different clear liquids, observed their properties, mixed them together and it formed slime! We were able to see a polymer form out of nowhere and now we are exploring how something useful in the world like a polymer can be made from natural resources! We are really learning how chemical reactions are essential to our world! We will be exploring some different types of reactions soon and will be exploring more ways that chemical reactions help our world function. The 7th and 8th grade math teams will be competing in their first math meet of the year Monday in Portland. The Mustard Seed Bookstore is partnering with local schools. They offer a safe place for children to go after school, author events, award ceremonies, summer reading incentive programs, and an array of art supplies. Congratulations to Conner McNish and Gage Crabtree, who recently read aloud their myths at the Chewonki Foundation’s F.L.O.W. Reception at the Bath City Hall. Student drawings, myths, booklets and projects were proudly on display for the community to peruse. The following paintings were made by Sydney Barr, Brook Kulis and Keonna Moore. We recently had an all-­‐school CREW where our 8th graders presented a video and posters showing their F.L.O.W. experiences to the entire BMS student body. Lexie, Danee, Kaylee, Aidan and Caleb are below making the posters prior to the presentation. Dom, Gabe, Makenzie, Olivia, Brandon and Jordan are below testing mystery powders in a recent science chemistry lab. Notice that ALL are wearing the appropriate science wearables! What do Wednesdays look like in Baxter House? Students are always excited when we have Workshop Wednesday! While some students head off to Maine Maritime Museum with their Humanities class, other students remain at school to work on major projects, case studies and expedition work while following a workshop teaching model. Workshop day provides students with the opportunity to work independently or as a group on creative projects that are either assigned or students decide on a project that interests them. Teachers support and guide student’s independent and group projects while continuing to question and challenge students to help them grow as learners. Workshop Wednesdays may have a content theme or be based on our current Expedition at the time. When asked, students had a lot to say about Workshop Wednesdays: “I like getting to be creative and getting to work in a smaller group” –Emmaleigh “So chaotic, but epic at the same time” -­‐Liv “My favorite workshops are when we prepare for Expedition Expos” –Lucas “I like Workshop Wednesday when we get to make food in Health” – Fionna “I like when we go on the trip to Maine Maritime Museum and learn a lot about when ship building first started” -­‐ Emma Our big focus during Workshop Wednesday this month is preparing for our upcoming Green Crab Expedition Expo on December 14th! Students decided whether they wanted to focus on creating a high quality project in Humanities, Science, Health, Writing or Math. Students are writing editorials, graphic novels, studying effects of green crabs, completing data analysis and cooking up recipes with Green Crabs. Please join us on December 14th at 5:30pm in the BMS Cafeteria to see all our students’ fantastic work! House Announcements: -­‐Period 9 takes place Tuesday through Thursdays from 2-­‐3pm! -­‐Expedition Expo: December 14th (5:30-­‐7:00pm) Picture shows students working on a case study on data analysis of M & M’s in Math Workshop Wednesday! Science: Students have been working really hard to focus on a lot of different things in class. • High Quality work for Expo • Understanding what an ecosystem is and what causes change in it • Revising work • Practicing Focusing. There is a lot going on but it will all come to a head on the 14th from 5:30-­‐7:00 pm in the Cafeteria where the students will be presenting their projects that directly connect with our Expedition from this fall: Environmental Stewardship. These range from videos, to reports, to scavenger hunts around the exposition hall. Students who cannot attend at night will be asked to present to 6th graders the next morning. Mathematics: Students have been developing the concept of similarity of geometric figures, and proportionality over the past couple of weeks in the unit Stretching and Shrinking. They will complete this investigation before the holidays. After the holidays, the students will continue to extend their understanding of proportionality in the unit Comparing and Scaling. Humanities: Students are reaching the end of their exploration of the book, World Without Fish. Students participated in an evidence-­‐based debate to answer the question, “Is oil or garbage more destructive to marine environments.” Working in teams, Kennebec Debaters prepared evidence to backup their claim and researched evidence that their opponents might use as counterclaims. Teams were scored on each of four parts to the debate. Final tallies showed that Teams tied in two classes and the difference between the teams in two other classes was one point. Great Work Kennebec Debaters!!!! Holiday Gift Basket Raffle Tickets will be on sale until December 16th. Stop by the main office to purchase your tickets. Tickets will be drawn at the end of the school day on December 16th. The next PTSA meeting will be on December 20 at 5:30 in the Guidance Classroom. Freedom Tour 2017: Tuesday, June 20 – Monday, June 26. Meeting dates and cost/payment schedule is attached. Odds Bodkin for ThinAir Music: December 19 – 22, 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm. See the attached flyer for details. Good Shepherd Mobile Food Truck: The last Tuesday of the month, 2:00 – 2:30, Grace Episcopal Church. Schedule of dates is attached. Youth Mental Health First Aid: Thursday, December 29, 2016 from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm at Southern New Hampshire University. See the attached flyer for details. Families CAN -­‐Active Parenting: January 4 -­‐ 25 and March 7 – 28, Free 4 –week workshop. See the attached flyer for details.