PawsNews04-16-15 - Goffstown School District

“Paws”itively News
Paws Pride; Respect, Responsibility and Pride
www.goffstown.k12.nh.us/mv
April 16, 2015
(603) 497-8288
PAWS PRIDE - WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS
TEAM 8-2: Science students have had a very busy second trimester. Chemistry and Forensics
were the themes that kept the team up to their elbows in labs…25 to be exact! The 11 chemistry
labs had students exploring changes of state and indicators of chemical changes, tasting solutions
and messing with mixtures, creating Bohr models from Fruit Loops and analyzing the mass of gum,
making ice cream from scratch and testing the Law of conservation of Mass. A busy time it was!
At the end of January, science veered off into the realm of Forensics and tallied another 14
labs. Students analyzed hair (both human and animal), fibers, tire tracks, blood spatter, Bertillon
measurements, hand, foot, and fingerprints, bite marks, tool marks, and bones! Beyond the labs,
our students honed their writing skills in the form of formal labs, informal labs, current events,
close readings, reaction papers, and video notes. They are much improved from September!
It is clear that the team enjoys a good mystery as well as the Sweater Shredder, Mystery
Animal tracks, X-Rays, and the Deadly Picnic kept them guessing.
As a culmination to the high interest unit, the team welcomed Detective Matt Fleming, UNH
Chemistry research doctoral candidate Casey Grenier, UNH senior Brittany Hutchinson, and school
psychologist, Terry Dwyer into the classes to make career connections and open up future avenues
related to chemistry and forensics!
The team winds up the year in science with a mini light unit, and then a final unit on
astronomy! It is with confidence that I say that our 8-2 students will be ready for what freshman
year science throws their way!
We are keeping busy in mathematics! The Algebra 1 classes are now learning how to solve
polynomials while the math classes are focusing on various topics in geometry. The Algebra 1
students will spend a lot of time focusing on factoring polynomials. We will learn different
factoring strategies that will help us solve quadratic equations. Our next chapter will focus on
graphing quadratic functions. In math we are looking at transformations of figures. Students have
learned how to translate, reflect, and rotate images in the coordinate plane. We are looking at
similar and congruent figures and how their dimensions compare when figures are dilated. Our next
topics in geometry will focus on polygons, angles, and parallel lines.
The language arts classes have wrapped up the poetry unit with great success and are now
pursuing the non-fiction unit. Our Big Question is “How much information is enough?” During this
unit students will be reading and analyzing a variety of non-fiction texts: speeches, diaries, articles,
excerpts from autobiographies or biographies. Students will also be researching a topic in
conjunction with their social studies class. This research paper will be part of their electronic
portfolio that will follow them to the high school. In May, we will read a drama: “The Diary of
Anne Frank” as we complete the various testing before the end of the year.
In Social Studies, we continue to make our way to the present. We’ve focused on the 13
original colonies and the events that led to the American Revolution, the Revolution and its
outcomes, and the birth of Political Parties in America. We recently finished “That 1700’s Project”,
where students completed a series of mini-projects of their choosing and presented a few to the
class. On the day that project was due, students were given the 8th Grade Research Paper Project,
which is an interdisciplinary project that is being completed in Social Studies and Language Arts
classes. The umbrella topic for this project is ‘Civil Rights’ and students were asked to choose a
sub-topic from a list that was provided. Their task is to research that topic, compile data, and write
a formal 3-5 page Research Paper in proper MLA format. The research papers are due April 22nd.
Down the road we will continue our journey through American History and hit major topics
that include the War of 1812 and its outcomes, Jacksonian Democracy, westward expansion, the
Compromises of 1820 and 1850, the events leading to the American Civil War and ending the year
with the Civil War itself. Between now and the end of the year students will also be expected to
complete several Document Based Questions, some tests/quizzes/’quests’, a debate (topic TBD),
several more homework assignments and – if there is time – another project!
Also important to note that Team 8-2 has been heavily involved in raising money for the
Liberty House, which is a home established by veterans for homeless veterans in need of support.
Students from 8-2 have donated their own money, and have asked for money from other
teams/grades and, to date, have raised $700! Keep up the great work 8-2!!!
8TH GRADE WASHINGTON DC TRIP: Dear Parents/Guardians and
Students: Next week is a big week...Chaperones are excited and are getting
last minute details sorted. Everyone has paid. I have the final itinerary and we
will give them to you at the meeting. Please note the final meeting is
mandatory. We will meet in the MVMS LIBRARY ON APRIL 21, 2015 at
7:00 p.m. Parents, please remember to review your contact information upon
arrival. Make any necessary changes/corrections then initial your information so we know you have
seen it. Chaperones will meet with their groups to exchange cell numbers. Students will get luggage
tags. Room captains will be briefed on their roles. Medications will be collected by Jen Charron,
our nurse chaperone for the trip. ALL OTC AND PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS MUST BE
IN THEIR ORIGINAL PACKAGES OR BOTTLES LABELED WITH YOUR CHILD'S
NAME. Putting them in a zip lock bag is helpful. Jen will meet with all students and their parents
to review medical forms and collect medications at a separate table towards the back of the Library
for privacy. We will review all last minute details then answer any questions you may have. We
know everyone is busy so we are going to try to make the meeting as short as possible, but also
want to make sure we cover everything as well. We look forward to seeing you on APRIL 21, 2015
IN THE MVMS LIBRARY at 7:00 p.m. Thank you, Colleen Jorczak, Anne Chouinard, Jenna
Holden, Joe McCarthy, Gregg Chouinard, Shawn McCabe and Jen Charron
8TH GRADE PROMOTION CEREMONY INFORMATION: The 8th grade Promotion
Ceremony has been set for Wednesday, June 17th at 2:30 on the campus of St. Anselm's
College. With the change in venue, families have the opportunity to invite all family/friends to
attend the event. Tickets will no longer be needed. More information will be coming in regard to
dismissal of siblings throughout the SAU as well as specifics in scheduling. A special thank you to
all of the 8th grade families that submitted their survey to help guide the decision to change the
venue/time.
SEAPERCH NEWS: On Saturday April 11th the MVMS SeaPerch Club competed in the Seacoast
SeaPerch Regional Competition at UNH Durham. Mountain View's 'Super Submariners' won
Overall First Place in the grade 5/6 SeaPerch category. The students were Veronica Landry, Lucas
Hooker, Josh Simone and Kenna Piecuch. All the rest of the 5th, 6th and 7th grade students did
very well and received high scores. Congratulations to All Teams! We hope to see new and
returning members next year. Special Thanks to Mrs. Cruite, Mrs. Hartson, Ms. Guevin, Mr. Lee
and Mr. Digregorio.
2015-16 PLACEMENT DETERMINATION PROFILE: Parent profiles for the 2015-16 school
year were sent home with students on April 1st. They are due back to MVMS on April 17th. This
profile will help determine your child’s placement for the 2015-16 school year. Please check your
child’s backpack. Forms can also be found on our website at www.goffstown.k12.nh.us/mv under
publications.
MESSAGE FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE: Allergy season is almost
upon us and many children suffer from allergy symptoms. Allergy medication
is not provided here at MVMS so if your child suffers from allergies please
remember to give them their allergy medication in the morning prior to school.
If you prefer you can drop off a supply of medication for your child at the MVMS Health Office,
written parental permission is required to dispense any over the counter medication at school. If you
have any questions please feel free to contact the MVMS Health Office. Thank you.
ANOTHER MESSAGE FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE: The Health Office is in need of
boys’ sweatpants and shorts in sizes that would fit 10-14 year olds including men’s sizes Small,
Medium, and Large. If you have any gently used pants or shorts we would appreciate any
donations. Thank you.
NEWS FROM THE FRONT OFFICE: Please check the Lost & Found in the cafeteria for any
large item-clothing/bags and such, but if you are missing a piece of jewelry, eyeglasses, old phones
or keys please come and look through our basket on our desk!
SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENT: MVMS fifth through eighth graders will begin State
testing later this month. Below indicates each grade level testing dates. It will be crucial that
students get a good night’s sleep and eat a well-balanced breakfast. We are still collecting healthy
snack so we may provide a small snack to students during their testing window. If you have any
questions about the time of day your child is testing, you can contact your child’s teacher.
Grade 5 and 6:
April 20th – 23rd
Grade 7:
Team 7-1 ~ May 5 – May 13
Team 7-2 ~ April 15 and 16, May 7 – May 14
Team 7-3 ~ April 16 and 17,
May 11 – 12, May 18 - 20
Grade 8:
Team 8-1 ~ May 6, 7, 8
Team 8-2 ~ April 16 and 17, May 4, 5, 6
Team 8-3 ~ May 4, 5, 6
PARENTS TO LUNCH: The parents of Ms. J. Murray’s (Room 216) homeroom students are
invited to join them for lunch on Thursday, April 16th at 11:25 a.m. The cost of an adult lunch is
$3.35. Please sign in at the office and pick up a visitor's pass.
DATES TO REMEMBER
April 27th – May 1st
April Vacation
MVMS Varity Show
8th Grade Class Picture
8th Grade Dance
8th Grade Promotion Ceremony
Today!
May 11th
June 12th
June 17th
COMMUNITY NEWS
Goffstown Volleyball is sponsoring a Spring Dance on April 17th from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. in the
MVMS Gymnasium. Tickets will be $5 and are being sold at the door. Glow Sticks and Snow
Cones will also be sold. *All proceeds will benefit Goffstown Volleyball. ***PLEASE NOTE:
Staff from MVMS will not be in attendance at the dance as it is not a school sponsored event.
Goffstown Middle School Hockey is trying to put together a team to play in the summer middle
school league at Tri-town Arena in Hooksett. The team is open to any player entering grades 6-8 in
the fall of 2015 with a preference for players living in Goffstown or New Boston. The league runs
from June 2nd until August 19th, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. There are no
practices, just games. The cost will depend on how many players we have. If you are interested in
playing or have any questions, please contact Denis Chretien via email at jchretien@comcast.net.
Goffstown Screamin’ Eagles Football and cheerleading (grades K-8, cannot turn 15 before
7/31/15) We include the communities of Dunbarton, Goffstown, New Boston and Weare. Website:
screamineagles.com. Football Director - Michael Levesque michaellevesque45@verizon.net. Cheer
Director - Mel Raymond (603) 540-8225 or melmozowie@aim.com