February 2001
The Marauder
Williamson Middle School
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:
“Enriching” News from Mr. Skeet
Classroom News
Club News
Spelling Bee—Round 1 Results
Student of the Month
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Enrichment Pictures
3
New Hepatitis Immunization Re
quirements
5
Spelling Bee—Round 1
Results
6
Reading Counts! Tally
7
Club News
89
Student of the Month
10
From Mr. Skeet……….
Dear Students and Parents:
One of the areas of middle school life at Williamson that I would like
to report on is the vast amount of enrichment activities that are
available to the students in all grade levels. Through a combination
of a very ambitious coordinator, Carol McMahon, a willing staff, and
with the Board of Education financial support our middle school
students have available to them more enrichment activities than any
middle school that I have been associated with.
This letter will highlight some of the activities that we have had in the
first five months of this school year and a current listing of activities
for the balance of this school year.
MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER
Page 2
Enrichment Report 20002001
Level I – Programs for every student at a particular
grade level
Civil War Surgeon Les Buell, Grade 8
(9/29/00)
Todd Beers Poetry, Grade 6 (12/7/00)
Through the act of writing poetry,
students explore their inner
landscapes and their
surroundings.
Participants learn techniques and
craft (line break, metaphor,
sound,
word
choice, t
ransition, etc.), and
are encouraged to allow the poem
itself to make a discovery.
Poetry Lessons, Grade 6, Carol McMahon
(12/5/00, 1/11/01)
Revolutionary War ReEnactors, Grade 7
(12/15/00)
Valarie Holmes,
Everything Comes from a
Seed
, Grades 58, (1/16/01)
Storytelling that educates and heals.
A Learning Standard focused
program designed for elementary
and middle school age children,
which centers on the American
historical experience.
Medieval Day with Gaudete, Grade 6
(3/15/01)
MJ Iuppa Poetry, Grade 5 (5/8/01)
This 35 day creative writing
residency involves students in
experimenting w
ith various genres:
poetry, prose, and mini fictions.
The workshops focus on actively
engaging participants in the creative
writing process as well as reading
and discussing contemporary
writing. Writing exercises are
presented to promote writing skills
and craft.
Poetry Lessons, Grade 5, Carol McMahon
(May TBD)
Level I (cont.)
Science Day, Grade 5 (6/1/01)
Library Field Trip, Grade 8 (10/4/00,
10/5/00)
Ganondagan Speakers, Grade 7 (10/23/00)
Mock Election, Grades 58 (10/31/00)
Native American Focus Week, Grade 7
(10/2310/30/00)
Orienteering, Grade 6, Carol McMahon
(10/13/00)
Physical Education Orienteering, Grade 6,
Carol McMahon (10/23/00)
Colin Coots, Art (3/23/01)
Demonstrates a variety of styles,
materials and techniques as he
creates portraits, figure drawings
and caricatures of students.
Traveling Lantern Theatre Troupe,
Grades 5 and 7 (4/23/01)
The story of Lewis and Clark’s
exploration is as an exciting
adventure of discovery as one can
imagine. Only recently are children
being made aware of the fact there
was another person quintessential to
the success of their mission.
Mythmasters, Grades 6 and 8
(2/14/01)
The myths of anci
ent Greece come
alive through a skillful and
entertaining combination of
theatrical techniques (masks, mime,
comedy, d
rama, puppets, costumes,
music, reverence, irreverence, and
lots of audience participation).
Civil War Strategy Unit, Grade 7
(May TBD)
Genesee Country Museum Field Trip,
Grade 7 (5/22/01)
Swing Dance Lessons, Grades 58,
Carol McMahon (March TBD)
MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER
Page 3
Level II – Teacher/Student Choice Activities
Junior Great Books, Grade 5, fall semester
Junior Great Books, Grade 6, Full year,
20 students
Project Adept Workshop; Grade 8,
20 students
Brown Bag Program: Dogs, 91 students
*Guest Presenters:
K. Chamberlain, Guiding Eyes
K. Faulkner, BOCES
B. Carr, Sheriff’s Dept.
A. Smith, Pyrenees Breeder
Middle School Newspaper, Grades 58,
18 students
Poetry Club, Grades 58, 15 students
Tall Tale Tournament, Grade 6, 24 students
Coffeehouse, Grade 6 (1/18/01)
Storyteller Workshop with V. Holmes,
Grades 58, 10 students (1/16/01)
Ryan Ainsworth – Accapella Group “Son of
Pitches”, Chorus/Band, Evening
Concert
(2/9/01)
)
Level III – Teacher recommendations or motivated
students with project ideas
Accelerated English Eric Scheffinger
Volcano Project M. Hurliman,
B. Fitzgerald, M. Smith
Oceans – A. Haskins
Romeo and Juliet – High School
While the above activities provide an enriching,
motivational environment for the student body,
they also make learning “fun” in a student’s mind.
These activities take learning out of the textbook
and into the world of a field trip, a stage production
or a reenactment.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to
contact me.
Sincerely yours,
Douglas G. Skeet
Interim Principal
MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER
Page 4
8th Grade
Math News
By Mrs. Bayley
We are working with geometry which includes
elements of both measurement and art. We will be
working with “Patty” paper when we study
symmetry. Toward the end of the chapter we will
be making M. C. Eschler designs called
Tesselations. Look for creative art work in the
Chapter 5 math homework packet after January
20th.
We will study statistics next and include
information from World War II social studies class.
News from
Mrs.
Bianchi’s
Crew
By Mrs. Bianchi
Mrs. Bianchi’s class has been meeting after school
on Thursdays to make some crafts to sell to raise
money for the Ronald McDonald House. After
reading a story in our reading series about how
other children
m
ade a difference in their
community, our class decided that we would like to
do the same. We will continue to do these crafts
throughout the course of the school year to raise
money for the Ronald McDonald House. This is a
great opportunity for these yo ung children to work
together to help others and to become role models
to our society.
In December we made snowflakes and candy
canes
as ornaments for Christmas trees. We were able to
raise $304.00 so far this school year. The children
are all excited about these activities and we are able
to work together cooperatively to work toward our
goal. We are in the process of voting on our next
activity we are going to do. We have some ideas
but have yet to decide on one.
The meetings are held on Thursday afternoons,
from 2:102:55, and are open to any child or parent
that would like to come in after school to help out
during our meetings and activities.
Please contact Mrs. Bianchi if you would like to
participate in this classroom “club” and interrelated
activities.
Mrs. Bierer’s Bunch
Having finished our study of the Revolutionary
War, we are reading The Cabin Faced West and
working trying to understand the Constitution to an
appropriate extent.
Hayley Hannan, Amanda Fox,
and Heather Kingsbury
challenged each other to
memorize the poem “The Ride of
Paul Revere”. They did
amazingly well, with Hayley
completing the greatest length.
Their young minds really
stretched to do this!
While DBQ’s (document based questions) are the
current bane of their existence, these children are
doing their best to master the process of gleaning
information from document data, meshing it in
their minds, and formulating short essay answers
based upon the information.
Between DBQ’s and CSMP math, Fifth Grade is
meeting some great transformations.
MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER
Page 5
New Hepatitis B
Immunization
Requirements
By Mrs. Starr
Attention Parents of 6th
Graders!
Recent amendments in
Public Health L
aw require all students entering
7th grade to have received the Hepatitis B
immunization series. This is a three shot series
that protects against a virus that can cause serious
liver disease. The second shot in the series is
given one month after the first, and the third shot
that completes the series is given 4 to 6 months
after the first shot. Since it take a few months to
complete the series, this is a good time to contact
your child’s doctor and make appointments to
have this started. That way it can be completed
before September when your child will be
entering 7th grade. Please have your child’s
doctor send documentation that this requirement
has been met to the Middle School Health Office.
Spring Sports Signups
By Mrs. Starr
Sign up for spring sports
will begin March 5th. This
includes baseball, softball,
and track. 7th and 8th
graders interested in
participating may pick up
forms in the Health Office. Completed forms must
be returned to the Health Office by March 12th.
Physicals will be
given on March 13th
for those students
requesting a school
physical.
Working Papers
By Mrs. Starr
Students must have a current
physical in order for working
papers to be issued. The next
date for physicals at the Middle
School is March 13th. Please
contact the Health Office if you
would like to have a physical
scheduled for working papers.
Learning Fair
Saturday March 10
th
1:004:00pm
Williamson High School
Come and join the fun! There will be presentations
by students and community members as well as
many student and classroom projects to see!
Enrichment News
By Mrs. McMahon
Grade 6 Medieval Day
will be held on
Thursday,
March 15
th
. Be looking for more information to
come home with your child soon!
FRANCE
TRIP 2001
By Mrs. Osborn
Reserve Sunday, February 11 at
the Williamson Fire Department Women’s
Auxiliary Breakfast where the France Trip 2001
participants have been invited to serve you a
delicious breakfast. Cost is $5.00 for adults, $4.50
for Senior Citizens, $3.50 for children 6
12, and
children under 5 are free. French toast, pancakes,
scrambled eggs, and beverage will be served.
MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER
Page 6
Music Department
News
By Mr. Amend
Are you a big fan or N’Sync, Backstreet Boys and
98 Degrees? Or do you just like to hear great
voices in harmony? Well, on Friday February 9th
at 7:00 pm in the Middle School Auditorium the
Music Department will be sponsoring a concert by
two incredibly talented vocal groups.
The first group “S.O.P” will be performing
contemporary and original vocal styling. They
bring nothing but their voices and some great
music! The group includes members from the
Ithaca College Music Department. They will be
spending the day with our Middle School and High
School music students talking about performance
tips and career opportunities in vocal music. They
will also be available during 10th period (after
school) for a workshop and
question/answer
session AND at their concert in the evening. The
group is working in support of their debut CD.
The second act “Our Next Quartet” is familiar to
our district. They visited Williamson High School
last year to help coach the Barbershop Quartet in
last year’s musical “The Music Man”. They’ve
also done some performance/demonstrations with
our Middle School chorus students last year. This
group makes their home at Harmony House in
Webster, NY and performs barbershop quartet
harmony throughou
t the Rochester area. The cost?
….FREE….The Experience?…….Invaluable!!
Spelling
Bee
Round 1 Results
By Ms. Prill
Thirtyone Williamson Middle School students
competed in the first round of the Spelling Bee on
January 11, 2001.
The top eleven scorers, who will compete in Round
2 on Valentine’s Day in the MS Auditorium, are:
Mike Hurlimann
+49/50
Gr. 5
Audrey Wackerman +46/50
Gr. 8
Heather Wackerman
+45/50
Gr. 7
Claire Herbert
+45/50
Gr. 5
Bryan Fitzgerald
+44/50
Gr. 5
Erin Grzybek
+42/50
Gr. 8
Ariana Barbato
+42/50
Gr. 8
Melissa DeVille
+42/50
Gr. 7
Hayley Hannan
+42/50
Gr. 5
Clayton DeFisher
+41/50
Gr. 6
Dima George
+41/50
Gr. 8
MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER
Page 7
Reading Counts! Tally
by Ms. Prill
These Middle Schoolers have read and passed
comprehension tests on the following number of
READING COUNTS books. Students choose
the books based on their interests and
independent reading level. Extra credit for books
read is given by their English or Reading
teacher.
The Reading Counts! Club meets weekly
according to grade level in Ms. Prill’s room.
Students may join the club at any time. All are
welcome!
# of Books Read
Name
# of Words Read
Kyle Alward
13
32,552
Nina Barber
10
92,002
Tricia Batz 3
4,385
Lisa Beck 5
16,338
Kristine Budd
37
103,281
Andrea Blauvelt
8
20,793
Melissa Budd 4
44,311
Kyle Bull
20
147,144
Tony Campisi
5
23,497
Gary DeLyser
3
17,005
Danielle Davey 17
70,147
Joshua DeNeef 3
31,265
Samantha DiSalvo 1
11,920
Timothy Dostman 5
70,652
Amanda Gage
9
113,855
Caitlin Garofoli
1
1,468
Olivia Gimbel
3
7,826
Ashley Jenkins
17
119,371
Kayla Kulijof
2
28,830
Stephanie Kush
3
6,848
Emily Markham
2
5,453
Nicole Maylin
7
48,789
Blake Mellott
2
5,486
Ashley Michaelsen
6
71,979
Stephanie Morse
3
4,878
Cynthia Otero
6
18,491
Leah Paschke
2
3,066
Nicole Raymond
11
102,174
Heather Rogers
1
505
Alicia Schaeffer
17
70,147
Brian Shadduck
17
76,439
Kristin Sippel
20
65,119
Samantha Stewart
2
1,014
Elora Supersad
1
25,034
Lindsay Stewart
12
32,538
Steven Talamas
5
21,543
Bill Wilbor
1
6,840
MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER
Page 8
Y
orkers
By Mrs. Bierer
In another space, you will read an article written by
two Student Assistants for Yorkers, Stephanie
Gowan and Ami Kush, covering the trip to the
Winter Workshops in Cooperstown in December.
Because of the timing for deadlines, etc., it is the
first opportunity for that report to appear.
The first Friday in January was programmed for
reviewing a few movies both from and about the
1940’s. Jacob Have I Loved and Truce showed
personal lives affected by WWII. Songs of the
South
(“ZipIDeeDoDah”) was written in the
40’s, we saw Black Beauty
and Mickey Mouse at
the theaters. Melody Time by Walt Disney was
created in the 40’s, as well.
Mr. Stohr and son, Zach, will present a program on
airplanes of the times for the 19th meeting. It is
really nice to have guest presenters!
International Club
International Club meets at 2:15pm in Room 13 on
February 9th.
Ski Club
By Mrs. Osborn and Mrs. Wilkinson
Our six trips as a club to Brantling are
finished. The trip to Greek Peak is
planned for Tuesday, February 20th. We will leave
from the High School at 7:00am for Greek Peak.
Payments are due by February 9th. We will take 2
busses and the first 80 people who sign up will be
accepted for the bus trip.
7/8 Student
Association
By Mrs. Osborn
Student Association meets
at 2:15pm in Room 13 on
February 6th. We will
continue to count
Campbell’s soup labels
and plan for the March
15th dance.
Travel Club
By Mrs. Osborn
Travel Club will leave at 6:00am,
February 2nd from the west parking lot
of the Middle School for th
eir trip to
Ottawa. Return time is estimated at
7:30pm on Sunday February 4th.
5/6 Student
Association
By Miss Finkelstein and Miss Webster
During the week of December 1115, the 5/6
Student Association orga nized a food drive. It was
a very successful week! Students brought in food
to their homerooms. At the end of the week they
collected and counted all the food that was brought
in. The total amount of food collected was 1,717
items. The top homerooms
with an impressive
amount of food were Mr. Bruinix with 712, Mr.
TenEyck with 313, Mrs. Osborn with 234, and
Miss Ludwig with 102. All of the food was
brought to the ComeUnity Center in Williamson,
who were very grateful for our donation. Two of
our mem
bers, Jeff Sherwin and David Allman,
came with us to help deliver the food. We also
want to say thank you to Mr. Skeet, Mrs. Osborn,
and Mr. Bruinix for helping to deliver the food.
The 5/6 Student Association is now in the process
of organizing this year’s Valentine’s Day Dance.
Our members have divided up into committees and
we are well on our way. We still need parent and
teacher chaperones. The dance will be held on
February 16th in the gym. Tickets for the dance go
on sale the week of the 12th. There will be more
details to follow as the event draws closer. Our
next meeting is tentatively scheduled for February
6th.
MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER
Page 9
Y
orkers Trip to
Cooperstown
By Stephanie Gowan and Ami Kush, Junior
Assistants
We started at 7:55am because of manual head
count and seating arrangements. The trip took
approximately 13 hours. We drove for 4 ½ hours
and had lunch on the way. People brought CD
players, string, books from the appropriate time
period, and also, their mouths for talking and
singing. We arrived at Cooperstown at 12:00 noon
and went with our groups, group leaders, and tour
guides. We took tours of the museum itself and the
houses in the village. Then we went to our
assigned workshops. There were 5 groups:
Farmhouse, A Stitch in Time, Paper Staining,
Blacksmith Shop, and In the Tavern.
In the Farmhouse we split up, and five people out
of the nine stayed inside and cooked pork gravy
over potatoes, and four out of nine worked with the
animals and came in to have the meal! This was
chaperoned by Mrs. Hannon.
Next was a Stitch in Time, which was chaperoned
by Mr. Verbridge. They made marble bags, which
were handcrafted by the kids in the Stitch in Time
group. There were ten people all together in this
group. Zach Stohr told me that they used th
em for
holding marbles and trinkets. He learned this in his
group!
In the Paper Staining group chaperoned by Mrs.
Fox, there
w
ere ten participants. They created
wonderful works of art using 1800’s techniques.
Ashley McCaslin says they made wallpaper prints
with huge stamps and pressing them down on the
paper. They would originally be made of horse
hair and rabbit glue. They m
ade wonderful pieces
of paper.
The people in the Blacksmith Shop were
chaperoned by Mr. Webber. There were five
people who did this activity. They made hooks out
of iron melted with hot coals and bent with special
tools.
In the Tavern, chaperoned by Mrs. Ast, there were
eight people who chose this particular group. Leah
Paschke says they created a thaumatrope. They
created a picture on paper then transferred it to
wood pieces. They then tied two pieces of string
on the ends of the wood, and you would wind it up
and watch, as your
p
icture became an illusion
picture from the past.
On the way there were 42 people and 7 adults
including Mrs. Bierer. The driver, Mr. Ameele,
who was so kind to drive us, spent the day with the
group. We thank you, Mr. Ameele. After those
workshops we left at 4:05. Thanks to all the adults:
Mrs. Hannon, Mrs. Fox, Mrs. Ast, Mr. Webber, Mr.
Verbridge, and Mr. Ameele! Also, thank you, Mrs.
Bierer, for taking us and for the wonderful time we
spent learning about the 1800’s. We had a great
time.
MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER
Page 10
Student
Grade
Teacher
Reason
Bloss, Martin
5
Miss Brownell
Class Participation
Brothers, Lindsey
5
Mrs. Bierer
Concern for Others
Campisi, Ben
5
Mr. Marshall
Exceptional Effort
Gage, Jacob
5
Ms. Luke
Always Doing His Very Best
Hodge, Bryan
5
Ms. Luke
Continues to Improve on His Essay Writing Skills
Horton, Diana
5
Mrs. Bianchi
Cooperative
Huff, Tim
5
Miss Brownell
Improved Effort in All Areas
Huff, Tim
5
Ms. Luke
Consistently Completes All His Homework and
Works on Being More Attentive in Class
Lewis, Johnathan
5
Mrs. Greco
Mrs. Gebhard
Positive Attitude, Relationships With Others
Pellett, William
5
Mrs. Bianchi
Excellent Attitude, Hardworker
Slater, Kristen
5
Mrs. Bianchi
Hardworker, Courteous, Exceptional Effort
Smith, Matthew
5
Mrs. Bierer
Responsibility
Winter, Jawni
5
Mr. Marshall
Exceptional Effort
Bonke, John
6
6th Grade Team
Oustanding Effort in 6th Grade
Conger, Brittani
6
Miss Nellany
Conscientious Worker and Classroom Helper
DeNeef, Seth
6
6th Grade Team
Oustanding Effort in 6th Grade
Haskins, Vanessa
6
6th Grade Team
Oustanding Effort in 6th Grade
Johns, Paige
6
Mrs. WIlkinson
Dependable and Consistent Effort
Marino, Casey
6
Miss Nellany
Conscientious Worker and Classroom Helper
McCaslin, Ashley
6
6th Grade Team
Oustanding Effort in 6th Grade
Miller, Brian
6
6th Grade Team
Outstanding Effort in 6th Grade
Beck, Lisa
7
7th Grade Team
Attitude, Effort, Interest
Dobson, Ryan
7
7th Grade Team
Motivation, Interest, Attitude
East, Jessica
7
7th Grade Team
Interest, Effort, Motivation
Montondo, Marie
7
Mrs. Wilkinson
Dependable and Consistent Effort
Parmele, Lindsay
7
Mrs. Osborn
Excellent Participation, Positive Attitude
Pike, David
7
Mrs. Perez
Exceptional Effort, Constructive Attitude
Smith, Allison
7
7th Grade Team
Interest, Attitude, Effort
Turner, Curtis
7
7th Grade Team
Effort, Attitude, Interest
Ameele, Jake
8
8th Grade Team
Attitude
Batz, Tricia
8
Mr. Brown
Constructive Attitude
Campbell, Brandy
8
8th Grade Team
Effort
DeLyser, Gary
8
Mr. Brown
Constructive Attitude
Horn, Treasure
8
8th Grade Team
Improvement in Math
Hyman, Mike
8
Mrs. Osborn
Conscientious, Excellent Participation
Lehman, Matt
8
8th Grade Team
Behavior
Malchoff, Michelle
8
Mrs. Perez
Constructive Attitude, Class Participation
Reiber, Rachel
8
Mrs. Wilkinson
Positive Attitude, and Exceptional Effort
Sackett, Megan
8
8th Grade Team
Citizenship
Watson, Ron
8
8th Grade Team
Citizenship
Student of the Month
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