2001

April 2001

The Marauder

Williamson Middle School

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:

Spelling Bee Results

6th Grade Medieval Festival

Pictures

Student of the Month for

March

End of Year Testing Schedule

April Calendar

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Classroom News

Spelling Bee Results

Club News

6th Grade Medieval Festival

Student of the Month

End of Year Testing Schedule

April Calendar

From the desk of Mr. Skeet….

Dear Parents:

The month of March has been a very busy time for student activities

at the Middle S

chool. Please take a minute to read over the March

issue of “The Marauder” to get a feel for the extensive list of

enrichment e

xperiences for the Middle School students.

Starting on May 8th we will have an extensive testing program at the

Middle School a

nd throughout New York State. This year is the first

year of the expanded test program at the eighth grade. In addition to

the two mandated New York State tests in Math and ELA, the state

has two tests in the area of Science and Social Studies.

The S

pring test schedule for the middle school is later in the

newsletter for you to post. Please save this page for your record of

testing. I will reprint it in the May Marauder also.

As always, if you have any questions concerning the Middle School

please

feel free to contact me at school.

Happy Spring Time!

Sincerely yours,

Douglas G. Skeet

Interim Principal

MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER

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News from Mrs.

Bianchi’s Room

By Mrs. Bianchi

As part of the fifth grade science curriculum, the

human body and the six systems

are taught to the

students. In Mrs. Bianchi’s class, the students have

been studying the human body. They studied the

skeleta

l system, muscular system, digestive system,

respiratory system, and nervous system. They are

currently studying the reproducti

ve system. As the

students learned about each body part and how they

are used or work for the body, the children colored,

cut a

nd pasted the body parts to life size paper

bodies they had traced of themselves. These bodies

are currently displayed in the h

all.

Pictured: Kevin DeRue, Olivia Gimbel, Matt Cuvelier

During the study of the reproductive system, the

children are learning

about the reproductive

process. The children are being introduced to this

gradually. First, fertilized eggs were brought into

the classroom to be incubated. They learned about

how the eggs were stored in the chicken and the

journey the egg takes throug

h the chicken from

yolk to egg shell to having the hen lay her egg.

They watched the growth chart of the chicken and

how it dev

eloped on a daily basis until the chick

hatched. While the chicks were still in the egg, the

children had the opportunity to wa

tch them grow

inside of the egg through a process called candling.

This was a process that began on February 27th and

ended on

the “birth” of the babies on March 19 and

Fifth Grade Anti

Smoking Project

By Mr. Habecker

Currently all fifth grade students are in their third

week of T.N.T. training.

T.N.T. stands for

Towards No Tobacco use, it is a nine lesson,

research based program shown to reduce the use of

cigarette smo

king up to 85% and chewing tobacco

100% in Junior High students. T.N.T. training is

being done by Mr. Habecker, the eighth grad

Health Teacher and is funded by a grant that the

guidance department and administration wrote in

the summer of 2000. The stud

ents learn the

negative consequences of tobacco, how to develop

high self esteem, how to put themselves in safe

situations, refu

sal skills and alternative choices to

tobacco all from lessons proven by research to be

effective. The students have T.N.T. one

period a

week for nine weeks in a row.

20th. The first

born was on Monday, March 19th

at 1:57pm. His/Her name is Charlie McNugget.

The other nine births were on the

ir due date, the

20th of March. This was not coincidental; the

arrival of the chicks was planned for the first day of

spring.

This lesson was a wonderful experience

and it has allowed students to have this lesson be

smoothly transitioned to the dog/puppi

es and cat/

kittens as examples and discuss their reproductive

cycles. The children are currently learning about

the reproductiv

e cycle of the human. This unit on

the human body has been an informative and

wonderful learning opportunity about how the body

works.

Chicken’s Including “Charlie McNugget”

MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER

Page

Math 8

By Mrs. Bayley

We have completed a survey project. The students

chose a question and surveyed 25+ seventh or

eighth gra

ders. Then they converted their data into

a frequency table, a histogram or line plot and

finally a paragraph describing what t

hey did. The

results were “published” by displaying their work

in the hall. We learned that very few youngsters

eat fruit and

vegetables, drink milk or read for

recreation. Sleeping times were normal and not too

many kids spent a lot of time on

line.

W e are beginning our work with rational numbers.

The students will need a calculator. Some do not

bring a calculator everyday.

Thanks for your

support.

Health Education

By Mr. Habecker

The second semester health education classes are in

their sixth week of classes and currently

half way

through a sexuality unit. The first two weeks

consisted of a introduction to Health Education

learning about the five

aspects of Health, wellness

and decision making. Currently the students are

four weeks into a seven week sexuality unit that

addresses such issues as puberty, reproduction,

reasons for being abstinent, putting yourself in safe

situations, refusal skills

and relationship skills. The

final exam will be a project (triple fold pamphlet,

poster or power point project) that helps par

ents

and children better discuss the issues ranging from

asking someone out on a date to reproduction.

Mrs. Bierer’s

Classroom

As we conclude the study of the Civil War time

period, our first research paper, and attendant

suppleme

ntary learning, to cement personal

understanding of the culture, we have simulated

both a high society tea (honing our manners!)

and

lodging at a farmhouse where we tended our

starving and wounded bodies with lotions and

potions of the era. For the tea, M

rs. Sue Verbridge

played the part of a young girl learning about

housewifery, while Mrs. Fox embodied Dr. Mary

E. Walker, the se

cond licensed woman physician in

the United States, for the farmhouse lodging.

Along with the deplorable conditions of the Civi

War, it was appropriate and timely to study the

skeletal system in Science! Actually, skeletal

remains of a Civil War soldier

were found outside

Gettysburg in recent years. Allison Carnwath

earned extra femur (useful as a pen) by drawing a

detailed, ac

curate picture of the skeletal system!

Mr. Jim Stohr, a physician assistant, will visit to

guide exploration of our circulatory

system when

we conclude musculature.

A busy month for all, Book

It! Honors also go to

Allison Carnwath for reading over 1000 m

inutes

for February. Unreported for January reading were

four students over the 1000

minute mark: Allison

Carnwath, Amanda Fox

, Kirsten Goranowski, and

Michael Hurlimann.

Spring Time

Just a reminder to each driver in the family. As the

days get warmer, really they will get warmer, we

will have mor

e students walking and riding their

bikes to school. Please be extra careful when

driving near or on school property.

Thank yo

u for your cooperation on this important

matter.

MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER

Page

Spelling Bee

Round 2

Results

By Ms. Prill

Twelve Williamson

Middle School students

competed in the second

round of the Spelling

Bee

on February 14, 2001 in the Middle School

Auditorium in front of more than fifty well

wishers.

The top three Williamson Ro

und 2 scorers, who

competed along with 27 other contestants in Round

3 with the three top scorers from each of ten area

schools

on March 17th at Hobart College in

Geneva, were: 1st Place: Audrey Wackerman, 2nd

Place: Ariana Barbato, 3rd Place: Mike Hurlim

ann,

and Alternate: DiMa George.

First place contestant in the Geneva Bee was Ian

Johnson from Sodus. He will travel with a f

amily

member to Washington, DC for a week in order to

compete in the national competition.

Williamson’s Heather Wackerman, Clai

re Herbert,

Bryan Fitzgerald, Erin Grzybek, Melissa DeVille,

Hayley Hannon, Vanessa Haskins, and Kelly

Kolyer were all Round 2 w

inners too for trying.

The Bee is offered because of the work and time

put forth by teachers: Mr. TenEyck, Mr. Murphy,

Mrs. Bu

ell, Mrs. Yackel, Ms. Luke, Mrs.

McMahon, Mrs. Bierer, and Ms. Prill. Parents,

PTSA (Mrs. Hurlimann), and all relatives and

friends who came to cheer the contestants.

Custodians: Kent Snyder and Bill Brunswick.

Students: who try out, study, compete

and support

their classmates.

Thank you!

English 7

By Mr. TenEyck

In one way or another, all year we have been

preparing for the TONYSS test in May. Whether

we have re

ad novels, short stories, plays, poems, or

nonfiction, the skills involved aim toward the

TONYSS. Whether we have completed a

“Do you

hear what I hear?” (Silver

Strong technique) or

have written paragraphs, compositions, poems, or

research projects, the

skills used aim toward the

TONYSS. All of this preparation has been non

obvious, since the test has barely been mentioned in

English class during these first six months of

school.

Now

, however, the tide is turning! For the next six

weeks, our work will

be purposefully and

obviously preparing for the TONYSS. It is not

only an important test for identifying students’

needs, but

it also serves as the final exam grade for

English 7. (Therefore, it counts as one

fifth of the

report card grade for the year!

) For sure, students

need to work seriously and hard so that they may

do well on this test.

After

the test, we have the luxury

of time and

opportunity to read another novel, participate in a

Great Books unit (with Mrs. McMahon, our

Enrichment Coordinator

), and to enjoy the fourth

quarter and earn a fine end

the

year grade.

Spelling Bee Round 2 Winners in Williamson

DiMa George, Ariana Barbato, Michael Hurlimann,

Audrey Wackerman

MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER

Page

“45

Minutes

from

Broadway”

By Mr. Amend

Williamson Middle School presents George M.

Cohane “45 Minutes From Broadway” Friday a

Saturday, April 6th and 7th! Tickets are on sale in

the Main Office for $4/each and $5 at the door.

Mark your calendars, it

was worth the wait! See

you there!!

Yorkers

By Mrs. Bierer

Learning the swing

dance 1940’s style

doesn’t come easily for

many of the members,

but a few tried out a

nd will perform at Gates Hall

for our 1940’s Night.

Does anyone remember “Chickery Chick Cha La,

Cha La”? Yes, it came to life

again one Friday

afternoon for the Yorkers who are learning various

parts of the life and times of the 40’s. Nonsense

never se

ems to go out of style!

To be enjoyed in April will be foods (Mrs. Amy

Jones) and Williamson in the 1940’s (Mr. Chet

Peters).

The last hurrah will be the 1940’s Night,

courtesy of the Pultneyville Historical Society, in

Gates Hall on Wednesday, May 2. S

ociety

members and parents will witness the showcase of

this year’s learning in Yorkers.

Enrichment Update

by Carol McMahon

Thursday, March 15

the 6

Grade class held

their annual

Medieval Day

! Once again the

ladies

of “Gaudete” were here to teach the students about

the roles of people in Medieval society. Merchants,

clergy, nobility

and serfs were all represented as the

students rotated through workshops on alchemy,

tinsmithing, storytelling and more. An ex

citing

new addition to this years festivities was a

workshop by “The Mercenary’s Tailor” (Allan

Senefelder and Chris Harlen) whi

ch focused on the

arms and armour of the Middle Ages. All this

culminating in a grand feast and festival presided

over by the r

eigning nobility, King Douglas of

Skeet. Many thanks go out to all the parents who

helped support us in this endeavor.

Artist

Colin Coots

spent a day in the Art

department on

March 23

demonstrating his talent

in the area of portraiture. Students enj

oyed his

good nature and lessons on observing our world as

shown by his unique ability in capturing the quality

of a person on p

aper.

March 30

forty

four Williamson Middle

School 8

grade students participated in the

Wayne

Technical and Career Cente

r Middle Schools

Skill Competition

. Students were able to learn a

skill and then compete against their peers in an

Olympic styl

e judged event. Categories included

Auto Body Repair, Electrical Wiring, Drafting/

CAD, Crime Investigation and Initial Logo Des

ign

and more.

April 26

The Traveling Lantern Theatre

Troupe

will be at the Middle School performing

“Lewis, Clark and Saca

jawea”

for

grades 5

and

students.

Festival of the Arts is coming!

Williamson Middle School

Tuesday, May 15

from 6:30

8:30

MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER

Page

5/6 Student Association

By Miss Finkelstein and Miss Webster

The Valentine’s Day Dance was held on Friday,

February 16, 2001.

Our members sold tickets

during the week of February 12 and they sold over

200 tickets. Our committee members did a great

job o

f planning out the refreshments, the

decorations, and finding teacher chaperones.

Parents please keep in mind that we always wi

need parent chaperones when planning dances.

Many of our members stayed after school to help

decorate the gym and create a b

ack drop for

pictures, all of which looked great. We want to

thank our members for staying during the 7/8 dance

selling refresh

ments, and a very special thank you

to Carol McMahon for being our photographer at

both dances.

Stock

Market

Simulation

Game

Spring 2001

By Mr. Habecker

Currently six Junior High

students are partaking in the Rochester Demo

crat

and Chronicle Stock Market Simulation Game.

The game consists of 39 Rochester area Middle

School teams each with $100,000.

00 of play

money to invest how they want in the stock

market with the use of an Internet trade site. The

game is to develop res

earch skills, team work,

knowledge of the stock market, career

opportunities and math skills. Students

participating are Mark M

iller, Jack Allen, Ashley

McCaslin, Katie Bacon, Angela Balzano, and

Ashley Frank.

Mr. Habecker supervises the group that meets

Wednesdays, tenth period. As of March 14th , the

team was in 20th place out of 39 teams with a

current portfolio value of $

100,090.00, but we are

very concerned with the current Bear market.

A ROCKIN’ CONCERT

To Celebrate Reading

Tuesday evening April 3rd, 2001 at 7PM

At the

Williamson Public Library

This

FREE

high

energy concert will be the perfect

kickoff for National Library Week. The Hill

Brothers will perform their all new

“Reading

Show”

guaranteed to entertain and enlighten

audiences of all ages!

Great family entertainment featuring a unique

blend of tight

musicianship, comedy, sing

alongs

and especially…..audience participation. This 40

minute show will get families and students

excited

and really fired up to

READ

For more information call the Williamson Public

Library at 589

2048.

Don’t forget to save the

Calendar and the End

of the Year Testing

Schedule!

MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER

Page

MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER

Page

Student

Grade

Teacher

Reason

David Allman

Mrs. Bianchi

Consistent Completion of Homework, Cooperative

Max Barber

Ms. Luke

Being More Attentive and Doing His Very Best

Devon Byron

Mr. Marshall

Constructive Attitude

Nicole DeMarree

Ms. Luke

Consistently Doing Above Average Work in all

Academic Areas

Bryce Flora

Mr. Holowka

Homework Quality

Ryan Garrod

Mr. Holowka

Improved Homework Quality

Olivia Gimbel

Mr. Holowka

Exceptional Effort

Colby Giuliano

Ms. Luke

For Attending Extra

Credit Reading After School

Meaghan Gordon

Mr. Marshall

Exceptional Effort

Rachel Hadley

Mr. Marshall

Constructive Attitude

Claire Herbert

Mr. Plyter

Outstanding Performance at Solo Fest

Katie Holleran

Mrs. Bierer

Cheerfulness

Sam McCarty

Mrs. Bierer

Care of Others

Jennifer Odell

Miss Brownell

Consistent Homework Completion

Samantha Sprague

Mrs. Bianchi

Cooperative, Class Participation

Chris Stedge

Miss Brownell

Improved Reading Skills

Elizabeth Cormier

6th Grade Team

Outstanding Effort in 6th Grade

Christopher Duda

6th Grade Team

Outstanding Effort in 6th Grade

Eric LaVare

6th Grade Team

Outstanding Effort in 6th Grade

Alicia Schaefer

6th Grade Team

Outstanding Effort in 6th Grade

Steven Shay

Mr. Plyter

Outstanding Performance at Solo Fest

Josh Veley

Mr. Skeet

Peer Peace Making Efforts

Elizabeth Zavala

6th Grade Team

Outstanding Effort in 6th Grade

Ronald Acciari

Mr. Brown

Exceptional Effort

Ed Coomber

Miss Nellany

Cooperation and Enthusiasm

Justin Cuvelier

7th Grade Team

Outstanding Effort in 7th Grade

Derek DeWeese

7th Grade Team

Improvement

Amanda Gage

7th Grade Team

Effort, Attitude, Behavior

Danielle Grace

7th Grade Team

Outstanding Effort in 7th Grade

Geoff Haywood

Mr. Brown

Constructive Attitude

Sean McElhinny

Miss Nellany

Leadership of NYCD

Jason Schell

7th Grade Team

Attitude

Kendall Shultes

Mrs. Osborn

Excellent Participation, Well Prepared

Allison Smith

Mrs. Perez

Exceptional Effort

Alex Allman

Mrs. Osborn

Well Prepared, Improved Skills

Jesse Jopson

Mrs. Perez

Constructive Attitude, Class Participation

Nicole Miller

Mrs. Willkinson

Donating Time to Assist in the Art Room, Many

Thanks!

Student of the Month for March

MIDDLE SCHOOL MARAUDER

Page

2001 End of Year Testing Schedule

Williamson Middle School

May 8, 2001

ELA Grade 7

— Local Exam

ELA Grade 8

— NYS Exam

May 9, 2001

ELA Grade 7

— Local Exam

ELA Grade 8

— NYS Exam

May 10, 2001

ELA Grade 5

— Local Exam

ELA Grade 6

— Local Exam

May 11, 2001

ELA Grade 5

— Local Exam

ELA Grade 6

— Local Exam

May 15, 2001

Math Grade 7

— Local Exam

Math Grade 8

— NYS Exam

May 16, 2001

Math Grade 7

— Local Exam

Math Grade 8

— NYS Exam

May 17, 2001

Math Grade 5

— Local Exam

Math Grade 6

— Local Exam

May 18, 2001

Math Grade 5

— Local Exam

Math Grade 6

— Local Exam

May 24, 2001

Science Grade 8

— NYS Performance Exam

May 25, 2001

Science Grade 8

— NYS Performance Exam

May 30, 2001

Science Grade 7

— Performance Level Exam

May 31, 2001

Science Grade 7

— Performan

ce Level Exam

June 6, 2001

Science Grade 7

— Local Exam

Science Grade 8

— NYS Exam

June 7, 2001

Science Grade 5

— Local Exam

Science Grade 6

— Local Exam

June 8, 2001

Technology Grade 7

— NYS Exam

June 11, 2001

Social Studies Grade 5

— Local Exam

Social Studies Grade 6

— Local Exam

June 12, 2001

Social Studies Grade 5

— Local Exam

Social Studies Grade 6

— Local Exam

June 13,

2001

Social Studies Grade 7

— Local Exam

Social Studies Grade 8

— NYS Exam

June 14, 2001

Social Studies Grade 7

— Local Exam

Social Studies Grade 8

— NYS Exam

June 18, 2001

Foreign Language Proficiency

— NYS Exam

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

10th Per

—

Yorkers Meeting

Passover Begins

at Sunset

Passover

Board of Ed.

7:30am

End of 3rd

Marking Period

No School

Good Friday

Easter Sunday

Earth Day

Board of Ed.

7:30am

B 27 C

Report Cards

Home with

Students

10th Period

—

Yorkers Meeting

April 2001

“45 Minutes From Broadway”

7:00pm Shows

$4/seats, $5 at the door

NO SCHOOL — SPRING BREAK