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This month the VMS Board Report will focus on departmental reports on the changes to our

instructional programs this year. Articles have been submitted by VMS Department Chairper-

sons.

The math department at Vestal Middle School has been very busy during the beginning of the

new school year. Each teacher has been learning new strategies to use to teach online (Zoom,

Google Meet, Google Classroom), and have also been incorporating new technology into their

classrooms. A few of the new technology pieces are Pear Deck, Jam Board, Edpuzzle and Delta

Math. Each grade level has also been working through the math content aligned with the New

York state curriculum. Sixth grade has been learning about integers, ordering rational numbers

and how to work on a coordinate grid. This is seen in the fantastic coordinate grid pumpkin pic-

ture done by one of our sixth graders! For seventh graders, they have been spending time work-

ing with and reviewing rational numbers and operations, integers and integer operations and

using proportional reasoning to solve problems. Math 8 students have spent the start of the year

solving basic and multistep equations, and working on transformational geometry. Honors alge-

bra students reviewed the concepts of equation solving and inequalities, and have now moved on

to the study of functions.

We would like to congratulate Mrs. Jeremko and Mrs. D’Angelo

on their retirements, welcome Ms. Heslin to our department as a

7th grade math teacher, and are waiting to hear of a new addition to

our VMS Math Department for 8th grade AIS.

In extracurricular news, we have 25 students signed up for the Math Counts club. Ten of these students will be representing VMS for the regional chapter competition in February which will be online this year. We are grateful that this competition can still take place. Good luck to the VMS Math Counts team this year! (Mrs. Schultz—Math Dept Chair)

VMS MATH DEPARTMENT

VMS CHORAL CLASSES

The 6-8 Chorus Teachers have been working together to create a spe-

cial virtual performance opportunity for kids in 608 chorus. We will

be hosting a “Hot Chocolate Talent Show” and watch party on Decem-

ber 21.

Additionally, we all have been working together very hard to connect

with all of our students and provide support in becoming independent

music readers. We are currently doing a close read of the son “Sing!”

by the Pentatonix and enjoying MANY musical aspects within the song.

(Mrs. Warneck, Mrs. Doty, Mrs. Laramee—Choral Teachers)

VMS Social Studies students:

“thinking like historians….”

VMS

PHYSICAL

EDUCATION

The beginning of the ’20-‘21

school year is the first time

our VMS Physical Education

Staff went away from tradi-

tional Fall sports such as,

soccer, football & ultimate

frisbee. Instead, we focused

on challenging oneself in

individual activities, that

include spacing restrictions,

competition, as well as

skill. Through learning the

basic rules of golf, students

participated in Frisbee Golf

on our first ever 7 hole

course on the fields above of

the VMS gym. Some classes

then played Footgolf, using a

soccer ball, but applying the

same concepts. Recently,

moving into the gym, our

students are learning the

stance, grip and mechanics of

the golf swing, and if

weather holds up will get an

opportunity to play the

course outside with our new

high density foam golf

balls. Also, being able to

have our students watch vid-

eos of the activities, prior to

playing, gives them a more

confident approach in Physi-

cal Education class.

(Mrs. Yesensky—Dept

Chair)

The year had brought challenges to all but we continue to adapt and support one an-other in the technology integration that is 2021-2021. The department members have spent time developing lessons that use many resources recently approved in “Vestal’s Digital Portfolio.” In addition to the Google Suite, we also include some of the fol-lowing: Kami, Peardeck, Screencastify, Edpuzzle, Brainpop. Peardeck and Edpuzzle allow us to have students engage in real time and respond to the use of primary source documents. Student engagement is the key to using and exploring many of these plat-forms.

Bringing history alive is the key to understanding perspectives from the ancient world to modern day cultures. Students continue to explore the NYS Social Studies Frame-work through the (IDM) Inquiry Design Model. We have developed our own inquiry projects as well as use models from the NYS Toolkit (S.G. Grant, Binghamton Univer-sity) and Stanford History Education Group (SHEG). The VMS students progress each year to begin questioning sources, investigate perspectives and personal opinions as well as “argue their own personal perspective” of history.

Current IDM’s topics:

8th: Industrial Revolution

7th: Pilgrims

6th: Otzi the Iceman – the Neolithic Era (Mrs. K. O’Brien—Dept Chair)

The Family and Consumer Science De-

partment has had a unique year so far.

When we returned to school, instead of hav-

ing classrooms filled with students, we faced

some new challenges with hybrid learning.

We weren't in classrooms with sewing ma-

chines and cooking stations. Instead, we

found ourselves trying to teach the heart of

FACS without any of the usual materials. In

order to keep the class as close to normal as

possible, we've made material deliveries for

students, produced grocery lists for cooking

demonstrations and live-hosted from our own

kitchens. Students have cut out patterns,

threaded needles, and hand-sewn projects.

They've logged on and made cookies, French

Toast, and applesauce. While the year has

provided unique challenges, we've created

unique ways to keep them learning. (Mrs.

Zwolinski—FACS Dept. Chair)

6th and 7th grade Zoom Cooking Classes

VMS TECHNOLOGY

The 8th Grade Students have

been working on their one-year require-

ment for Middle School Technology

which will end on January 29, 2021. The

students have been working on a series of

projects ranging from rockets design and

history of flight and space along with

working with magnetic levitation cars in

an electronics unit.

The 8th Grade students will also have 10

weeks of 3D Design and Modeling activi-

ties. The activities and projects that will

be discussed and worked on will be the

Geometric Peg Board, Shape Sorter,

Mechanical Arm, Playground, and a Re-

verse Engineering Project in which the

students used calipers to measure and

build a wooden puzzle.

The 7th Grade students start

their one-year requirement for Middle

School

Technology on February 1st ,2021. The

students will spend 10 weeks working on

3D computer design activities, and 10

weeks doing construction and electronic

activities.

The Summer STEAM Academy

at BOCES in July 2020 was cancelled

due to COVID-19. When the dates for

Summer STEAM 2021 are an-

nounced an email will be sent to all parents. The Summer STEAM Acad-

emy runs for two weeks in the month of

July. In past year’s students did a wide

range of engineering activities from

building cardboard boats, solar hotdog

cookers and programming Lego EV3

Robots, along with a full day tour of

Lockheed Martin in Owego. If students have further ques-

tions about Summer STEAM please see

Mr. Osinski in room 223 or email at

dtosinski@vestal.k12.ny.us.(Mr. Osin-

ski—Tech Dept Chair)

VMS World Language teachers are engaging with their students on a daily basis. We are having lots of fun with various reading, writing, lis-tening and speaking activities.

German students are enjoying “Musik Mittwoch” where they listen to and learn a German song of the week, as they can no longer sing in class.

French and Spanish students are enjoying the themed “Show and Tell” on Fridays. Students bring something to class and talk about it in the language they are studying. From toys and pets, to fall and “spooky” themed items, students are working on speaking in front of others in a new language, and having fun at the same time.

Spanish students learned about the important Mexican Holiday Día de los Muertos at the end of October. We watched videos about the prepa-ration for this holiday, we read articles about the Day of the Dead, we learned how to make papel picado, a cut tissue paper craft that is used as a decoration during this as well as other Mexican celebrations, and wrote a creative story in Spanish about a “calavera” (skull) that we col-ored. Students also received typical Mexican Día de Muertos recipes and craft activities that they could complete at home if they wished.

Here are some photos from our classes: (Mrs. Padavona—Dept Chair)

The Special Education department at the Middle school is

learning new and exciting ways to engage with students.

Teachers are navigating Jamboard, working with Pear

Deck, and using voice recordings apps that teachers can

send messages and students can send back responses.

Teachers are utilizing virtual notebooks and Kami is help-

ing students annotate text they are working with. The

Special Education department is fortunate to be able to

collaborate with teachers by joining their Google class-

rooms and help co-host Zoom meetings and provide addi-

tional support where needed. While there are challenges

that everyone is facing, we are excited to have a successful

school year. (Mr. Trowbridge—Spec Ed Dept Chair)

VMS SPECIAL EDUCATION

VMS WORLD LANGUAGE

VMS SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Our science department has been working incredibly hard to teach a

hands-on subject in a hands-off world! Instead, we’ve been making use

of virtual labs and teacher-led demonstrations, taking the place of tra-

ditional lab work, and finding other creative ways to teach in this “new

normal.” Some of us enjoyed creating Bitmoji classrooms this summer

for use in our Google Classrooms. Jacqui Miller, a 6th grade science

teacher, used the picture of her Bitmoji classroom to teach students

how to construct a CER (Claim-Evidence-Reasoning) written response

while getting to know her at the same time.

Our greatest challenge as science educators is providing students with actual, hands-on lab experiences. One

teacher’s desire to do this was when Jaime Emmons, 7th grade, changed up the order of her units and started with

Ecology to get students outside and away from their screens while the weather’s still nice. Each cohort got a chance to

go outside while we were in school, and the remote students were given directions on what to do outside at home.

They explored different concepts such as the difference between biotic and abiotic factors, and how living things in-

teract with each other and their environment. They also learned about the different types of pigments in plants, and

they went outside with color keys for the different pigments to see how many they could record while the leaves were

changing colors. While they observed nature, we tried to focus on how to be mindful and use all our senses to take in

the world around us. Jaime also collected a bunch of Goldenrod Galls for students to "dissect" in class, and they

learned about many of the different species that depend on the Goldenrod plant. When they opened their Galls, there

would either be a Gallfly Larva, a Wasp pupa, a Wasp Larva, or a Beetle Larva. At first students were a little appre-

hensive, but after they opened one, they wanted to open more! Another cool thing Jaime had her students do was to

create "Unwanted" Posters/Slides for an invasive species of their choice.

Our science department is finding that Google Classroom has made the exchange of information, materials,

and work between us and the students much more efficient. Our desks aren’t cluttered with piles of papers to grade

and students can't suggest that we lost the homework they claim they turned in. Students can easily see and relocate

all the things that have been posted. No more disorganized science binders! Many of us plan to continue using Google

Classroom from now on, even if we do get back to "normal" school. Many of us see sticking to a "no printed or cop-

ied papers" policy for science a permanent part of how we teach. In addition to making our lives easier, a no printed

papers policy for science would make Karen Valenta proud. Just think of all the trees that we've saved this year! Now

more than ever, students are learning how to use technology for education, rather than purely for entertainment. This

is a useful skill that should be an implicit part of our teaching from now on since their real lives will require using

technology to accomplish real life tasks, not just to play games. We feel incorporating Google Classroom and other

learning management programs into education from now on is a necessary part of updating the way we teach to be

more effective for today's students. (Mrs. J. Miller—Science Dept. Chair)

Although it's been very difficult for orchestra members

to progress in their playing abilities due to scheduling,

we have been finding creative ways for students to

remain engaged in playing their instruments online and

over Zoom. Students in both the 6th and 7th/8th

grade orchestra have been receiving lessons every

other week, either in-person or over Zoom. A big

focus in lessons this so far this year has been independ-

ent musicianship. Skills in independent musicianship

include sight reading, developing practice strategies,

and time management with practicing. We believe this

won't only help them become better musicians, but

also help their development into becoming a lifelong

learner.

Just like other courses, many of our instruction occurs

online. We've held Zoom meetings that include fun

musical activities such as music history trivia and

"Orchestra I-Spy." We also have students send in re-

cordings of themselves playing for assessment and have

them create their own stories that correspond with

music we've been working on in class. You may view

an example of student story below. We will continue

to find creative ways to keep students engaged during

hybrid instruction! (Ms. Crosley and Mr. Wendell)

VMS ORCHESTRA

As Karol, the Koala was walking through the streets of Madrid ad-miring the Spanish architecture, kind civilians, delicious flan, and marvelous fountains, her eye caught the most magnificent castle she had ever seen. She stopped in her tracks and was whispering ran-dom words of admiration when a mariachi band appeared out of the corner of her eye. The group of 5 dolphins came up to her and started playing their light cheerful chords as soothing as a lullaby. As confused as Karol was she started to dance. Just as she nailed down a smooth dance light on her feet, the most beautiful, loud, demand-ing voice came from a room located in the castle. Her feet were drawn to this beautiful song and she danced all the way into the colossal building. As she entered the building she saw the most rav-ishing castle ever. The walls were draped with long gold silky arches and an array of light burst through the bountiful windows. The walls were colored creme with a tint of shimmer where the light hit the most. Hanging from the ceiling were vast gold sheen chandeliers which granted radiance across the hall. Though she was more shocked and confused as ever, her feet couldn't stop dancing. She glided light on her toes until she reaches the overpowering voice. And there it was, the most beautiful large rhino standing on the balcony overlooking the city of Madrid. Then, before she knew it she stopped dancing and the rhino sang the last note. (Yasmin Malik, Team 8B)

VMS ART DEPARTMENT

The art department is working together to reach our art students. We have

sent home art materials and scheduled many additional art material pickups

for parents.

We created mandala art projects for mindful-ness and ental health for our students.

Students selected toys that told a story or created an emotions through their own pho-tographs.

Art club is up and running with 65 students!! They meet select Wednesdays through Zoom with Mr. Gilligan

(Ms. Aloi and Mr. Gilligan—Art Teachers)

VMS English Department News

Ms. Powell is hosting The Good Ink Writing Club after school. Students share their writing, giving notes and supporting each other in their work. Students partici-pate in activities that engage, are fun, and that pro-mote a love of writing. Teachers are in charge of their own professional devel-opment. The hybrid model has given us many oppor-tunities to improve our pedagogy. English Department teachers are learning new ways to teach students. Mrs. Delmage and Mrs. Jones are using Google Slides this year. We are taking our lesson slides from SMART Notebook and converting them in a three-step process (exporting them first to PowerPoint, uploading them to Google Drive, and then saving them as Google Slides files in Drive). Google Slides al-lows us to easily share our lesson materials with stu-dents in Google Classroom. Additionally, we can use Google Slides as a platform for student assignments. For example, we made a Black-Out Poem template in Slides and then posted it as an assignment with the “Make a copy for all students” option. Students edited the template and produced beautifully creative po-ems! (Mr. Herman, Dept Chair)