U-32 Middle School Scoop

Information | Resources | Celebrations | Opportunities

~ APRIL 2022 ~

Welcome to the April edition of a modified Middle School newsletter. It is our intention to share what is going on in the middle school - academically, socially, emotionally and athletically on a monthly basis. Not all months will have information on everything, but we hope to share and celebrate as often as possible. Our hope is that this allows parents to have deeper conversations with their student about their school experience.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - STUDENTS AND VAPING - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

According to the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Data (2019) for Vermont middle school students, 1 out of every 6 middle school students have tried an electronic vapor product (vape or e-cig). Between 2017 and 2019, the use of vapes doubled, and experts hypothesize that the rate may have doubled again between 2019 and 2021. If this is accurate, it is probably true that over 50% of U-32 middle school students have tried some sort of vape or e-cig product. Incidents of vaping are happening at U-32 this year and most likely, your child has tried, has been exposed to, or has been offered a vape in school or while socializing outside of school with friends. We remain vigilant about vape use at school but also need the help of parents to reduce the number of vapes that are brought into school.

What are vapes and what do they look like?

The size, shape and smell of vapes are important for parents to understand. They are easily disguised and overlooked and the smell can be similar to the smell of fruity bubble gum. Here is just a small sampling of what they can look like:

What should I know as a parent?

What parents need to know about vapes - "While anyone can identify a conventional cigarette and the smell of its lingering smoke, the odor produced by vaping products is usually minimal and sometimes almost candy-like. Brands allegedly market their products to adolescents by including playful fruit or mint flavors that help camouflage the taste of nicotine or THC in the product. The brands also reportedly use youthful advertising and packaging to target teens. E-cigarettes and vaping devices come in a variety of styles and sizes, most mimicking USB flash drives, pens or flashlights with removable parts."

Vaping: What you need to know - "Vaping is the inhaling of a vapor created by an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) or other vaping device. E-cigarettes are battery-powered smoking devices. They have cartridges filled with a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings, and chemicals. The liquid is heated into a vapor, which the person inhales. That's why using e-cigarettes is called "vaping."

What do vapes contain? - Vapes contain different things. Some contain nicotine, or nicotine salts. Some vapes contain cannabis in the form of marijuana, THC or CBD. Others contain flavoring, solvents, carcinogens, glycol and heavy metals. Most vape fluid contains nicotine. Not only is nicotine highly addictive; it also can “prime” a person’s brain for using other drugs.

Here are some staggering statistics...

More than 30% of teens who start using e-cigarettes begin smoking traditional tobacco products within six months. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Only 15% of U.S. e-cigarette users are non-smokers. (Annals of Internal Medicine)
Young people in the U.S. are four times more likely to try cigarettes and three times more likely to smoke regularly if they’ve already used vaping products. (Truth Initiative)
The majority (70%) of high school cigarette smokers also use vaping products. (Surgeon General)
People ages 12 to 17 who vaped were 4.3 times more likely to use marijuana. (JAMA Pediatrics)

What can you do as a parent?

Signs that your teenager may be vaping - Vaping impacts teenagers physically, mentally and emotionally. “For kids, vaping may seem like a fun, harmless, social experience. But for parents, vaping is both an X-factor and an all-too-familiar echo of the past. Toxins masked with sweet candy flavors and marketed as cool social props feels similar to the way tobacco cigarettes were sold for decades. Don’t assume that your teen wouldn’t vape or that you’d know if your teen was doing it. Many good students, star athletes, and otherwise “great kids” experiment with e-cigarettes at one time or another.”

Educate yourself - what do vapes look like, what do they contain, and what does vaping do to a teenage body?

Talk with your Teen about e-cigs and vapes - this tip sheet for parents offers some suggestions for starting the conversation, and some answers to frequently asked questions.

Set clear expectations around vaping and give consequences for use of vaping products.

Want to help your teen stop vaping or smoking?

My Life, My Quit is a free resource for Vermont teens. Tip and Support are available through texting with a cessation coach!

~ SAVE THE DATES ~

STAGE 32 PRESENTS "The Drowsy Chaperone" ~ Friday, April 8 at 7:00 and Saturday, April 9 at 2:00 & 7:00 - Stage 32 is proud to present The Drowsy Chaperone. Referred to as a musical within a comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone is a parody of American musical comedies of the 1920s. This musical has it all: splashy dance numbers, a dazzling set, 1920's costumes, Broadway starlets, a greedy producer, a romantic leading man, a drunken chaperone, a Latin lover, and even two gangsters posing as pastry chefs! Don't miss the return of live theater at U-32! Good for the entire family. April 8 at 7:00 and April 9 at 2:00 and 7:00 at U-32 Middle & High School. Tickets are available at the door, or by calling Sue Verchereau at 802-229-0321 extension 5561 or by email at sverchereau@u32.org. $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for students. Bring your friends and family and enjoy the group discount: 4 tickets for $30.00.

MUSIC CONCERTS (MS & HS) - Wednesday, June 1- Middle School will perform at 5:30 and High School will preform at 7:00.

~ UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS ~

8TH GRADE FIELD TRIP TO CENTRAL VERMONT CAREER CENTER - Friday, May 6. Busses leave at 8:30 a.m. and return at 10:30 a.m. Students will resume their day in Class 3. Permission slips will be sent home on April 25.

8TH GRADE FIELD TRIP TO LOTUS LAKE FUN DAY - Friday June 10 (rain dates are June 13 and 15). Busses leave at 8:30 a.m. and return at 2:40 p.m. Permission slips will be sent home on May 27.

7TH GRADE FIELD TRIP TO LOTUS LAKE FUN DAY - Thursday, June 9 (rain dates are June 13 and 15). Busses leave at 8:30 a.m. and return at 2:40 p.m. Permission slips will be sent home on May 27.

~ APRIL IS AUTISIM ACCEPTANCE MONTH ~

April is Autism Acceptance Month. This is a month where we recognize the need for supporting, understanding, accepting, including, and empowering the people on the autism spectrum (ASD).

Previously, April was known as Autism Awareness Month. However, with new research and the approach to a more neurodivergent world, it transitioned to Autism Acceptance Month in 2021. This shift in language reflects input from the ASD community to promote inclusivity and advocacy for the human and civil rights of all people with ASD. For those with people in their lives on the spectrum and those who work with students with ASD, I hope you will consider joining us in this messaging that goes beyond awareness and promotes full acceptance and appreciation of the many contributions of autistic people.

~ START Right Emotional Resilience Training Workshop ~

U-32 Middle School has partnered with a local Emotional Resilience Coach, National Speaker, and Author, Lou Bevacqui. We know that there is a need for our students/children to learn how to better manage their emotions and emotional responses to the ongoing challenges in classrooms, at home and everywhere in between. Lou provides workshops to educate students on how to identify, understand, and use all their emotions more effectively, so feelings like fear, anger, anxiety, don't have the final say over their thoughts and their actions!

Given the pandemic and its impact on our students, Lou developed a special series of 6 workshops for middle and high school students. Each series can accommodate up to 12 students. The goal of the workshop series is to help students work on developing their emotional skills and give them some practical tools they can use every day to help them choose the way they respond to any situation rather than just reacting to it. Offering these workshops during the school day, will ensure the kids are able to attend all 6 sessions and immediately apply what they are learning to the stressors that come up during their school day.

During these workshops he will be helping our students learn the importance of understanding their emotions and the information they provide as well as emotional regulation. He will teach them his START Right method to give them tools they can use to build their emotional resilience.

Please talk with your student about this opportunity and if they are interested, please send an email to amolina@u32.org OR have them see me to sign up this week. We are limited to 12 students in each grade and spots are filling up quickly. This program will start after April break and will run for 6 weeks. The group will meet during callback once a week so students will not miss classes. You can go to his website to learn more about Lou and his work if you are interested - https://loubevacqui.com/.

~ MIDDLE SCHOOL CALLBACK CLUBS & OPPORTUNITIES ~

Both 7th and 8th grade students have the opportunity to participate in a large variety of clubs during CallBack time. Many students are taking advantage of this opportunity this year. There are so many wonderful opportunities to get involved. Check out some of the options in the MS Callback/Club Calendar. It is never too late to try something new and meet more people; please encourage your child to try something new! Some newer additions and changes to note:

Stress Busters ~ (mindful relaxation and fun) is now available for 7th & 8th grade.
Dungeons and Dragons ~ now available for 7th grade.
American Sign Language Club ~ Thi is an new club that is open to beginners.
BLAAMM ~ will meet every other Thursday.
Zine Club ~ 7th grade is an awesome place to do make some art with purpose and share it with others.
Art Space ~ open to both 7th & 8th grade will continue to meet in Room 16.

~ COURTESY POST ~

ORCA MEDIA MAKE-TV CAMP ~ Student (ages 11 - 14) media makers will learn broadcast TV production while creating studio shows and producing video packages along the way. Camp runs Monday through Friday, June 27 - July 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is a sliding fee scale. For more information and to register, visit www.orcamedia.net/youth-media.

~ SHOUT OUT!! ~

Congratulations to Mayla and Leela. Their music has been selected to be performed in concert by area professional musicians. Music-Comp's, Opus 36 Concert will take place at St. Paul's Cathedral in Burlington on April 26. This is the first year that U-32 will be represented at the Opus concert. It took a long time to write, revise, and finalize a piece of music that will be performed and it is a fantastic honor.

Congratulations to CVSA hockey player, Hannah. She was chosen to participate in the New England District’s Futures Development Camp this weekend.

~ EARTH 8 CORE ~

SCIENCE ~Earth Core Borneo Presentation

Recently, the 8th grade students have been learning about the current orangutan crisis happening on the island Borneo. The “crisis” we have been discussing is involving the palm oil industry, that goes into most consumer products like candy, food, or beauty products. We have studied the ways the palm oil industry has developed over the years, and how much it has affected the orangutans and surrounding habitats along with it. One of the main sources for students has been videos and articles talking about the orangutans and how their habitats have been destroyed to make room for palm oil plantations. Although one thing that has always been somewhat an obstacle, was that facts in those videos could be false, or trying to shield certain information that might try to make the palm oil plantations more “friendly” in simpler terms.

Luckily at U-32, we have a teacher by the name of Amy Urling who has visited the island of Borneo and has seen the orangutan crisis up close and in-person. On March 31, 2022, she presented her experience in Borneo, and explained to the 8th grade Earth core students what she had seen. She told us that sadly, most of what we were picking up through our articles and videos was true. Although when she visited some of the local people, they told her that they knew what was happening, and some of the ways they were trying to fix the orangutan crisis. A couple of ways they help is by replanting trees that the orangutans use as homes, “adopting” an orangutan to be rehabilitated and released back into the wild, and trying to find better alternatives for palm oil. They said one of the main keys to helping the orangutans is for organizations looking to help need to work with the local people in Borneo, instead of an organization from another country telling them to stop making palm oil and doing nothing else. In short, the way to actually help the Orangutans is teamwork, because almost nobody knows the environment better than the people actually living there. Amy was even told one of the most effective ways to get people to know is to just spread awareness to the people around you. At least one person might care enough to try and assist in stopping the orangutan crisis, and even though that one person might seem small, it’s one more step in the right direction, not just for the orangutans, but for possibly the world itself.

- John Stafford, 8th grade Earth Core Student

- Cathy Guiffre, Daisy Scarzello, Chris Williams

Panda

If you ever go to China

Look out for black and white

I’ll be climbing up a tree

I am a rare sight!

I am a little shy

and love eating bamboo

Take care of my habitat

As I sit here and chew.

I need the trees to climb

I need the bamboo to eat,

My species is too precious

To accept defeat!

- Poem by Trina B

~ WIND 8 CORE ~

SOCIAL STUDIES ~ Students have been studying the path our country took towards Civil Rights. They have explored the difficult reality of slavery in America, the challenges that existed after emancipation, as well as the role Jim Crow Laws played in the Great Migration. As they continue through the month of April, they'll be exploring the many heroic actions taken during the Civil Rights Era of the 1950's and 1960's, and how our country has moved forward since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

- Tess Knepp, Sean McIntyre, Georgia Roy, Steve Sheeler

~ WATER 7 CORE ~

SCIENCE ~ Over the last couple of weeks, the 7th grade Water Core students have been hard at work creating eukaryotic cell models based on their studies of cells and organelles. The students were offered a variety of craft materials to make a one-of-a-kind representation including many organelles. Alongside the models, the 7th graders made a key to all the elements of their creations and wrote a description of the cell, its organelles, and how the structure functions as a whole. Many of the students enjoyed creating their cell models. One student said, “My favorite part is probably when we were done with the minimum requirements and we got to add something silly to it.” “I really enjoyed the artistic aspect,” added another student. “I’m glad that we got to make cell models!” (Submitted by a Water Core Student)

ELA - Students are just wrapping up their “Passion Project” which took place during February and March. Each student picked a topic of interest and pursued it with deep research questions in hopes of teaching a small group about the topic and why it matters to the world. As they transition out of that project, they will begin refreshing their literary skills before jumping into the famous U-32 Children’s Book Project, which features all of the students authoring and illustrating their own unique and original children’s story.

MATH ~ In math, Water core students recently completed a second quiz assessing their level of understanding of angle relationships and area, perimeter and circumference. As we approach spring break at the end of April, students will be concluding their exploration of geometry with a short unit covering 3-dimensional geometry and the concepts of surface area and volume. Upon return from break at the end of April, students will begin a study of probability which will be the final unit of the school year.

SOCIAL STUDIES ~ This month students continued their exploration and understanding of indigenous people in North America. Each student focused on a particular nation/tribe and have been collecting notes. Their notes will be used for their final project which will be a digital book highlighting their nation/tribe, then and now. These digital books will be shared with their peers in a gallery walk just before April break. Additionally, students have been working towards sharing their understanding of CNN 10 News with each other through a socratic seminar format. They’re working towards having more meaningful discussions about the news happening in our world.

- Matt Bruce, JB Hilferty, Hollis St. Peter, Erin Wysolmerski

~ FIRE 7 CORE ~

SOCIAL STUDIES ~ Students are learning about Native American culture and history. Students are each doing a research project on an assigned tribe.

MATH ~ Students are finishing their algebra unit by looking at inequalities. They have just starting the next unit on geometry. Students are learning geometry concepts.

ELA ~ Students are working on their "I Care Projects". Each student picked a topic that they care about and researched it. Students are now taking that information and putting together a slideshow.

SCIENCE ~ 7th Grade Scientists are learning about cells. Students conducted their first lab experiment on March 31. Students are taking notes and learning about cells and what they do.”

- Margaret Keys, Annie Ledue, Elizabeth Marks

~ U-32 GLAMM Club ~

On Thursday, March 31, students of the GLAMM club at U-32 joined other GLAMM and GSA clubs from all over Vermont to speak with Vermont’s LGBTQIA+ legislators and LGBTQIA+ teens from around the country. This opportunity was sponsored by Outright Vermont (a non-profit organization since 1989) with a goal to create a safe and accepting state for LGBTQIA+ youth. All of the legislators we talked to introduced themselves and told us a little bit about themselves. We then went into breakout rooms to talk to some. Our GLAMM club had the honor to speak with legislators Taylor Small and Kate Donnally, we and other GSA and GLAMM clubs asked them many good questions about LGBTQIA+ topics in the statehouse and we got to hear their views on many topics. We then got signed into an online game and got to talk to other LGBTQIA+ youths around the state. We went into smaller groups, facilitated by Outright Vermont members and we just got to hang out and have a good time. We got to hear from multiple teens from around the country, stretching all the way from Long Beach, CA to just near here in Brattleboro, VT. They told us many stories, all about how they got to where they are now with activism, and they told us ways we could become activists. A big thanks to Outright Vermont for holding this event, it was so amazing to connect with and know we have people to hear us LGBTQIA+ youth.

- Isabel Parrish

7th Grade Strings players rehearsing during callback

Explore & Create and Chorus Students are songwriting! The unit involves lots of listening, reflection, and brainstorming. There will be many original songs created. Many thanks to Jasmine Gruen (junior) for sharing her music and experience in the process of songwriting!

~ WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR STUDENT'S CLASSES? ~

Are you interested in seeing what your child is doing in all of their classes? Following along with assignments? Checking on grades and work completion? Canvas is our learning management system and parents/guardians can access all of the information above. Periodically checking can help to increase connections and conversations about your child's experience at school. Here is information about how to access your Canvas Parent account.

U-32 Middle School Faculty & Staff

Fire 7 ~ Margaret Keys, Annie Ledue, Elizabeth Marks, Sara Yurt

Water 7~ Matthew Bruce, JB Hilferty, Brittany Perry, Hollis St. Peter, Erin Wysolmerski

Earth 8 ~ Cathy Guiffre, Mitch Pauley, Daisy Scarzello, Chris Williams

Wind 8 ~ Tess Knepp, Sean McIntyre, Sue Ognibene, Georgia Roy, Steve Sheeler

Visual and Performing Arts ~ Roger Grow, Anne Decker, David Powelson, Erin Galligan-Baldwin, Kristine Chartrand, Krista Dy and Adrian Wade-Keeney

World Language - Sarah Volinsky, Caroline Grace, Beatrice David, Elizabeth Marks

Physical Education/Health ~ Steve Towne, Lauren Caswell, Jeremy Avoli, Kerri Zurowski

School Counselors ~ Jade Walker (8th Grade) & Jake Ploof (7th Grade)

S.P.A.R.K Center ~ Katie Staley, Corey Robbins

Support Staff ~ Amy Molina (Asst. Principal), Sue Verchereau

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