Team 8-2 News
Mrs. Bense, Mr. Frazier, Mrs. Madera, Ms. Waxman
General News! Week of Sept. 5-8
We hope you all got to enjoy a little extra time with family and friends, and took a minute to relax if that was possible!
This week both our "Zero Period" and "After School Thursday" programs will begin. Students who have been invited to attend "Zero Period" regularly should have brought home a bright neon green invitation on Friday. We look forward to seeing them bright and early each day! If your child can not attend this on a regular basis, please let us know so other students can be invited. Thanks!
Our "After School Thursday" program looks a little different this year, due to the fact that we will not be able to provide bus transportation. We realize this will mean that some of our students will not be able to take advantage of this opportunity.Students who attend Thursday from 2: 40-4:00 pm will need an invitation from one of their teachers, and either walk, bike, or be picked up by car. Invitations for this Thursday, Sept. 7th, will be sent home with students on Tuesday. These need to be signed and returned to school ASAP so we can judge the number of students who will be attending. Please be sure to include the way they will be getting home. Thanks!
Next Tuesday, Sept. 12th from 5-6:30 p.m. you are invited to "Walk in My Shoes". This is a great place to find the answers to all of those questions you may have about grades, classwork, homework, and so much more! We look forward to seeing you there!
SMMS Yearbooks are on sale now: ( order online at)
SMMS Spirit Bobcat shirts and drawstring backpacks will go on sale beginning Thursday morning from 7-7:30 in the rotunda and during 6th, 7th, and 8th grade lunches in Student Services.
Large Youth - Large Adults $10.00
XL – 4X will be $12.00
Drawstring backpack $5.00
Have a great week!
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
September 5&6th- SMMS Spirit Days...Show your school spirit,wear your red, white, and blue
September 12th- "Walk In My Shoes" 5-6:30 pm Parents are invited to come experience a mini version of their child's daily classes.
September 13th- 1st Quarter Progress Reports go home
September 14th- Chick-fil-a Night 5-8 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from the sales will be donated to our school. Hope to see you there!
October 20th- School Pictures- Just wanted to give you a heads up on this one!
Language Arts- Ms. Waxman
Hello from Language Arts!
This week we will be working on getting ready for our first novel read, EMPTY, by Suzanne Weyn. It's the near future — the very near future — and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be. Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Spring Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope — there has to be hope — just as there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a whole society that needs to be rethought. Teens like Nicki, Tom, and Leila may find what they need to survive. But their lives are never going to be the same again.
In writing our focus has been on "showing" not "telling". We have looked at a variety of text examples that demonstrate the many techniques authors use to engage their readers completely. Students had an opportunity to demonstrate their skill level with this in their personal memoirs. I will be taking a closer look at these this week, and meeting with students to discuss their work one on one.A number of students did not get as far as I would have liked on their personal memoirs, if this is the case with your child, they should be working on this, and re-sharing. This was not meant to be a long assignment, and students who have been in class, have had more than enough time to complete this task.
In grammar, we will be working on our third root word set, "Before & After". I have placed the link for a STUDYSTACK in their Google Classroom. We will be taking a quick check quiz on these this next Thursday.
We are on Week #5 of "Mountain Language". This reinforces 20 grammar skills on a weekly basis. The current skills they are working on, are skills that were introduced in elementary school, and have been building on ever since, we will be moving on to some different skills soon, so if your child is still unclear about these, they need to get with me soon. We will have another quiz on these this Friday.
A quick reminder that your student should be reading independently each evening for approximately 20-30 minutes. If they have not already begun to focus on some independent reading each night, please encourage this practice. This is the primary homework they will have for language arts.
Our second Independent Choice Reading will be due by FRIDAY, Sept. 15th. to get it done. They should have completed reading and testing by this Friday, Sept. 1st. Most students have completed their 1st book, but we do still have a few stragglers...get'er done!
On Tuesdays and Thursdays they should have their books with them for some independent practice time. We will be using their own choice readings to complete some of our other classroom activities on those days. (It is great practice to have those books with them EVERYDAY!)
The students also have access to books and stories online at https://myon.com/. Your child's login is their student number, and their password is myon..
Another resource is TweenTribunehttp://tweentribune.com/ . This is an online resource
that has high interest, short non-fiction articles. We will be taking a focused look at these soon in class before adding it to our weekly reading homework. Students should have their logins and passwords for this in their agenda books.
Science- Mrs. Madera
Physical Science- Students were tested on metric conversions, mass, volume of a regular solid, volume of a liquid, volume of an irregular solid, water displacement, density, and the engineering design process last week. If they earned below an 80%, they will be eligible to remediate and reassess on this content. This process will allow for them to improve their grade.
This week we will be starting a new unit on States of Matter. Currently students have been completing 6 mini research tasks by manipulating a simulation and researching vocabulary. As we continue to learn about the different states of matter, students will be working in pairs to complete a presentation. Required information for their presentation is found on Google Classroom. Students will be presenting at the end of this week.
The "States of Matter" Vocabulary can be found by visiting my Quizlet link below. I will post vocabulary at the beginning of each unit. Science homework will be to review notes and vocabulary. https://quizlet.com/join/kRj6Jgpam
A Kahoot review for the measurement test can also be found at https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/631a7ac5-6e4d-4321-98f1-3350464c1781
Please check google classroom for additional practice links and simulations.
FYI:
The message below was sent to your child on Google Classroom.
Note the attached Study Guide and the Re-Test opportunity available this week.
My goal is to help Team 8-2 students become more self-sufficient regarding their study habits, work ethic, and grade recovery efforts.
Taking ownership of their own progress will help our students prepare for the demands awaiting them at the high school.
Thank you for your continued support,
Mrs. Madera
Your Measurements Exam grade has been posted in PowerSchool. We will review the answers to the exam in class next week. If you did not show mastery on this exam (80% or above), you will participate in a remediation activity next Friday during the first 30 minutes of class and will be given the opportunity to re-take a different exam. In the meantime, you need to practice to help you prepare for the re-test. I have attached a Study Guide to help you prepare for the retest. Keep in mind that these measurement and inquiry skills are critical to your success in physical science this year.
Social Studies- Mrs. Bense
This week we will create the following graphic organizers:
- Trustee Period
- Government in Royal Georgia
Students will complete the following assignments:
- “Come to Georgia” Choice Activity
- Rate-A-Governor
- Exploration and Colonization Mastery Assessment Review
We will finish the week with a Kahoot followed by the Exploration and Colonization Mastery Assessment. Students who have not showed mastery on the Geography of Georgia and American Indians Mastery Assessment will work on activities to prepare them to retest. Students that have shown mastery will have an opportunity to work on some extension activities.
Daily Homework: Students should be looking over the graphic organizers and vocabulary. This will ensure they know the material instead of trying to cram before a test.
Mr. Frazier
This week, Team 8-2 Mathematics will continue our study of transformations, specifically reflections in the coordinate plane. All students have an opportunity for extra credit by completing the reflection assignments on Khan Academy before Thursday. We will take a quiz covering reflections on Friday, then move onto rotations. As usual, I will post a study guide and homework assignments in Google Classroom. The links below, underneath Math Resources, will also help your children to prepare for the quiz.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS (See Agenda Books for possible changes)
MONDAY (4 SEP): HOLIDAY ROUTINE
TUESDAY (5 SEP): NONE
WEDNESDAY (6 SEP): WORKSHEET (ODD/EVEN).
THURSDAY (7 SEP): KUTA WORKSHEET IF NOT COMPLETED IN CLASS.
FRIDAY (8 SEP): NONE
QUIZ/TESTS
FRIDAY (8 SEP): Transformations: Reflections Quiz
RESOURCES
1. Math Bits Notebook: https://mathbitsnotebook.com/Geometry/Transformations/TRTransformationReflection.html
2. IXL.com – Practice problems
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-8/reflections-find-the-coordinates
3. Khan Academy.org – Collection of videos and practice problems
4. Math Warehouse – Notes and practice problems
http://www.mathwarehouse.com/transformations/reflections-in-math.php
Teacher Contact Information
Mrs. Bense- tbense@camden.k12.ga.us
Mr. Frazier- ajfrazier@camden.k12.ga.us
Mrs. Madera- kmadera@camden.k12.ga.us
Ms. Waxman- bwaxman@camden.k12.ga.us
Location: 205 Martha Drive, Saint Marys, GA, United States
Phone: (912)-882-8626