Team 8-2 News
Mrs. Bense, Mr. Frazier, Mrs. Madera, Ms. Waxman
General News!
Happy Solar Eclipse Day!
Hard to believe that we are beginning our 4th week of school...time is flying by! You should begin to see grades going into Power School on a regular basis now. We will be reminding students of their logins for this, as well as explaining that they are responsible for regularly monitoring their own progress in each of their classes.
Please remember that a "0" at this point generally represents an assignment that your child has missed either due to an absence, or some other circumstance. It is the student's responsibility to get with their teachers, and make the necessary arrangements to get these completed and turned in. Most of us are, or will be, available before school if the student gets their planner signed the day before. Our Zero Period and After School Camps are scheduled to begin right after Labor Day.
We would like to remind you that regular attendance is a very necessary part of having academic success. We are noticing a number of our students who are arriving very late on a regular basis, as well as a number of students who have already had multiple absences, and early check-outs. School begins at 7: 40- 2:40, we appreciate your efforts in having them at school on time, and ready to learn! We all have emergencies, and illness, but students who miss extended class time often struggle trying to get caught up.
SMMS Yearbooks are on sale now for $37.00, until September 1st ( order online at)
Have a great week!
***An update from busing should be coming home today with your child. I have attached a copy below. If your child rides a bus, these changes could affect them.***
*****ATTENTION - IMPORTANT*****
Please check E-link on the front page of the Camden County Schools’ website for weekend bus route changes. These changes could affect you/your child’s bus number and/or the time for your bus pick-up or drop-off. These changes will go into effect on Tuesday morning for routes that are affected.
Please realize that you must make yourself/your parents aware of these changes to catch the correct bus at the correct time. Otherwise, transportation will not be able to provide bus service to accommodate your transportation needs.
Keep in mind that E-Link is only as good as the information provided to the schools for you/your child. If you/your child has moved and has not updated that information with the schools, you/your child will be routed to a bus that corresponds to your old address.
Also, please consider that bus pick-up and drop-off times are estimates. They do not take traffic, re-routing due to accidents, mechanical issues, variations in dismissal loading times, parents who stop the bus to speak with drivers, and other unpredictable situations into account.
Changes will continue to decrease with time. Your/your child’s route will become more consistent over the next few weeks.
Thanks for your patience and understanding as we continue to address your concerns,
Dwayne Dimsdale – CCS Transportation Director
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
August 21- 2017 Total Solar Eclipse
August 22- Math Inventory taken in Math classes (Has been postponed...will update as soon as possible for new date)
August 23-24 - Tennis Tryouts after school
August 29th- SMMS Spirit Day...Show your school spirit,wear your red, white, and blue
September 1st- Middle School Night/ Chris Gilman Stadium 7-9 pm
September 4th- Labor Day Holiday (No School)
September 5&6th- SMMS Spirit Day...Show your school spirit,wear your red, white, and blue
September 13th- 1st Quarter Progress Reports go home
Language Arts- Ms. Waxman
Hello from Language Arts!
This week we will be working on our first CLOSE READ. Students will be reading a narrative passage 3 separate times. Each time our reading focus/ purpose will be different. Close reading is thoughtful, critical analysis of a text that focuses on significant details or patterns in order to develop a deep, precise understanding of the text’s form, craft, meanings, etc.
Our focus will be understanding and identifying some of the techniques that authors use in their writing to "show us" rather than "tell us". Students will continue to examine various pieces of text, as well as try a hand at this themselves. We will also begin to examine how dialogue and actions can be used to develop characters in our reading and writing.
Our "Literary Terms Chart" containing the 30 terms should be getting easier. There will be an assessment on these terms, this week,on Thursday or Friday. Students should focus on terms that they do not have a strong understanding of. I have provided them with study aids, and we are getting practice during class. Those who are not comfortable with them yet, may need some additional reinforcement at home.
In grammar, we will be working on our second root word set, "More, More,More". I have placed the link for a STUDYSTACK in their Google Classroom. We will be taking a quick check quiz on these next Thursday.
We are on Week #3 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. Last week we took our first quiz over a few of the key skills. Most of the students did pretty well on it. If your child is struggling with this, please ask them to see me, or drop me an e-mail. I will be inviting them for a before school study session beginning this week. 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. This week we will head to the library again on Wednesday. Students who still have fines, or missing books, etc. can take care of that when we go, as well as check out books.
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. I have asked the students to try and complete at least one of their books by Aug. 25th, that is this FRIDAY. This will help me have a better idea of their independent reading comprehension.
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 have been completing tasks in their Measurement Packet each day in class. The packet consists of notes, reinforcement/practice activities, and labs to demonstrate their knowledge. Science will consist of various rotational labs surrounding mass, volume, and density this week. The Measurement Packet is due on Monday, 8/28. Students will be tested on the material in this packet as well as their notes taken in class. Students should be reviewing their notes and vocabulary each night and completing any work that is not completed in class. Please encourage your student to tell you all about their day in Physical Science.
The "Measurement" Vocabulary and “Graphing” 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
Mr. Frazier
This week, Team 8-2 Mathematics is online with Google Classroom. All students will be assigned classes on Monday and guardians are encouraged to participate. In addition to this newsletter, all assignments, tests and study resources will be posted in Google Classroom. This week, we will complete our lesson on interior and exterior angles of triangles on Monday and test on Tuesday. We will transition to Transformations on Wednesday beginning with Translations. Also, any student that scored 90 or below on the parallel lines cut by a transversal test will be provided an opportunity to retake the test on Friday. We will review/reteach on Wednesday and a study guide has been posted in Google Classroom..
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS (See Agenda Books for possible changes)
MONDAY (7 AUG): Study for Test
TUESDAY (8 AUG): TBD
WEDNESDAY (9 AUG): Textbook - Complete P. 42 1-5, Work P.43 #1-7
THURSDAY (10 AUG): Textbook - Work P.45 #13-17)
FRIDAY (11 AUG): TBD
QUIZ/TESTS
Wednesday (22 Aug): Interior and Exterior Angles Test
Friday (24 Aug): Parallel Lines Cut by a Transversal Retest (As Required)
RESOURCES
1. Math Bits Notebook: https://mathbitsnotebook.com/Geometry/Transformations/TRTransformationTranslations.html
2. IXL.com – Practice problems
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-6/translations-graph-the-image
3. Khan Academy.org – Collection of videos and practice problems
Social Studies- Mrs. Bense
This week students are wrapping up the Paleo, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian time periods in Georgia and moving into Europe and the Colonization of America. Students should be looking over the Native Peoples and Explorers vocabulary nightly. Links to Quizlet and study stack can be found on Google Classroom.
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