Meeting in the Middle
February 2016
Dear Parents/Guardians:
We have distributed the information to our seventh grade students regarding the annual 8th grade Washington D.C. trip. If you have not seen the information and your child is interested in attending next year's trip, please ask him/her for information. You may also contact the main office at 810-591-0711 for information.
This is the time of the year that eighth graders’ imminent move to the high school becomes more real! Students in EDP classes have begun working on high school schedules, and all students will soon be making high school course selections. Typically the high school orientation for eighth grade students is held in March. When we have the date confirmed, we will communicate.
We are trying to keep parents more informed of up-coming events at LMS. For current information, please refer to the Calendar tap on the LCS Web site and look under the Middle School link. One fun, annual event that is coming up is our Career Fair being held on February 12th! Be sure to ask your child to share about the careers shared that day!
I want to continue to thank our families and community for the support you give our school district! Please continue to communicate with teachers regarding your child's classroom progress.
Sincerely,
Julie Brown
Regal Eagles
Thank you to all of the parents who attended Parent Teacher Conferences on January 14th. We encourage parents and students to keep track of daily work and academic progress using school resources such as StudentVue and ParentVue. If you do not have internet access at home, we are happy to supply you with grade reports upon request. Students, let’s continue to use your planners, stay organized, and turn in work on-time.
Seventh graders will be attending an annual presentation given to our grade level on suicide prevention on February 8th. Students are taught signs of depression to look for in themselves and in others and are taught the importance of speaking up and where to get help. Later that week is our annual Career Fair. We are looking forward to learning about different job opportunities available in today’s world.
Finally, we would like to mention curriculum topics being covered. In language arts, we are in the middle of our mystery novel and will begin writing a mini-mystery soon. The students in Ms. Mazza's class have completed their study of the Middle East and have begun a study of Africa. Both political and physical maps of the region have been introduced, as well as Egypt's history. The students were given a closer look into the ancient writing system of hieroglyphics. In science, students are working on ways to model either photosynthesis or aerobic respiration and will begin presenting soon. Students will also finish this unit with an individual project.
Soaring Eagles
It was nice seeing so many of you at parent-teacher conferences. We are halfway through the school year already, and we are all amazed we have only had one snow day so far! We are anxious for spring and our annual field-trip to see the Lansing Lugnuts baseball game!
Language Arts classes will find out “who dunnit” in the murder mystery And Then There Were None soon! After that, we will begin work on the City Research Paper. Students will also receive a school G-mail account (some may already have this) in Language Arts so they can take advantage of the many resources Google offers. In Math, students are finishing simplifying expressions and will be moving into solving equations very soon! Please check your child’s Digits account for updated math grades and assignments. In Social Studies, students are visiting each region of Africa and learning about each culture and history.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Updated grades are available on ParentVue. If you do not have log-in information, please contact the main office at 591-0711.
8th Grade Newsletter
Eighth graders are off to a great start in 2016! We are half-way through the 2nd trimester. It is important to keep checking your student’s progress on ParentVue! (Synergy). Also, teachers are posting homework assignments with due dates and upcoming tests/quizzes on ParentVue to keep you informed. If you still cannot access your account, please call the office. It is also important to keep checking your student’s Digits math account. This will help you check for missing assignments!
We are finally out of El Niño and experiencing Michigan winter weather. That means students need to be prepared to go outside after lunch! They need coats, hats, gloves, and all winter accessories with them at lunch every day.
Speaking of weather, 8th grade Science will start learning about atmosphere and then breeze into weather. From there, the prevailing winds will take students on to climate. Ask your student about these awesome topics!
The second trimester focuses on biographies in Language Arts. Students will read Anne Frank, and many short biographies such as Abraham Lincoln. They will choose a biography of a famous person they would like to study. Projects and writing papers will be a part of this trimester’s grade.
We would also like to thank the parents who attended parent teacher conferences in January. It was great to see familiar and new faces and to discuss your child’s progress.
Winged Warriors
In social studies, the students are studying our neighbor to the north, Canada! We have several learning targets as we move through the unit. In chapter 6, section 1 the students are learning about the geography of Canada. They are identifying the major land-forms, rivers, and lakes. They are learning about Canada’s major resources, and climate patterns. As we move through section 2, the students will learn how the British affected Canada’s history and how immigrants have influenced Canadian culture. Our study will wrap up with a study of what Canada is like today.
LA: Students are continuing their study of fantasy fiction with the focus on plot and vocabulary of the novel Tuck Everlasting. Please review ParentVue regularly and check the announcements on Ms. Baldridge's webpage to see daily assignments, due dates for projects, upcoming test dates, links, and attached documents.
In Math class students have been working with rational numbers. Students have been comparing positive and negative integers, decimals, fractions, and mixed numbers. The next topic we are starting is Ratios. Students will learn what a ratio is and how to compare ratios and find equivalent ratios. They will also learn how real world problems can be solved using ratios. Please remember that student grades are found on Digits. Under the grades tab, you will find test average, homework average, and overall grade.
In Science, students we are concluding the Physical and Chemical Changes Unit with student presentations and demonstrations. The presentations have been very good so far; we have seen many neat chemical reactions and have been learning a lot from each other’s information. Presentations will be completed on Wednesday. We will begin a mini- unit on measurement and the metric system next. Please be sure to check ParentVue regularly, remember that OUT’s may always be retaken to earn a higher grade, prior to a test or project due date.
Talented Talons
Language Arts: In language arts, students are starting in on our first novel study of the year Tuck Everlasting. In this novel, students will read about the story of a young girl who finds herself caught up in events with a family that can live forever. A few of the main things we will be focusing on in this novel are theme, protagonists and antagonists, imagery, inference, and figurative language. After our novel study, students will have an opportunity to write their own fantasy narratives!
Math: We’ve just begun our 4th unit of study on Ratios and Proportional Thinking. Ratios are comparisons which are helpful for making plans, predictions and decisions. We’ll use different models for making comparisons and decide which model to use in different situations.
Social Studies: During social studies, students are learning about the wonderful world of North America. So far we have focused on North America’s location in the world. We have also learned about its political divisions, land-forms, and waterways. Students are now concentrating on the many ecosystems in North America. Next, we will be learning about the different cultures and economic systems in North America. This is a really fun topic to learn. At the end of the unit, students will need to produce either a PowerPoint or poster, and write an essay with pictures about North America and the five themes of geography.
Science: Physical and Chemical Properties and Changes have us working on our first project of the year. This project will replace the test for this unit. Students can either submit a PowerPoint Presentation or Prezi by e-mail or on a flash drive, or create a poster with the appropriate information. Students are also asked to demonstrate a chemical change in front of the classroom. This is due February 1st. Here is the e-mail address for submitting a PowerPoint Presentation: ccook@lindenschools.org