8th Grade Newsletter
February 2020
Productive Struggle and Learning from Mistakes!
With our trip to Savannah, Spring Break, and many other special events and activities on the horizon, it is not uncommon for students to begin to feel a bit too relaxed about their behavior and their academic performance. To assist your 8th grader as he/she continues moving forward this semester, please support and encourage them with conversations at home that reflect our common desire to help them experience success and complete their final year of middle school year on a positive note.
It is also sometimes helpful to remind them of the expectations and requirements that go along with the privilege of participating in many of our planned 8th grade activities. Specifically, as we are very near to the travel date for our Savannah trip, it is important to remember that any student signed up for the trip will lose eligibility upon being issued 3 days or more of ISS (In School Suspension) and 1 or more days of OSS (Out of School Suspension) during the course of the school year. Days of ISS and/or OSS served do not have to be consecutive (this is the total # for the school year prior to the trip date).
Please know that it is my desire for all students who are signed up to be able to have the opportunity to go. However, if your child finds themselves in a situation where they have been rendered consequences that result in their loss of the privilege, the more important piece is for them to learn from the experience and change whatever needs to be improved, or perhaps, make different choices in the future.
As a parent, I completely understand how difficult it is to see our own children struggle, suffer consequences, and even fail at times. Teaching them to be responsible and holding them accountable can be a very time-consuming and painstaking process. Although it is probably one of the more challenging aspects of being a parent, it can also render the greatest benefit for your child in terms of their maturity and development.
With this thought in mind, I would definitely encourage you to focus on everything that could be gained by allowing them to do so. A more mature outlook, better decision making skills, and knowing that they will be held accountable for their choices is surely something that will set them up for greater success in the future!
The same could be said for the importance of teaching our children that it is okay at times to feel challenged or disappointed. There will always be times in our lives when things don't go as planned, meet our expectations, or turn out the way that we thought it might. Helping your child to build resilience and the ability to learn from "productive struggle" is just another way you can prepare them for moving into high school and beyond.
Once again, I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratefulness for your support of the CMS school community, your child's teachers, and your partnership with school administration. Your children are valued and so are you!!
All the best,
Mrs. Psalmonds
Updates for ELA
The 8th grade English Language Arts classes are continuing their unit on information reading, research, and argumentative writing. Students are currently taking a position and making a claim for their argumentative essays. They will be writing their introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions within the coming weeks with a due date of February 14th for the essay. Students will begin language lessons on verb mood during the middle part of the month and take a timed argumentative essay test on the 27th and 28th of this month.
The 9th grade Honors Literature and Composition classes are continuing their study of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Additionally, students will write analytical essays on a chosen topic for Romeo and Juliet, and they will take a summative assessment over the play on February 14th. Afterwards, students will begin a research project and a study of The Odyssey.
Updates for MATH
Students in Math 8 On Level have been learning about Linear Functions. First, we learned how to find the slope of a line, as well as the y-intercept. Then, we learned how to write equations from graphs, tables, and ordered pairs. We'll continue using linear functions by applying them to real-world problems.
Math 8 Advanced students are learning the same information as on-level with an addition of some high school standards. We are being introduced to recursive sequences and how to calculate and graph. This is an important unit to master so students will be prepared for both the final units this year and Algebra I next year.
Algebra 1 students are digging deeper into exponential functions. They will be writing equations, graphing, and predicting exponential growth and decay. We are utilizing the Corona Virus as a real-world example to make prediction, calculate the growth and decay, as well as look at extraneous variables. The Study Guide for Unit 4 is on Google Classroom. The test is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2020.
World Languages (French, Spanish, German)
French:
“French 2 has been learning clothing vocabulary and created their own clothing catalogs. They researched famous French designers, past and present, and their impact on fashion. Our grammar concept has been reviewing regular -re verbs and learning irregular -re verb conjugations. Our next test is on Wednesday, February 5. We will have special activities on February 14, as well as February 25 (Mardi Gras!)! Laissez le bon temps rouler!!!”
Spanish:
Level 2 and 2H: We are working our way through lesson 9. Students are learning about celebrations. They have learned to conjugate irregular verbs in the preterite and have learned about certain verbs that change meaning in the preterite. We will be working on pronouns following prepositions and the difference between que vs cual. Please make sure your child is studying their vocabulary nightly and reviewing the grammar. We are noticing that many students are cramming for tests and quizzes. It is important that they review every night especially since we don't give a lot of written homework. The review is the homework. Help sessions are Wednesday mornings. Mrs. Noto will be hosting February sessions.
Important Dates:
Feb. 3rd: PBA
Feb. 4th: Vocab Quiz on Lesson 9
Feb. 6th Chile Quiz
Feb. 14th: Lesson 9 Test
March 4th: International Night
German:
German I students are continuing with the second half of a unit on family. Students are doing a fantastic job describing their family members in speaking and writing activities. They are also learning detailed descriptive adjectives in order to describe physical and personality characteristics. German II students are starting the second half of a unit on architecture. Students are looking forward to a project where they will write about their dream house in German. The next German Club meeting will take place on Monday, February 24, at 8:10 am. Ms. Comeau, a parent of a 6th grader, will be speaking about her role in the global strategy division of InterContinental Hotels Group in the US head office in Atlanta. She will highlight the importance of intercultural communication through her work. Ms. Davy is looking forward to another fabulous German Club event!
Updates for SCIENCE
The 8th grade students recently completed the Energy/Heat Unit. They learned all about the different forms of energy and how energy transformations support the Law of Conservation of Energy. Students just started the Waves unit and will learn all about sound and light and the characteristics and behavior of waves. They will design their own waves project. All projects are individual, and students will have a choice in presentation method and topic. Each student will become the expert on their selected topic, which include: echolocation, the Doppler Effect, lenses, mirrors, and lasers, just to name a few. The unit test is scheduled for February 21, 2020.
As the year begins to wind down, we would like to remind you that students will have a final exam and The Georgia Milestones test toward the end of the semester and it is never too soon to begin reviewing notes and practicing content from the first semester.
High school Science Curriculum:
This semester began with Energy, where students learned about different types of energy, as well as energy transformations and the connection to the Law of Conservation of Enery. We are now learning about force and motion and they have designed their own mini experiments that supported or challenged Newton’s Laws of Motion. Students have learned a lot of new information and are now connecting those concepts to work and simple machines. They are currently designing their very own Rube Goldberg Machines which allows them to apply the concepts of Force and Motion while utilizing all six of the simple machines. We will continue to utilize different hands-on methods to help students explain balanced and unbalanced forces and will employ engineering processes to test and improve Whirly-gigs to learn more about gravity and air resistance. The Unit test is scheduled for February 14, 2020.
The EOC will be here soon! Please encourage your students to begin reviewing their notes in preparation for the upcoming exam. Study groups are a great way to have fun while learning new techniques or study methods. As a reminder, the EOC covers the content from the entire year and counts for 20% of their 2nd semester grade.
Updates for SOCIAL STUDIES
8th Grade Georgia Studies had a great time on the Capitol Field Trip at the end of January! This month we are looking toward wrapping up WWI and the Great Depression and beginning WWII and post-war developments, including heading into the Civil Rights Movement. We are excited to see how the students continue to embrace the variety of ways we are teaching them to learn independently and analyze the impact of events beyond the surface value. We are proud of their efforts thus far and know they will continue to work hard throughout the remainder of the semester!
Nurture Your Child’s Confidence and Self-Esteem
· Encouragement and Praise - Encouraging children develops a desire to explore and learn more about their surroundings, no matter their age. Be as active of a participant in their activities as you can while also giving them the appropriate amount of independence as they grow older. It is important to encourage your child to not only strive to do their best, but also to enjoy the process. Trying new activities teaches children about teamwork, self-esteem and new skills.
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· Set Realistic Goals - Children need realistic goals that match their ambitions with their abilities. With your help, older children can choose activities that test their abilities and increase their self-confidence.
· Avoid Sarcastic Remarks - If a child loses a game or fails a test, find out how he/she feels about the situation. Your child may get discouraged and need a pep talk. Later, when they are ready, talk with them and offer that assurance.
· Be Honest - Do not hide your failures from your children. It is important for them to know that we all make mistakes. It can be very re-assuring to know that adults close to them have had struggles that they have overcome and grown from.
DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR 8th GRADE RECOGNITION ADS IN THE YEARBOOK!
Jostens Yearbook Recognition Ad – extended deadline
Did you miss the deadline to submit your 8th grader’s recognition ad in this year’s yearbook? Good news! Jostens has extended the deadline for submissions through Monday, February 10.
This is the last opportunity to submit an ad for your student. Jostens will not approve any requests after 2/10 due to the printing schedule.
To purchase a recognition ad, go to www.jostensyearbooks.com. Enter our school name at the top of the page. Click on “Shop the Collection”. Select “Yearbook Recognition Ads”. Please note that you must complete the ad on a computer and not a phone.
Reach out to Katy Perkins Betts at perkinsk@fultonschools.org with questions.