CMS 8th Grade Husky Howler
May 2018
Thweatt's Husky Pause
Critical Information Regarding High School Credit Options
Final report cards are scheduled to be sent home on the May 24. Along with the report card, a letter will be attached outlining the options for accepting or declining credits for high school courses that have been taken while at CMS. The default disposition will be that the high school credit will be entered on the high school transcript, assuming a passing grade has been earned. However, you may choose to decline any high school credit. Declining a credit means that neither the course and nor the grade will be noted on the HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT.
I cannot impress upon you enough the importance of carefully considering whether you want to accept or decline any high school coursework credit and to communicate that decision with Crabapple Middle School BY THE JUNE 1ST DUE DATE. Once the due date passes, all credits for which there is no "opt out" will be added to your child's high school transcript. This is a final decision and requesting a change after the fact isn't permitted.
The letter will outline in great detail the process to follow in order to decline any high school credit. I thank you in advance for following the process exactly so that there are no errors in this very important task.
iPad and Textbook Collection
$100.00 damaged IPAD, $20.00 for missing charger or cord.
All fines need to cleared up before students can be issued a final report card. If a fine is due, your child will not receive a report card on May 24th. Following May 24th, when the payment is received, the report card will be issued through the front office. Due to summer construction, the CMS front office staff will be relocated to Mountain Park Elementary School.
OFFICIAL IPAD & TEXTBOOK COLLECTION: Friday, May 21, 2018
Make sure your child returns all books, IPAD devices, charging cords and blocks.
8th grade Dance a HUGE Success!
Adjusted Schedules for Finals and Other Events
8th grade FINALS will be administered by class period with an hour and 50 minutes for completion. The dates and times for each assessments are as follows:
May 14, 8:55 to 10:45 -1st period class
May 14, 11:58 to 1:48 - 4th period class
May 15, 8:55 to 10:45 - 7th period class
May 15, 1:31 to 3:21- 8th period class
May 16, 8:55 to 10:45 - 2nd period class
May 16, 11:58 to 1:48 - 3rd period class
May 17, 10:37 to 12:27 - 6th period class
The 8th grade PE 100% Club Trip to Brunswick Bowling Alley will occur on May 18 from 8:55 to 10:30. (Look for details from the PE Staff)
Yearbook distribution will occur on May 21 from 10:37 to 12:15.
8th grade Field Day events will occur on May 22 from 10:37 to 12:15.
The 8th grade Awards Assembly will take place on May 23 and Final Day Activities are planned for May 24.
Language Arts Updates
8th Grade ELA students have been working hard this month in their Dystopian Book Clubs. Students are reading either Burn Out, Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, The Giver, or The City of Ember. They are analyzing literary elements such as setting, characterization, theme, and author’s style. The final exams will revolve around the book club choices, as well as short stories that we have read and discussed in class. There will also be an article for the students to cold read on the exam. As we finish up the year, may the odds be ever in your favor.
Social Studies Updates
We made it through the curriculum with a few days of review before students took the social studies Milestones. After Milestones, students were given a choice to work on a decades project exploring a particular decade in American history, a project going deeper into a particular historical topic, or a "what if" project where students explore a particular turning point in history and what would have been the potential outcome if things had happened differently. They will be presenting these projects soon. We will wrap up the year with review for the social studies final.
World Languages Updates
German students are preparing to take their final exam on Tuesday, May 15. They have been reviewing vocabulary, grammar, and culture learned throughout the year. They should continue to access the Blend Space site that Frau Davy created to review for the exam. Frau Davy is so proud of this highly academic group of students. They have shown such passion for learning German and German culture. German students will be celebrating their success with a special German cuisine event in May.
French 2/2H has been doing intensive study on the two past tenses they have learned this year-the “passé compose” and the “imparfait.” There are specific instances for using each one. Students have composed and performed a rap, chant or song using new sequence words, as well as distinguishing direct object pronouns from indirect object pronouns. We have begun our final exam review and will be using various games, conversational and written practice, and online apps for practice. Our French 2/2H exams will take place the week of May 14th.
Spanish
Level 2 and 2H: We have wrapped up lesson 9 and are finished with learning new material for the upcoming final. Please make sure your child is studying and preparing for the final by accessing the study guides that are on our websites. We will be going over these next week in preparation for the final. It is important that your child reviews vocabulary from lessons 6,7,8, and 9.
Level 1: We have wrapped up lesson 5 and are finished with learning new material for the upcoming final. Please make sure your child is studying and preparing for the final by accessing the study guides that are on our websites. We will be going over these next week in preparation for the final. It is important that your child reviews vocabulary from lessons 1,2,3,4 and 5.
Science Updates
High school curriculum:
We are wrapping up the Electricity/Magnetism Unit. Students have learned the difference between series and parallel circuits and how to build them. The unit test is on May 11. We will have a fun project to work on for the remainder of our time together. Students may choose to build either a roller coaster or a Rube Goldberg machine. They also have the option to work on an individual project of their own design. This has been a great year! We have learned so much and the students have worked very hard. The EOC grades will be posted in HAC soon.
8th Grade Science is reviewing the year's curriculum through interactive labs and review activities for all units, including Chemistry, Force and Motion, Energy, Waves and Electricity and Magnetism. Review opportunities include the Roller Coaster design project, Genius Hour projects, and smaller labs to review all concepts from the year.
Math Updates
On Level Math 8: The students are preparing for their upcoming final exam. It will assess your student's understanding of 8th grade standards from the second semester (functions, linear equations, systems of equations, & statistics).
Advanced Math 8: The students are preparing for their upcoming final exam. It will assess your student's understanding of various 8th grade standards (exponents, real numbers, multi-step equations, functions, linear equations, systems of equations, & statistics).
The Counseling Corner
As summer quickly approaches, a wonderful way to keep our students’ brains engaged is to keep them reading. Here are some tips that may encourage you and your child to read this summer.
1) Let your child choose what they want to
read.
2) Talk about what they are reading.
3) If they are struggling or bored with a book,
let them put it down.
4) Subscribe to magazines that will interest
them.
5) Read together.
6) Play games that utilize reading.
7) Encourage your middle-schooler or rising
high schooler to read to a younger sibling.
8) Visit the library together
9) Ensure they have a good reading space.
10) Keep up on what they are reading.
11) Encourage writing.
12) Suggest books from movies they liked.
13) Listen to audio books in the car.
14) Model reading.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to the counseling department with any questions or concerns. Have a wonderful summer! Amy Levin and Gina Severino levina@fultonschools.org severinogc@fultonschools.org