8th Grade GSS Weekly Update
Week of 1/27-1/31
Breaking News
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
Middle School Model UN General Assembly
Friday, April 3, 2020
Eighth Grade students will travel to the Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois, on
Wednesday, April 22, 2020. We will travel to several historic sites in Springfield, Illinois on a coach bus and enjoy a buffet pizza lunch at Pizza Lunch. Several chaperones are needed for the trip. Please read the form carefully to sign up to be a volunteer. This trip will be an all-day trip. We will board the bus at 7 a.m. and return around 6 p.m.
The permission slip and fees are due on Friday, March 27, 2020.
What If? Conference
Cortex Innovation Lab
Friday, April 24, 2020
Classroom Happenings
CURRENT EVENTS/GUEST SPEAKER
We welcomed Dr. Lauren Arnold, our January Guest Speaker, on Wednesday, January 29, 2020. Dr. Arnold is an associate professor of epidemiology at Saint Louis University's College for Public Health and Social Justice. She led the students in an engaging conversation about the coronavirus outbreak.
PBL EXPLORATION
Students are finalizing their second semester PBL proposals. Students have six options to explore and research this semester:
Model UN
Notables
20% Project
Track a Legislator
Podcast Challenge
NHD Regional Competition Entry
Students may choose more than one option.
DEMOCRACY
Students are learning to distinguish different views of democracy and power and evaluate the key changes in the way democracy has been seen over time.
Students are analyzing the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various theories of democracy, changes in Americans’ participation over time.
Students are learning how the U.S. Constitution establishes a system of government that has powers, responsibilities, and limits that have changed over time and that are still contested.
Upcoming Tests
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Government Summative Assessment
Upcoming Due Dates
Proposals for Second Semester PBLs due Thursday, January 30
Democracy Quotes A
due Thursday, January 30
GSS Composition Notebook Checks Begin
Monday, February 3
Inquiry and Poster
due Monday, February 3
GSS Springfield Field Trip Permission Slip and Fees due on Friday, March 27, 2020
GSS Webpage
If you would like to review a past weekly update, please go to our webpage to catch up on the archived updates.