Team 8-2 News
Mrs. Allen, Mrs. McKinney, Mr. Salser, Ms. Waxman
General News!
Our 1st week has us off to an amazing start. We are so excited to have the opportunity to help you and your child have a great school year! This 8th grade year will help prepare your student for their high school years and beyond. A news flyer like this one will be sent home on a weekly basis, either by email, or a hard copy with your child, to help keep you up to date with our classrooms and other school activities.
We really appreciate those of you who have already completed the online information for returning students registration, Unfortunately, we still have a number of student's families who need to complete this as soon as possible. This registration process also includes the internet usage permission. Please go to: http://www.camden.k12.ga.us/
and access the Returning Student Online Registration,so that your child will be able to access Google Classroom ,as well as other online sites used during instruction. If you still have paperwork at home, please fill it out, sign any necessary forms, and return it to school as soon as possible. If you have any questions, or require any additional forms, please feel free to contact us, or the front office.
This year 8th grade academic classes begin at 7:30 am, so it is very important for your child to be on time each day. Hopefully a supply list went home at open house; we have included it here again for you. Students should have their basics with them, as we will begin to set up classroom notebooks, etc. as the week begins. If you have questions or concerns about any of the suggested supplies, please drop one of us an email, and we will do our best to help get them squared away.
Supply List reminders-
LA: 1' binder, spiral notebook, composition book, index cards
Math: spiral notebook, college ruled paper, graph paper, ( calculator optional)
Science: 1 1/2" binder with 5 dividers, notebook paper, index cards
Soc St: Notebook paper
All classes use: pencils/pens, glue sticks,highlighters, colored pencils or crayons
***Wish list for all team teachers: tissues, hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, extra pencils, paper, paper towels, expo markers, ear buds, post it notes…
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
August 11th (Thursday)- 8th Grade Parent Night 5:30- 6:45 pm We will meet in the cafeteria, and then break off by teams.This is your opportunity to meet with each of your child's teachers to discuss this years curriculum and expectations. We look forward to seeing you there!
September 1st- SMMS Yearbooks are on sale now for $37.00 ( order online at)
September 5th- Labor Day Holiday (No School)
September 14th- 1st Quarter Progress Reports go home
Language Arts- Ms. Waxman
Greetings!
I have enjoyed our first few days of getting to know your children...what a great group we have! This week we will hit the ground running with a "Reading Inventory" that will help determine your child's current reading lexile level and interests. I will be able to share some of this information with you as the year goes on. We will monitor growth and other progress mid and end of year.
Tuesday we will head to the library, and students will have the opportunity to check out some books for choice reading. Please encourage at least 20-30 minutes of reading each night.,,more information on this to come soon!
In class we will begin gathering some background knowledge for our first novel study: The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton. (extra copies are not available to send home for reinforcement,but electronic versions are available as well as the public library) This novel is set in the 1960's with two rival gangs, the GREASERS and the SOCS divided by their socioeconomic status.
We will also be looking at our 8th grade standards, and students will have an opportunity to evaluate their own levels of knowledge of them.
Math- Mrs. McKinney
Welcome to the new school year! We are eager to work with you and your students as we learn new mathematical concepts. In the classroom, students will frequently work on tasks and activities to discover and apply mathematical thinking. Students will be expected to explain or justify their answers and to write clearly and properly. Mathematical content will be organized into units following the Georgia grade 8 curriculum map. Unit 1 is Transformations, Similarity and Congruence. Our first topic will be special angles created when a transversal crosses two or more parallel lines. Tuesday students will take a Mathematics Inventory Assessment that will show areas of strengths and weaknesses for each student. I hope to send results home by Friday so you will know where to focus your efforts to help your student. This year is going to be a great one!
Concept for this week will be:
· Focus on the sum of the angles of a triangle and use it to find the measures of angles formed by transversals (especially with parallel lines), find the measures of exterior angles of triangles, and to informally prove congruence.
Helpful links
http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/parallel-lines.html
Vocabulary and definitions
Alternate Exterior Angles: Alternate exterior angles are pairs of angles formed when a third line (a transversal) crosses two other lines. These angles are on opposite sides of the transversal and are outside the other two lines. When the two other lines are parallel, the alternate exterior angles are equal.
Alternate Interior Angles: Alternate interior angles are pairs of angles formed when a third line (a transversal) crosses two other lines. These angles are on opposite sides of the transversal and are in between the other two lines. When the two other lines are parallel, the alternate interior angles are equal.
Congruent Figures: Figures that have the same size and shape
Corresponding Sides: Sides that have the same relative positions in geometric figures
Corresponding Angles: Angles that have the same relative positions in geometric figures
Linear Pair: Adjacent, supplementary angles. Excluding their common side, a linear pair forms a straight line.
Same-Side Interior Angles: Pairs of angles formed when a third line (a transversal) crosses two other lines. These angles are on the same side of the transversal and are between the other two lines. When the two other lines are parallel, same-side interior angles are supplementary.
Same-Side Exterior Angles: Pairs of angles formed when a third line (a transversal) crosses two other lines. These angles are on the same side of the transversal and are outside the other two lines. When the two other lines are parallel, same-side exterior angles are supplementary.
^
Social Studies- Mr. Salser
This week we will wrap up the five physiographic regions of Georgia. Then we will kick off the prehistoric people of Georgia focusing on the following time periods:
· Paleo
· Archaic
· Woodland
· Mississippian
We will compare and contrast the culture, food sources, the tools, the weapons, and the building structures of each period.
Science- Mrs. Allen
Welcome to 8th Grade Physical Science! This week in our class we will be working on lab safety, the scientific method, and science inquiry. We will be starting our interactive notebooks, so please make sure everyone brings their binder with dividers and paper this week! It’s time to dive right in and start making observations with all of our senses! Looking forward to good attendance and participation! I can’t wait to see who wins our drawing this Friday for a prize! J
Teacher Contact Information
Mrs. Allen- callen@camden.k12.ga.us
Mrs. McKinney- dmckinney@camden.k12.ga.us
Mr. Salser- tsalser@camden.k12.ga.us
Ms. Waxman- bwaxman@camden.k12.ga.us
Location: 205 Martha Drive, Saint Marys, GA, United States
Phone: (912)-882-8626