Patton 8th Grade Newsletter
December 2, 2022
Dear Families,
It is hard to believe that next week is the last FULL week of the first semester. December 15 will be a half-day release (11:00 AM dismissal) and December 16 is a NO SCHOOL day for students. Students will return to begin the second semester on January 4. Please check Skyward for the most up-to-date grades. If you have questions about your student's progress, please reach out to their teachers. Please remind students to charge their Chromebooks overnight. They are an essential part of our instruction every day. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation!
Have a great weekend.
Respectfully,
The 8th Grade Team
MATH 8 NEWS
Students completed Module 5 with their Math Test on Thursday. All missing assignments should be turned in prior to the end of the day Tuesday December 13th. If there are things that students need a second copy of, or need to be reopened in the Online GoMath portal, please email me by December 8th, I’ll have a sub on the 9th.
Students will be taking their STAR test on the 6th and 7th and the 1st Semester Final on the 13th.
Respectfully,
Tina Faught
Email bfaught@usd207.org
ALGEBRA/GEOMETRY NEWS
Algebra students continued working in Unit 4, "Writing Linear Equations", this week. There is a quiz on Lessons 4-1 to 4-3 Monday, Dec. 5 and we will complete the Chapter through the rest of the week. Please check Skyward regularly to monitor your child's assignment completion and grade.
Geometry students are working on Chapter 4 "Proving Triangles Congruent" and will take a quiz on Monday, Dec.5. We will complete Chapter 4 this coming week with a vocab quiz and Test on Dec. 12 and 13.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Staci Blount
Email sblount@usd207.org
ELA 8 NEWS
In ELA this week students read an informational text titled "What is the Horror Genre?", a new genre for them called literary criticism. We focused on determining and analyzing the central idea and supporting details. These skills, begin able to determine what the author is trying to propose, are skills they will need as they enter high school English Literature classes. We then applied these skills (and standards) to another new text, "Man-Made Monsters." While this type of reading is not entertaining, it is important, as much of the text we consume every day is informational and not recreational.
Anna Davila & Kelly Funk
Email adavila@usd207.org and kfunk@usd207.org
SCIENCE NEWS
We started our new unit, "Genes and Heredity" this week. Students completed a lab on height and began to master setting up and accurately completing Punnet squares. Next week, we will discuss chromosomes and the cell cycle.
Sincerely,
Natasha Johnson
Email njohnson@usd207.org
SOCIAL STUDIES NEWS
Students began examining if Andrew Jackson was a "Champion of the Common Man" or a villain. We will have a test on Tuesday, Dec 13th. Students should keep all work from Topic 6 Lessons 1-3 until the unit is completed.
Jeremy Hurla
Email jhurla@usd207.org
BROADCAST TECH/MAGIC OF ELECTRONS/ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT NEWS
Mrs. Rolf is out on maternity leave until the end of the semester. Ms. Starla Bargmann will be the long-term substitute. Please reach out to her with any questions. (sbargmann@usd207.org)
Katie Rolf
Email krolf@usd207.org
MEDICAL DETECTIVES NEWS
Students have written a script and performed a video news clip explaining the source of a simulated food poisoning outbreak in the town of Montgomery Hills. Be sure to ask your son/daughter if they played the role of the reporter or the epidemiologist in the video. They had TONS of fun creating these news clips! I am planning to upload them to Google classroom so students can share them with parents!
Nikki Elder
Email nelder@usd207.org
DRAMA NEWS
It’s almost here! The day we’ve all been waiting for … the Drama 8/9 Winter Showcase! Our show is Tuesday at 7 p.m. The cast and crew have been working diligently on their performances. Please join us for an evening of entertainment, Tuesday, December 6th at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcomed and admission is free.
Penny Paradies
Email pparadies@usd207.org
FCS NEWS
***All missing assignments in my class must be made up to participate in Lab Days. Any missed Lab Day results in a 0 until students complete the lab makeup form in google classroom. Instructions regarding this are posted there. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out!
Email kcox@usd207.org
ART NEWS
Art Students began Sketch # 5 in their Sketchbook. They had several choices on the drawing prompt.
1) “Store Sign” If you owned a store what would it be called? What kind of store would it be and what would you sell? What kind of shapes and colors would you include on your sign with lettering and details? Color and/or shade with a pencil or colored pencils using the Element of Art, Value.
2) “About Me Book Cover” Create a book cover about you. What would the title be? What would you have
on your book cover? Be creative and have your drawing show your personality and interests. Color and/or shade with a pencil or colored pencils using the Element of Art, Value.
3) “Holiday/Winter” theme.
Color and/or shade with a pencil or colored pencils using the Element of Art, Value.Sketchbook Grading Rubric-
Criteria 1 – Creativity- Drawing is highly creative and you followed the given drawing prompt. The drawing fills the page and objects are well-grounded. Shadows and background are included.
Criteria 2 – Craftsmanship- Nice and clean artwork. Not messy or rushed. The drawing is fully shaded and all values are represented. The drawing has a high contrast and looks finished. Color was used with colored pencils using the Element of Art, Value.
Criteria 3 – Criteria- Realism or Abstract/Composition- The drawing has correct proportions, perspective, and texture (Realism). It is also drawn from an interesting point of view. Met criteria of drawing prompt. Abstract drawings are highly creative.
Criteria 4 – Time/Effort- Appears to be very challenging and a considerable amount of time has been spent on the drawing each class period. Clean work, not messy or rushed. (Didn’t start the drawing the day it was due.)
Emily Sipp
Email esipp@usd207.org
BLOCK 2 NEWS
We finished our "6 Things To Know About" mini-research project this week. Students presented their information to their classmates to practice some public speaking skills. We previewed the subjunctive mood of the verb and began our next project. With the remaining weeks in the semester, we will study the genre of informational writing, podcasts. We started by listening to the award-winning podcast called "Lore" to inspire our writing. Next week, students will begin writing their own podcast scripts in small groups. If we have the time and technology, we may record our podcasts.
Kelly Funk and Anna Davila
Email kfunk@usd207.org and adavila@usd207.org
PE NEWS
All is well in PE. Mr. Amon’s classes will be finishing up their unit on Speedball and Ms. Dreiling’s classes will be finishing Tsegball. All students have done a great job of working with each other. Please check with your student on the days they will have PE. Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have for your student!
*We will look to go outside as much as possible for PE (weather permitting). Please help us in reminding our students to bring water bottles and tennis shoes every day they have PE.
Tricia Dreiling and Pat Amon
Email tdreiling@usd207.org, and pamon@usd207.org
ESOL NEWS
Welcome back!! I am so glad to see the students again. This week we are studying the sequence of events in a story. We are identifying the words that help us know when events change in a story. I hope everyone enjoyed their break. I enjoyed listening to the students’ stories of where they went and what they did.
Click the link for our December newsletter.
https://www.smore.com/1874s-holiday-template
Nina Hewitt
Email nhewitt@usd207.org
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
ALL cell phones must be turned off and stored securely in lockers during school hours (7:40-3:00). If you need to contact your student, please call the front office.
All visitors must enter through the front office. Masks are now optional when entering the building.
Remind your students to charge their Chromebooks overnight!
Patton Junior High School
Email: tfowler@usd207.org
Website: www.patton.usd207.org
Location: 1 Patton Loop, Fort Leavenworth, KS, USA
Phone: (913)651-7371