Religion - May 12, 2008
The students are handing in their Confirmation binders today and will complete Chapter 21 about the early days of the Church, how they spread the Good News, the risks they took and how they made Church a community. The students will have a final mastery test on Wednesday, May 14. A study guide will be handed out today.
Mrs. Beeson
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Algebra: May 5 - 14 Mrs. Gross
I am returning their quizzes to them today, Monday. Don't forget I will add a point for every correction they make. They must show the work for each correction and the quiz must be signed by a parent.
We will continue working with square roots and the Pythagorean Theorem this week. Friday is Field Day so the final quiz of the year will be on Tuesday, May 13. It will include some of the items on last week's quiz and 10.4 - 10.6.
There is a new access code for the online edition. It is BBABBE7552 I hope this works for everyone.
Literature: May 1, 2008
We have completed our material for "To Kill a Mockingbird" and are now working in the anthology on another classical piece of literature--"The Diary of Anne Frank". Our work is in the form of a play so we will be doing some extra work on drama. The students have received a study guide and are responsible for placing all information in their Literature notebook. They will be expected to read between three to five pages each day and to answer the corresponding questions. I will be taking several daily grades from the questions (and yes, I do not tell them which questions beforehand)and quizzes throughout the reading of the story. I know they will enjoy the story.
It appears there is concern of parents about their grades and that is very understandable; however, we all need to keep in mind this is the student's responsibility. I know you are all aware we attend school a required number of days for each year; that number is in the 180 range. At this point is does mean the students have come through my classroom door approximately 150 times (I do use numbers for quick calculation). Since day one of our class, I have asked the students to bring their anthology (literature text), their literature notebook, and their vocabulary workbook on EVERY SINGLE DAY. When they enter the room, I expect them to place their materials on their desk so they can immediatly tell if they have forgotten anything. If I have not started class and they are not interrupting the homeroom teacher, I will allow them to return to the homeroom. If they do not have their materials, I am unable to grade their assignments; therefore, I place a zero in my gradebook. I know you realize teachers only record grades, not "give" grades. And at this stage of the year, I do not feel it is necessary for me to check all the individual assignments after the date assigned. At this point I do hold the student responsible and accountable. This is also true of when students are absent and they never come to make up their work; most of them expect the teacher to "check with them". That is a poor choice on their part and a definite lack of responsibility.
All student papers are handed back to them with a verbal notation of where to record the grade in their Grading Procedure Record. Some of the students have made a decision to not keep their grades recorded and that is a very poor choice. Your child should be able to tell you every single day their grade in Literature as they were also taught this at the beginning of the school year. However, I do remind them and all parents this is a young person who is an 8th grader, soon to be in high school and they need to make an effort to grow into that privilege and responsibility.
Mrs. Laposky
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ENGLISH: LAST ENTRY, 2008
Monday, 4/28: SCHOOL PLAY
Tuesday: ADJECTIVAL CLAUSES
Wednesday: ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
Thursday: NOUN CLAUSES
Friday: Review WORKBOOK AND HANDOUTS
Monday, 5/5: REVIEW FOR TEST
Tuesday: PHRASES AND CLAUSES TEST
Wednesday: SENTENCE ELEMENTS AND USES
Thursday: SENTENCE FORMS
Friday: FIELD DAY
Monday, 5/12: REVIEW FOR TEST
Tuesday: SENTENCES TEST
Wednesday: Check books and averages
The second part of the book is where we spend about two-thirds of the school year, working on grammar. Most of what we cover is review from previous years, with new, slightly more complicated material added as we go through each chapter. The only entirely new chapter in this part is the one on verbals: participles, gerunds, and infinitives.
Please encourage your children to study a little every night, especially the nights after they have taken notes in class. It will give them an opportunity to ask questions if they realize that they really do not understand a section, before we go on to the next lesson. Some of the chapters are long, and the students really cannot memorize all of the material in one or two nights before the tests. Occasionally, I will give pop quizzes to be sure students are studying the material a little at a time, rather than waiting until just before tests.
This is the last few days with the 8th grade. There is a test on Wednesday, May 14 on the chart and Holocaust info. The Holocaust project is due Thursday, May 15. I wish all the students the best as they enter into the next important phase of their lives. God bless them all.
Science: Mrs Carroll May 10,2008
It is getting down to the wire. Last week we were involved in the transfer of energy using dominoes. This week we will draw the energy chapter to a close using a discussion of fossil fuels. We will have one more Current Science and we will complete the review. I decided not to test them on this final chapter. Just a reminder that the last article is due Wednesday the 14th. This is the last school notes. Good luck to you in high school. Congratulations on your upcoming graduation.
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