Spanish

8C is having a quiz over their adjective vocabulary words on Monday, Nov 22nd.  8A and 8B will have their quiz on Thursday, Dec 2nd, after Thanksgiving break. 

Math: Mrs. Cindy Streff

8th graders are working hard in Chapter 3, Graphing in a Coordinate Plane.  They know three ways to graph a line, how to determine the slope of a line, and can solve a system of linear equations by graphing.  Each chapter brings new concepts and challenges and the 8th grades are doing a good job of taking on the new concepts that will help them in their Math in the years to come.  Keep up all the hard work!  We will test over the chapter on Thursday, Nov 11.  Chapter 4, Operations with Fractions, will start with the new trimester.

Language Arts/Reading

The 8th graders just completed a "Dark Side" short story unit for reading. The students did an excellent job comprehending these difficult and interesting pieces of literature. Next week, we will begin our first novel study over The Outsiders. Students will work collaboratively in literature groups with daily reading assignments and assessments. In addition, 2000 reading minutes and a written book report are due this Thursday, November 11th.

The students are also finishing up a grammar unit over the 8 parts of speech. We will review Monday and test on Tuesday, November 9th. Our next grammar unit will focus on sentence structure and its components.

Have a great weekend! Go Hawks!

Religion/Faith Formation

Hello Eighth Grade Parents!

For the past few weeks your children have been researching the Saints. They have heard and learned many stories of the holy men and women who have gone before us.

I provided a link below from the Catholic Catechism to help you learn about the communion of saints and further the discussion with your children at home.
http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p5.shtml

 There are also many links on the SFA 8th grade webpage that allows you to search for my different saint stories.  You are also welcome to sign up to receive a Saint of the Day email each day.  It is a great way to bring the stories of our ancestors into your family life each day.
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saintofday/default.aspx

Students will also begin watching the movie St. Peter next week.  They will be learning about the faith, courage and love of the early Church.  The eighth graders will have a quiz next Wednesday over the stories of the early Church, mostly found in the Acts of the Apostles.

Four Serviam Service hours are due by November 11th as that is the last day of the first trimester. If you need ideas ask your student to bring home their worksheet from the Service Fair, as they took notes on many organizations they could work with. Also the SFA 8th grade website always has ideas on the "Pre-approval list." Thank you again for your support of the service program, the kids really benefit greatly from the activities they participate in.

We have several eighth grade students attending the Jr. High Youth Rally tomorrow. Please keep them in your prayers, for save travel and open hearts. Have a great weekend.

Science: Mrs. Louise Mistry

The 8th graders finished up their study of animal behavior this week with an in-class graded assignment today. The students did a great job of exploring this very interesting topic. We used materials from the Great Ape Trust and other current articles on animal behavior and intelligence. The students learned the characteristics of intelligence and viewed examples of animals demonstrating specific behaviors and characteristics. Next week we will be diving into chemistry, beginning with the basics, such as describing matter, characterisitics of solids, liquids and gases, organization of the periodic table, etc.

Check out the website from the Great Ape Trust (greatapetrust.org). They have wonderful pictures and video footage. The students really enjoyed using it.

Social Studies: Mrs. Wallace

The 8th graders are continuing to work through the chapter on the Constitution. This week, they have been preparing for our Supreme Court trial. The students will be discussing an actual Supreme Court case concerning the 4th Amendment; search and seizure within schools. Some students will be arguing on behalf of the students while others will be presenting the side of the school. Also, nine students in each class will be acting as Supreme Court justices while questioning both sides. They do such a great job with these simulations.

Next week, the students will have a quiz on Thursday over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

They continue to be such a great group of students to teach. Enjoy the weekend with your families.