Science: Mrs. Louise Mistry

The 8th graders have finished up their first unit of Chemistry and did very well on their final test.  Our new area of study is Astronomy.  This week we have been focusing on the relationship between the earth,  moon and sun.  The students should now have a clear understanding of lunar and solar eclipses, phases of the moon and tides.  I am trying to get the students to think about the world around them, rather than just learning facts.  I will be asking them to get outside and observe the moon in different phases, constellations, etc.  Since today was the 25th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy I shared with the students my memories of that day.  I had actually applied (as thousands of teachers did) to be a part of the program and clearly remember watching with my 8th grade students as the explosion occurred.  We certainly remember all of those killed and their families in our prayers.

We are looking forward to a great Catholic Schools Week next week and will enjoy the fun activities and special days.  We hope that you can join us at our open house on Sunday!

Language Arts/Reading - Miss Mataloni

The 8th graders are continuing to plug away at their punctuation unit. They took a quiz over comma usage this week which, as a whole group, they did very well. Next week, we will focus on semicolons and colons. The students also incorporated their punctuation skills into their short story editing stations this week. Their final drafts are due this Monday, January 31st. The next step will be publishing their short stories into picture books with illustrations to accompany the scenes within their stories.

In reading, the students have been listening to a realistic fiction novel titled, SLOB. It has sparked some interesting conversation and debate. While listening, the students have been creating visual representations of each character with a focus on symbolism. The students also finished up the last round of book talks this week, too. I enjoy listening to their recommendations each trimester.

As always, you should be seeing the green spelling book at home each week, as well as, vocabulary lists. The students have a vocabulary quiz each week over words based on the letter in the alphabet. Next week, we'll take a test over all the words from lists "A-D".

I look forward to the fun activities and attire the 8th graders will bring for Catholic Schools Week! Have a great weekend!

Spanish - Sra. Buckmiller

The 8th graders are practicing er and ir infinitives and using them with me gusta or no me gusta (I like to do ____ or I don't like to do _____).  They have also learned a list of nouns and are saying I like ____ or I don't like ____ in Spanish.  They will be having a test over these concepts in 2 weeks (the week after Catholic Schools Week). 
  They are also learning the Hail Mary by memory.  They will be assessed by saying this prayer aloud to me in partners.  Help your child practice by having him or her say the prayer to you.  Even if you don't know the prayer in Spanish, it is helpful to them to have to say it out loud in front of another person!

Math: Cindy Streff

8th graders are working on Chapter 6, Application of Percent.  They have already quizzed over percent problems--solving three different types of percent problems using either a proportion or equation. We will spend next week applying our knowledge of percents and the how it is used in shopping.  Concepts of the percent of markup & discount, selling & sale price, and regular price of a sale item will be looked at.   It is practical knowledge that students can use and even teach you when out shopping!  Simple and compound interest will also be explored.  We will test over Chapter 6 before the end of the trimester.

Continue to reveiw math facts--addition, subtration, multiplication, and division--we use them all the time!

Social Studies: Mrs. Wallace

The 8th graders will be finishing up their Chapter 16 on Tuesday over the events leading up the Civil War.  We will then be studying the main battles, events, and figures of the Civil War time-period.  On Monday, the 8th graders will be debating the positions of the North vs. the South leading up the war.  The students will be doing a formal-style debate with introductions, main position statements, rebuttals, and conclusions.  This will give them good practice of composing an argument and then having main points to back it up.  Hopefully, this will spark some interest for students to join debate as they enter high school. 

Religion/Faith Formation

Dear Eighth Grade Parents,

The eighth grade students have been learning about vocations for the past few weeks.  They have learned a lot of vocabulary that they should be practicing this weekend.  Our focus was that all people have a calling to holiness because of their Baptism.  Holiness can be lived out in many different ways and each person has a different call.  All students right now are called to a life service.  The students have also been practicing different ways to take notes.
One day each week we have a speaker here from Employee and Family Resources who teaches and practices life skills with the students.  The students have already had lessons on body language, decision making, and conflict resolution.

Today, the 8th grade students had a Jewish speaker come in to talk about Judaism in today's culture.  When studying the Apostles Creed our Jewish roots often surfaced to discussion.  Today the students found many similarities between our Christian tradition and Jewish tradition.

Next week we will have many different activities for Catholic Schools Week. On Monday of Catholic Schools Week we celebrate "Our A+ Community." One of the ways we are going to celebrate this year is through prayer. The website above is an interactive live website that includes the following:

1. Words to guide you through the rosary
2. Pictures to keep you focused on prayer
3. Intentions link to offer intentions (and thanksgivings for our school)
4. Interactive Rosary beads to follow along on the computer

Please select the Mysteries of Light as these mysteries are about Jesus' ministry as the teacher to the disciples. It takes about 15 minutes to say a whole rosary with this website. Consider writing a few intentions of thanksgiving for our school and join us in prayer for our school on Monday of Catholic Schools Week.

Finally, we are still looking for a location for our 8th grade service day.  If you have suggestions for a place our for our class service project please contact me.  Thank you so much.

Peace,
Ms. Nennig

Religion / Faith Formation

Hello Parents!

We began the New Year by finishing our study of the Apostles Creed.  Our ancestors passed down the many truths about our faith in the simple words of the Creed.  The students took a test over this information on Wednesday.  Scores should be posted by the end of the weekend.

We spent the rest of this week preparing for their Rite of Enrollment Ceremony this weekend.  Thank you all for your support in their Confirmation process.  Please know that Sponsors are also encouraged to come this weekend, but are not required.  Your prayers are always welcomed for your children as well as all the candidates at they continue to grow throughout this process.

This week was Vocations Awareness Week.  Due to preparing for the Rite of Enrollment, we have postponed our vocations study until next week.  Fr. Kautzky will be coming up in the next few weeks to talk to the students about the vocation he has chosen.  Thank you for your support in educating these young people on the many different roles needed to build up God's Kingdom here on earth. Below is a website to help you talk to your kids about their discernment process and vocations in life.

http://www.foryourvocation.org/parents/index.cfm

God bless your weekend.

Math Mrs Cindy Streff

8th graders are busy with Chapter 5, Applications of Proportions.  We have learned about rates, ratios, solving proportions, similar figures, and scale models & maps. 8th graders are now working on a scale drawing of their bedroom.  It is a great real world application to Math and I enjoy getting a little glimsp of their life outside of school (and I think they enjoy it!).  They will complete their scale drawing project next week and then will test over the Chapter 5.

Last Saturday 8th graders took the placement test for Dowling Catholic.  As registration for next year draws closer I will be talking to all students about their options for Math.  If you, as a parent, have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Enjoy the wonderful winter weather and all it brings!

Student Council Schedule

All meetings are 7:45-8:15.  8th graders will be meeting as one group.

Thursday, January 20 (note change in day) - 8th Grade
Friday, January 28 - all
Friday, Feb. 4 - 6th and 7th grade
Friday, Feb. 11 - 8th Grade
Friday, Feb. 18 - all
No meeting week of Feb. 21
Friday, March 3- 6th and 7th Grade
No meeting week of March 8 or 15 (conference and spring break)
Friday, March 25 - 8th Grade
Friday, April 1 - 6th and 7th Grade
No meeting week of April 5 (teacher inservice)
Friday, April 15 - all
Friday, April 22 - 8th Grade
Friday, April 29 - 6th and 7th Grade
Friday, May 6 - all
Friday, May 13 - 6th and 7th Grade
Friday, May 20 - 8th Grade
* We will go to Culver's as a group sometime in May.

Mrs. Louise Mistry: Science

The 8th graders have been exploring the history and organization of the periodic table and are currently focusing on polymers and alloys.  Thursday and Friday the students created polymers (similar to silly putty and slime) using white glue with either boax or laundry starch as the cross-linking ingredient.  Most students are doing well with lab work and are doing a good job of following directions and showing detail in their work. Some students are still having difficulty independently following written lab directions and we will continue to work on this area.

 Please remind your students to prepare well in advance for tests.  Many students did not score as well as usual on the most recent test (Chapter 3, Elements and Periodic Table)  and missed easy questions, such as vocabulary terms.   We are also working on taking notes on their reading assignments and I am discussing some notetaking techniques with them.   I have given the students the option of using a study guide type of outline (I provide the basic outline, which they add to) or creating their own notes.   The 8th graders are working well together in their lab groups and it has been a great year so far!

Social Studies: Mrs. Wallace

The 8th graders finished up their unit over American History from 1800 to 1850.  We are now working our way towards the Civil War.  The students will be learning about all of the compromises that were enacted in trying to prevent war; Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas Nebraska Act.  The students will be then debating the sides of the North and South in a class debate in the next week.  We will then learn about the leadership and philosophies of Lincoln.  The 8th graders have continued to work hard in class- tell them to keep up the hard-work!

Language Arts/Reading - Mataloni

The 8th graders are working on the writing process by creating a short story. They must incorporate a theme/lesson for adults to pick up on and create a plot that is entertaining for a developing reader. They are currently writing their first drafts. We will work on editing and revising within the next two weeks.

In grammar, the 8th graders are starting a punctuation unit. This will coincide with their writing unit by accurately implementing the conventions into their own written work. We will cover end marks, commas, quotations, apostrophes, hyphens, colons, and semicolons.

In reading, the 8th graders are working on their independent book reports. Check with them to see if they've completed a book talk, alternative book report, or written book report yet. Their alternative book report is due by January 19th. They can turn those in ahead of time, as well. Encourage your child to keep reading during these cold, winter months!

Vocabulary and spelling are continuing to be a weekly practice with quizzes on Thursdays for vocabulary and a post-tests on Fridays for spelling.

Happy New Year!