Social Studies - Nennig

Dear Parents,

The eight grade students just finished their exploration and colonization unit. They performed their puppet shows in order to demonstrate the influence of geographical features on the economy and lifestyles in the colonies. This week we investigated the French and Indian War and how this conflict led to future conflicts between the colonists and their mother country, England. We are setting the stage for the American Revolution. They began their study of the American Revolution in music class as they are watching the musical 1776. Students will be working on their “Angry Colonists” projects in class next week.

The students will be changing teams as travel groups change for second trimester. Looking ahead in social studies, we will investigate the Constitution and the Movement West during the second term.

Science: Mrs. Louise Mistry

The 8th graders have finished up their study of animals with a unit on animal behavior.  All grades for this trimester are entered on to Infinite Campus so the current grade will be the trimester grade.  The kids have had a great trimester and showed excellent progress.  Our next area of study will be chemistry.  We are starting out with the basics, such as physical and chemical properties, physical and chemical change, elements and compounds and atomic structure.  Students will be participating in many labs during this unit and will also be learning about the structure of the periodic table.  Thanks for a wonderful week!

Language Arts/Reading: Miss Mataloni

The 8th graders are currently in the middle of a short story unit, "The Dark Side". We are reading eerie, mysterious, and suspenseful pieces like that of the works of Edgar Allan Poe and various other authors. The students have been very engaged in these pieces which makes the reading fun to discuss. We will test over the elements within a short story as well as the stories' content a week from Monday, November 21st.

Also, the 8th graders have just finished their final Chapter 1 lesson in their grammar books. We will review next Tuesday and Wednesday as it is a long chapter. However, please encourage your child to review at home as well since 8 lessons were covered overall. This test will be Thursday, November 17th.

Thanks for a great first trimester! See you at conferences.

Math: Mrs Cindy Streff

8th graders have been busy with Chapter 3, Graphing in a Coordinate Plane.  There is more to the chapter than just graphing points, 8th graders can graph a linear equation (a line) and even graph two linear equations and find where they intersect.  It is a fun, but challenging chapter.  The test over the chapter on Friday, Nov 11 and we will then move to Chapter 4, Real Numbers, which has 8th graders working with fractions.

I have enjoyed working with your child this 1st trimester and look forward to seeing and talking with many of you at conferences next week.  It is an opportunity to discuss the progress of your child and how to bring out the best in them.  Until then, enjoy the winter weather God has given us.

Language Arts/Reading - Miss Mataloni

The 8th graders finished up The Outsiders unit with a fantastic 1960s day filled with greasers and socs. We played 60's games, watched 60's commercials, and listened to 60's tunes. Thank you for supporting them in their participation with a fun end to a great unit!

On Monday the students will be turning in their final drafts of the Knights of Columbus essay. They have been working diligently over the last three weeks to get their essays ready. It's been a great experience hearing their Catholic beliefs come out in their writing.

Lastly, their 2000 bookmark minutes are due Wednesday, November 9th. Please remind your child to get their bookmarks signed, added up, and turned in to me.

Have a great weekend! Go Hawks!