As we progress into the school year, it is easy to get overwhelmed and forget the essentials for success! At the beginning of the school year, we were sure to keep organized and follow routines, however, as we move on with content and the students are being challenged in the classroom, it is easy to forget all the skills that we mastered at the beginning of the year to ensure success all year long. Let’s remember some of the skills we have learned so far:
Agenda: Are you using your agenda to keep track of assignments and assessments in each of your classes? Using the agenda as a way to recall the information taught is also a good idea! For classes that do not give homework, it is a good idea to add a bullet point explanation of the topic for the day in placement for the homework!
Lockers: Are you using the locker to best benefit you? Carrying all of your materials to each of the classes can be heavy and cause stress! Be sure to break down your materials and utilize your lockers. Students should take all materials that they will need for their first two classes with them before break, and materials for their second two classes after break!
Binders: Be sure you are using the binder to help keep you organized! The binder is separated by subject in order to keep you organized for each of your classes. A binder was selected by the middle school teachers to help limit the amount of paper being pushed into the bottom of backpacks, and instead have a singular place to neatly store papers from all of your classes.
Personal Time: Be sure not to let the workload take up the entirety of your time. Pace yourself and allow yourself some “you” time! If you are starting to feel anxious or stressed over an assignment, take a mental break! Mental health is important when succeeding in academics.
Let’s continue to strive for a great school year throughout the rest of September and the months to come!
-Kevin Werner
What’s happening in Social Studies?
This week students focused on the causes of the revolutions around the world before participating in a jigsaw activity to master specific revolutions around the Atlantic and teach their peers what they learned. Students created visual representations of the material to teach their peers all of the important details surrounding their assigned revolution.
Next week students will begin their Revolutionary Women projects. This will sign light on the women that were involved in making the world what it is today. Students will choose from a variety of women to complete this research project on. Students will then progress into Nationalism and analyze articles focusing on Italian and German nationalism.
What’s happening in ELA?
This week in 8th grade, students wrapped up discussions of power systems in literature. 8th grade considered the significance of intersectionality when analyzing how characters grapple with power in their contemporary novels. They presented deeply fleshed out reader’s notebooks that showed their understanding about the complexities of power in their reading.
Next week, we’ll start our first writing unit! It’s a study of photography and the lessons the visual image can teach us about elements of storytelling. Students will learn some essential photographic language next week and write up a storm. We will also begin our first vocabulary unit – be on the lookout for new vocabulary workbooks and weekly assessments!
What’s happening in Science?
Eighth graders explored gravity, speed, and acceleration this week! They observed a ball falling in slow motion in order to calculate the change in time, change in distance, speed, and acceleration. They also moved around a track to compare constant speed and acceleration mathematically. Lastly, the eighth graders opened their mystery boxes! They have waited to open them since they were in 5th grade! They then made a new set for the upcoming fifth graders.
What’s happening in Math?
This week, students wrapped up their statistics unit and took their end-of-unit test. On Wednesday, they began exploring functions through looking for patterns in a table and understanding constraints in a function.
Next week, students will review what they know about solving one-variable equations, compare two equations to look for equivalence, and rearrange equations to pinpoint a certain desired quantity.
Important Dates:
Saturday, September 23rd- Charleston Battery Family Fun Night
Monday-Tuesday, October 9-10 Fall Break
