8th grade news letter oct 1 2014
8th Grade Newsletter
MS 188 The Island School Newsletter
October Volume 1, Issue 2
th
Published by Mr. Farley and the 8 grade Students at MS 188
What’s Happening in ELA and Social Studies? th
The 8 Grade has just completed a unit on short stories. During this unit the class read stories by great authors, including Alice Walker, Langston Hughes and Amy Tan. The unit ended with each student writing a four-paragraph essay in which they compared and contrasted the theme in 2 of the short stories.
final essay for this unit will be a character analysis. th
The 8 grade continues to participate in the 100 Book Challenge. The class reads at least 2 steps (each step is 15 min.) in school everyday and is required to read 2 steps at home every night.
All students are being asked to read challenging books that push them to advance The class has now begun a their reading levels. The new common core realistic fiction unit in which they will be curriculum is very rigorous and it is important reading John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and th th that all students achieve an 8 or 9 grade Men. The unit will introduce them to an reading level before the test in April. American classic and to the voice of Benchmark assessments have begun and will another great American author. The be taken regularly throughout the year to ensure that all students are progressing.
What’s happening In Math? .
.
In math class, students completed the math ed performance test.
Students completed law of exponents in September and Ms. Chen is pleased with their progress. In October the students will continue to learn scientific notation. They will also be starting a new unit called transformations. Look in the November newsletter for upcoming information about the Regents math class that will be given this year. This class will allow students to take th the 9 grade math Regents test. If this test is passed students will be able to take th 10 grade math their first year of high school!
What’s Happening In Spanish and Science? Important Dates th
8th Grade Elections 10/9 Columbus Day 10/13 Senior Dues Payment 10/15 Halloween 10/31
The 8 grade has been very busy in Spanish with Ms. Felipe. Students have been learning common phrases, how to tell time, and how to ask questions in Spanish. Students have also been learning how to use the Spanish-English
dictionary in order to write a paragraph about things they like and dislike. In Science ms. Dahr has been busy teaching the class about earth science and th continental drift. The 8 grade will be completing assignments online through the edmodo and
Google drive apps. The class has learned to create spreadsheets and charts on these websites while collecting scientific data.
8th Grade Politics This month the 8th grade will be electing a class president and 3 representatives. 801, 802, and 803 will each elect someone to represent them. The entire class will elect someone to be their president. The president will be the voice of the student body at senior activity meetings and the representatives will be the voice representing each individual class. Those elected will be responsible for making sure the student’s opinions are heard while we are deciding on the senior trip, graduation, and prom. The president and representatives will also be responsible for fundraising and making sure the student body is kept up to date on decisions that have been made and activities that are coming up. Voting will take place on Tuesday, October 9th after an assembly in which we hear a speech from each candidate. Good luck to all of those who are running!
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
Mark Twain
MS 188 The Island School Newsletter
October Volume 1, Issue 2
th
Published by Mr. Farley and the 8 grade Students at MS 188
What’s Happening in ELA and Social Studies? th
The 8 Grade has just completed a unit on short stories. During this unit the class read stories by great authors, including Alice Walker, Langston Hughes and Amy Tan. The unit ended with each student writing a four-paragraph essay in which they compared and contrasted the theme in 2 of the short stories.
final essay for this unit will be a character analysis. th
The 8 grade continues to participate in the 100 Book Challenge. The class reads at least 2 steps (each step is 15 min.) in school everyday and is required to read 2 steps at home every night.
All students are being asked to read challenging books that push them to advance The class has now begun a their reading levels. The new common core realistic fiction unit in which they will be curriculum is very rigorous and it is important reading John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and th th that all students achieve an 8 or 9 grade Men. The unit will introduce them to an reading level before the test in April. American classic and to the voice of Benchmark assessments have begun and will another great American author. The be taken regularly throughout the year to ensure that all students are progressing.
What’s happening In Math? .
.
In math class, students completed the math ed performance test.
Students completed law of exponents in September and Ms. Chen is pleased with their progress. In October the students will continue to learn scientific notation. They will also be starting a new unit called transformations. Look in the November newsletter for upcoming information about the Regents math class that will be given this year. This class will allow students to take th the 9 grade math Regents test. If this test is passed students will be able to take th 10 grade math their first year of high school!
What’s Happening In Spanish and Science? Important Dates th
8th Grade Elections 10/9 Columbus Day 10/13 Senior Dues Payment 10/15 Halloween 10/31
The 8 grade has been very busy in Spanish with Ms. Felipe. Students have been learning common phrases, how to tell time, and how to ask questions in Spanish. Students have also been learning how to use the Spanish-English
dictionary in order to write a paragraph about things they like and dislike. In Science ms. Dahr has been busy teaching the class about earth science and th continental drift. The 8 grade will be completing assignments online through the edmodo and
Google drive apps. The class has learned to create spreadsheets and charts on these websites while collecting scientific data.
8th Grade Politics This month the 8th grade will be electing a class president and 3 representatives. 801, 802, and 803 will each elect someone to represent them. The entire class will elect someone to be their president. The president will be the voice of the student body at senior activity meetings and the representatives will be the voice representing each individual class. Those elected will be responsible for making sure the student’s opinions are heard while we are deciding on the senior trip, graduation, and prom. The president and representatives will also be responsible for fundraising and making sure the student body is kept up to date on decisions that have been made and activities that are coming up. Voting will take place on Tuesday, October 9th after an assembly in which we hear a speech from each candidate. Good luck to all of those who are running!
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
Mark Twain
