2.8.15 Benjamin Stoddert MS 8th Grade Weekly Update

Greetings Family,

Here are the announcements for this week:

Ms. Holt- Science

All classes will turn in the BCRs tomorrow. These BCRs will count as an assessment grade. Also, BRING OREOs TOMORROW. Students will use the oreos to model moon phases. 

Gen Ed students will finish their Astronomy unit this week. They will have a final take home test. Students will continue to monitor the moon phases throughout the month of February. Each day students are to record the moon's height, a sketch of its shape, the time of observation, and notes about cloud cover. Periodic checks will be conducted for a grade. 

The honors class has already begun their STEM projects: collaboratively designing a Lunar International Space Station. Please remind students to save soda bottles, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, washed meat trays, and cardboard. The students have been given the instructions for the project. This contains a thorough list of materials. The research portion of the project is DUE ON WEDNESDAY. 

Mr. Barnes- Math

Scholars in algebra will continue to study quadratic equations and quadratic functions. 

The mathematics 8 class will study congruence this week. We will look at similar figures and similar triangles.

Ms. Shepard-English

Scholars are completely done working on Of Mice and Men during Ms. Shepard's class. All other work for student projects will be completed at home. Projects will be due on Tuesday, February 17th by 3:30 PM. No late submissions will be accepted. None.

This week, we begin our informational text unit. Ask your scholars what they are learning about in Ms. Shepard's class.

High School prep will take place this week on Wednesday and Thursday. We will be working on applying to summer programs. For those parents who are interested, please take a look at the following links, which offer some excellent and out-of -the-box FREE summer program opportunities.

• http://www.nsbe.org/seek.aspx
• http://www.usaeop.com/

For further project details please check Ms. Shepard's blog shepshomeworkhelp.blogspot.com. You may need to scroll down a bit. Also, keep in mind that English 8 and English 8 Honors have different project expectations. Make sure you are looking at the correct post.

Mr. Banks- Social Studies

All classes will examine the effects of the French and Indian War, and how the colonists responded to the British attempts to exert tighter control over the colonies.

We will also begin the film 'Lord of the flies' as we examine "state of nature vs social contract". Students can also earn 10 points toward their next quiz for every ream of copy paper that they bring in.

General School Announcements

• The IB Application is available online (PGCPS website) and the deadline is 3-12-15. The application for Forestville Military Academy is also available in the guidance office and the deadline is 4-30-15. 
• Team Hampton looks forward to helping our scholars in their transition to high school. We recognize the importance of teacher recommendations during this time in the school year. In order for us to have enough time to write quality recommendations, please be sure to place your request one week in advance. 
• Students are invited to bring Earbud headphones (the small, fit in your pocket kind) to Ms. Shepard's class only. They will need the headphones as we move into our unit on informational text.

Let's make it a great week!

-The 8th Grade Team