The Rox Report
August 31, 2026
Grade Level Happenings!
We are featuring Science this week: 8th grade science is starting a unit on Force. Students built towers out of spaghetti noodles and marshmallows and will be applying key vocabulary terms to the building process.
A HUGE shout-out to our 8th Grade families! Thank you for supporting our team with your generous donations of Kleenex and Clorox wipes. Your kindness has helped us keep our classrooms stocked and ready for students, and we truly appreciate your continued support and partnership!
Our first VIP Event is here! This Friday during Advisory, we’ll celebrate our 8th graders who successfully completed our first VIP Challenge by being on time, maintaining great attendance, completing all MAP testing, and giving their best effort without rapid guessing.
We’re off to a great start and are excited about what’s ahead for the Class of 2027!
Unified Arts
Literacy Lab - All sixth and seventh grade Literacy Lab classes have completed their Lexia placement tests, and we are ready to roll in our program. Students have shown pride in showcasing their One Word Projects as we are getting to know each other.
Spanish:
8th grade students will be continuing in Unit 0 learning Spanish speaking countries, numbers, and month of the year.
6th/7th grade students will be learning the letters of the Spanish alphabet, with letter sounds, and how to spell words.
MSSP: All students who were present received their MSSP schedules and are very excited to begin classes next week.
STEM, PLTW, and Robotics: Robotics students will begin building their robots as we have organized binders already and explored the online version of the software.
6th grade STEM students will be moving into 3D design and printing utilizing cloud-based TinkerCAD, and PLTW students will start their first project.
Chinese: 8th-grade students will review greetings and basic classroom expressions and interact with each other in Chinese.
6th- and 7th-grade students will learn how to add Chinese input methods and type Chinese characters on their Chromebooks, after they pick their Chinese names. Students will learn to greet each other and ask for names in Chinese, and practice using Chinese Pinyin (pronunciation symbols) to say Chinese words.
Art: Art students worked on drawing bell work, building those foundation skills and started their first Art project. 6th grade- Elements of Art Poster, 7th grade- Moving Words assignment, and 8th grade- Mini mural. Excellent start for Art! Next week, we will wrap up these projects and look to start new projects. 8th grade- Still-Life Drawing, 7th Grade- Endangered Species Poster, 6th Grade- Tempera Painting.
AVID: Students prepped for and participated in their first Socratic Seminar which was based on a 2026 promotion speech that highlighted the importance of having a purpose. Students created level 2 questions in preparation, learned and applied the five phase note taking process and researched a secondary source for more background information.
Band: All grades will be having their first real rehearsals this week! Students new to band will have selected their instrument by Monday, and students will be learning/reviewing how to care for their instruments. 8th grade will be doing their first sight reading of the year!
Orchestra: Our orchestra students are off to an exciting start! Students have officially received their instruments and are beginning to learn how to produce their first notes and play their first scale. We are focusing on proper instrument care, posture, technique, and building a strong musical foundation. It has been wonderful to hear our orchestra classroom come to life with music! We are excited to continue learning, growing, and making music together this year!
Highlights from 6th Grade
In Math class, we will be taking a closer look at our MAP data together. Oftentimes, students do not fully understand what their MAP scores mean. We will begin by graphing their RIT and percentile scores, along with their goal for the Winter MAP assessment. Students will then participate in an activity that allows them to visually understand where they fall based on their percentile score. We will discuss that a percentile does not represent the number of questions a student answered correctly, but rather how their score compares to those of other students.
Following the activity, students will reflect on their work ethic and identify areas where they can grow. They will then create a plan outlining specific steps they can take to improve their learning habits and work toward increasing their Winter MAP score.
In 6th Grade Science, students reflected on how they act as a scientist in some of their favorite hobbies such as drawing and playing football. Towards the end of the week, students also conferenced one-on-one with their Science teacher to analyze their MAP data.
Highlights from 7th Grade
In 7th grade, we have been starting the school year with lots of review and opportunities to build relationships. MAP testing began this week in Math and ELA and will take place on 8/31 and 9/2 in Science.
Students have been reviewing the RACES strategy in their ELA classes, strengthening foundational math skills, and learning how to use CERs (Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning) in Science. We have also been doing plenty of getting-to-know-you activities to build the culture and climate of our classrooms and 7th-grade team. We are off to a great start!
- All car riders are to be dropped off in the parking lot adjacent to the tennis courts.
- Please do not park on Roxboro or St. James
- Please do not park or idle in the bus loop
- Please do not block the entrance or the exit of the parking lot.
Student safety is always at the top of our list, here at Roxboro. In addition to our car riders, we have bus riders and walkers as well; by being mindful of our car rider procedures, we can work together to keep all students safe. Thanks!