8th Grade 2nd Quarter Newsletter

To access the most recent choir newsletter please go to https://secure.smore.com/n/93x5y

We will be starting our Stoller Bakery fundraiser this week so keep an eye out for information on that. This fundraiser is meant to help raise funds for new mics for our vocal music department. “Make Our Students Heard!”

We also have our opening concert on November 2nd, JAM Fest. The junior high does not typically sing at this event but they are welcome to come support their choir family. The event opens at 5 and the concert starts at 7. Any basket donations can be made through the newsletter.

Also, please see below for important Winter Choir Concert Information:

Winter Choir Concerts (JH at 6:30 and HS at 7:30) - Tuesday, December 10, 2024 - Come join us for our Winter Choir Concert.

Students are to be at the school by 5:45 PM in formal attire in the HS choir room (front of the building)

Students will warm-up and practice singing in the auditeria with their accompanist. Concert will start right at 6:30 PM. At the conclusion of the concert, patrons are asked to promptly vacate the theater as HS students and parents will be entering for their concert. JH students are encourage to stay for the HS concert if they would like to continue singing in choir into High School. JH students should plan to wear formal attire. Mr. Mayes will discuss this with the students.

It’s almost time to get out the balsa wood! Students have finished their trigonometry unit and are currently making plans for their balsa wood bridges. We will be incorporating skills from the 7th grade class to make SolidWorks assemblies of our bridge plans before we make our real prototypes! We’re currently on pace to finish this project with time to spare at the end of the quarter for some VEX robotics as well! These robots provide us lots of opportunities to learn about things like manufacturing skills and computer coding.

ELA classes just started our research unit this week. Students will practice their nonfiction reading and writing skills, including evaluating sources, generating research questions, writing objective summaries, citing evidence, and working through the research process. This will all come together in a research blog on a topic of the student’s choice. We will end the unit with our annual “Bloggie Awards,” where students are able to showcase their research with one another.

8th Grade Math

We finished up our module on Scientific Notation and Exponent Properties and are moving into module 3, Solve Equations with Variables on Each Side. In this module students will draw on their knowledge of solving two-step equations to help them solve equations with variables on each side of the equal sign.

What Students Will Learn in This Module:

• Equations with Variables on Both Sides

• Equations with Grouping Symbols

• Students will write equations with grouping symbols (such as parentheses) on one or both sides of the equation, such as 3(x + 2) + 4 = x – 4( x – 3).

• Students will solve equations with grouping symbols using the Distributive Property.

• Number of Solutions

• Students will determine whether an equation has one solution, no solution, or infinitely many solutions.

• Students will write equations that have one solution, no solution, or infinitely many solutions.

• Important Vocabulary

• Coefficient - The numerical term of a factor that contains a variable.

• Constant - A term without a variable.

• Like Terms - Terms that contain the same variables to the same powers.

• Solution - A value that makes an equation true.

Support your child’s understanding of writing equations with variables on each side by demonstrating how they can be used when choosing a cell phone plan. Discuss with your child the various types of cell phone plans and explain that some plans include a phone, and some plans include only service. With your child, investigate the cost of cell phones, the cost of plans that include cell phones, and the cost of plans that include only service. Help your child to algebraically model the costs associated with each type of plan. For example, if a phone costs $600 and a service-only plan costs $50 per month, your child might write c = 50m + 600 and if a plan which includes a phone costs $125 per month, your child might write c = 125m. For each equation, c represents the total cost and m represents the number of months. Have your child write an equation to find the number of months it would take for a person to pay the same amount for either plan. For example, your child might write 50m + 600 = 125m and find that m = 8. Help your child interpret their solution. In the example above, m = 8 indicates that, after 8 months someone would have paid the same amount for each plan.

Algebra Class

We had a very successful first quarter of the school year! We just finished Chapter 3 and will begin Chapter 4 this upcoming Monday (October 28th). So far we have spent time studying functions, linear relationships, and solving. These skills are foundational to success in the course moving forward. We are spending this week reviewing to make sure that we are ready for Chapter 4.

Chapter 4 dives into Systems of Equations. This will be a step up in difficulty from what we have done thus far in the year. Skills that are very important for students are their solving skills, their skills relating to linear relationships and their substitution skills. If the opportunity arises, please feel free to have a conversation with your student about where they feel they are at in regards to these skills. Chapter 5 covers Algebraic and Geometric sequences. Two ideas that we have discussed at length this year are multiple representations and mathematical literacy. We want to be able to express situations in multiple different ways (equations / expressions, graphically, using tables and in word problems). We have been working to make the connection between all 4 of those representations. Along the same line, we have been working towards a higher level of mathematical literacy - taking numbers, signs and symbols and making sense of them (i.e., being able to explain what an equation means using words).

The last note for this next quarter is that students will take their midterm exam the last week prior to winter break. We will cover Chapter 1-5 in the midterm. We will have 4 days of review prior to the midterm. This weekend, I will also post a compilation of every learning target that we have covered this year so students can stay fresh as we approach the midterm. The way that students final grades for the semester are calculated are as follows: 1st 9 weeks: 40%, 2nd 9 weeks: 40%, midterm: 20%.

Honors Geometry

The geometry students have already learned so much in the first quarter! As we begin the second quarter, we will be wrapping up the trigonometry unit. We have learned how to use the sine, cosine, and tangent functions with right triangles and we will conclude the unit learning how to find side lengths and angles when we do not have a right triangle. The next topic will be congruent triangles. We will consider what information we need to prove triangles are congruent. Then, we will use congruent triangles to prove characteristics of quadrilaterals. For example, students know that the opposite sides of a rectangle have the same length, but they cannot explain how they know. I always say, “Because they just are!” is not a logical reason. Geometry is intended to teach logical arguments. Being able to articulate our thinking and explain our reasoning, as well as, critique the arguments of others, is a valuable life skill!

After our study of quadrilaterals, we will take a break from proofs and shapes and learn about conditional probability. Students will take a semester exam in geometry the week prior to winter break.