8th Grade News: November 12-16, 2018

Shout out to the boys basketball team for winning their first game of the season against Coile! The girls also put up a good fight and played great, but ended up losing a close one. It's going to be an exciting season for both teams!

General News
Progress Reports
Progress reports will be distributed and sent home this Tuesday, November 13th. This will provide the 4.5 week notice of how your child is progressing in their classes for this quarter. If you have questions or concerns about your child's grades, please reach out to your child's teacher(s) - a full 8th grade faculty contact list is provided at the bottom of this blog. Please check Parent Portal frequently so that we can address any academic concerns early! If you would like your child to receive extra help, PSP meets after school on Mondays and Tuesdays, and transportation is provided! Please contact Ms. Ward (wardt@clarke.k12.ga.us) if you're interested or want more information.

College/Career T-Shirt Day
Our monthly College/Career T-Shirt Day will be this Monday, November 12th. Students are encouraged to wear a t-shirt representing a college (or career) with uniform bottoms. Please make sure the college is visible on the shirt, as solid colors are not permitted. Students who do not wish to participate must wear regular uniforms. Our staff will be decked out with shirts from our colleges and we hope students will join us!

8th Grade Field Trip
The 8th grade is in the process of planning a field trip to go see the movie The Hate U Give. We are still working to confirm a date - it will be after Thanksgiving break - but we want to put it on your radar because the cost of the trip will be $10 per student and/or parent who wishes to join us (which will include a ticket, popcorn, and a drink). We are also hoping to supplement the viewing of the film with a panel of guest speakers from around the community in an attempt to help students unpack their thoughts on some of the film's important themes. Stay tuned for more information and be on the lookout for a permission slip!

Can-A-Thon
As we approach the holiday season, the 8th grade team is partnering with the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia to hold a canned food drive. We will be competing by homerooms to see who can raise the most canned foods, and the winning homeroom will receive a pizza party! The Can-A-Thon will last until the end of the month, and a flyer was sent home with students with more information.

HMS Orchestra Fall Concert
Wednesday November 14th at 6:30pm
This year our concerts will be held in the Fine Arts Auditorium at Cedar Shoals High School. Students should report at 6:00pm to tune. Please contact Ms. Floyd (floydr@clarke.k12.ga.us) for more details.

High School Class Resources
We would like to offer some resources for students currently in high school classes (Spanish I, High School Physical Science, and Accelerated Math). Georgia Virtual Schools has a sister site that is free, and the modules teach the standards that are consistent with the classes offered. Click here for more information on the procedures for how to use the site. We definitely encourage these students to use this resource at home!

Panther Nation News Blog
Be sure to check Ms. Tolbert's Panther Nation News Blog, as it contains news, announcements, and information for the entire school!

Content News
Math News:
8th Grade
Monday: Functions Introduction
Tuesday: Definition of a function; Binder Checks
Wednesday: Function representations
Thursday: Unit 3 Review
Friday: Unit 3 Test

We took our Unit 2 Test on Friday last week, and these test grades will be included on progress reports, so they will have a big impact on students' grades. Students will receive more information on re-tests and/or test corrections this week.

This week we will be starting and finishing a very short Unit to introduce the concept of a function, including another Unit Test on Friday. Students should be studying each night at home using their notes from class, as well as watching videos and completing practice problems here.

Students are highly encouraged to attend PSP on Tuesday afternoons for extra help!

Accelerated Math
Monday: Unit 4 Test
Tuesday: Graphing & solving inequalities; Binder Checks
Wednesday: Graphing & solving inequalities
Thursday: Writing, interpreting, and solving systems of inequalities & equations
Friday: Interpreting constraints in inequalities

More specific information on assignments, upcoming dates, etc. will be specified via group email.

ELA News:
Unit 1: Exploring Identity
Monday: Research and argumentative writing
Tuesday: Research and argumentative writing; Media Center visit (Blake/Page)
Wednesday: Research and argumentative writing
Thursday: Research and argumentative writing
Friday: Research and argumentative writing; Media Center visit (Marty); Freedom Friday; Binder Checks

Science News:
8th Grade
In 8th grade Physical Science, students will compare and contrast among elements, mixtures, and compounds. Students will also review the Law of Conservation of Matter in conclusion to Unit 3. Homework for the week will be given to students on Monday and will be due on Friday for a grade. Binder Checks will be conducted on Monday.

Tutoring will be held on Monday from 4-5pm.

The Unit 3 Exam will be administered on Friday.

High School Science
Monday: Notebook test and review for test TOMORROW; Binder Checks
Tuesday: TEST DAY!
Wednesday: Start Unit 4- Matter and Its Interactions
Thursday: Discussion of physical and chemical properties
Friday: Reading- Atoms and the Octet Rule

Students are welcome to stay after school with Mrs. Skinner on Monday until 5:00 to help prepare for the test.

Social Studies News:
Next week in Georgia Studies we will be continuing our journey through the Civil War and Georgia. We will be learning about the following:

Monday: Review vocabulary for Unit 4
Tuesday: Emancipation Proclamation
Wednesday: 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
Thursday: Review for SSH85; Binder Checks
Friday: Common formative assessment on standard SSH85

Spanish News:

Spanish 8th Grade

Monday: Start with descriptions - Introduction of adjectives

Tuesday: Grammar verb Ser (to be)
Wednesday: Reading and writing; Binder Checks
Thursday: Mini-project
Friday: Mini-project

Spanish I

Monday: Continue working in unit Comer en Familia vocabulary (this is a continuation from last year's family unit)

Tuesday: Vocabulary quiz
Wednesday: Reading comprehension day; Binder Checks
Thursday: Grammar
Friday: Free writing

There will be Spanish tutoring on Mondays from 4:00-5:30 in Ms. Viera's room.

Ag Science/FFA News
Tuesday: FFA Friendsgiving and trivia contest (bring a side or dessert if you are able) 4:00-6:00

Wednesday: SAE Check in ALL Ag Classes - 2 hours and 2 pictures due on the template on Google Classroom. All directions for adding hours and pictures and what counts as a project (8 pages of ideas and multiple pages of videos) are all on Google Classroom.
Thursday: FFA Floriculture Contest at UGA

8th Grade Faculty
Math:

Tonya Ward, wardt@clarke.k12.ga.us

Mark Martin, martinm@clarke.k12.ga.us

Conor Naughton, naughtonc@clarke.k12.ga.us

Jason Pratt, prattj@clarke.k12.ga.us

ELA:

Eric Blake, blakee@clarke.k12.ga.us

Cassie Page, pagec@clarke.k12.ga.us

Melanie Marty, maxeym@clarke.k12.ga.us

April Chester, chestera2@clarke.12.ga.us

Science:

Meganne Skinner, skinnerme@clarke.k12.ga.us

Diarra Mosley, mosleyd@clarke.k12.ga.us

Karen Myers, myersk@clarke.k12.ga.us

Social Studies:

Jason Yungmann, yungmannj@clarke.k12.ga.us

Nyla Bell, belln@clarke.k12.ga.us

Angela Bright, brighta@clarke.k12.ga.us

Spanish:

Laura Viera, vieral@clarke.k12.ga.us

                                                      Enjoy the weekend, and go Panthers!