Saturday, December 12, 2020

8th Grade News: December 14-18, 2020

 


General News

CCSD Schools Moving Back to Virtual-Only Instruction
Based on the spread of COVID-19 in our community and its impact on staffing levels, Clarke County School District has made the decision to move back to remote-only instructions for this next week (December 14-18), and then for the first two weeks of school in January as well, with a plan for K-8 schools to resume in-person instruction on January 19th, 2021. Click here to read the letter from Superintendent Dr. Xernona Thomas, who will be providing another update no later than January 8th, 2021. See below for a revised timeline:


Q3 Registration
Registration is now open for Quarter 3 (January 19 - March 10, 2021). In-person and virtual learning models will be offered for all Pre-K through 8th grade students. Please take time as a family to make a decision that works best for your situation and your student. Registration for Quarter 3 will close on December 18, 2020. Please note that if you do not select an instructional model, your student will be registered for in-person instruction. Families will have the opportunity to revise their selection by January 6th, 2021.

Because virtual and in-person staffing models are determined based on registration numbers, principals will not be able to accommodate moving students from one model to the other when Quarter 3 begins.

SOME IMPORTANT NOTES:
  • The instructional model you select will remain in place for the duration of Quarter 3 (January 19-March 10, 2021).
  • Student registration is conducted through your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account. Your child's current teacher may call you to confirm the model you select over the next few weeks, as we need accurate data for planning purposes and staffing.
  • Please register your student(s) for their desired instructional model (virtual or in-person) by Friday, December 18th. If you do not select an instructional model, your student will be registered for in-person instruction.
  • If you select Face-to-Face as your student's instructional model, please indicate if your student will require bus transportation.
HOW TO REGISTER:
  1. To register the instructional model preference for your student(s), login to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account and make the appropriate selection.
  2. Guided instructions are available on the main page of Infinite Campus under "District Announcements."
  3. If you have not created a Parent Portal account or need to reset your Parent Portal account password, please send an email to campus@clarke.k12.ga.us for further assistance.
For more information and details, please see this letter from our interim superintendent, Dr. Thomas.

7th & 8th Graders Interested in Participating in Winter Sports
  • Tryouts for Basketball and Cheer will take place during the week of January 11th, a week after we return from the holiday break. BEFORE that time, you must have a Current athletic physical on file with Ms. Seymour (you can get these done in the Hilsman clinic or elsewhere) -- these expire after 1 year, so if you had one last year, it is probably expired and you will need a new one, and a signed Covid-19 Clearance form on file with Ms. Seymour.
  • Students who are Virtual OR Face-to-Face can try out, as long as they have a ride to practices at Hilsman, have the correct forms, and have academic eligibility for Quarter 1 AND Quarter 2. You can NOT fail more than 1 class in either report card this year to be eligible.
  • Team sizes will be limited, and extra precautionary measures will take place to make sure and keep students and families safe.
More information to follow! Email Ms. Seymour at seymoure@clarke.k12.ga.us if you have questions about anything listed above.

Important Upcoming Dates
Please be aware of the following upcoming dates and events. Note that this list will continue to be added to each week as more events are planned and scheduled, and also that some of these dates are subject to change:
  • 12/14- Final week of school for this term (all virtual instruction)
  • 12/18- Initial selection of desired of instructional model for Quarter 3
  • 1/4- Teacher workday (students will receive asynchronous work)
  • 1/5- Election Day (students will receive asynchronous work)
  • 1/6- Final opportunity for selection of desired instructional model for Quarter 3
  • 1/6-1/14- Distance learning with live virtual instruction for all students
  • 1/11-1/14- Interim Assessments in all four subject areas
    • 1/11- ELA
    • 1/12- Math
    • 1/13- Science
    • 1/14- Social Studies
  • 1/15- Teacher workday (students will receive asynchronous work)
  • 1/18- MLK Day (district is closed)
  • 1/19- Current planned date to return to in-person instruction

Q2 Progress Reports
Progress Reports for Quarter 2 will be getting sent out this week. These 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 Infinite Campus frequently so that we can address any academic concerns early!

How Can I Stay Updated?
  1. Check your email. Hilsman will use Campus Messenger to email parents/guardians all school-wide announcements. Follow these directions to sign up: 
  2. Sign up for the Hilsman PTO page for more frequent updates. Search Facebook for "Hilsman Middle School PTO, Athens GA"
  3. Check Google Classroom for class announcements.
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Content News
Math News:
8th Grade
Monday: Exploring slope and y-intercept on Desmos
Tuesday: Writing equations for lines
Wednesday: Review game day
Thursday: Quiz
Friday: Interim review
High School Math
Monday: Representing situations with inequalities
Tuesday: Solutions to inequalities in one variable
Wednesday: Solutions to inequalities in one variable
Thursday: Writing and solving inequalities in one variable
Friday: Presentation from students at Chungnam National University

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

ELA News: Dystopian Novels - Unit 3
Monday: How the meaning of symbols can shift across a series
Tuesday: What dystopian fiction reveals about our world
Wednesday: Considering connections between dystopian worlds & our own society
Thursday: Character Sketch Activity
Friday: Character Sketch Activity & Finish Novel

Science News:
8th Grade
Monday: Periodic Table square
Tuesday: Periodic Table square
Wednesday: Bohr Model
Thursday: Bohr Model
Friday: Bohr Model

High School Science
Monday: Physical/chemical properties and changes
Tuesday: Element identification
Wednesday: Periodic Table square
Thursday: Unit 3 Part 1 Review
Friday: Unit 1 Part 1 Exam

Social Studies News:
Monday: The impact of the Civil War on Georgia (Compromise of 1850 & GA Platform) Review
Tuesday: The impact of the Civil War on Georgia (Dred Scott case & Election of 1860) Review
Wednesday: The impact of the Civil War on Georgia (Election of 1860 & Secession Debate) Review
Thursday: Quiz
Friday: Test Corrections and/or makeup day


Connections News
Tuesday & Wednesday, December 15-16:
During Connections class times (6th & 7th periods), students will enter the Zoom link provided on the FLASH Training Class in Google Classroom. Students need to "Accept" the class invitation.

Orchestra:
Monday: Music Monday with Blue Belt
Tuesday: FLASH Training
Wednesday: FLASH Training
Thursday: Theory Thursday with Blue Belt
Friday: Holiday Tunes and a Bonus Assignment


8th Grade Faculty
Math:
Tonya Ward, wardt@clarke.k12.ga.us
Conor Naughton, naughtonc@clarke.k12.ga.us
Te'tiana Williams, williamst2@clarke.k12.ga.us
Jason Pratt, prattj@clarke.k12.ga.us

ELA:
Kasey Solis, solisk2@clarke.k12.ga.us
Carol Bennett, bennettc3@clarke.k12.ga.us
Nnenna Adjaero-Noel, adjaeronoeln@clarke.k12.ga.us
Rhonda McKittrick, mckittrickr@clarke.12.ga.us

Science:
Diarra Mosley, mosleyd@clarke.k12.ga.us
Lara Zwald, zwaldl@clarke.k12.ga.us
Brandi Holcomb, holcombb@clarke.k12.ga.us
Karen Myers, myersk@clarke.k12.ga.us

Social Studies:
Betty Chaney-Robinson, chaneyrobinsonb@clarke.k12.ga.us
Stanley Stewart, stewarts2@clarke.k12.ga.us
Daniel Tawzer, tawzerd@clarke.k12.ga.us
Angela Bright, brighta@clarke.k12.ga.us

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


                                                      Enjoy the weekend, and go Panthers!
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