8th Grade News: April 26-30, 2021

General News

Back to Our Normal Schedule This Week!
Thank you everyone for making our Georgia Milestone testing successful last week! This week, we will back to our normal schedule.

8th Grade Moving On Ceremony - May 19
8th Grade will have a Moving On Ceremony this year! While details are still being worked out and finalized, it will be an in-person event that will take place on May 19th (time TBD), and attendance will be limited (for example, each student will be permitted 2 guests, or something similar).

Stay tuned for more information on the location, time, etc. in the coming weeks!

Free Physicals - Saturday May 1

8th graders are welcome to join the Cedar Shoals athletes to get a free sports physical done on May 1st! See the flier below for details:

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:

• 4/27: High School Science EOC
• 4/29: High School Algebra I EOC
• 5/10-5/14: Interim Exams (taken in class)
• 5/19: 8th Grade Moving On Ceremony 
• 5/20: Last Day of School

21st Century Learning Program

The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center will resume face-to-face after school on Monday, April 19th. The morning mentor program will continue virtually from 7-8am. If parents are interested in their child/children participating, they should contact Mrs. Maxine Dalton at daltonm@clarke.k12.ga.us or Mrs. Brandi Holcomb at holcombb@clarke.k12.ga.us.

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: 
• Go to bit.ly/ccsdportal1 to learn how to create a parent portal account (Spanish version: bit.ly/ccsdportal1esp)
• Update your Campus Messenger settings with the directions at bit.ly/messengersettings
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.

Subscribe to this blog!

You can subscribe to this blog so that you receive an email each time we make a new post! To do this, simply type your email address in the "Follow by Email" bar in the upper right side of this site.

Content News
Math News:
8th Grade
Monday: Integer exponent rules
Tuesday: Integer exponent rules
Wednesday: Integer exponent rules
Thursday: Using powers of ten

Friday: Introduction to scientific notation

High School Math
Monday: Exponential functions as situations
Tuesday: Compounding interest
Wednesday: Review day
Thursday: Review day

Friday: Exponential functions quiz

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

ELA News:
Monday: Traditional Poetry
Tuesday: Contemporary Poetry
Wednesday: Artistic Poetry
Thursday: Alternative Poetry

Friday: Intro Poetry Slam

Science News:

8th Grade
Monday: Balloon Racer
Tuesday: Interim Review
Wednesday: Bottle Rocket Assembly
Thursday: Bottle Rocket Assembly

Friday: Bottle Rocket Assembly

High School Science
Monday: Balloon Racer
Tuesday: Interim Review
Wednesday: Bottle Rocket Assembly
Thursday: Bottle Rocket Assembly

Friday: Bottle Rocket Assembly

Social Studies News:
Monday: US Constitution
Tuesday: US Constitution
Wednesday: Bill of Rights
Thursday: Bill of Rights

Friday: Review & Assessment

Connections News
Orchestra:
Monday: Music Monday with May Song Rehearsal Steps
Tuesday: Theory Tuesday with May Song Rhythms Check
Wednesday: Work It Wednesday with May Song Rehearsal Steps
Thursday: Technique Thursday with May Song Dynamics

Friday: Fun Friday with May Song Games

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

Jordan Kayea, smallj2@clarke.k12.ga.us

Rhonda McKittrick, mckittrickr@clarke.12.ga.us

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

Science:

Diarra Mosley, mosleyd@clarke.k12.ga.us
Lara Zwald, zwaldl@clarke.k12.ga.us

Brandie 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!

8th Grade News: April 19-23, 2021

General News

Milestones This Week!

Georgia Milestone Testing will take place this week. Remember that 8th graders are tested in all four subjects. Please be advised of the following dates scheduled for testing:

Milestones EOG

4/19- ELA Day 1

4/20- ELA Day 2

4/21- Math

4/22- Science

4/23- Social Studies

Milestones EOC

4/27- High School Physical Science EOC

4/29- High School Algebra I EOC

Remember, only students whose families OPTED OUT of Milestones are excused from testing. All other students will be required to take their tests.

What If My Student Opted Out of the Milestones?

As Georgia Milestones testing will take place for several hours each morning, in-person students who have opted out of testing have a few options:

• Come to school as usual. Students on the opt-out list will be sent to an alternative location during testing and will be expected to work on academic assignments for the duration of testing. When testing is over, students will return to their classrooms and then attend their in-person classes for the rest of the day.

• Stay at home. Students may stay home and work asynchronously during testing, and then attend their classes via Zoom in the afternoon. (These students will still be marked absent because we need an accurate record of physical attendance in the building for safety reasons, contact tracing, etc.)

• Stay at home during testing in the morning, and then check-in to school to attend their in-person classes in the afternoon. Students may stay home and work asynchronously during testing, and then come to school late so that they can still attend their normal in-person classes.

Virtual students who have opted out will remain virtual as usual -- they will be asynchronous during testing, and then will log into their Zoom classes in the afternoons.

Milestone Testing Bell Schedule

The bell schedule this week will be different due to testing, so read it carefully! CLICK HERE to see the class schedule for 8th graders for each day this week. Some notes:

• Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will follow the same adjusted testing schedule.
• Thursday will follow our normal schedule!
• Friday will follow an adjusted testing schedule, but a slightly different one than Monday-Wednesday.

F2F Reminders

We have had a great first transition back for in-person learning! Virtual learning will continue to be an an option offered for all all students. Please note that F2F students can switch to Virtual at any time, however, such a switch would be for the remainder of the school year. Students who have chosen to remain Virtual cannot switch to F2F -- this is to preserve current class sizes and to allow us to run school operations as consistently and as safely as possible. See below for more details about our reopening:

• Click here for Hilsman's School Website
• Click here to view the slideshow from Hilsman's Mid-Year Open House with info on safety precautions, dress code, schedules, etc.
• Click here to read details about the schedule for returning students to in-person learning

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:

• 4/19-4/29: Milestone Testing
• Monday 4/19: ELA Day 1
• Tuesday 4/20: ELA Day 2
• Wednesday 4/21: Math
• Thursday 4/22: 8th Grade Science
• Friday 4/23: Social Studies
• Tuesday 4/27: High School Science EOC
• Thursday 4/29: High School Algebra I EOC
• 5/20: Last Day of School

21st Century Learning Program

The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center will resume face-to-face after school on Monday, April 19th. The morning mentor program will continue virtually from 7-8am. If parents are interested in their child/children participating, they should contact Mrs. Maxine Dalton at daltonm@clarke.k12.ga.us or Mrs. Brandi Holcomb at holcombb@clarke.k12.ga.us.

Inspire UGA "Day As A Dawg" Event

Please see the information below for signing your 8th Grader up for this amazing experience!

Technology Repair Request Form

If students are having technology issues, please fill out this form. Mrs. Neace and Mrs. Gonzalez are working around the clock to address each request and help make sure everyone's devices are working properly!

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: 
• Go to bit.ly/ccsdportal1 to learn how to create a parent portal account (Spanish version: bit.ly/ccsdportal1esp)
• Update your Campus Messenger settings with the directions at bit.ly/messengersettings
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.

Subscribe to this blog!

You can subscribe to this blog so that you receive an email each time we make a new post! To do this, simply type your email address in the "Follow by Email" bar in the upper right side of this site.

Content News
Math News:
8th Grade
Monday: Milestone Review
Tuesday: Milestone Review
Wednesday: Post-Milestone Celebration!
Thursday: Converse of the Pythagorean Theorem

Friday: Pythagorean Theorem Practice Day

High School Math
Monday: No class
Tuesday: Representing Exponential Growth
Wednesday: No class
Thursday: Exponential Growth & Decay

Friday: Graphing Exponential Functions

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

ELA News:
Monday: Reading assignment
Tuesday: Reading assignment
Wednesday: Reading assignment
Thursday: Quote Activity & Grammar Activity

Friday: Credit Recovery, Make-Up and Enrichment

Science News:

8th Grade
Monday: Newton's 2nd Law of Motion
Tuesday: Newton's 2nd Law of Motion
Wednesday: Newton's 2nd Law of Motion
Thursday: Newton's 2nd Law of Motion

Friday: Newton's 1st and 2nd Law of Motion Review

High School Science

Monday: Newton's 1st Law of Motion
Tuesday: Newton's 1st Law of Motion
Wednesday: Newton's 2nd Law of Motion
Thursday: Newton's 2nd Law of Motion

Friday: Newton's 1st and 2nd Law of Motion Review

**SCIENCE STUDENTS REMINDER: Bring identical 2-liter bottles for our Bottle Rocket Competition! Bottles should be empty and rinsed out. Feel free to bring in any extras for donations!

Social Studies News:

Monday: Georgia Milestone Review (Sketch to Stretch Activity)
Tuesday: Georgia Milestone Review
Wednesday: Georgia Milestone Review
Thursday: Georgia Milestone Review

Friday: Civil Rights Projects

Connections News
Orchestra:
Monday: Music Monday with May Song - Red Belt!
Tuesday: No Orchestra (testing)
Wednesday: Work It Wednesday with May Song and Dotted Quarter Notes
Thursday: Theory Thursday with Dotted Quarter Notes

Friday: No Orchestra (Testing)

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

Jordan Kayea, smallj2@clarke.k12.ga.us

Rhonda McKittrick, mckittrickr@clarke.12.ga.us

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

Science:

Diarra Mosley, mosleyd@clarke.k12.ga.us
Lara Zwald, zwaldl@clarke.k12.ga.us

Brandie 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!

8th Grade News: April 12-16, 2021

General News

In-Person Learning 5 Days a Week

Beginning this week, students who are signed up for in-person learning will be in school for the full 5 days each week. This means that there will be no more Virtual Wednesdays. Students who have elected to remain Virtual will still remain Virtual. Please click here to read the full memo from the district.

Virtual Town Hall -- End of Year Updates -- Wednesday April 14

This Wednesday at 5:30pm, Principal Douglass and the Hilsman administration will hold a Virtual Town Hall to give updates regarding Georgia Milestones and end-of-the-year information. The Zoom link can be found here.

Milestones Next Week!

Georgia Milestone Testing will begin next week. Remember that 8th graders are tested in all four subjects. Please be advised of the following dates scheduled for testing:

Milestones EOG

4/19- ELA Day 1

4/20- ELA Day 2

4/21- Math

4/22- Science

4/23- Social Studies

Milestones EOC

4/27- High School Physical Science EOC

4/29- High School Algebra I EOC

Remember, only students whose families OPTED OUT of Milestones are excused from testing. All other students will be required to take their tests. The Testing Bell Schedule will be shared in next week's blog. If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher.

F2F Reminders

We have had a great first transition back for in-person learning! Virtual learning will continue to be an an option offered for all all students. Please note that F2F students can switch to Virtual at any time, however, such a switch would be for the remainder of the school year. Students who have chosen to remain Virtual cannot switch to F2F -- this is to preserve current class sizes and to allow us to run school operations as consistently and as safely as possible. See below for more details about our reopening:

• Click here for Hilsman's School Website
• Click here to view the slideshow from Hilsman's Mid-Year Open House with info on safety precautions, dress code, schedules, etc.
• Click here to read details about the schedule for returning students to in-person learning

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:

• 4/14: End of Year Updates Virtual Town Hall meeting
• 4/19-4/29: Milestone Testing
• Monday 4/19: ELA Day 1
• Tuesday 4/20: ELA Day 2
• Wednesday 4/21: Math
• Thursday 4/22: 8th Grade Science
• Friday 4/23: Social Studies
• Tuesday 4/27: High School Science EOC
• Thursday 4/29: High School Algebra I EOC
• 5/20: Last Day of School

Spring Sports

8th Graders interested in Soccer or Track & Field, check out the flier below for more information!

Inspire UGA "Day As A Dawg" Event

Please see the information below for signing your 8th Grader up for this amazing experience!

Technology Repair Request Form

If students are having technology issues, please fill out this form. Mrs. Neace and Mrs. Gonzalez are working around the clock to address each request and help make sure everyone's devices are working properly!

How to Check Out Hilsman eBooks

Panther families, we have a great selection of eBooks with many more on the way. Click here for super easy instructions on how to access them quickly from any device!

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: 
• Go to bit.ly/ccsdportal1 to learn how to create a parent portal account (Spanish version: bit.ly/ccsdportal1esp)
• Update your Campus Messenger settings with the directions at bit.ly/messengersettings
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.

Subscribe to this blog!

You can subscribe to this blog so that you receive an email each time we make a new post! To do this, simply type your email address in the "Follow by Email" bar in the upper right side of this site.

Content News
Math News:
8th Grade
Monday: Milestones Review
Tuesday: Pythagorean Theorem
Wednesday: Pythagorean Theorem
Thursday: Pythagorean Theorem

Friday: Milestones Review

High School Math
Monday: Comparing arithmetic and geometric sequences
Tuesday: Writing recursive & explicit formulas from tables
Wednesday: Finding missing terms in sequences
Thursday: Sequences review

Friday: Sequences Group Quiz

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

ELA News:
Monday: GMAs Extended Response Rubric Review & Reflection
Tuesday: GMAs Extended Response Practice
Wednesday: GMAs Practice Test Review
Thursday: GMAs Practice Test Review

Friday: GMAs Practice Test Review

Science News:

8th Grade
Monday: Balanced and Unbalanced Forces
Tuesday: Newton's 1st Law: Inertia/Gravity
Wednesday: Newton's 1st Law: Inertia/Gravity
Thursday: Newton's 1st Law Assessment

Friday: Introduction Interactive to: Speed, acceleration, and graphs

High School Science

Monday: Light Behavior
Tuesday: Interference and Doppler Effect
Wednesday: Sound and Light in Media
Thursday: Wave Behavior, Sound and Light in Media Assessment

Friday: Balanced and Unbalanced Forces/Newton's 1st Law

Social Studies News:

Monday: Civil Rights Project Due!
Tuesday: Transportation Systems
Wednesday: GA Businesses
Thursday: Money Management

Friday: Money Management

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

Jordan Kayea, smallj2@clarke.k12.ga.us

Rhonda McKittrick, mckittrickr@clarke.12.ga.us

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

Science:

Diarra Mosley, mosleyd@clarke.k12.ga.us
Lara Zwald, zwaldl@clarke.k12.ga.us

Brandie 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!