8th Grade Newsletter November 2023

B. F. Butler Middle School

Welcome!

Welcome to the 3rd edition of the Grade 8 Monthly Newsletter! In this newsletter we will be sharing highlights in classes, upcoming dates, as well as other important school information. Please feel free to reach out to any Grade 8 Team member with questions. Thank you!

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8th Grade Field Trip: Museum of Science

We are so excited to be taking the 8th Graders to the Museum of Science on Thursday November 16th. The buses will be leaving the school by 8:30 so it is important that students are in the building by 8 am.

Students will be provided lunch by the Museum and do not need to bring any money with them. We will not have enough time to visit the gift shop.

Students were able to choose from the following lunch options:

Ham and Cheese Sandwich on white bread

Turkey and Cheese on a sub roll

Chicken Caesar Salad

Cheeseburger

Individual Cheese Pizza

Hummus and Fresh Veggie Box

*All lunches come with chips, water, fruit and a cookie.

Permission slips have gone home. Please look for the permission slips, complete, sign and return ASAP.

Family Portal in ASPEN is now Open!

Student and family logins are now available for Aspen, This portal can be used to check student's grades and progress in all subjects. Students should be checking their grades regularly to make sure their work is up to date.

If you have not received your log-in info, please reach out to your student's homeroom teacher for more info!

The link for ASPEN is below:

https://ma-lowell.myfollett.com/aspen/logon.do

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Q1 Report Cards

Grades for Q1 will close on November 7th and Q1 Report Cards will be sent home on Thursday November 17th.

Please be on the lookout, sign the report card when received, and have your student return it to their homeroom teacher the following day.

Information to follow about Student Award Ceremonies.

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Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Conferences will be held on Thursday November 30th from 5:00 - 7:00pm.

The 8th grade team will be sending out a sign up form through Remind once Q1 Report Cards are sent home. Please be on the look out.

All conferences will be scheduled for a 10 minute time slot. More information to follow.

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FOOD DRIVE

Mrs. Papplarardo and her WIN group have taken lead to run a school-wide food drive to support the Open Pantry of Greater Lowell.

If you have never heard about the organization, you can read about them here.

This is a great opportunity for students to help support others in our community. If each student were to bring in only 1 item, we will have over 500 items to stock their shelves.

The Food Drive will run until November 14th. The homeroom that collects the most items will win a Pizza Party after Thanksgiving Break!

Thank you for any support!

Classroom Updates

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Math News

Students are currently working in Module 2, which uses their knowledge of transformation from Module 1 combined with their previous knowledge of graphing points on a grid to discover how these different transformations affect the coordinates of a figure. This Module uses many of our Mathematical Practices as it is all about looking for patterns, developing hypotheses, and supporting their claims with evidence as they formulate rules.

Students have also learned about one more type of transformation called a dilation. They are tying into their 7th grade work of scale factors to see how enlarging and reducing figures also affects the coordinates of a figure.

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Social Studies

This month, we'll journey through the American Revolution, a pivotal period in U.S. history. We'll explore the causes of tension between the American colonies and Britain, from the Stamp Act to the Boston Tea Party. The Declaration of Independence will take center stage, marking the formal birth of the United States. We'll then delve into the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army, and the Articles of Confederation.

Exploring post-war challenges, we'll discuss the Constitution, the roles of Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and the significance of the Bill of Rights. Together, we'll gain a deeper understanding of the birth of our great nation and its enduring principles.

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Science News

This month in science, we have learned a lot about how the digestive system works and the different chemical reactions that happen in our bodies to process food, such as how molecules like starch, protein, and fat are broken down to be used as fuel for our bodies.

Moving forward, we will wrap up this unit and begin learning about chemical reactions more broadly through learning how bath bombs work and why they fizz.

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ELA

Students are currently focusing on how various literary elements inform character development.

As a culmination of this work, students will complete their first district-wide Writing about Reading task.

We will finish up our Contemporary Fiction book clubs in November and then move on to Literary Essay writing.

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8th Grade Chromebook Policy

The school has been working diligently to make sure all student's have access to a Chromebook. Students use Chromebooks daily in some of their classrooms. It is important that students use the school Chromebooks appropriately and respectfully. The Grade 8 Team has initiated a policy to help support this.

If a student is misusing a school Chromebook during the school day, the computer will be taken away as follows:

1st offense: 24 hours

2nd offense: 48 hours

3rd offense: a week

4th offense: referral to office

If a student loses their Chromebook for a period of time, paper copies for any assignments needed will be supplied.

Please remind your student to bring their Chromebook to school everyday. Since outlets are limited in most classrooms, it is best if students charge their laptops at home each night.

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Upcoming Events

Please see the School calendar for other important dates and events!

Tues., November 7th: NO SCHOOL (Election Day)
Fri., November 10th: NO SCHOOL (Veterans' Day)
Wed., November 22nd: Early Release (Thanksgiving Recess)
Thurs., November 23rd: NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Day)
Fri., November 24th: NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Recess)
Thurs., November 30th: PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES (5-7pm)

Cross Curricula Activities

During this past month, students worked on a project that combined skills from Math and ELA. Students completed a graphing activity that resulted in a picture of a cat reading a book. Students then designed the book the cat was holding to match the cover of the book they read during ELA Book Club. They also got the opportunity to write a book review.

Enjoy some pictures below of students working on this activity and some finished projects!

Students really seemed to enjoy this activity! We can't wait to share more cross-curricula activities that we complete in the future!

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PBIS

At the Butler we strive to recognize students who exemplify the core values of our school. As a school community, we put value into "Taking care of ourselves", "Taking Care of others", and "Taking care of the community."

The 8th grade team recognizes students who demonstrate these core values with stamps. Students have been collecting STAMPS in their assignment notebooks daily. Stamps are collected to attend grade level activities as well as to be traded in for grade level prizes (stickers, candy, pencils, etc.)

Students who earned 15 or more stamps for the Month of October also earned some extra outdoor time on Friday October 27th! See pictures below from this event!

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PBIS Top Stampers

Each month, we will also have a SWEET Treat for our top Stampers in each homeroom.

Congrats to the following students for being the students with the highest number of stamps this month!

Homeroom 227 Jason Daranykone

Homeroom 229 Jonathan Daranykone

Homeroom 230 Olivia Suman-Fragoso

Homeroom 236 Yostin Gil Roque

Homeroom 237 Emilianna Wright-Martinez

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Students of the Month for SEPTEMBER

Each month, one 8th grader will be chosen from each homeroom to be out Students of the Month. These are students who represents the Butler core values, follows the PBIS school-wide expectations, and/or is making good choices during the month.

Below are the students who were chosen for October. Students' pictures will be posted outside the library to celebrate this accomplishment! They will also receive a celebratory lunch on Thursday November 2nd!

Homeroom 227 Tevin Ngoun

Homeroom 229 Laneda Hay

Homeroom 230 Daijana Perez

Homeroom 236 Emily Chea

Homeroom 237 Sammantha Sokun

Congratulations to all of our recipients!

High School Updates

GREATER LOWELL TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

Students visited the Greater Lowell Tech on Friday 10/13. Students were able to hear information about the school as well as visit some of the shops they have to offer.

If your student is interested in attending Greater Lowell Tech and has not applied yet, you can find the application at this link: https://www.gltech.org/domain/41

Applications are due February 1, 2023, in order to be considered for initial acceptance.

LOWELL HIGH SCHOOL

Representatives from Lowell High school visited the Butler Middle School on Tuesday 10/17. Students were shared information about Lowell High and got the opportunity to hear from current LHS students. Please ask you student about this visit.

LOWELL LATIN LYCEUM

The Lowell Latin Lyceum is an academically challenging, four-year, college preparatory program within Lowell High School. Students gain admission through an entrance exam, teacher recommendation, entrance application and essay, and their academic transcripts. The Latin Lyceum challenges students in an intellectually stimulating environment that emphasizes instruction through traditional models of a humanistic education, whether directed toward the liberal arts, mathematics, science, or the fine arts. All courses in the Lyceum are offered at the Honors, High Honors or Advanced Placement level,

Applications for the lyceum can be found here: https://forms.gle/qewD1s9s4LXP7Akr6

Application forms and teacher recommendations must be submitted by December 15, 2023 at 2:30 p.m. Students will also have to take an admissions test that will take place sometime in December.