8th Grade 4th Quarter Newsletter

Students are starting their final round of music for their Spring Concert. After their last concert, students participated in a March Madness Broadway bracket where they compared different songs from various Broadway shows. For their final concert, they will be performing “El Vito”, a Spanish folk song, “Carry the Light,” a song that talks about being a force of good in the world, and “Lord, Send Your Spirit,” a classic gospel song from Dr. Raymond Wise. They are also preparing a combined performance of the Bruno Mars/Lady Gaga song, “Die With A Smile” with the 7th grade choir. The deposits for Orladno are due this Friday, March 21st. Students can audition for the A Capella choir on April 10th and 11th, and the final concert is on May 20th.

This semester PE classes will learn Spikeball, Basketball, yoga (stretching), ultimate frisbee, four square games, and they will be creating their own games. In wellness, we will be learning about bullying, sympathy/empathy, vaping/nicotine, SMART goal setting - revising old goals, and relationships.

8th Grade Math

Honors Geometry

During the fourth quarter we will apply what we have learned about two-dimensional shapes to three-dimensional solids. We can use three-dimensional solids to model the world around us. For example, we can use a cylinder to approximate a part of a tree trunk or human torso. After completing the solids unit, we will work on some challenging problems that require using many of the skills learned this year. These problems will help review material for the state test on April 29. We will use the month of May to complete some closure activities in the final chapter of our curriculum. These include conic sections and the Golden ratio. We will also do some algebra review so students will be well prepared for Honors Algebra II next year!

Last quarter, students learned about the formation of our new nation starting with the drafting of the U.S Constitution. We discussed the differences between the Federalists and Antifederalists as well as the compromises they had to make to get it ratified, namely, the Bill of Rights. We dove into the presidencies of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Students learned about the War of 1812 and other early conflicts between the United States, Great Britain, France, and Native American tribes. We ended the quarter discussing the presidency of Andrew Jackson and had a debate on whether he was a villain, hero, or somewhere in between.

In quarter four, students will spend time learning about westward expansion, including the Oregon Trail, California Gold Rush, Mexican-American War, and Texas Revolution. After spring break, we will begin discussing some of the early causes of the Civil War including the Industrial Revolution (specifically the invention of the Cotton Gin), westward expansion, and growing tensions surrounding the topic of slavery. Students will study different abolitionists including Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. We will end the year learning about the different battles of the Civil War, the strengths and weaknesses of the Confederacy compared to the United States, and reconstruction of the nation after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House. This will be a jam-packed but exciting quarter! Let’s finish off the year strong.