3/10/2008
Dear Families,
I
don’t think I could be much later with the “Monday” newsletter! Please accept my apologies – the week seems
to have gotten away from me.
As
I am sure you have noticed, eighth graders are extremely busy right now with
spring sports, the 8th grade play and the term paper. The good news is I see the majority of
students becoming more efficient time managers and workers. Please help your student to stay healthy and
rested in this busy time.
Speaking
of rest, tomorrow, Friday 3/14 is the end of the trimester and the eighth grade
is taking a well-deserved break. In the
afternoon I will be showing a movie. The
students are welcome to bring snacks, a pillow and a blanket. They should also be prepared to CLEAN UP
after themselves. Students are not
allowed to bring ipods or mp3 players. I
have warned them that I will snip headphone wires if I see them – even if the
wires are just “hanging around their necks.”
NO electronic devices are allowed at in the classroom. The movie is appropriate
for a Catholic elementary school.
ATTENTION
8th GRADE MOMs – Judy Maccarone and Kate Rourke have graciously
volunteered to chaperone the trip. I
need one more mom and am happy to take one more dad. The boys are exceedingly underrepresented. Of the 5 confirmed chaperones, only one is a
parent of a boy. I especially want to
extend an invitation to those moms whose youngest (or only) child is in this
class.
IMPORTANT
NOTE: To help prepare the kids for high school, beginning in the third trimester,
I will be strictly enforcing the late work policy. (Late work due to illness or bereavement
leave is handled differently.) Late work
will be accepted one day late for a reduced grade. (Please
note: term papers will not be accepted even one day late.) After one day, the student will not receive
credit for the assignment. If you have
yourself in a “printer malfunction” situation, the best course of action is to
email the work to me as an attachment.
REMINDERS:
1.
March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day, Free Dress (EXCEPT for those with a uniform
ticket - there are currently 5 students who should be in uniform on Monday) and
Annual Potato Bake;
2.
March 24 – 28 - Spring Break….HOORAY!
¯ ACADEMICS
HISTORY
Eighth graders are
working on a
Today students acted out Chapter 2 vocabulary words from the text. We will take on more of Chapter 2 tomorrow
and next week.
RELIGION
There is a Chapter
9 test Friday 3/14.
In the spirit of
St. Benedict, the class will be adopting some rules to live by. I will let you know what the rules are as
soon as they are adopted.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Spelling Test - Lesson 21, Friday 3/14. Wednesday.
Term Paper –
1. Draft intro
essays were due Wednesday. I will return
the essays to the kids on Friday. I will
give them further guidelines for writing the introductory paragraph as well as
the rest of the intro essay. The final
essay is due Wednesday, March 19.
2. We are still
struggling with using the time I give them in the computer lab. When I observe students playing games or off
task in the lab, I will turn off his or her computer. Students are then welcome to move into the
library and write on paper or continue research in the library. If I have to turn off a student computer a
second time, you will receive a phone call and/or email.
LITERATURE
Students began
their second short story rotation. At
the end of this rotation, we will read one more short story as a class. We will begin a non-fiction unit after we
complete short stories.
Students need to
be sure to have a silent reading book here at school. Reading term paper printed sources is
OK.
MATH
Both math classes
will receive math progress reports on Wednesday, March 12. These grades reflect
everything that was completed as of Friday, March 7. The reports need to
be signed and returned by Friday, March 14.
The algebra class
is beginning work on polynomials. This week they will be working on
multiplying and dividing monomials.
The 8th
grade math will take their Chapter 6 test on ratios and percents, Tuesday,
March 11. They will then begin working on chapter 8 which deals with
measurement.
SCIENCE
Updates about
Science are posted in the Science section of school web page.
COMMUNITY UPDATE
Your wonderful
children are about to begin their last trimester as eighth graders. There are so many terrific experiences yet to
come – the play, carnival,
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!
Ann Christianson
annc@saintbrendan.org