Welcome Back!

Happy New Year!

It was wonderful to see everyone back and ready to go this morning. After a sleepy morning, we got right to work. 2013 was an amazing year, and 2014 will only be even better!

Math:
Course 2 finished lesson 57 today.  Course 3 just finished lesson 73. Algebra 1 is on lesson 61. Everyone is right on track to complete their course by the end of the year. You can assure success by reviewing math tests with your child.

Reading:
We have completed Twelfth Night! I'm sure you're as proud of them as I am. Our next novel will be Animal Farm by George Orwell. In Guided Reading we will be continuing to work on reading non fiction texts. Non fiction texts include a wide range of material including recipes, instructions, maps, charts, tables, phone books, directories, etc. When you are out and about point these things out and demonstrate how you use them.

Science:
Today was the last day for Rube Goldberg machines. It was fascinating to watch the different groups work together towards a common goal. Not only did they have to demonstrate the principles of physics, but they also worked through the engineering design process. I was most impressed by their persistence.

This month is the final push for the science fair. Each day we will work on the rough drafts in class. Students will then need to type up the final draft at home. On day 1 students should begin a word processing document and then add to it each night. Tomorrow students need to bring their science fair notebook to class. Below is the timeline for completion.
1/7/2014 - Title page rough draft in class - Title page final draft at home
1/8/2014 - Question rough draft in class - Question final draft at home
1/9/2014 - Hypothesis rough draft in class - Hypothesis final draft at home
1/13/2014 - Background research KWO in class
1/14/2014 - Background research rough draft in class - Background research final draft at home
1/15/2014 - Materials rough draft in class - Materials final draft at home
1/16/2014 - Procedures rough draft in class - Procedures final draft at home
1/20/2014 - Results tables and graphs lesson in class (2 copies printed, one for report and one for board)
1/21/2014 - Results narrative KWO and rough draft in class - Results narrative final draft at home
1/22/2014 - Conclusions KWO and rough draft  in class - Conclusions final draft at home
1/23/2014 - Bibliography final draft in class
Weekend of the 24th - Students complete the board at home. This should take less than 2 hours because they will already have everything they need typed up and ready to place!
1/27/2014 - Turn in report, notebook, and board.
1/31/2014 - Science Fair!

History:
In history this month we will be going back in time and across the country to India. We will be learning about the decline of European Colonialism  in India and how Ghandi brought change to the land. By the end of the unit students should understand the geography of the area, the life of Ghandi, and his impact.

Field Trip:
January 28th is our field trip day this month. It will be a regular school day. Students are expected to be on campus in their best uniforms at 8:00. They will be interviewed by judges and will present their project to other grades. Everyone should bring a hearty snack and a healthy lunch. A more detailed schedule for the day will be coming out soon!

Class Shirts:
Our 8th grade class shirts arrived! Students may wear them on Thursdays for the rest of the year with their regular uniform pants. If you did not order one but would like to, let me know no later than the 15th and we'll put one more order in.