Weekly Update 4/21-25

IMPORTANT REMINDERS/EVENTS:

Report Cards will be going home on April 23rd.

8th Grade Eng-of-Year Activities:
Friday, May 23—Schlitterbahn and Activity Fest
Wednesday, May 28—Academic Celebration
Thursday, May 29—Promotion Ceremony at Butler Field House

Chaperones for the Schlitterbahn trip and volunteers to help set up/decorate/chaperone other events are needed. If you are an HISD approved volunteer and are interested in chaperoning, please let any of us know and we will pass on your offer to the appropriate people. If you are not an HISD approved volunteer but want to become one, please email Ms. Deitra Kendrick a dkendric@houstonisd.org or call her at 713-295-6500 x 326 for detail.

English:

We will be working on “Laying the Foundations” activities. The Laying the Foundations assessment is in May; exact date, TBA. Soon, we will begin reading The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros in class. No purchase of the book will be necessary. We have started on pre-reading activities this week.

“The Kindness Quilt” is in the process of being made. Upon its completion, we will have a revealing party for the 8th grade participants. The quilt will hang in the library. Be sure to check it out before the end of the year!

Important Dates for Independent Reading Unit 4: FREE CHOICE
Literature Circle #2 (over the second half of the book)-Friday, May 9
Projects Due MAY 12-13

History:
This past week and next week the students are working on material for TAKS and over the Civil War and Reconstruction. They will test on the Civil War and Reconstruction late next week. We then will continue with TAKS review.

TAKS is important because the scores may determine the level of classes for which the students will qualify in high school. The students should keep all the review materials because these materials will help the students when they take their exit exam from high school in the eleventh grade. Currently, thirty-five percent of the exit exam is from this eighth grade course.

The rest of the year will be spent on geography. These assignments are very important for preparation for ninth grade geography and for their grades this next six weeks. At this time of the year, it seems as if eighth graders often slack off and their grades fall. They need to be reminded that transfers can be revoked for failing grades. Also, students need to prepare for using technology in high school. Many teachers accept assignments online or, at least, require all assignments to be printed so it is important students have access to computers and printers. All public libraries have these facilities so if you do not have the computers readily available for student use at home, please make arrangements for your child to use a public library. Following is the assignment for the last project. I will show the students examples of how to do this project on Friday.

Landforms and Water Bodies

In chart form, provide
A. definition
B. process of origin
C. a hand-drawn illustration and a
d. “real world” example of each of the following
physical features.

Sources you may wish to consult:
http://www.geology.com/
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/gaculty/ritter/glossary/glossary_A.html

The project must be bound neatly.
Due: No later than May 14/15. You cannot expect to print these at school because they must be in color.

Water-Formed Features:
Aquifer Arroyo
Bay Beach Canyon Cape
Coral Reef Delta Estuary Fjord
Geyser Glacier Gorge Gulf
Hanging Valley Lagoon Lake Oxbow Lake
Point Bar River Sea Sinkhole
Shoreline Springs Strait Stream
Tarn Valley Wadi Yazoo

Land-Formed Features:
Alluvial Fan Archipelago Atoll Caldera
Cirque Continental Divide Delta
Drumlin Dunes Ergs Graben
Hogback Horst Island (2 types)
Isthmus Kame Karst Kettle
Levee Mesa Moraine Mountains (2)
Buttes Peninsula Plateau Plains
Volcano

Science:

All Classes
Well, this is where the rubber meets the road, push comes to shove, crunch time, and the going gets tough and the tough get going …….
What I will be asking from you is to let your child teach you two lessons a week; these will be 5 minute explanations of the lessons covered in class. I will also ask you to sign a log verifying that your child taught you the weekly lesson and I will take this for a weekly grade.

DUE DATES FOR WORK
This week you should be taught by your child the third set of lessons in the series; Lesson # 5 Atomic Structures, Chemistry, and Lesson # 6 Astronomy. Have you signed the log stating that you have been taught the lessons? This is a major grade for your kids. I have also given the students a home work packet that is separated by objectives and each Friday another objective is due. Next Friday, the sheets from the homework packet relating to objective # 4 are due for a major grade. I am also here every Tuesday after school for tutorials, so if your child is struggling through a lesson please have them stay for help. I can also stay other days if given advance notice.

Thanks so much for all you support this year, let’s all pull together and make for one last real effort to push our kids to the greatest heights.
Jamie Scott
Math:
Algebra 1:
Last week, we worked on Chapter 8 material. We finished exponential functions, including exponential growth and decay. We began the study of Chapter 8, with adding and subtracting, then dividing polynomials. Students began studying factoring and how it pertains to x-intercepts on a graph. Students will continue factoring, learning about special cases. Sections in Chapter 8 that will be covered include: 9.4, solving polynomials in factored form & 9.5 Factoring quadratics; this week’s topics are essential for success on the end of year exam. Please insure your student completes the homework assignments as assigned. Students should be diligent regarding attendance as well. Brand new topics they have not seen before will be presented.

Pre-Algebra:
Last week, students finished sections in Chapter 7 and covered relevant sections in Chapter 8. Students have 8-4 & 8-5 due on Monday. Please check to see that your student has completed the assignment. Vocabulary for Chapter 8 is also due on Monday. Students will turn their attention to Chapter 9. In preparation for TAKS, we have studied topics covered in 7, 8, and 9. There will not be a test covering 7 & 8, but there will be for Chapter 9. We begin this week with sections in Chapter 9: Statistics. Making a table and histograms will be the topic for Monday (9-1 & 9-2). Circle graphs and measures of central tendency will be Wednesday’s topic (9-3 & 9-4). Friday brings the beginning of Section 9-5: Measures of Variation.
We will complete Chapter 9 next week, a test will follow the following week, then we will turn our attention to Chapter 10: Linear and Non-Linear Functions. We will review linear patterning in preparation for this task.


Foreign Language Department BLOG: See link below

http://pomsfl.wordpress.com/