Our Grade eight class
January News
January highlights
Grade 9 Orientation Information
On Tuesday January 24h a guidance counselor from L.C.C.V.I will be meeting with the students in the morning. She will be discussing grade 9 orientation information such as registration forms and the differences between academic and applied courses. Students will be bringing grade 9 course registration forms home with them at this time. In addition, on Thursday January 24th there will be a parent information night from 7-9 p.m. at L.C.C.V.I. An information form regarding this session will be sent home with the grade 8 students.
Curriculum Highlights for the Month
Math
The students will be focusing on Geometry this month. They will be studying transformations on a Cartesian grid; such as translations, rotations, reflections, and similar shapes.
Language Arts
In reading, the students will be exploring comprehension strategies and will be practicing writing summaries. In writing, the students will continue to explore descriptive writing by creating travelogues of places they have been or would like to go.
Science
In science we will be wrapping up the unit on heat. The students will be writing a unit test on the second week of January. Following this unit, the students will be studying a unit on Pure Substances and Mixtures. They will be exploring heterogeneous and homogenous mixtures and studying how mixtures are used in manufacturing products.
Health and Physical Education
This month the students will be focusing on positive participation in gym class and will be practicing and developing their basketball skills. In health, the students will be learning about healthy eating habits and proper nutrition.
The Arts
This month the students will be introduced to the drama portion of the curriculum and will be exposed to some drama games which stress improvisation. The students will continue their music program with Mrs. Courtney this month.
November Newsletter
Fund-raising Activities
Thanks to the parents and students who supported the magazine Fund-raising initiative for our year end class trip. Many of the students were able to successfully sell many magazine subscriptions, and as a result they have a good start in paying for their June year end trip. All students will have another chance in March when we sell chocolate covered almonds.
November Curriculum Highlights
Math
This month the students will be focusing on the measurement strand of the curriculum. Students will be investigating all aspects of circles and cylinders as they relate to measurement. Primarily, students will be calculating the surface areas of various circles and discovering the relationship between circumference, radius, and diameter.
Language Arts
Students will be focusing on descriptive writing this month. They will be studying music lyrics as they relate to lyric poetry and then will be creating their own lyric poems. In reading, the students will be working throughout the month on independent novel studies. They will be required to do a culminating scrapbook activity as well as an oral presentation.
Science
The students will be taking the next two months to investigate the scientific properties of heat. There will be no design challenge with this unit, but the students will be evaluated on their knowledge through a unit test.
Health and Physical Education
Students will be practicing their volleyball skills throughout the month. There will be a heavy emphasis on positive enthusiastic participation.
Visual Arts
Students will be studying the basic principles in designing and creating design logos. At the end of the unit the students will be creating a logo to advertise a company of their choice.
October Newsletter
Classroom Fund-raising
This month we will begin the annual Fund-raising for our year end class trip in June. Many of the students will be coming home with magazine subscription orders which will help fund the trip. It is not mandatory that they sell magazine subscriptions as they will have another opportunity to sell chocolate covered almonds in March as well.
Math
This month we will be studying data management, which entails developing frequency charts, taking samples, and organizing data into graphs such as pie graphs, bar graphs, broken line graphs, and histograms. We will also be learning about biased and unbiased samples.
Language Arts
We are continuing to develop our narrative writing style this month by learning to use specific literary devices to create voice in our writing. In addition, the students are regularly studying spelling and grammar conventions in which they add and incorporate into their writing. We are finishing up our listening log, "The Terrorist" and students will be practicing their reading inferencing skills throughout the month.
Science
Students are continuing to study about ecosystems and conservation. This month students will be designing and implementing a eco-friendly model home as a culminating design challenge activity.
Physical Activity and Health
This month we are continuing to promote healthy positive participation in phys ed class through involvement in soccer drills and games and will eventually be promoting this through active involvement in volleyball activities.
The Arts
Students continue to develop as creative artistic individuals this month by creating portraits and perspective drawings.
September 7, 2007 Welcome back everyone!
I hope you all had a very enjoyable summer and you are ready to begin another school year.
The grade 8 year is a very exciting, but also challenging one. Throughout the year we will be involved in activities such as fund-raising for our year end trip, high school orientation activities, and graduation preparations; as well as the regular curriculum expectations.
I will keep a monthly internet newsletter to keep you abreast of any important information, as well as to keep you informed of what we are studying. Your children will have homework on a regular basis. Sometimes it will be heavier than other times; depending on whether their are upcoming assignments due. I insist the students use their planners, but I do not religiously check them and do expect that each student be responsible for this task.
Math
This month in math we will be focusing on factoring, divisibility rules and solving problems and equations that involve fractions.
Language Arts
In language arts the students will be writing narrative stories this month which are based around the theme of myths. They will be learning how to use descriptive language and proper conventions. In reading they will be listening to a reading of the book the Terrorist and will be completing activities which will assess their ability to make connections to the text. They will also be working on improving their inference skills this month.
Science
In science the students will be initially working on safety presentations and then will be learning about ecosystems. They will be studying global warming, and environmental conservation.
Health and Physical Education
The students will be focusing on developing soccer skills this month and will be encouraged to participate to the fullest of their abilities. In health they will be learning about substance use and abuse and positive decision making.
The Arts
The students will be creating a variety of 2D and 3D art projects and will be taking music with Mrs. Courtney.
I am looking forward to a great year. If you have any questions or concerns you can reach me at the school. Hopefully, I will see some of you at the annual school meet and greet on September 19th.
Mr. Dugas
Class Assignments