News from 8N

8N Blog

Mrs. Heishman/Social Studies

Currently in Social Studies we are wrapping up our study of the French and Indian War.  You can ask your son/daughter what other name that war is known as in England and France.  Next, we will be talking about the taxes England imposes to try to pay off the debt caused by the war.  Also, how these unfair taxes lead to the colonists revolting against England, and fighting the American Revolution.  We have an exciting and fast paced month ahead.

Mrs. Mason/English

Mrs. Mason’s English classes just wrapped up their informative writing unit.  All students wrote a five-paragraph essay about their dream house. Essays have been graded and returned, so please ask to see them. Students also created a multimedia project, which they presented in class.  Please check out their amazing videos!  To access students’ videos, go to animoto.com, type in masons@rlasd.net as the username, and the password is peppy.  They did a phenomenal job with the essays and the videos!

On November 1, we will be kicking off our next unit, which will consist of identifying and analyzing literary elements in short stories.  Students will also be participating in literature circles.  They will be assigned novels based on their reading abilities, which they must read outside of class.  Additionally, they will complete reading reflections and participate in discussion groups in class. 

Mr. Resh/Science

            In science, we are "digging" through rocks, and how they form.  Rocks are important and we shouldn't take them for "granite".  Parents and students are reminded to check grades on Edline frequently.

Miss Smith/Academic Literature

In Miss Smith’s Academic Literacy class, students just took their first vocabulary test.  They will receive a new set of words in the next cycle.  Students are currently learning to distinguish between facts and opinions, and they will soon study how do determine the difference between what an author says explicitly, and the inferences, generalizations, and conclusions they draw on their own.  We will be focusing on each one of these individually and then we will put everything together in a culminating activity.

Mr. Mikula/Math

Students in Mr. Mikula's math classes should complete their October Study Island assignment by Thursday, October 31.  November's Study Island assignment is now ready to be completed.  However, students should not begin the assignment at home until after we spend a day on the assignment during class.

Remember that only the highest 10-question test in each topic will be graded and students may retake a test as many times as they would like.

Mrs. Couch/Health

In Mrs. Couch's health class students are discussing health skills that will improve their mental and social health.

For good communication one should express good body language and use active listening skills, which are crucial parts of good communication.

Friday’s Race for Education Highlights!