8th GRADE
In 8th grade, learners will engage in a variety of ACP activities within classes and through all-school events. They will continue to set and monitor goals, explore careers, build self-awareness, and gain a greater understanding of post-secondary pathways available to them. Emotional regulation and preparing for the transition to high school will also be areas of focus as they navigate their final year of middle school.
Some of the specific ACP opportunities that all 8th-grade students will engage in include:
Self - Management: Executive Functioning Skills - Planning & Chunking: Learners will examine and practice planning and breaking down large tasks into smaller, more manageable parts
Self - Management: Executive Functioning Skills - Note-Taking: Learners will examine examples of notes, and identify methods to create productive, organized notes. Learners will apply their note-taking skills through an activity
Self - Management: Executive Functioning Skills -Decision-Making: Learners will practice a framework for making tough decisions
Self-Management: Executive Functioning Skills - Email & Google Calendar: Learners will explore and practice a variety of tips and tricks to keep both email and their Google Drive organized
Self-Awareness: Post-Secondary Pathways Introduction: Learners will explore the different post-secondary pathways available to them after high school
Responsible Decision-Making - Preliminary Post-Secondary Path Identification: Preliminary planning of post-secondary journey, including identification of a potential pathway
Pre-ACT Testing: Participation in the ACT Suite of assessments
Service Learning: Learners collaborate to develop and complete a service learning project utilizing the design-thinking process
Self-Management - Personal Wellness Tracker: Learners will personalize a wellness tracker, collect and analyze their own data on physical and social-emotional wellness and reflect on their goals through physical education class
Self-Management - Goal-Setting: Learners will use their own personal data to create their own authentic future-ready goals. They will self-monitor their progress on these goal throughout the year within their physical education class
Self-Awareness: Understanding Emotions - Happiness: Learners will explore myths related to happiness, and focuses on self-acceptance as a key aspect of happiness
Self-Awareness: Understanding Emotions - How Emotions Work: Learners will the science behind how we experience emotions
Self-Awareness: Career Exploration: Learners will continue to explore various careers that might be of interest to them, and identify their top five
Self-Awareness - Future Planning: Learners will consider healthy ways to live their lives, their goals for the future, and anticipate what types of challenges they may face
Self-Management - Goal-Setting: Learners will explore how their values, habits, influences, and goals connect with they envision and plan for change
Self-Management: Emotional Regulation: Learners will be introduced to strategies to help them regulate emotions, practice strategies, and identify those which they feel are most successful when they are faced with feeling overwhelmed
Self-Awareness: My Six-Year Plan: Learners will engage in comprehensive exploration of opportunities at the high school, and begin to map out course pathways
Self-Awareness: What Are My Work Values?: An introduction to work values and determining what aspects of a work environment and responsibilities are most important for you
Financial Literacy: Applying for Jobs: Learners will explore the process of looking for part-time employment, including work permits, job applications, interviewing skills, and professionalism
Financial Literacy: Learners will explore introductory concepts such as simple and compound interest and how this impacts saving
Transitions: Intro to PHS: Learners will hear from PHS counselors about how scheduling works, and learn about the various ways they will be supported in their transition to high school
Transitions: Course Selection: Select elective opportunities from a wide array of elective courses for their freshman year, expanding on areas of interest and trying new experiences
Transitions: Preparing for High School: Eighth graders will prepare for the transition to high school with introduction into our high school grading system, transcripts, homework expectations, scheduling, credits, GPA, high school student supports, and opportunities to get involved in clubs and athletics
ACP Journey Self-Reflection: Learners will assess their progression in self-awareness and career identity
Future Ready/ACP Conferences: Each year in middle school will culminate with a personalized conference between learner, parent, and ACP advisor. Learners will share their experiences as they relate to the Graduate Profile, what they have learned about themselves, and their future-ready plans at this meeting
How Parents Can Get Involved in ACP at School
Discuss how your child is performing on standardized tests and in course standards
Participate in your child's annual Future Ready Conference
Explore the Course Description Guide together to discuss elective offerings for the following year
Attend Parent-Teacher Conferences
Attend Open House at Pewaukee High
Set up and observe your child's Xello Account
Know the goals that your child has set
Discuss your child's identified work values, learning styles, and interests
Share your own journey into your current career!
Volunteer to talk to students about your career and life experiences
Discuss finances and how to choose to save and budget for large needs