August 29, 2025

Math 8

Hello! Welcome to the 25/26 school year! For the next 2 weeks we will be in Chapter 6 which is on Transformations. We will start with rigid transformations: reflections, translations and rotations, then move on to dilations. This will include learning how to mathematically prove two shapes are similar.

Trimester 1 focuses on geometric standards.

*Homework is posted on Monday and due on Friday in homework notebooks.
*My office hours are Wednesdays at lunch. I will have a sign in sheet.
*Many resources are on google classroom. Here are the codes.
*New this year: Mathematician Projects! Check it out.

Algebra

Hello 8th grade families! For the next 2 weeks we will be in Chapter 1 which is an overview of the course. We will be exploring different types of growth: linear and exponential. We will also be learning about functions, function notation and domain and range. All of these topics will appear throughout the year.

SPANISH-II

Welcome to "La clase de español!". We're spending our first two full weeks of school reviewing the material from Spanish-1. Student's Spanish might be a bit "rusty" but we will remove the "spiderwebs" and make sure everyone is ready to begin learning more Spanish soon.
It's going to be a great year!

I am sharing HERE the Grammar Syllabus for Spanish-1 and Spanish-2. Please take the time to review and let me know if you have any questions.

A few "housekeeping items":

Homework is posted daily in Google Classroom (FYI most Fridays we won't have HW).
Office hours are during recess (and during lunch by request if extended support is needed).

Language Arts

Hello 8th grade! I am so excited to run it back with this same crew. It has been nice getting back in the groove of school.

Students will take the iReady Diagnostic Test to assess reading comprehension & skill levels. Results will be shared in Aeries for parents and students to view.
As a class, we will be reading The Veldt, a short story by Ray Bradbury -- a classic that warns of the potential dangers of advanced technology, and its corrosive impact on familial relationships. It will serve as a warmup to practice some of the high end skills from 7th grade such as identifying themes, citing direct text evidence, analyzing the effects of different P.O.V.s, and Reading Comprehension.

Important Information:

Google Classroom has all of our activities, digital student work, and all my teaching materials (slides, documents, etc.) that can be accessed at anytime.
Next Thursday we will be able to visit the library and get books, and begin the arduous, long, and ultimately rewarding journey of READING EVERY NIGHT FOR 20-30 MINUTES - Whether it is the class novel, or independent reading choice. Please hold your student accountable!

Science

Welcome to 8th Grade Science! I am looking forward to the curiosity, wonder and thinking you will bring to class everyday!

This year we will start with PHYSICS as our opening unit and spend 2 months looking at how objects move. It will culminate with PHYSICS OF SPORT where students show what they have learned by recording and explaining the physics behind a skill or movement in sport. The rest of the year we will be learning about:

Genetics
Waves
Evolution
Natural Selection
The Universe

I'm excited with the start of the year; the energy, curiosity and kindness YOUR student has already brought to our class gets me excited for the next 9.5 months!

STEM and Design

Welcome 7th and 8th graders to Design! I'm excited already with this class and the questions, focus and attention to detail that they have displayed. These next 18 weeks will consist of:

How to Design
Sketching
Measuring
3D Printing
CAD Design (computer assisted drawing/design)
NEW!!!! App. Creating

Students will spend the next 18 weeks solving real-world problems by designing and creating hands-on models and actual working designs. The 2nd half of the year, we will switch and STEM students will move to Art and Art students will move to STEM.

Physical Education

Taylor - Welcome to 8th Grade PE! It has been a lot of fun teaching many students I have worked with in the past as well as getting to know new learners as well!

Over the past two weeks, our 8th graders have been engaging in team-building activities and games designed to strengthen cooperation, communication, and problem-solving. Next, we’ll be introducing Aussie Rules Football, an exciting and fast-paced sport from Australia. In Aussie Rules, players can move the ball by kicking, passing with a handball (punching the ball from one hand with the other fist), or running with it while bouncing it on the ground. (We will be using flags rather than tackling. and bumping won't be permitted.) The objective is to score points by kicking the ball between goal posts. It’s a great way for students to practice agility, endurance, and teamwork in a fun new setting.

Uniforms are still being distributed. If your student has received theirs, please have them wear it to class. Otherwise, students should come prepared in shorts or sweatpants, a crew neck t-shirt and sweatshirt (no hoodies), and running shoes.

Corbolotti: I’m looking forward to a great year of PE with these 8th graders. We are kicking things off with team sports on the blacktop, starting with a modified game called Quidditch Football. After we’ll be transitioning to hockey on the blacktop but leave the roller blades at home. These activities are designed to build teamwork, communication, and an opportunity to get comfortable playing with their classmates.

Advanced Band

So nice to see all of you at Back To School Night! This group of kids is quite a treat. I'm super pumped about the possibilities of this group and how far we can go together. We started our first piece, a grade 2.5, called "High Intensity." It's a super fun, high energy affair! Not surprised to see that the kids have picked this up quite quick and we're already looking into starting either a grade 3 band piece or grade 2.5 big band piece (equivalent difficutly levels). We did some listening, in order to purchase new music and we'll continue a bit of that next week, as well as record "High Intensity," so that we can listen back and assess ourselves. Loving this group and excited to see how far we can go!

Art

Art is in full swing at Hall Middle School! Over the next two weeks, we'll be wrapping up our drawing unit with neat lessons on perspective and how to draw realistic people. Thanks so much to everyone who came to our Back-to‑School night—if you couldn’t make it, don’t worry! Just check out the slideshow below to catch up.

Social Studies

We have wrapped up our mini-unit on U.S. Geography and have spent the past week looking at various Native American Indigenous tribes throughout North America, specifically focusing on how each had to adapt to their local environments. Next week, we turn our attention to the first British Colonies in America! Our Big Idea for both of these? How does WHERE I live impact HOW I live?

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