We're continuing on chapter 3. This section focuses on solving complex equations. This includes distribution and special cases. Students have been leaning in to this challenging topic. I am very proud of their progress and willingness to learn.   CH3 test 2/11. HOMEWORK NOTEBOOKS DUE 2/11.

*Homework is posted on Monday, due on Friday .
*My office hours are Wednesdays at lunch.
*Many resources are on google classroom. Here are the codes.
*Did you know? Notes are posted on google classroom?
*New this year: Mathematician Projects! Check it out.

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We've diving deep, reading 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' the last couple weeks. We've had really interesting discussions around many of the topics covered - GMOs, food cultures and traditions, factory farming practices, corn vs. grass fed beef, issues around processed foods and how they are marketed. Students have been learning and practicing non-fiction reading standards:

-Delineate an argument, then evaluate its effectiveness. 

-Determine the author's purpose and/or point of view. 

-Identify the main idea through key details, and what the author wants the reader to take away.

-Analyze how the author acknowledges conflicting viewpoints in a text.

-Identify different paragraph structures in a text, and how they develop a key concept. 

Next week we continue reading, focusing on the pros and cons of GMO crops, what the organic industrial food chain is, and how it compares to local sustainable.  

Ask your student - why does congress consider school lunch pizza a vegetable?

HW: Students should be passing 2 iReady lessons per week (many are not completing it - it is affecting their grade), and they should be reading for 20+ minutes each night in their independent reading book. 

GENETICS:  This week and next week, students will continue with asking questions of family members, learning about their own traits and continuing to answer the Big AHA! question, "Who Am I" by working on a protein chain using the letters in their first names for codons/amino acids followed by creating their FAMILY TREE (a major part being your student interviewing you and another family member).  

Finally, we will finish GENETICS focused on ethics.  Students will be learning about CRSPR and bioelectricity technology looking at how they work and the ethics as well as future impact of altering our genome.  If any of this is new to you, ask your student about them! 

STEM and Design

Taylor - Our 8th graders are kicking off a new Fitness Unit focused on understanding how the body moves and how to train it safely and effectively. Students will learn the major skeletal muscles and bones, explore the FITT Principle (Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type), and apply it to key areas of fitness including cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. The unit goal is for each student to design a personalized two-week fitness plan they can use now and in the future. Whenever possible, we’ll be heading outdoors—staying active, playing games, and enjoying movement in the fresh air while building lifelong fitness skills.

CORBOLOTTI: We’ve wrapped up our Ping Pong unit and will be moving into gymnastics for the next few weeks, focusing on body control, balance, and movement progressions. After that, our 8th graders will transition into a square dance unit, where students will work in teams of eight to practice cooperation, timing, and recall. The unit will end in an assessment where students respond to a live series of calls led by Mr. Corbolotti.