Welcome to the
8th Grade Team Page
General Announcements:
Thanksgiving Break: Wednesday, Nov 26-Friday, Nov 28
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Washington, DC: Monday, March 23-Thursday, March 26, 2026
Course Information
Parent Resources
Algebra:
Pre-Algebra:
IMPORTANT DATES
Algebra:
Unit 2 Retake Deadline: 12/10
Pre-Algebra:
Unit 2 Retake Deadline: 12/11
Algebra 1
Students will analyze and apply key concepts of linear graphs, equations, and relationships, including solving equations through graphing, estimating solutions, exploring slope and steepness, and connecting arithmetic sequences to linear functions.
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Pre-Algebra
Students will explore linear relationships by understanding terms like rate of change, slope, and vertical intercept, and by recognizing connections between linear and proportional relationships. They will represent and analyze these relationships using tables, equations, and graphs, while reasoning about situations involving constant rates.
Unit 4: Revolution
Grades for the Unit 3 Summative are in Google Classroom, and the reassesment deadline is December 2nd. All reassessment work must be completed before that date.
Serendipitous timing! PBS has just released Ken Burns’ The American Revolution for everyone to watch—right as we are beginning our American Independence unit. It’s a great opportunity to connect what we’re learning in class with a high-quality, engaging documentary. Feel free to check it out at home and see how it brings our topics to life!
REMINDERS:
All assignments are posted daily on Google Classroom. Unit vocabulary can also be found in the materials section. Students should be studying 5-10 minutes a night EVERY night. Also, assignments with a 💻 emoji at the start are the only ones that are required to be turned in on Google Classroom.
Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
The first literary analysis essays were due last week. There will be three more throughout the course of the year. These were assigned the first week of the year, and all the due dates can be found in the Literary Analysis folder in Classroom. These are summative grades. It will take me a little while to get through them all, but rest assured, I'm working on it! :-)
We are currently on chapter 6 of To Kill a Mockingbird, which will be assigned as homework. There will be a quiz next week on chapters 4-8, which will include vocabulary for those chapters. Expect a summative through chapter 12 (that's the end of Part 1) before the holiday break.
As always, students are expected to keep reading at night, and trying to switch up genres--refer back to that genre wheel!
Next week we begin our second unit of the year: Chemical Reactions and Matter — “How Can We Make Something New That Was Not There Before?
This unit begins with an everyday mystery: what happens when a bath bomb is dropped into water? Students watch as it fizzes, breaks apart, and releases gas bubbles. They share and compare their ideas about where the gas comes from—some think it was trapped inside the bath bomb, others think it must have formed during the reaction. These initial ideas set the stage for a series of investigations that help students test their explanations and refine their models.
Next, students measure changes in mass in both closed and open systems to see if the gas was already in the bath bomb or made during the process. Once they establish that the gas must come from changes to the substances themselves, they turn to the ingredients of a bath bomb, testing each one in water. None produce bubbles alone, so students begin combining them in different ways to see what happens. When only certain mixtures create gas, students realize that something new may be forming. They then collect data on the properties of the gas—such as whether it rises or sinks, and whether it puts out or feeds a flame—to narrow down what kind of gas it could be.
In the next stage, students apply what they’ve learned to another reaction called Elephant’s Toothpaste, analyzing how properties can reveal when a new substance is produced. They then take stock of all their evidence so far, revising their class model to show how matter that goes into a system can differ from what comes out. This raises a new question: if something new was made, where did its particles come from?
Students move to a smaller scale, exploring whether new particles can actually be made from old ones. They test this by adding energy to water in two ways—first through heat, then through electricity—and compare what happens. These experiments lead to a discussion of early atomic models and how scientists represented the rearrangement of atoms in chemical reactions. Students use this historical context to refine their own explanations for how new substances can form while the total amount of matter stays the same.
Finally, students use all of their investigations to build a complete explanation for what happens when substances interact, drawing on evidence about mass, properties, and particle behavior. In the closing lessons, they explore how substances have unique odors based on their molecular structures, linking back to how we detect and identify different materials in everyday life. By the end of the unit, students have developed a complete picture of how matter can change form and structure—producing something new without creating or destroying what was there to begin with.
Mrs. Gattie
11/25: REMINDER: Our concert has moved to DECEMBER 18th still starting at 7:00pm Students need to arrive by 6:45pm. There will be no practice log for band students due next week because of the break. We had quite a few chorus students try out for solos yesterday! We can't wait until the concert to show you all the great work we have been doing!
If you are looking for holiday gifts please remember to outfit your instrumental students with the following:
woodwinds:
new cleaning cloth (silk is best for clarinet and flute)
Brass: valve oil, cleaning kit, tuning slide grease
Percussion: sticks, mallets, practice pad
Music 8 is working on drumset basics. They also work on guitar chords (G C D Em) and learn a bit of bass guitar. We quickly revisit piano and then students combine into smaller groups to play popular songs. We use a curriculum called Modern Band.
Empire Beauty School will be here Dec 11th during Hawk Time to meet with interested students.
If families have connections to interested career guest speakers, please let me know.
It is getting cold outside. If you need assistance purchasing warm clothes, jackets, hats, gloves, or paying a heat bill please reach out. We can assist!
Please check Aspen regularly. Reach out with questions about grades and comments.
Mme Hill
Bienvenue parents to a fabulous 2025/26 year !
Mark your calendar: trip to Québec is May 14-16th 2026. Informational Meeting is Tuesday September 23 @ 6:00PM
It was so nice to meet the students, get back into learning and feel every students energy.
How is school in France different from the US? After the beginning of the year review, students will learn to talk all about school.
Students will also start writing more consistently in their cahier by doing our "Journal Quotidien" (our daily journal).
Studying vocabulary regularly is a good habit to continue. Students have the links to practice in Google Classroom.
Herzlich Willkommen zurück! It was so nice to see the students again after vacation. We started out just reviewing some of the basics before we get back into building our German-language foundation.
This year students can look forward to learning more about holidays, food and drink, restaurant etiquette in Germany, daily routines, fitness and health, and city life.
Please take the time to read through the syllabus with your student so that you all can be familiar with the ins and outs of our language classrooms.
*Assignments are posted to Google Classroom (Join code is: xadg2izs), and grades and assignment feedback are posted to Aspen.
REMINDER: If your student is absent from school, please ask them to reach out to me via E-Mail so that we can get them caught up. It is a great habit to get into before high school so that they are in charge of their own learning. If students are absent, I often ask them to come down during HawkTime.
Students should be reviewing new and old vocabulary 10-15 minutes per day.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15), students learned about Latinos that shaped US history. After studying their careers and contributions, students thought about what they want to be in the future. They learned how to use the high-frequency verb "Quiero" ("I want") to discuss their future goals. Next, students considered professions that necessitate specialized forms of communication (i.e. sailors use Morse code). They learned about shephards on the Spanish island of La Gomera that use a whistled form of Spanish so that they can communicate clearly across huge distances. Next, students will learn about another unique aspect of Spanish culture: la corrida de toros (bullfighting). We will identify the components of the sport, and we will discuss how it has evolved over time in response to growing opposition. Finally, students will read the famous children's book "El cuento de Ferdinando." Spanish dictator banned this book as well as Disney's 1938 animated version, and we will talk about why. Then, students will write their own version of Ferdinand the Bull.