8th Grade Science

Welcome back everyone. Miss Hunsaker and I will be homeroom teachers for the 6th graders and I will be teaching the sciences. Our textbooks and the curriculum program is “Stemscopes” which is a hands on, inquiry based program. The "Stemscopes" program aligns beautifully with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) which our school has adopted.  

In 8th grade science for the first semester, we will be delving into the complexities of the atom, identifying the elements of the periodic table and balancing chemical equations. We will continue by looking at the differences between compounds and mixtures.  At the start of the second semester, we will be changing to physical science and looking at simple machines, motion, speed etc. We will perform labs as the year progresses and each student will be partnered up for various experiments and will be responsible for a share in the experimental write-up. 

We will be using different ways of obtaining information throughout the year including note-taking, discussion and labs. Students will be required to have a spiral-bound notebook for my class and I would also encourage them to have their own pens, pencils, graph paper and metric rulers. 

Yearly grades will be obtained from: 

• One Science Project (participation in a science/engineering fair or participation in Science Olympiad)

• Tests following each chapter

• Weekly Quizzes

• Participation in labs and quizzes on lab processes

• Keeping a clear, concise interactive notebook

Science Olympiad competition is usually held at BSU in the spring. Last year, the National Olympiad was held at University of Nebraska-Lincoln on May 23-24, 2025.  We attended the competition with 6 girls and were very successful, with some of our teams in the 30's in the nation. We were also pleasantly surprised and grateful and humbled to receive the Spirit Award at the national competition!!! We have fielded up to 6 teams in the past, but as we are now only offering the Olympiad to the 8th graders this year I anticipate having at most 2 teams. Please think carefully before signing up for this incredible opportunity. 

The Science Olympiad is a wonderful, hands-on experience that encourages kids to work cooperatively and to be successful in an academic setting. Students who choose this option must be willing to opt for 3 events to compete. One of the events must be from build-it events, one from the lab events and one from research. I will also be encouraging parents to sign up to coach, as there are 23 events that will need an adult to head up. Please bear in mind that most of the work leading up to the Olympiad is done after school and on weekends, so be sure to check spring commitments before agreeing to participate in this incredible event. I will be sending home more information as we get further into the school year. As in the past, the state competition will be held at Boise State University.  This year's competition will be held in April - date TBD

Students not participating in the Olympiad will be required to produce an  engineering project which will entail participation in our fair here at school. Students will be following the scientific method to come up with an engineering project - typically students have built cars, catapults, bridges, roller coasters, robots etc. Students will be developing hypotheses, performing tests on prototypes, changing at least one parameter, retesting, gathering data, and drawing conclusions. Students will have to present their findings to their peers and then to judges at the science fair. Grades for this choice will be determined by adherence to time lines, following the scientific method and participation in the science fair. 

         I am really looking forward to a great, productive year. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me here at the school. My address is mcclurem@stjoes.com

** Please see Science Olympiad/Science Fair page under "Electives"