8th Grade Parent Newsletter Principal's Message Thank you to all the parents that participated in conferences this week. Now, more than ever, we are all partners in the process of educating our children. The routines of hybrid learning are settling in and distance choice learning continues to progress. However, we are always in planning mode for the next educational maneuver as we navigate the pandemic. Thank you for your partnership and patience as we carefully watch the data that will inform our next move. Be on the lookout for district communications announcing any refinement to our current situation. Enjoy the long weekend! Black History Month Celebration Wayzata East will be hosting a Black History Month Celebration on Thursday, February 25, at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. We are inviting all East students and their families to join us as we reflect on important and lasting contributions that African Americans have made. All students have been encouraged to create a very short video (under one minute) that highlights an African American individual who or event that made a lasting impact on our country. These videos will be compiled into one feature and presented on February 25th via a YouTube Premiere format that we will watch together that evening. Following the viewing we will meet in small breakout groups to discuss the presentation. Please register here to join the conversation. A Zoom link will be sent just prior to our gathering. If you have questions you may email Beth Benezra or Kaja Martinson. Wayzata Middle School Wrestling The Middle School Wrestling/Fitness Program will be starting February 16 and end at WPS Spring Break. Because of this unique school year, we are offering a combined program of Wrestling and Fitness/Cardio workouts. If you are not a wrestler, no worries... This is an opportunity where you can train in your off-season getting some cardio workouts as well as time in the weight room. Those who would like to wrestle will have the opportunity to do both. For those wrestling, we will be following the MSHSL Covid 19 Protocols which have been in use at Wayzata High School. Registration is available using EPay or by completing the Registration form and turning it into the Student Services Office, along with payment. If you have questions, please contact Curtis Miller (at EMS, coaching the West Middle School Program), Steve Newman or Mike Richards (both at CMS and coaching the combined East/Central Programs). East Middle School Fun Night! Students from Wayzata High School's Club Y.E.S will be hosting a free virtual fun night for East Middle School students. Students will have the opportunity to play games and interact with their peers. Activities will include Jeopardy, Kahoot, Apples to Apples, and Pictionary. This event is a great way to connect with others and enjoy some time together while having fun. Register to reserve your spot. Registration closes Wednesday, February 17. Media Center and Book Checkout Distance Learners library book pick-up (school days from 9:00 - 4:00 p.m.): It is important that distance learners check their Destiny account before coming to retrieve books. After the student logs in they will see the "my info" tab. Select that tab and then confirm that the book that has been put on hold is actually checked out to the student. There will be times when the book on hold is still checked out to another student and will not be ready for pick up on the designated day. If you have other questions, please email Beth Benezra. Enrichment Opportunities East now has an Enrichment Canvas page. This page houses academic enrichment opportunities that are open to all students. What We've Been Working On - The past two weeks, 8th grade math students have been working on analyzing data. They have been graphing scatterplots, finding and using lines of best fit to make predictions, and interpreting the data in the context of the problem.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - In what four ways can we describe an association?
What We're Working on Next - Next up, students will start to learn how to use a calculator to run a linear regression line. We will be diving into how a graphing calculator can be used to help us analyze data and make even better predictions.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Show me how to run a linear regression line and enter data into a graphing calculator.
What We've Been Working On - We have been diligently working on learning how to use our graphing calculators to assist us in running linear regressions and doing statistical analysis of data.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What is a residual plot? What information can be learned from it?
- What is the correlation coefficient and what information does that tell you about your data?
What We're Working on Next - After we wrap our data analysis unit, we head back into exponential relationships. We will delve more deeply into exponential functions.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What does it mean for 18% annual interest to be compounded quarterly? monthly? daily?
- What is curve fitting?
Notes - We continue to have two homework assignments and one assessment each week. The homework assignments are due by the end of the "at home" learning day. Assessments are to be taking on Friday.
What We've Been Working On - Students finished up their science fiction vignettes and completed their science fiction literature circle discussions. It was a very long unit, but students experiences a lot of different types of literature within the sci fi genre and got a chance to write more creatively. Many have expressed a new interest in science fiction!
- We also began researching a topic for our next unit, a study of humanitarians who have made life better for others. Each student has chosen a topic and worked on completing a research packet. Ms. Benezra came to class and taught us about using databases and also gave us some tips to make our research more effective.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Who are you researching? What have you learned about them as a humanitarian?
What We're Working on Next - Students will turn their research into a slide presentation. They will also create a formal Works Cited using MLA format. They will present this research and slide show to their class the week of February 15. This is a quick unit, but it will have four grades attached to it for research, slideshow product, speech/presentation skills, and Works Cited. Students will get time in class as well as on their asynchronous days to work.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Can you show me how you cited your sources for your project?
Notes - Students should be reading at least 20 minutes each night from an independent reading book of their choice. Please help by reminding them of this expectation.
What We've Been Working On - Structure of Earth's interior
- Continental Drift, Seafloor Spreading and Plate Tectonics
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Can you describe the layers of Earth?
- What is the theory of Plate Tectonics?
What We're Working on Next - Forces and Faults in Earth's crust
- Volcanic eruptions and types of volcanoes
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is a fault and why is it there?
- What is a hot spot volcano?
What We've Been Working On - Students learned about thematic maps and how to analyze them to better understand the characteristics of places.
- Students created a map of their neighborhood to better appreciate the important parts of a map and the process of making a projection of their world.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What are the 5 types of thematic maps we used in our mapping lab activity? (Climate, Vegetation, Physical, Population Density, and Economic Activity)
What We're Working on Next - Students will complete the map skills unit and take the Unit Assessment.
- Students will analyze articles, maps, and videos to begin understanding how humans adapt to the physical world they live in.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is one fascinating example of how people have adapted to extreme natural conditions on Earth?
What We've Been Working On - Allen - We finished our Dribble, Pass, Shoot Skills Unit and started our Fitness Circuit/Cardio Kickboxing Unit.
- Mr. DeVoe's classes have been completing cardio kickboxing exercises.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Allen-What skill-related fitness concepts were utilized in the Dribble, Pass, Shoot Unit?
- DeVoe - How is cardio kickboxing a great way to manage stress?
What We're Working on Next - Over the next two weeks both classes will be going outside for our outdoor unit. Information was communicated about the activities taking place outside. Please refer to letter that was sent via email on Feb. 5.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is the importance mentally, socially, and physically of being active all year round?
- What articles of clothing are you going to bring to make sure you stay warm outside?
Notes - Please make sure students are bringing sanitizer to class daily and keeping it in their backpacks. It is important that they sanitize before and after every class when handling equipment. If possible, an extra mask for PE/Health class would be helpful.
What We've Been Working On - We made more progress in our choir songs. In honor of black history month, students listened to and reflected on the sounds of a choir from a traditional HBCU (Historically Black College/University). This was the Tuskegee Institute Choir.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - How does count singing help with singing notes and rhythms?
- What is the difference between a quarter and eighth note triplet?
What We're Working on Next - I will introduce one new choir song for all grades.
- Sight Reading Factory Singing and Rhythm Practice
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - How can you improve your sight reading?
What We've Been Working On - Accidental-flats, sharps naturals and the rules about them in music
- Continued to work on "Funkytown"
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Where is the group from that performed "Funkytown"?
What We're Working on Next - Starting Jazz unit: how to improvise
- Continue working on performance songs
- Review sixteenth note patterns
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What song are you playing in your Jazz unit?
What We've Been Working On - Sixteenth Notes
- High School Audition Scale
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What strategies can you use to practice counting and playing sixteenth note rhythms?
What We're Working on Next - High School Audition Excerpt
- Eighth Note and Sixteenth Note Combinations
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What skill is the hardest for you in the high school audition excerpt and what strategies can you use to improve?
Notes - Students interested in high school orchestra need to register for orchestra. A placement audition will happen on Canvas. We are working on the audition materials in class. Contact Mark Gitch with HS orchestra questions.
What We've Been Working On - Students continue to study and read bass clef piano music.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Play one of your bass clef reading exercises for me on your iPad.
What We're Working on Next - Students will be tested on two bass clef songs of their choosing.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Are you feeling ready for your bass clef piano testing?
What We've Been Working On - In the first two weeks in art class we have:
- learned about how nervous systems impact our ability to be calm and think clearly
- learned new breathing techniques daily in class
- learned about what explorers of the world do
- began our drawing unit, where we are working on observational drawing
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What do you know about nervous systems?
- What do Explorers of the World do? (Ask to see their Explorer's Journals!)
- What are the three rules of giving quality feedback? Can you give quality feedback about dinner?
- Can we draw what we see together? Can you teach me your drawing tricks?!?!
What We're Working on Next - We will continue our Drawing Unit for another week, which will include using YouTube as a tool to learn how to draw and completing a 40 minute drawing. Our following unit we will be studying the use of color, value, lines, and textures to create a non-representational self portrait.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What do different colors represent in different cultures? Why do you think this is important to know?
What We've Been Working On - Intro to Tech Ed
- Project Selection
- Cornell Notes
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What are Cornell Notes and why are they important?
What We're Working on Next - Working on Wood project
- Continued safety tests
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Which project did you choose and why?
Notes - There is a lab fee that is associated with making the Wood project. The fee can be made through EPay (a printed receipt would help me record it). If there is a financial hardship please feel free to send me an email.
What We've Been Working On - Over the last two weeks, we have spent time getting to know one another. We have went over classroom rules and expectations.
- We are entering into our relationship unit where we are discussing good ways to communicate, friendship, peer pressure, and cliques.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What is the difference between being passive, assertive and aggressive in the ways of communication?
What We're Working on Next - We will continue to talk about relationships. We will discuss conflict resolution, "I messages" and create an essay about friendship and the attributes that go with it.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What are some of the most important characteristics of a good friendship?
What We've Been Working On - Reviewing Spanish action and describing words.
- Wrote a paragraph about myself.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What did you write in your paragraph about yourself? What score did you get? (Out of 10)
What We're Working on Next - Introducing family vocabulary: saying how old people are and describing them with new describing phrases
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Tell what relation a person is to you, how old they are, and what they look like.
What We've Been Working On - We have covered the high school registration guide, math sequence, electives and other information in the registration guide.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What honors/accelerated class(es) do you want to take as a 9th grader?
What We're Working on Next - We will continue with high school registration. Next on our list is attempt to create a four year plan.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What classes have you included on your 4 year plan? Can I see it?
Culinary Express Meal Updates for February We are excited to be feeding students onsite again with the transition to more in-person learning. This does mean changes to food meal kit distribution starting the week of February 1. All students will continue to receive meals at no cost. All students can still order weekly meal kits. Please read through the following information carefully so you know what to expect. Culinary Express Meal Updates for February WPS Native American Education Resources We are pleased to announce the launch of Wayzata Public Schools’ Native American Education webpage. Through funds available from the Minnesota Department of Education, we are able to support Indigenous children with educational and cultural resources that we hope you will find meaningful. We invite parents/guardians of Indigenous children to participate in the Wayzata Indigenous Advisory Committee (WIAC), which will guide Wayzata Public Schools in matters pertaining to Native American Education. If you would like more information or if you have questions, please reach out to Sam Fredrickson, principal on special assignment, via email or by calling 763-745-5259. Screenagers: Growing Up In the Digital Age Screenagers: Growing Up In the Digital Age has been screened more than 8,000 times to 4 million people in more than 70 countries around the world. With multiple screenings happening daily in communities across the globe, SCREENAGERS is the first feature documentary to explore the impact of screen technology on kids and offer parents and families proven solutions that work. What started out as a personal story for one has grown into a national movement, helping millions of teens and their families navigate growing up in a world with instant access to screens. Once you have registered, your email address will be shared with the Screenagers organization. You will receive a unique link to view the film. You can view the film two times between February 15 - 27. Registration deadline: February 12 by 7:00 a.m. Learn more and register here! Financial assistance is available for all our classes. Call 763-745-5200 for more information. Friday, February 12, 2021 8:15 AM - 4:15 PM Friday, March 12, 2021 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Friday, March 19, 2021 10:10 AM - 12:10 PM Tuesday, March 23, 2021 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM Friday, April 23, 2021 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Saturday, April 24, 2021 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Monday, February 15, 2021 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Thursday, March 18, 2021 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Monday, February 22, 2021 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Monday, March 1, 2021 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 12000 Ridgemount Avenue, Plymouth, MN 55441 | 763-745-6200 |