8th Grade Parent Newsletter Principal's Message On March 15, 2020, Governor Tim Walz issued Executive Order 20-02 ordering the temporary closure of public schools. Exactly one year later, we are pleased to welcome back all of our in person learners together on March 15, 2021. We will continue to be vigilant in our efforts to ensure our safety. In order to keep our schools open for in person learning, we need continued cooperation from staff, students and parents to maintain safe practices. Thank you for this cooperation. Please continue to read all communications coming from Wayzata Public Schools. Order Your 2020-21 Yearbook Yearbooks preserve the events that happen each school year, and this year is so unique! The Yearbook Club has been working diligently to document and reflect this special year at East Middle School. If you would like to order a yearbook, please visit Jostens. The cost is $35.00. Wayzata Fishing Team The Wayzata Fishing Team is open to boys and girls who reside in the Wayzata School District boundaries and will be in grades 9 -12 during the 2021-2022 school year. Our members participate in recreational and competitive fishing events including tournaments, fundraisers, practices, and seminars. We also give back to our local community and sponsors by volunteering at local events and various service projects. Visit our website for more details. A Zoom information meeting will be held on March 1. If you are a new angler, please contact us contact us and an invitation to the Zoom meeting will be emailed to you. 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 - 8th Grade students just finished a unit on statistical analysis! We saw huge improvements in our ability to graph, analyze, and interpret real life situations and trends!
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Come up with an example of a real life positive association.
What We're Working on Next - Over the next two weeks, 8th grade math students will be exploring exponents! We will work on simplifying exponential expressions as well as exploring scientific notation.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Write 9.74 x 10^-6 in standard form.
What We've Been Working On - We have wrapped our unit on data and statistic and begun our second dive into exponential relationships.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Rate your confidence level on using the graphing calculator.
- Do you know where to find the helpful hints and resources on Canvas?
What We're Working on Next - We will look at more complicated situations that involve exponential relationships and learn about fractional exponents. We will also learn about simplifying radical expressions.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What does an exponent that is a fraction represent?
- How do you use prime factorization to simplify a square root?
What We've Been Working On - Students completed their humanitarian research project and presented their findings to their class.
- Students began the social justice unit and selected the book they would like to read for their upcoming literature circle.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Whom did you research for your humanitarian project? What did you find most interesting about them?
- Which books did you select for your top choices for the social justice literature circle?
What We're Working on Next - Students will continue reading short stories that fit with our social justice unit.
- Students will obtain a copy of their literature circle book choice.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Which short story from this unit resonated most strongly with you?
What We've Been Working On - Plate tectonics, forces, faults, and Earthquakes
- Types of Volcanoes
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Where do most Earthquakes happen? Why?
- How does the type of lava effect the kind of volcano that develops?
What We're Working on Next - Maps and land forms
- Types of weathering
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is a topographical map and what does it show?
- What is the difference between mechanic weathering and chemical weathering?
What We've Been Working On - Students began the Physical Geography Unit by analyzing a case study of Brazil, and specifically life in the Amazon Rainforest.
- Students are using LizardPoint to study the location of major physical features in each region of the world, starting with the U.S. and South America.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What is one interesting way in which people have adapted to life in the Amazon Rainforest?
What We're Working on Next - Students will continue to study the location of physical features around the world, shifting their focus to Africa.
- Students will use readings and video clips to better understand how people adapt to the diverse physical conditions of life in Africa.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is one interesting way in which people in Africa have adapted to the physical conditions in which they live?
What We've Been Working On - All classes have finished up with the outdoor unit. Please make sure to have your son or daughter bring home any and all winter gear or equipment. Remember, students are not allowed to bring sticks or sleds on the bus.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Which way did you find to get exercise in the winter & cold months? Why did you enjoy it so much? How can you do it again?
What We're Working on Next - Over the next week PE/Health classes will finish our Cardio Kickboxing & Fitness Center room unit.
- After that, PE/Health classes will begin our third and final Health unit of the school year.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is something you are looking forward to about cardio kickboxing/fitness room unit?
What We've Been Working On - We worked through our choir songs, as well as sight reading and rhythm reading. A new song was introduced for each grade level with rhythm being the first element taught.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What is your favorite song you are singing in choir?
- What is your least favorite song in choir? Why?
What We're Working on Next - We will continue to label solfege, students will be assigned a new rhythm assessment, and a possible creative project/recording assignment.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Which choir song can you sing best?
- Which choir song are you least confident singing?
What We've Been Working On - Reviewed accidentals, natural, sharp, flats
- Continued to work on "Funkytown"-1st assessment
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned What We're Working on Next - Review Cut Time and Enharmonics
- Wayzata School Song
- Introduce Blues Scale and Lead
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Do you like playing songs with the Blues Scale?
What We've Been Working On - High School Scales
- High School Excerpts
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What is a practice strategy you have found helpful while you've been working on your high school audition materials?
What We're Working on Next Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What skills need to improve before you submit your audition materials?
Notes - High School audition materials are due by March 7, submitted on Canvas. See 9th grade resources page on canvas for information.
What We've Been Working On - Students have been studying and reading bass clef piano music.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Can you play "Jingle Bells" on your iPad piano? I hear you are reading and playing this melody in bass clef.
What We're Working on Next - Our next unit will be exploring and creating music in Garage Band on our iPads.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Show me the app "Garage Band" on your iPad.
Notes - Be sure your iPad is fully charged before we have class!
What We've Been Working On - We finished a drawing unit, focused on observational drawing, building our skillset as drawers, and building stamina by drawing for 40 minutes on one drawing.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What was your favorite drawing you made during the drawing unit? Why?
What We're Working on Next - We are starting a new unit called Non-Representational Self Portrait.
- Students will be creating their own personal color palette that represents their own personal culture.
- Students will be exploring with watercolors and other water soluble media to create a non-representational artwork that represents them.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What did you learn about color and culture?
- What characteristics did you include on your personal color palette? What colors did you create? How do they symbolize your characteristics? What did you name your colors? Why?
- What ideas and media are you experimenting with for your final artwork?
Notes - Please remind your child(ren) to check their Canvas every school day they are at home. There is a maximum 30 minutes of work they are expected to engage in.
What We've Been Working On - Hybrid:
- Working on Wood project
- Continued safety tests
- Graphic Design Basics
- Distance:
- Complete building of robot
- Programming with move block and sensor codes
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Hybrid:
- Explain how you use the miter saw.
- Distance:
- What are the sensors called and what do they do?
What We're Working on Next - Hybrid:
- Continue working on Wood project
- Graphic Design: Final your person Brand/logo
- Distance:
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Hybrid:
- What are you thinking about doing for your Design?
- Distance:
- Describe your plan, in detail on how you are going to complete the course.
Notes - Due: Friday, Feb. 26
- There is a $10 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 the time talking about relationships, friendships, how to communicate effectively, styles of communication, peer pressure, and cliques. We had a guest speaker come from Sojourners that talked with us about communication and giving consent.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Since talking about key components to communicating, have you noticed that you think about the topics we have discussed as you communicate with others?
What We're Working on Next - We are in the midst of wrapping up our relationship unit we will finish with talking about "I" messages, stress, how to deal with stress and some mindfulness and how to use mindfulness. Students will wrap up with this unit next week with the finishing their Friendship Essay and their Relationship Final Assessment.
- We will be moving into our Interior Design Unit. Students will get an overview of the key components of design.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - If you could design your own room what would it look like?
What We've Been Working On - Write about myself and introduce family vocabulary
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - How did your paragraph about yourself go? Did you re-do it to raise your grade?
- Name 5 people in the family and their relationship to you.
What We're Working on Next - Describing what people look like, how old they are, what job they have.
- Starting food and restaurant vocabulary
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Pick a family member. Say what relation the person is to you, describe them (4 features), say/guess how old they are, and say if you know their job.
What We've Been Working On - We completed high school registration.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What class are you most looking forward to next year?
What We're Working on Next - We focused on a chapter from the book College Admissions Application to Acceptance. The Chapter was "The Ninth and Tenth Grades: Before you Begin..."
- We will also look at volunteer opportunities and how to begin logging your hours.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is one thing we or you should do to prepare for college applications in your 9th and 10th grade years?
Update Health and Emergency Contact Information We need your assistance updating your child's health information and emergency contact information in Skyward Family Access. For most of you this will only take a few clicks of the mouse. Your school nurse will receive an alert to the updated information. Thanks in advance for your help. Update Health Information Culinary Express Meal Updates for March Learning models are shifting, which requires Culinary to shift as well. With more students returning to our schools for in-person learning, Culinary resources must be adjusted to equally meet the needs of both our in-person and distance choice students. Starting Friday, March 5th Culinary will transition back to providing two meal services. Students will only have access to the meal service that is provided for their learning model and we will no longer be able to serve meals to the greater community. Meal Updates for March Apply for Federal Meal Benefit Families in our district who qualify for free or reduced-priced meals are now eligible for federal Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT). In addition, if your family income has been affected by the pandemic, or if you are eligible, and have not yet completed an online Application for Educational Benefits (Free or reduced-price meal application) for this school year, please complete and submit your application by Sat., Feb. 28, 2021. Overview of Federal Meal Benefit Minnesota School Board Recognition Week February 22-26 is School Board Recognition Week! A special thank you to our elected district leaders for their service to our school community. As a member of the board they help make decisions that have a tremendous impact on your child's future and the quality of life in our community. School board membership can be one of the most personally demanding forms of public service, especially during a pandemic. They devote a great amount of their time to learning and studying health and education issues and listen to the concerns of families and teachers. A special thank you to our Wayzata Public School board members. Meet the School Board 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, March 12, 2021 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Friday, April 23, 2021 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Saturday, April 24, 2021 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Monday, May 10, 2021 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Tuesday, May 11, 2021 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Thursday, March 18, 2021 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Monday, March 1, 2021 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Monday, March 8, 2021 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM 12000 Ridgemount Avenue, Plymouth, MN 55441 | 763-745-6200 |