8th Grade Parent Newsletter Principal's Message As we head into Spring Break, we are hopeful that we will continue to move towards a more familiar school experience. We want to thank our students, families and staff for their commitment and work to minimize the spread of COVID in our school and community. During the month of April, we will be proctoring the MCA tests. More details will be shared by Mr. Rice in the coming days. Please watch for those communications. Thank you for your continued support of East Middle School. We wish you a restful Spring Break! 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. 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 math students have been practicing their skills around square roots, perfect squares, and the Pythagorean theorem. They have been expanding their understanding of the Pythagorean theorem by finding the distance between two points and using the Pythagorean theorem to solve real world problems.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - A right triangle has a leg that is 4 cm long and another leg that is 8 cm long. How long is the hypotenuse?
What We're Working on Next - 8th grade math students will be solving systems of equations and solving and graphing linear inequalities.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Solve and graph the inequality: x + 9 < 6x - 1
What We've Been Working On - We have been working hard on learning about quadratic relationships and how to solve them. We have learned about factoring polynomials, using the Zero Product Property and completing the square. This is one of our most challenging units of the year!
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - When can you use the zero product property?
- What is vertex form?
What We're Working on Next - We will wrap up this unit by learning the quadratic formula. This will be our third strategy for solving a quadratic.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Sing the quadratic formula for me.
- What is your favorite strategy for solving a quadratic? Why?
What We've Been Working On - We have been reading our small group novels which are focused on issues of justice. Students are annotating as they read and having small group discussions about the books. They began working on their end-of-unit projects which are ABC Books focused on topics presented in their novels. These are group projects but students will only be graded on their individual portions.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What is your social justice novel about? What are you learning?
- How can you relate what is happening in the book to your own life or the world around you?
What We're Working on Next - We will be finishing our novels and holding our final discussions before spring break.
- When we return, we will begin our study of poetry which will include reading a novel written in verse.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What letters do you have for the group novel project?
- Can you show me what you have done so far?
Notes - Students need to be reading at least 20 minutes every night outside of school. Please check in with your child to see what they are reading and if they need help accessing new books!
What We've Been Working On - Weathering, erosion, and deposition.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What are the types of mechanical weathering?
- What are the types of chemical weathering?
What We're Working on Next - Geologic time scale
- Fossils and fossil fuels
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is a fossil?
- What are the three types of fossil fuels?
- How is the geologic time scale divided up?
Notes - The students will be taking the Geology District Common Assessment on Tuesday, March 30. They have access to several review games and Quizlet decks.
What We've Been Working On - Students analyzed the major push and pull factors that encourage refugees to leave their homelands in search of a better life in places like the U.S. and Europe.
- Students used something called the Human Development Index (HDI) to better understand why specific countries are ideal destinations for immigrants seeking a better life and safety for their families.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What are the three main categories of HDI? (Health, Wealth, and Education)
What We're Working on Next - Students will randomly select a country and complete research on that country's culture and HDI data.
- Students will give a class presentation of their country project research.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What are three interesting things you learned about your project country?
What We've Been Working On - Classes wrapped up their last grouping of Health Lessons. They learned about assertiveness, conflict resolution, refusal and many more health skills.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - How can you verbally and nonverbally show assertiveness?
- What is the difference between being assertive, aggressive, and passive?
What We're Working on Next - Classes will finish the quarter with Fitness and Games mini-unit.
- We look forward to being outside after Spring Break!
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Which fitness components are your strengths?
- Which components are you working to improve?
What We've Been Working On - Expectations about the space that we are singing in; we are on the stage and not in the choir room.
- Reviewed posture, breathing, solfege scale, solfege handsigns, sight reading, choir songs
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Can you show me the major scale in solfege, both singing and with handsigns?
What We're Working on Next - Review everything we did this week
- Introduce new songs and work through notes and rhythms in our previous songs
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is the name of the new song you received this week?
What We've Been Working On - Worked on "Funkytown" and accidentals
- Concert F Major
- Playing in cut time
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What is the hardest section of "Funkytown" and why?
What We're Working on Next - Starting on small jazz unit to introduce improvisation
- Working on playing together in ensembles with balance
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - How do you feel about improvisation?
What We've Been Working On - Eighth and Sixteenth Note Combination Rhythms
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - What is the most challenging part for you about playing or counting eighth note and sixteenth note combination rhythms?
What We're Working on Next - Eighth note and sixteenth note rhythms continued
- Dotted eighth sixteenth note rhythms
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is your favorite strategy to use while interpreting sixteenth note rhythms?
- What helps you interpret the rhythm?
Notes - All late work from quarter 3 is due by 11:59pm on March 31.
What We've Been Working On - Students have been exploring and creating drum beat music using "Garage Band" on their iPads.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Play for me the drum set beat you created.
What We're Working on Next - Students will explore and create music in Garage Band's music beat sequencer.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - Show me your iPad and Garage Band's beat sequencer.
Notes - Students should remember to bring their iPad to school fully charged.
What We've Been Working On - Completed Non Representational Self Portraits (they should be coming home late this week or early next week!)
- Started and completed making clay sculptures of our Alter Egos!
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - When their self portrait comes home, ask, "What represents you in this artwork?"
- Regarding their clay... "What characteristics does your alter ego have? How did you represent these characteristics in your clay sculpture?"
What We're Working on Next - Completing a Visual Analysis Assessment
- Painting or glazing clay
- Enjoying Spring Break!
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What is a visual analysis? Let's visually analysis an artwork in our home!
- Steps:
- 1. Noticing: What do you notice?
- 2. Making Connections: What does this artwork remind you of?
- 3. Feelings: How does this artwork make you feel?
- 4. Questions: What questions does this artwork raise?
- 5. Speculate: I think the artist's message was...
What We've Been Working On - In person:
- Dry Fitting
- Assembly: Gluing/Nailing Finishing
- Distance:
- Finish Robotics
- Woodworking
- Graphic Design
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - How do you feel about the last unit you completed?
What We're Working on Next - In Person:
- Finish first wood project and start 2nd
- Distance:
- Complete Graphic Design Unit
- Work on wood project
- Work on safety notes and quizzes
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What are you thinking about doing for your second project and why?
Notes - Please check your email for important Skyward Grade information.
- 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. Payment was due Friday, February 26.
What We've Been Working On - Over the past two weeks we have been working on sewing our own masks! It has been going great and I am very impressed with the skills that the students have. They have practiced threading a needle, tying a knot, running stitch, back stitch, pinning and pleating! All of the videos to help are posted on Canvas.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - Please ask to see your student's mask.
What We're Working on Next - Over the next two weeks we will finish up with the masks and move into our advanced foods unit.
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What do you like to do more, cook or bake?
What We've Been Working On - Practice for and Speaking Assessment about ordering in a restaurant
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About What We've Learned - How did you do on the Speaking Assessment?
What We're Working on Next - Information about critiquing restaurants and Reading Assessment
Question(s) to Ask Your Student About Upcoming Material - What new phrases do you know to read a restaurant critique?
Notes - Please have your child let Ms. Rudolph know if they will be gone early before spring break!
COVID-19 Variant Testing Due to the rise in COVID-19 variant cases in the state, The Minnesota Department of Health encourages the following: - Weekly testing for student athletes in addition to testing three days before any competition
- Every two week testing for students who are not athletes
- Teachers and staff should continue to be tested, even if they are vaccinated, in order to identify those who may be asymptomatic carries.
Wayzata families can either visit a community testing site or use a free at-home testing kit and drop off at a UPS site. Spring Break We feel it is important to share the state and national travel recommendations to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep our schools open. While the district cannot and will not require a quarantine upon returning for anyone who travels, the Minnesota Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations provide good safety information for all to consider. Spring Break Safety 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 Wayzata Middle School Clay Target Team Are you looking for an exciting spring sport? Try clay target shooting! The Wayzata Middle School Clay Target program is a partnership with Wayzata Schools Community Ed, the Plymouth Gun Club, and the Buffalo Gun Club. Students shoot trap one or two days per week, Tuesdays and Fridays, from April 13-May 21. Experienced coaches work closely with each student-athlete to ensure proper technique, safety, and skill-building. Students are encouraged to join the high school clay target team when they reach 9th grade. Each student must bring their own firearm. The coach can assist families in choosing the right gun for their students. DNR Firearm Safety Certification is required prior to the first practice on April 13. Visit the MN DNR Website under Education and Safety for a listing of firearm safety classes. Contact Coach Randal Baker at 612-308-6596 or email bakerskeetandtrap@gmail.com for more information. Join us for Fencing Team! New and returning 6th-12th grade students invited and all equipment is provided. Find out more information on our registration site. Last chance to register! Community Ed is partnering with My7on7 to offer co-ed touch football this spring, you can find more information here.
We have a big summer of youth camps planned! Join us at Oakwood Elementary School where your child can learn, grow, and play with friends all summer long. Youth camps include everything from science, engineering, arts and crafts, dance, theater, and more. With a wide variety of camps to choose from, there is something to spark your interest! Registration is now open. Register now! Financial assistance is available or call 763-745-5200 for more information. Monday, May 10, 2021 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Tuesday, May 11, 2021 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Thursday, May 13, 2021 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Monday, April 12, 2021 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Monday, April 26, 2021 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM 12000 Ridgemount Avenue, Plymouth, MN 55441 | 763-745-6200 |