March Madness!

Upcoming Events:

*Book Fair March 19 until March 23 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

*Wednesday March 21: Family Night between 4:30-7:00 Book Fair and Classroom visit

*Friday March 23: Costco Pizza fundraiser for lunch

*Superheroes project Benchmark 2 due Tuesday March 20 Benchmark 3 due Friday March 23

Our Math test took a little longer to attempt due to teacher error! We took the test last Tuesday and the kids had a great time traveling to different coordinates around the school to find their test questions. We started our new unit on Polynomials. Students will learn new meanings for FOIL and xBox as they discover how to simplify and later factor algebraic equations with many(poly) terms.

We are continuing to work on our integrated Superheroes project. All parents were asked to read over the Superhero in the Making Project outline and sign it. Please make sure you have read over it and support your student with ideas, research and meeting their deadlines. I am still missing a couple of signatures. I am happy to say all groups turned in the 1st Benchmark for the Physics portion of the project on the due date!! This week students are working on an outline(Benchmark 2) and the first draft (Benchmark 3) of the physics concept for the superpower they chose. This research will help them to gain knowledge and understand their superpower, in order to create a memorable superhero. Some students will be using their knowledge to help me teach minilabs about their chosen physics concept.

In other news, today is the first week of our new explorations class sessions for Hip Hop and Photography. Last week, our 1st grade buddies got the opportunity to join in our coordinate plane fun by working with the 8th graders in an outside activity similar to our math test. Students used our coordinate plan map to determine a design that was made using points they had to find around school and putting them on a graph. Cooking Club was yummy with berry smoothies and banana chocolate peanut butter shakes.

Spring has Sprung!

Upcoming Events:

Students (and Parents):Please bring to class any pictures or video taken on our field trips or in class

*Wednesday March 7: Kickoff Superheroes Project

*Thursday March 8: Math test(see below)

*Friday March 9: Costco Pizza fundraiser for lunch

*Friday March 9: "My Lucky Charm" Family dance at Marshall Middle School (tickets are still on sale!)

This month flew by! If you haven't noticed, we have stepped up our work schedule with the students in preparation for their high school experience. Some of you have received emails or phone calls to meet with us to ensure your student is staying on the right track. As agreed upon by eighth grade students and teachers in our classroom agreements, work not completed in class needs to be completed at home.

In math, all skills levels have been working on graphing linear equations, the concepts of coordinates, slope and y-intercepts, as well as understanding and applying the slope-intercept form: y=mx + b. We played human twister as a way of introducing graphing points on the coordinate plane using the four quadrants. We investigated rise over run (slope) be determining whether our handicap ramp in the front of the school is legal. Students enjoyed traveling the length of the ramp in a wheelchair and taking actual measurements to determine the slope of the ramp. As it turns out, our ramp IS legal according to the ADA accessibility guidelines that we looked up on the internet.

Our Math test this Thursday will take place around campus as a treasure hunt. We are taking measurements to make a scale 2D model of our school with our 1st grade buddies on Wednesday. This scale model will be put on a coordinate plane. Students will have to travel to different coordinates around the school to find their test questions. Their answer to each question will determine where they have to go to get their next question. I can't wait! This should be fun!

We are continuing to work on our IA beginnings documentary as well as starting our month long integrated Superheroes project. Students will be learning physics concepts by creating superheroes with "super powers" that relate to the laws of physics. They will develop a fictional character, design its costume and write a story that will be turned into a comic book.

In other news, today is the last week of our explorations class sessions for PE and Stop Motion animation. Next Monday we will have an exhibition during explorations time to showcase the work that has been done. Our crews continue to happen every Friday with the Kindergarteners. We spend crews time gardening and beautifying our campus. My cooking club includes 6th through 8th graders and will continue until spring break. So far we have made Creative Quesadillas, Smoothies, Waffles and Tiny Tacos. This Friday we will make Bison Bacon Cheese Sliders.

Have a great week!