Flower Power Fundraiser ENDS 3/31!
It's not too late....we are almost at our goal!
Please consider purchasing your garden's flowers and veggies while helping our 7th and 8th graders defray the cost of the end-of-the-year field trip and field day.
This is an online fundraiser only. Please click on this link and start shopping:
https://maiellojoneswbridgewater.fpfundraising.com/
All purchases will be sent directly to your HOME shortly after the close of the fundraiser on 3/31.
Please share the link below with family and friends. Please post to Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Let's keep "growing" the 7th and 8th-grade treasury to help defray the cost of the end of the year fun.
Thank you so much for your support!
Reading 7-
Reading- Over the next few weeks we will be looking at the life of Amelia Earhart. Students will learn new vocabulary words as well as analyzing a biography of her major life events. We will look at a Scope play as well. Please remind students if they are absent to get caught up as soon as possible. Continue to check Aspen and Classroom. We are getting close to April vacation. YEAH!!
English 7 and 8-
English 7 - Our research papers and presentations are done! The kids worked very hard on this project! All the grades will be in Aspen soon and you can check out their papers on turnitin.com.
We will be starting a short poetry unit and then an “oldy but goody”, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. So, it will be time to travel down the Mississippi River and see what kind of trouble Tom can find.
Keep checking Google Classroom for upcoming homework and important dates. Also, the Tom Sawyer packet, novel, and audiobook will be posted to Google Classroom so everything is at the kids’ fingertips! :)
The students will be taking the ELA MCAS on April 11 and 12.
English 8 - Our research papers are underway. The topics the kids choose are unique as they are. I can’t wait to read them and see their presentations soon.
After the presentations are concluded, we will be starting our last novel of the year, Refugee by Alan Gratz. This story is extremely relevant to what is going on in the world today. I hope it is very thought-provoking and leads us to some dynamic class discussions.
Keep checking Google Classroom for upcoming homework and important dates. Everything the kids need for the upcoming novel will also be posted on Google Classroom.
The students will be taking the ELA MCAS on April 11 and 12.
Science 7 and 8-
Grade 7 Science: In 7th grade, we will be enjoying an interesting time looking at ecosystems and different organisms. We will be working on our Biomes google slides to project, Symbiosis Projects, and Predator-Prey games, and sharing them with our classmates. We still need to finish up a discussion about renewable and nonrenewable resources and how these types of energy impact the environments that we will be taking a closer look at. I hope that we will be able to complete the beginning of this Life Science Unit by April Vacation - so please be on the lookout for those assignments and dates! At this time, students should also be following up on Aspen with their Exam # 2 and Notebook Exam # 2 scores and reflecting on how they can improve for the 3rd Exam. Make sure everything is up to date!Please stay active in checking BOTH Aspen and Google Classroom for assignments, grades, and any further updates.
Grade 8 Science: We are moving through our unit on genetics and finding all of this information pretty interesting. We are more recently beginning to look at DNA mutations and will build on this information in order to study adaptations, natural selection, and evolution. We will begin to look at the work of Charles Darwin and his Galapagos Island finches and tortoises and move on to understanding how adaptations can change an entire population. Once we finish learning about evolutionary science, we will be able to review and take our second unit test.
I am hoping to get through as much of the life science curriculum as possible before the students take 8th grade Science MCAS. They are really doing a great job and pushing through in order to get as much content as possible before this exam. Please stay active in checking BOTH Aspen.
SS 7 and Civics 8-
7th Grade Social Studies- Happy March Madness! For March we are ending our unit on Ancient Greece and moving into Ancient Rome. For Ancient Greece, we looked at Athens vs. Sparta, we had presentations and more! For the month of April, students will be exploring ancient Rome’s geography, culture, government, religions and more. Students will learn about how Rome went from a republic to an empire and how Rome compares to the US. It is an exciting time in social studies class. Make sure you are staying up to date with assignments by logging onto Aspen and Google Classroom regularly. It has all the information you need to be successful! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to your teacher, Mr. Despier or Ms. Martin by emailing them!
8th Grade Civics- Happy March Madness! Students are currently learning about the rights and responsibilities of United States citizens. We watched an old debate to analyze the media in politics and what politicians fight for. We are also still watching CNN 10 each day. We find that this tool gives students a great view of what is going on in the world! On top of all of the great topics we are learning about, we are continuing to work on our 8th Grade Massachusetts Mandated Civics project. Students drafted letters/emails to government officials after they did extensive research on their topics. We also set up the bones for our slideshows. Each student is required to complete a slideshow showing their stages of the project and evidence that they are progressing through the motions of the assignment. It is such an exciting time in class! We are offering “CIVIC WEDNESDAYS” as after school extra help sessions. We encourage all to attend “Civic Wednesdays”, both Mr. Despair and Ms. Martin wants to help you be successful! Make sure you are staying up to date with assignments by logging onto Aspen and Google Classroom regularly. It has all the information you need to be successful! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to your teacher, Mr. Despier or Ms. Martin by emailing them!
Foreign Language-
8th Grade Spanish: We are wrapping up our unit learning how to describe our family members, both physically and personally, as well as describing what they do. We created our own Guess Who game, describing the attributes of famous individuals and played our own Spanish version of Guess Who in class. We will be presenting next week to show off our speaking skills to describe several members of our families. Be sure to reach out to Señora Oliveira with any questions or concerns.
8th Grade French:
French students are developing their communicative language skills through the study of francophone music and artists this month. La Manie Musicale de mars (March Music Madness) is a yearly competition of songs modeled after the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament in the U.S. During the last week of February, students were introduced to this year’s sixteen competing songs, and they filled out brackets to try to predict which of the songs will win the “championship.”
Guidance-
8th graders are beginning to receive their acceptance to other high schools. Please let guidance know as soon as a decision has been made regarding next year.
MCAS exams will be starting in April. Every student should keep the following two things in mind while completing the tests;
DO NOT STRESS. While MCAS are important, they should not cause any unnecessary stress. Breath deep and do the best you can!
Answer EVERY question. They should never leave a question blank on the test. They have from 8 am until 2:05 pm to complete the test and should use as much of that time as possible.
~Ms. Wilder
Important Dates-
March 28 - PJ day
March 29 - Tropical Tuesday
March 30th - Anything but a backpack
March 31- Powerblock T-shirt day
April 1st - 8th graders wear green
7th graders wear purple.
April 1st - 3rd term ends
April 4th - 4th term begins
April 8th - 3rd term report cards posted to ASPEN
April 11th and 12th- ELA MCAS
April 15th - No school - Good Friday and the Start of April Vacation
April 25th - School resumes
May 6th - Middle School Semi Formal dance. 7pm-9pm. The theme this year is “Hollywood”. Tickets will be sold in powerblock following April vacation. The cost is $10 in advance, $15 at the door.
May 2nd and 3rd- Math MCAS
May 10th- Science MCAS - 8th ONLY
***Save the date***
Friday, June 3rd, the return of Midnight Madness. More details to follow.
