I know that it’s been a while since my last post, but things at TAPS are as busy as ever! We are trying to wrap up curriculum and there are only a few more weeks until graduation. There are many projects that have been assigned and are on-going.

Reading - we have been reading a book called “Saving Jasey” and students will be asked to create a virtual comic strip based on a scene from the novel. They will be given plenty of computer lab periods to work on this and it can be accessed from home on the internet. Due date is June 9th, 2010.

Science - all grade 8 students are designing and building Rube Goldberg machines for their final project in Science. A blueprint of the design is due May 31st and the project itself is due the week of June 14th. Students may choose to build their machine at home and video tape it or to bring it in to demonstrate it. The assignment was photocopied on bright orange paper and all students have a copy.

Music - students are working in groups on a “Music Through the Decades” assignment. Each group was given a different decade (20’s to 80’s) to create a Smartboard presentation on. They will be presented in class on May 31st.

Math - we are currently finishing up our Measurement unit and students are designing a cereal container shaped as a cylinder. There are specific requirements for the container that they must follow. They will be designing and creating them from bristol board. More information will be given in today’s math class. The assignment is on pink paper.

Oral Communication - students are in the midst of presenting their Current Event assignment. They are to choose an Editorial piece (since we just finished persuasive writing) in the news and make a brief presentation on it. They are asked to summarize the article in their own words and to share their opinion on the matter. There are 5 students presenting each day.

Track and Field will be held on Friday, May 21st and the year end trip will be held on May 26th and 27th. Information about our itinerary and what to bring was sent home yesterday. As well, information about the graduation dinner was sent home and tickets are due back on Friday, June 4th.

Only 3 weeks left until March break! They will be a busy 3 weeks!

Science Fair will be held on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010. Topics have been chosen and feedback has been given to get students in the right direction. Some class time in Science will be given to work on Science fair in March, but the majority of work should be done at home.

Chocolate bar boxes will be ordered and hopefully available soon. Students are expected to return $90 for each box, which earns them $47 towards their trip. A $50 deposit is asked to be handed in by the end of February to ensure a spot on the trip.

Report writing is due this week. Students will be given a computer lab period on Tuesday to complete their research and the piece will be due on Wednesday. Current Event assignments have mostly been presented, with our last round of presenters due on Monday. Most topics have been related to the Olympics!

Report cards will be distributed before March Break. Any unfinished work is expected to be handed in by Friday. Anything not handed in will result in lower marks on the report card.

It has been a while since my last post, but things have been busy here at TAPS!

In Language, we have been studying Report writing. Students have written 2 reports so far, and will be starting their final piece next week. They are focusing on sticking to the facts and using research in their own words. In Reading, our strategy that we’ve been working on is making inferences. Students have been taught to ‘read between the lines’ and try to figure out what the author is saying.

In Math, we are currently working on a Geometry unit of Transformations. Students are plotting points, making translations (slides), reflections (flips) and rotations (turns). There will be a quiz on Friday. Our next unit revisits solving equations, with a focus on using real-life scenarios.

In Science, we have been working on our Water Systems unit and are almost finished it. Filters were presented and all were quite well done! We have also been spending time discussing and working our Science Fair projects. Science fair will be held on Wednesday, March 10th. Information packages were sent home to be signed, but not everyone has returned them. Be sure to ask your child what their project is about.

Recently, our class decided to do some fundraising for relief efforts in Haiti. We sold hot chocolate during both Nutrition breaks last week. I was very proud of the students, who took charge of everything and did so without my support (I was away sick!). They raised over $500 to be donated to the Red Cross. The government will match our donation, meaning our class helped contribute over $1000 to the devestated country. The students should be proud of their efforts!

Recently, information was sent home regarding our Graduation trip in May. The letter was sent on bright orange paper, so the students wouldn’t lose it. I have filled in exactly how much students have raised, deposited and what they currently owe. We are asking for a $50 deposit by the end of the month. Please call or email if you have any questions at all.

Only four more school days until the Christmas Holidays!

Our Pathways program is wrapping up this week. We’ve been looking into different careers and options for the future based on our interests and skills. Next up, we will look into the most likely path for each student after high school to see if their career choices change. This will help each student think about courses for high school and what options they have. The entire program is web-based and students can log on from anywhere.

Students have been invited to visit Tilbury District High School on January 12th for the day. Permission forms for this went home on Friday.

We are wrapping up our Procedure writing form this week as well. Lego writing activities are due today and we will be completing the ‘on-demand’ piece from the board later this week. Our next writing form is Report writing in January.

In Math, we have finished our measurement unit and will be moving on to Chapter 6 which focuses on Integers.

In Science, we are studying Water Systems and students are required to build a water filter. Lots of information and class time was given to design, and the filter needs to be built for January 7th, 2010. On that day, we will be testing the filters to see if they successfully clean the water!

Green Interview sheet

design challenge signed

Fundraising ticket money

math quiz signed

3 pictures for art due tuesday

Math assignment due tomorrow

Cans for can drive

Math Quiz signed

Math page 173 questions 2,4,6,7

Silly Putty article due tomorrow

Water Package due tomorrow

Art 3 pictures next tuesday

Fundraising Ticket Money

Thank you for reading

P.S: support our school bring in cans for the can drive.

Health Assignment due Thursday

Smartboard presentation due TOMORROW

To be continued at 3:25

It’s hard to believe first term is winding down! Congratulations, students - you are 1/3 of the way through the year!

Monday will see the beginning of many new units. In Reading, we will be focusing on the strategy of asking questions while we read. We will study the different types of questions and how to properly respond to them. Using the Nelson texts, we will be reading about Technology and its impact on our world. In Writing, we will be wrapping up Narrative and begin studying Procedural writing. Students will be tracking their various pieces of writing and we will be spending lots of time developing their writing and how to improve on it.

In math, we are nearing the end of Chapter 4, which focuses on Patterning and Algebra. We will have a quiz on Wednesday and will then begin Chapter 5, which focuses on Measurement. In particular, we will be studying the measurement of circles, including circumference and area. Students will finally understand my “pumpkin pi” joke from Hallowe’en!

Drama presentations of oustanding Canadians are scheduled for Monday. Students are encouraged to dress in costume and to bring in props. This will improve their marks. Their 1-2 minute monologue will also count for writing marks and oral communication marks.

In science, we have started our next unit on Water Systems. Sub-topics include the water cycle, water treatment, and current issues with water. A design challenge will be sent home in December.

Magazine subscriptions were a success! Many students sold magazines and earned money towards their year-end trip. I will inform students exactly how much they made towards their trip. We are asking for a down-payment of $25 by the end of November for those students who didn’t fundraise.

On Friday, November 20th, John McGregor Secondary School will be presenting a dramatic production in the gym for grades 5-8. Current issues about teens, bullying and peer pressure will be discussed. The plays are always fantastic to watch, with dancing, music and jokes throughout!

Fundraising for our school began in November. Students were sent home with books of pink tickets to sell for an incentive draw. Money raised will go towards purchasing Smartboards for the 5 classes in our school that don’t have them. If you are not interested in selling the tickets, please bring them back in, along with a signed note.

Here we are, in our 3rd month of Grade 8! It’s hard to believe that we’re already nearing the end of Term 1.

On Friday, we will be saying goodbye to our student teacher, Miss Dupuis. She has spent the last few weeks learning with the class and teaching them many wonderful lessons and ideas. We will definitely miss her help and smile when she leaves.

Today, in Science, we began our Cell Model presentations. We saw some very interesting and creative designs for our cells! Thank you to all those who presented their models today. Unfortunately, there were a large number of students who did not come prepared with their models. They are asked to bring their models in by Tuesday, in order to receive time in class to present. I will be contacting parents this week, if students have not handed in their models.

In math, we have started our Patterning and Algebra unit. Students are required to form an algebraic expression based on pictures and information in a T-chart. A final quiz for our Graphing unit was returned to students today and should be signed and returned as soon as possible.

In Drama, students are working on a research-based assignment on an Outstanding Canadian. Students are required to deliver a 1-2 minute monologue as if they are that Canadian. Costumes and props are encouraged.

In Language, students are working on their final narrative pieces: A Haunted Narrative. This narrative is written independently and is due on Friday, November 6th.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all.
519-682-2260 - School #
whitekr@lkdsb.net

I can’t believe how fast this month has gone by! Students have been working very hard and I’m sure they’re looking forward to a short week this week, due to the PA Day on Friday.

We have welcomed Miss Dupuis, our student teacher, into our classroom. Miss Dupuis is a student of the University of Windsor and will be with us until the first week of November. She has already started teaching us Art and Language Arts. Over the next few weeks, she will try her hand at Math and Science as well!

Our narrative writing focus has taken off! Students are writing some very creative stories involving a blue bag - ask them about theirs! This week, we will be doing an on-demand task to see how their writing has already improved. Their final task will be assigned in the coming weeks and will tie in nicely to Hallowe’en!  Our focus in Reading has been ‘Making Connections’ and students are working through the Global Citizens unit. Ask them what a global citizen is and how they are a Global Citizen! We will be working through a Novel study in the next few weeks. More information will follow this week.

In Science, we are continuing our study of Cells. Most students have handed in their designs for the 3-D Cell model. The models are due on November 2nd and presentations will occur at that time.

In math, we are working on graphing some data from our Census at School results. There are some very interesting questions being looked at! Students will be expanding their graphs onto large graph paper in order for us to talk about Communicating about Graphs.

Just a reminder that Picture Day is on Wednesday for our class.