March 10, 2022
Greetings TMSA 8th Grade Parents and Guardians:
We would like to begin by thanking you (our amazing parents and guardians) and all our 8th-grade students for your support, it is greatly appreciated. We look forward to working with you to finish this school year and provide the best educational experience possible for our students. We will use the newsletter to provide you with an update on what is going on in the classroom and what will be coming up in the future.
Social Studies – Mr. Lotfy
Students currently completing their unit - Georgia in the American Revolution (SS8H5 Analyze the impact of the Civil War on Georgia). Students will take their exam next week on March 17th or March 18th depending on what day I have them for class. If students can spend 20-30 minutes a night break going over their study guide, as well as paying attention in class, they will be successful on the exam. Once the students complete their exam, we will begin our unit on Reconstruction in Georgia (SS8H6 Analyze the impact of Reconstruction on Georgia). The students will be receiving their unit and vocabulary study guides the week that we begin the unit. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. I hope everybody has a safe and wonderful finish to the end of the school year.
Math – Mr. Bailey
Currently, students are working on exponents in Geometry, i.e., calculating volume of cylinders, cones, and spheres; and calculating distance with Pythagorean Theorem. In Algebra 1, students are currently working on exponential functions with a focus on exponential growth and decay, and compound interest. The next 8th-grade math test will be during the 4th week of March, and the next Algebra test will be on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th.
Science – Ms. Stepp
This quarter in the 8th-grade science, students have been exposed to the chemistry portion of our class. Students are learning about atoms and matter, relating to how our world behaves on a molecular level. Upcoming topics include the Periodic Table of Elements and Chemical Reactions. Students will continue to be engaged in frequent hands-on experiences and labs to help them further understand the learned concepts. At home, students can continue to identify how the world’s chemistry relates to their daily lives!
Students learn about the Law of Conservation of Mass by taking the mass before and after the reaction of Alka-Seltzer tablet inside water.
Students use Chemplates to test the chemical and physical properties of household powders such as flour, sugars, cornstarch, etc.
Students made electrical circuits in January!
ELA: Mr. Burnam:
The Write Score Spring Assessment was a huge success! TMSA's 8th-grade students improved dramatically from the Winter Write Score Assessment. Mrs. Buckley, TMSA’s Literacy Coach, made it official by coming by and congratulating the 8th-grade scholars on their progress and achievement. Fourteen of our 8th-grade students earned an “Advanced” score!
Cycle 4/6 Assessment was completed on March 9, 2022. 93/105 students completed the assessment. Of all the students tested, 76% showed mastery, with 30% of students earning “Advanced”, and 15% of students earning “Superior”! Way to go 8th grade ELA scholars.
We are in the home stretch of our RELA instructional cycles. Cycle 5 will run from Monday, March 14 through Friday, April 1. This cycle will cover power standards RL 7 and RL 9. Additional topics we will cover are subject complements, capitalization, commas and semicolons, comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs, dashes and ellipses, and argumentative writing.
Please continue to encourage students to come to class prepared, focused, and ready to learn and reach their full potential.
The 8th Grade Speaker Series kicked off with two dynamic speakers during the Career/College Week. University of Georgia (UGA) alumnus Kenya Jordan spoke to 8th-grade students about self-esteem, bullying, and staying true to their goals and dreams. Kenya is a hugely successful graphic designer, make-up artist, and entrepreneur. The students also had the privilege of meeting and talking with Captain Justin Johnson, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, who is also a real estate mogul and entrepreneur. Captain Johnson’s message focused on the importance of being ready, willing, and available to get the job done during these challenging times. The next wave of speakers will include a young, female Google executive and motivational speaker (GA Tech Grad), and a professional basketball player (University of Maryland Grad), who has played in two Olympics representing his native Nigeria.
iReady or IXL:
It would be greatly beneficial to the 8th-grade students if they can take some time to complete their iReady or IXL lessons. Students should dedicate a minimum of 30 minutes a day to completing their reading lessons and alternate the next day to math lessons. This will greatly enhance their academic progress. Thank you as always for your support.