Happy Easter...
What a great and busy spring it has been in and around Room 8! First and foremost, our 8th graders confirmed their relationship with God and the church on April 13. Archbishop Allen Vigneron and Father Bob McCabe presided over the Confermation ceremony.
Our St. Pius baseball and softball teams are populated with many of our 8th grade students. Go Pirates!
Our first middle school field trip of the season took place on April 7, at Zap Zone in Taylor. Our class had a great time playing Laser Tag, Balladium, Slime Bucket, Jump Zone, and Mini-Golf. I highly recommend the pizza if you ever get back to the Taylor Zap Zone.
Grandparents' Day took place on March 10. We played "Grandparent/Grandchild Jeopardy" in Room 8. Categories included pop culture questions from the 1960s, 1970s, 2000s, along with a "Cars" category. The goal was to have something for everyone. When the dust settled, Lauren Mann and her grandfather put up quite an impressive performance. He could even spot a Ford Pinto!!
March was reading month. We created posters commemorating some of the books we have read this school year: Romeo and Juliet and To Kill a Mockingbird. We also created a poster to keep track of the amount of minutes each day students spend reading. We teamed with Mrs. Wiggins' class and read with our first grade "buddies."
Because of all the hard work our 8th grade class has done in and around St. Pius this year, the Detroit Tigers have graciously given our class tickets to the Detroit Tigers game on Thursday, April 28. We will have parents drive our students to and from the game. We will be participating in the Tigers' Career Day activities before the game, so we will be leaving school at 9:30am (after Mass) and returning at the conclution of the game (we will probably leave Comerica Park around 4pm). Let Mr. Baker know if you are able to drive. Thanks!
Be on the lookout for more information on May Crowning (the Morning of Tuesday, May 10), Torch and Ribbon Ceremony (Thursday, May 19, after Mass--about 9:15am), 8th Grade Graduation (Tuesday May 24, at 7pm), 8th Grade Dinner Dance (Friday, May 27).
On to the Academics...
8th Grade Vocabulary: We are currently studying Unit 11. Words include: appease, belated, calamitous, cite, conventional, decoy, delve, ensue, gallantry, impart, judicious, mediate, milieu, outlandish, overbearing, pert, quirk, regale, shiftless and taint.
8th Grade Math: Mr. Baker's algebra class is currently studying Polynomials after completing quite a successful unit on systems of equations, where our test scores were the best we have had all school year. Great job, kids!
8th Grade English: We are finishing up a unit on public speaking. This week, students will be giving speeches on topics ranging from this school year to NBA All-Stars. We have watched public speaking videos, learned the ways to successfully execute a speech (remember content and delivery!) and done hours of research on our topics. We are all looking forward to the finished products.
8th Grade Literature: We are finishing up our mystery unit. We read and watched Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed "Speckled Band" story. We have also read at least 8-10 short mysteries, and studied the various elements of making a great mystery that will pull the reader in and keep them turning the pages.
7th Grade Math: We are finishing up a unit on proportions. A highlight of the unit was our trip out to the playground. We paired up, measured ourselves, measured our shadows, and measured a shadow of a tall object. We then took that information and found the height of that object.
7th Grade English: We just finished a unit on verbals, such as gerunds, infinitives, and participles. These are words that look like verbs but actually act as nouns, adverbs, and adjectives. For example, "Running makes me feel great." 'Running' is a gerund. "To know me is to love me." In this sentence, "To know" and "to love" are both infinitives. Infinitives can be spotted because they are verbs with "to" in front of them. Participles are phrases usually blocked in with commas, and modify a word around it. For example: "The dog, praised by its master, was happy. With 'praised by its master' being a participle.
7th Grade Literature: We FINALLY finished The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. After 42 chapters and almost 400 pages, the students did a great job on the test. Many students really enjoyed Huck, Tom, Jim, the Duke and the King's adventures down the Mississippi.
