Team Cheetah News
Shyla Urban, Team Leader and Science Teacher
Shannon Blair, Language Arts Teacher
Katie Kruse, Social Studies Teacher
Rick DeMell, Math Teacher
Kristin Ackerman, Intervention Specialist
Andrea Novess, Intervention Specialist
Endre Szentkiralyi, Foreign Language Teacher
Science – Mrs. Urban
We are in the middle of our Physical Science Unit, learning about the different kinds of waves. We are also discussing how waves transfer energy from one place to another with an emphasis on sound and light waves. Potential and kinetic energy also play a large part in the Physical Science Unit. We are learning the difference between potential and kinetic energy and how to tell when kinetic energy is at its greatest. In late November, We will be beginning our Astronomy Unit late in November. We will be learning about galaxies, constellations, seasons, eclipses and much more in Astronomy.
Social Studies – Miss Kruse
We will be working on the American Revolution in Social Studies. We will be interrupting this unit to spend a full week to preview information & topics about the Presidential Election. We will be learning about the electoral college, political parties, candidates, and the many issues. Students will get the opportunity to vote in our mock election (Oct. 30th) prior to the actual election (Nov 4th). Throughout the unit on the American Revolution we will be identifying and explaining the sources of conflict which lead to the American Revolution. We will examine perspectives of the Patriots, Loyalists, Neutral and British concerning English taxes, challenges by colonists, the Revolution and the significant military struggles, the creation of state constitutions, and the impact to women, African-Americans, and American Indians. We will complete a project in the middle of the unit. Students will be responsible for creating a real trip to visit the most important battle sites of the war, as they remain today.
German - Mr. Szentkiralyi
Eighth-grade Cheetah students are currently learning German, and soon they will move on to their next language, Spanish (followed by French in the spring). Students have already memorized 39 European countries, 51 Asian countries, and are well on their way toward learning all of the African and North American countries, eventually learning 167, all in German. They also listen to spoken German on a regular basis. In addition, they listen to German opera, rap, and punk music, and speak rather well. When your child signs up for high school classes in January, he or she should weigh the 8th grade foreign language experience and consider taking German or another foreign language in high school.
Language Arts - Ms. Blair
Language Arts students will be studying poems and short stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Langston Hughes. Figurative language will be an emphasis in these works and students will learn to incorporate vocabulary, as well as, add grammatical structures into their own writing, such as, appositives and participles. Be sure to ask your student what crusty mustard sentences are because we will be trying to eliminate them from our writing. Please have your student purchase a copy of Miracle's Boys which is available in the Opportunity Room. We will begin reading the novel before Thanksgiving and conclude before winter break in December.
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