Conferences

Thank you to all the families who met with us over the past two weeks. Our conference window was very busy and productive. Your involvement is helpful and very much appreciated!

Yankee Candle Fundraiser

The parents who are running this fundraiser have extended the due date to Monday, November 4th. Please send in all envelopes, order forms, and checks for the new deadline.

Yankee Candle fundraiser for the 8th grade class field trip

Today, students received a Yankee Candle fundraiser packet to benefit the 8th grade field trip fund. There will be a sales "check in" on October 23. The complete packets (with money) are due October 31st.

At this time, we are not sure where we will be heading for our class field trip in June. In previous years, we have taken day trips to Montreal. Much depends on school board approval and funds available.

Thank you to our two parent volunteers who are running this fundraiser, Heather Deslauriers and Kim Lawrence!

Field trip tomorrow!

Field Trip
On Tuesday, October 8th, we will visit the Flynn Theater to hear Congressman John Lewis speak about his book, March. Students should bring a bag lunch, unless they ordered one from the cafeteria. Please remember that all food needs to be nut-free!

50 States Quiz in Powerschool

Please check your child's Powerschool scores. Any student who scored a 1 or a 2 (below 40/50) on the 50 States Geography quiz needs to retake it during an enrichment period or before school. Understanding the names and locations of the states will help students with our study of U.S. History this year.
Thank you,
Ms. Lanfear

*If you are having trouble with your Powerschool account, please call Lorna. (527-7191) She will connect you to SATEC IT to troubleshoot the login.

SBAC Results Sent Home

SBAC results were sent out in the mail today. Having reviewed all student data for ELA and Math, we can say that we are very impressed by the overall growth in the Learning Community! The students worked hard on these tests last spring, and their work paid off. As a group, they made significant gains across the board. We appreciate their efforts. - Mr. Howrigan & Ms. Lanfear

Field Trip on Tuesday, October 8th & Academic Celebration

Field Trip
On Tuesday, October 8th, we will visit the Flynn Theater to hear John Lewis speak about his book, March. Please ask your child about March and what they've learned this week about the Civil Rights Movement.

**We will not be eating at school, so please make sure to pack a lunch, unless you signed up for a school lunch on the permission slip.**  

Academic Celebration
From time to time, we celebrate students who are all caught up in Powerschool. Our next celebration will be on Tuesday afternoon when we return from the Flynn Theater. Students who do not have any 'missing' work in Powerschool will have an extra outside recess. For those students who need support to complete missing assignments, we will have a guided study hall at that time.

In general, if your child needs extra academic support, we encourage you to sign up for the Friday hour of support through www.familyid.com.

Reminders & Homework information

Homework: 8th grade year

Homework assignments are written daily on our homework boards within our classrooms. Students are also reminded about assignments on a daily basis. In general, homework is a continuation of what we're doing in class, and students get a good deal of time to work on assignments during the school day.  

For the 8th grade year, this blog will be used for reminders and announcements and not for daily homework. We do this every 8th grade year, in response to parent and student feedback from previous looping classes. At the high school, teachers do not post their homework in one common place. This means that students need to take the initiative to write it down. Numerous parents have requested that we start this practice in 8th grade, to better support students' organizational independence. 

Please continue to check Powerschool to monitor your child's progress. As always, your continued support at home is appreciated. 

Reminder:

We are headed to the Flynn Theater on October 8th to listen to John Lewis speak about his book, March. Students need to bring a bag lunch or order from the Cafeteria. Hot lunch will not be available to them that day. 

Reminders & Announcements

• School pictures will be on October 3rd at 1:40. Students were given an order form last Friday. 
• Our next field trip will be on October 8th, and we will be headed to the Flynn to see "March" by John Lewis. Students will start reading the book next week, so we're hoping for strong curricular connections. 
• Thank you for making sure your child has earbud headphones! We've noticed that most are prepared every day. We appreciate your help in this area.
• Please check Powerschool for missing assignments. If your child needs extra academic time with support during the school day, we highly encourage you to sign your child up for the Friday early release time. The staff members who supervise this time are the same people who work in our classrooms everyday. Use the following link to register: https://www.familyid.com 

Homework - 9/13

LA:
    - Literary Terms Handbook column #1 due Wed. 9/18

SS:
    - Junior Scholastic due Thursday 9/19

Lexia is always an option at home, and we encourage kids to login outside of the school day. 

Permission slips, headphones, and a quiz!

Permission Slips
Our first field trip is this Friday, and we will be headed to the Bay Park for "Lake Lessons". We need more chaperones, so if you have passed your background check, please let us know if you can attend.

Headphones
Many kids have remembered to bring in their own from home. However, we still have quite a few that are in need of headphones.

50 States Quiz
The Social Studies quiz on the 50 states is tomorrow! Please have your child play the online games in the Google Classroom to help them study.

Headphones needed

Hello families,

Students spend about 90 minutes each week on their chromebooks working on targeted, individualized instruction in both ELA and math. We have licensed accounts for both the iReady and Lexia programs. For this work to go smoothly, students will need headphones every day. 

It would be very helpful if you could remind your child to have their headphones in their backpack. We have a limited supply of "emergency" headphones. It takes away from instructional time when we have to distribute and collect these every day. 

Thank you so much for helping us with this important supply item.

Mrs. Lanfear & Mr. Howrigan

We need chaperones! 9/13

On Friday, September 13th, we will be participating in "Lake Lessons" at the St. Albans Bay Park. Please be on the lookout for a permission slip today. The event is hosted by the St. Albans Historical Society and will run from 8:15 to 12:30. Please let us know ASAP if you're willing to chaperone a group of students. All chaperones must have completed the annual school background check. If you haven't completed yours yet, please stop in and see Kathy Sargent ASAP. There is still time to get it done before the buses pull out! Thank you!

Headphones

Hello families,

One of the requested supply items for 8th grade is headphones. It would be very helpful if you could remind your child to have their headphones in their backpack. We give students 1-2 pairs a year, and we label them with their names. It's remarkable how many end up lost.

Headphones are required for both our math and ELA diagnostic tests.

Thank you so much for helping us with this important supply item.

Mrs. Lanfear & Mr. Howrigan

Homework Thursday, August 29

Homeroom: Please sign and return forms.

SS: Quiz on the names and locations of the 50 states - Tues., September 10th
- Blank maps to practice are available in the classroom.
- There are lots of online games to help with studying as well.

Try:

http://mrnussbaum.com/cstates-play

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm

http://www.sporcle.com/games/g/states (this one helps with spelling!) https://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/how-many-states-can-you-name (for spelling)

https://www.purposegames.com/game/states-of-the-usa-quiz

https://www.purposegames.com/game/50-states-game-quiz

http://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3003

https://www.bls.gov/k12/content/games/geography-quiz/geography-quiz.htm

CAPITALS https://www.sporcle.com/games/g/uscapitals

Welcome Back!

We had a great first day with our learning community, and we are really looking forward to spending this school year with them! Today each student received a folder with multiple forms that need to be signed and returned. Please look for those this evening.

Thank you,

Mrs. Lanfear & Mr. Howrigan

8th Grade Welcome Letter

Here is our 8th grade letter with a supply list. Thanks for a great year!

Summer Reading 2019

Summer Reading Expectations can be found here. This page went home with all students today. 

Please return Student Information Verification Sheets & Enrichment choices

Still waiting on a handful of Student Information Verification sheets and enrichment forms. Thank you to everyone who has sent them in!

Please return Student Information Verification Sheets & Enrichment choices

Enrichment choices went home last week. Please sign and return.

Coral colored Student Information Verification Sheets went home today. Please initial and return.

Thank you!