8th Science
Week of 1/13/2020 – 1/17/2020:
Monday 1/13:
Tuesday 1/14:
Wednesday 1/15:
Thursday 1/16:
Friday 1/17:
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: First Chemistry scores will be posted next week.
Homework: None
Announcements:
KK
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Week of 1/6/2020 – 1/10/2020: Start of Chemistry Unit
Monday 1/6: No School – Teacher In-Service
Tuesday 1/7: Introduction to Chemistry Unit
Wednesday 1/8: Chemistry Pre-assessment, Exercise Investigation
Thursday 1/9: Exercise Investigation
Friday 1/10: Engineering Design Challenge
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: First Chemistry scores will be posted next week.
Homework: None
Announcements:
KK
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Week of 12/16/2019 – 12/20/2019: High School Presentations, Team Building
Monday 12/16: School Visioning
Tuesday 12/17: High School Presentation
Wednesday 12/18: High School Presentation Debrief, School Visioning
Thursday 12/19: Winter Weather Models
Friday 12/20: Team Building
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Earth Science notebook was fully graded last week & posted to Synergy.
Homework: Seismic Preparedness Family Action Plan
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! This week we are working on a couple of items that are things that we typically get to through the course of the year, but are timely because we have just finished with our Earth Science unit, and had a couple of days before leaving for break. Today (Tuesday) we had 3 seniors and 2 sophomores visit science class from North Eugene with one of the guidance counselors to talk about their high school experience in general based on questions and concerns that students had about what the next four years look like. Most of the students that came from the high school today were former students of mine, so it was a treat to have them come back and work with my current kids. The 8th graders seemed very engaged in the discussions, asked great follow-up questions, and the high schoolers did their best to alleviate anxieties and shed some light on what it is like to be in high school in general – even if your student is not planning on attending North. I am going to invite the high school back in January to do another set of presentations on the clubs, activities, and classes offered at North in a “fair” format with different booths – at least that’s my idea at this point. Thursday is our winter fest activity in science. We will be working on some winter models during science, and hopefully students will enjoy the afternoon activities. I have heard from several hundred students (not an exaggeration) across grades about being excited about the Karaoke competition that Miller and I are putting on during the winter fest. This was inspired by two 8th grade students, and we should have a lot of fun with this (at least I want it that way), and should make some good memories in the process. Also this week I will give students their Seismic Preparedness Action Plan packet to work on over the coming weeks. I am not asking necessarily that students complete this over break, but that it be worked on between now and mid-trimester grading. I will send the next email in the days before we come back from winter break when we start our chemistry unit on chemical reactions in our bodies as we breakdown and utilize food molecules for energy. I just picked up our notebooks on Monday, and they look fantastic. I hope you all have a wonderful couple of weeks, and please let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 12/9/2019 – 12/13/2019: STEM Project Final
Monday 12/9: STEM Project Final Framework
Tuesday 12/10: STEM Project Observations
Wednesday 12/11: STEM Project Slides
Thursday 12/12: STEM Project Slides & Report
Friday 12/13: STEM Project Report
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Grade-level awards Thursday 12/12, Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Notebooks will be fully graded this week through the end of unit and posted to Synergy.
Homework: None
Announcements:
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Week of 12/2/2019 – 12/6/2019: Structural Integrity & Epicenter Location Activity
Monday 12/2: No School – Fall Trimester Grading Day
Tuesday 12/3: Structural Integrity
Wednesday 12/4: Structural Integrity
Thursday 12/5: Epicenter Location Activity
Friday 12/6: Epicenter Location Activity
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Notebook pages 95-112 were graded this last week and will impact Winter Trimester – will post to Synergy in the next couple of days.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! This week we start the winter trimester, and will finish most of the content of our Earth Science Unit. Based on how the kids progress with the Structural Integrity and Epicenter Location Activities we might get to start our end-of-unit project this week where students will be analyzing assigned rooms in the school for their seismic. We should have our student notebooks for our chemistry unit in the next week or so which will allow us to get started on that unit before winter break begins (hopefully) I finished making them last week, and sent the request to the print shop. It is the largest notebook we have had thus far, and will take about as long as the Earth Science unit has. The chemistry unit is all about how our bodies utilize food for energy at the cellular level with different types of food molecules. Specifically, we look at the chemistry in the processes of photosynthesis & cellular respiration before expanding our examination to larger food webs to get a micro and macro view of the topics in nature. One thing that we will be adding to our weekly plate after winter break is ramping the collaborative study groups back up with a bit of a different topic: getting ready for high school. Most of the content will surround a review of material covered in middle school, the high school science placement test, as well as general organization and study habits skills that students will need in order to be successful over the next four years. We will do a collaborative study group session about every-other week until the end of the year starting in January. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 11/25/2019 – 11/29/2019: Liquefaction, Structural Integrity
Monday 11/25: Liquefaction Lab
Tuesday 11/26: Structural Integrity – Kordon “gone” doing admin work in building
Wednesday 11/27: Structural Integrity
Thursday 11/28: No School – Thanksgiving Break
Friday 11/29: No School – Thanksgiving Break
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Thanksgiving Break Thursday & Friday 11/28-11/29 (No School), Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Salt Dough Models will be graded over this week for Fall Trimester. Notebook pages 95-112 will be graded at the end of the week and will impact Winter Trimester.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! I had to be out this last Thursday due to back spasms that I have been experiencing over the last week or so. This resulted in us not finishing all I was hoping we would last week. This week we are going to finish up investigating Liquefaction, and will start our work on Structural Integrity which has students examine different types of building materials and designs to conclude which are safest in the event of a major seismic event. Also, very soon (hopefully by the end of this week) I will be sending home an Earthquake Action Plan packet for students to work with their families on developing a family plan in the event of a major seismic event. This is one of the only homework assignments that I give, and as I told the students, I feel is one of the most important that I could in fact give them as their teacher. When students finish it, I am only expecting them to bring it in, I will check off that it is done/being worked on, and give it back to students to give them the opportunity to continually revise it over the coming months and years. It is meant to be used as a guide to provide ideas, and not the universal end-all be-all source of earthquake preparedness. I will be sure to post it to the homework section of the website and weekly email when it is ready to go. I am expecting to get a draft back from students by the time we start winter break. I hope you all have an amazing week, and extended weekend next week! Please let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 11/18/2019 – 11/22/2019: Earthquake Models & Liquefaction
Monday 11/18: Earthquake Machine Model
Tuesday 11/19: Earthquake Simulation Machine Investigation
Wednesday 11/20: ES3 Test #2 Corrections, Begin Liquefaction Lab
Thursday 11/21: Liquefaction Lab
Friday 11/22: Naviance w/ Mrs. Hornsby
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Veteran’s Day Monday 11/11 (No School), Thanksgiving Break Thursday & Friday 11/28-11/29 (No School), Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Notebooks graded through page 94 last week, ES3 Test #2 was graded over the weekend, and Salt Dough Models will be graded over this week.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! This week we are going to be working with our Earthquake Simulation Machines and will also be doing a couple of labs on Liquefaction. This week’s content will also be the last that will impact the Fall Trimester grade. It is hard to believe that the year is almost 1/3 over. The content that we cover the week of Thanksgiving will impact the Winter Trimester so as to allow students the opportunity to make-up the content and decrease stress on the students in science prior to final grading. Over this week I will be grading the Salt Dough models, and will be graded notebook pages 95-112 at the end of the week. On Friday, Mrs. Hornsby will be conducting her next Naviance lesson. While she is doing this, I will be working with Mr. Wayland and Mr. Cuadros on administrative tasks. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 11/11/2019 – 11/15/2019: Start STEM Project
Monday 11/11: No School – Veteran’s Day
Tuesday 11/12: Electromagnetic Waves
Wednesday 11/13: Mechanical Waves
Thursday 11/14: STEM Project Pre-Assessment
Friday 11/15: Earthquake Machine Model
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Veteran’s Day Monday 11/11 (No School), Thanksgiving Break Thursday & Friday 11/28-11/29 (No School), Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Graded through page 84 this week, Salt Dough Models, and ES3 Test #2 this past weekend.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! This week we start the STEM Project portion of our Earth Science Unit. We start by examining the different types of waves before we apply our learning to Earthquakes. The STEM Project really focuses on Earthquakes, and how they can/will affect us here in Eugene. The unit ends with students doing a seismic building analysis of the school and making recommendations of the ways that our school could/should be retrofitted to prepare for a major seismic event. I am not sure if we will get all the way through to the Earthquake Machine Model this week. Sometimes the waves portion of the unit has taken closer to 3 days, but we will see.
KK
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Week of 11/4/2019 – 11/8/2019: Finishing Cross-Section of the Earth Models, ES3 Test #2
Monday 11/4: Finish Cross-Section of the Earth Models
Tuesday 11/5: SLC Prep & ES3 Test #2 Review
Wednesday 11/6: ES3 Test #2
Thursday 11/7: No School – Conferences from 4:00-7:00 PM
Friday 11/8: No School – Professional Development
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Student-Led Conferences Thursday 11/7 4:00-7:00 PM (No School), Conferences & Teacher In-service Thursday & Friday 11/7-11/8 (No School), Veteran’s Day Monday 11/11 (No School), Thanksgiving Break Thursday & Friday 11/28-11/29 (No School), Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Grading through page 84 this week, Salt Dough Models, and ES3 Test #2.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! This week we are finishing up the 2nd section of our Earth Science Unit. After this week we enter the STEM Project portion that focuses on Earthquakes, and the possible impact that a major one would have here in Eugene. I am going to do my best to grade notebooks through page 84, grade salt dough models and the test over the extended weekend. Thursday is Student-Led Conferences this week, and the 8th Grade conferences will be happening in the Library. When you arrive with your student they will enter by the office, get their iPad from the Flight Deck along with their Green checklist that you fill out with them during their conference. All students were given a form that has an assigned conference time between 4:00-7:00. Please try to come near your conference time, but if you can only make it elsewhere during that time-frame, please do what works best for you. If you are unable to make the 4:00-7:00 window there is additional time available from 11:00-4:00 on Thursday; please let your student’s advisory teacher know if you will be coming during that time so we can have things ready for you. I hope your student had fun with the lesson during the Fall Fest last week. I will have another interesting one for the winter fest that will happen the couple of days before we leave for winter break. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I am looking forward to seeing you on Thursday for conferences. As always, please let me know if you need anything. Take care!
KK
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Week of 10/21/2019 – 10/25/2019: Getting closer to finishing part 2 of Earth Science unit
Monday 10/21: Hotspots vs. Subduction
Tuesday 10/22: Predicting Plate Movement
Wednesday 10/23: Large vs. Small Scale Changes, & Conservation of Matter
Thursday 10/24: Cross Section of the Earth
Friday 10/25: Naviance Lesson with Ms. Hornsby
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Fall Fest Thursday 10/31, Student-Led Conferences Wednesday 11/6 5:00-8:00 PM (No School), Conferences & Teacher In-service Thursday & Friday 11/7-11/8 (No School), Veteran’s Day Monday 11/11 (No School), Thanksgiving Break Thursday & Friday 11/28-11/29 (No School), Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Graded through page 66 this weekend.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! This week we will get close to finishing part 2 of our Earth Science unit. We will take a closer look at which direction plates are moving in relation to each other based on the geologic features that have been created on the Earth’s surface as well as start to look at the different layers of the Earth and what is happening in each section. Moving forward, Ms. Hornsby, our school counselor, will be teaching a Naviance lesson to the students once a month or so. The first day that she will be doing this will be this Friday. Please be on the lookout fairly soon about information on school conferences – they will be happening on Thursday 11/7 throughout the day. Details to come from your student’s advisory class. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 10/14/2019 – 10/18/2019: Tectonic Plates & Geologic Features
Monday 10/14: When Tectonic Plates Move
Tuesday 10/15: ES3 Test #1 Corrections
Wednesday 10/16: Ring of Fire (Kordon Gone)
Thursday 10/17: Tectonic Plate Simulation
Friday 10/18: Volcano Formation Lab
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Fall Fest Thursday 10/31, Student-Led Conferences Wednesday 11/6 5:00-8:00 PM (No School), Conferences & Teacher In-service Thursday & Friday 11/7-11/8 (No School), Veteran’s Day Monday 11/11 (No School), Thanksgiving Break Thursday & Friday 11/28-11/29 (No School), Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Grading pages 48-59 this week. Through page 44 needs to be made up by Friday 10/18 – if students make up material after Wednesday 10/9 then it will not show on the mid-trimester grade. Make-up deadline for Mid-Trimester Grading was Wednesday 10/9.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! I hope that the students are enjoying their extended weekend. I’m actually sitting in one of my administrator classes right now before it starts thinking about the labs that we’re going to do over the next couple of weeks. We will be doing test corrections of our first test on Tuesday. If students scored less than an 8/10 on the test they can resubmit corrections with a short scientific explanation indicating what the correct answers are and why. This week we really focus on what are some of the geologic effects of tectonic plate movement – broadly speaking about earthquakes and volcanoes. I am going to be gone on Wednesday; I am helping run a professional development for district science teachers on the wind turbines that we did last year. Like I mentioned during Open House, our kids were the first in the district to experience the short wind turbine unit, and the activities, investigations, and labs that we created together are actively being used by 7th grade classes throughout the district. Your students will continue to set the standard for many things that they will work on and accomplish over the course of the rest of the school year. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Please let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 10/7/2019 – 10/11/2019: How Tectonic Plates Move
Monday 10/7: Convection in Liquids
Tuesday 10/8: Metamorphic Rocks
Wednesday 10/9: When Tectonic Plates Move
Thursday 10/10: Mid-Trimester Grading (No School)
Friday 10/11: Teacher In-service (No School)
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Riverwalk Party Wednesday 10/9 from 7:00-9:00 PM, Mid-Trimester Grading (No School) Thursday 10/10, Statewide Teacher In-service (No School) Friday 10/11, Fall Fest Thursday 10/31, Student-Led Conferences Wednesday 11/6 5:00-8:00 PM (No School), Conferences & Teacher In-service Thursday & Friday 11/7-11/8 (No School), Veteran’s Day Monday 11/11 (No School), Thanksgiving Break Thursday & Friday 11/28-11/29 (No School), Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Through page 44 (Lesson 3.2) was be graded last week, and needs to be made up by Friday 10/18 – if students make up material after Wednesday 10/9 then it will not show on the mid-trimester grade. Make-up deadline for Mid-Trimester Grading is Wednesday 10/9.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! It’s hard to believe that we’re already at mid-trimester grading for the fall trimester. This week we’re starting to learn how/why the tectonic plates move. Like I said at Open House last week, this year will fly by. If you missed Open House we briefly talked about the topics that we cover in science this year, how to get in contact with me, filled you in on what is going on in class, and how the summer went for me. If you have the syllabus, then the necessary information is already in your hands. I graded all tests over the weekend, and overall classes did very well. I still have a handful of students who need to take the test due to absences, and they have until Wednesday to do so. Due to students still needing to take the test, I will not pass the test back until next Monday after we do a test corrections assignment as a class. Students who score lower than 7/10 can do test corrections to earn back up to the 7/10. The way I have organized our class allows students the opportunity to still earn an A even if they average a 70% on exams/tests/assessment assignments. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 9/30/2019 – 10/4/2019: Mid Unit Test #1
Monday 9/30: Start Unit Review #1
Tuesday 10/1: Finish Unit Review #1
Wednesday 10/2: Mid-Unit Test #1
Thursday 10/3: How Tectonic Plates Interact
Friday 10/4: Riverwalk (No Regular Classes)
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Earth Science Midterm I Wednesday 10/2, Open House Wednesday 10/2 from 6:15-8:05 PM, Riverwalk Friday 10/4, Riverwalk Party Wednesday 10/9 from 7:00-9:00 PM, Mid-Trimester Grading (No School) Thursday 10/10, Statewide Teacher In-service (No School) Friday 10/11, Fall Fest Thursday 10/31, Student-Led Conferences Wednesday 11/6 5:00-8:00 PM (No School), Conferences & Teacher In-service Thursday & Friday 11/7-11/8 (No School), Veteran’s Day Monday 11/11 (No School), Thanksgiving Break Thursday & Friday 11/28-11/29 (No School), Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Student 8th grade introductory work was graded and posted to Synergy Sunday 9/22 – can be made up until Friday 10/4. Through page 44 (Lesson 3.2) will be graded throughout this upcoming week by Friday 10/4. Make-up deadline for Mid-Trimester Grading is Wednesday 10/9.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 8th Grade Science! This week we prepare for, and take our first mid-unit test. There will be another test in several weeks before we move into the STEM Project portion of our unit. I am looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it to Open House on Wednesday. Please check Parent Vue (Synergy) regularly with your student, and remind them about make-up deadlines if they are missing anything or have incomplete work. Mid-trimester grading is quickly approaching, and I want all students to have put their best effort forward. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 9/23/2019 – 9/27/2019: Earth Science – Continental Drift
Monday 9/23: Continental Drift Evidence Project, School Pictures
Tuesday 9/24: Continental Drift Presentations
Wednesday 9/25: Exploring the Sea Floor, & Summarizing Continental Drift
Thursday 9/26: Modeling Tectonic Plates
Friday 9/27: Begin Activity for Mid-Unit Review
Upcoming Calendar Dates: School Pictures Monday 9/23, Earth Science Midterm I Tuesday 10/1 (give or take a day), Open House Wednesday 10/2 from 6:00-8:00 PM, Riverwalk Friday 10/4, Riverwalk Party Wednesday 10/9 from 7:00-9:00 PM, Mid-Trimester Grading (No School) Thursday 10/10, Statewide Teacher In-service (No School) Friday 10/11, Fall Fest Thursday 10/31, Student-Led Conferences Wednesday 11/6 5:00-8:00 PM (No School), Conferences & Teacher In-service Thursday & Friday 11/7-11/8 (No School), Veteran’s Day Monday 11/11 (No School), Thanksgiving Break Thursday & Friday 11/28-11/29 (No School), Fall Trimester Grading Monday 12/2 (No School), Winter Fest Thursday 12/19, Winter Break Saturday 12/21 – Monday 1/6 (No School).
Science Notebook: Student 8th grade introductory work has been graded and posted to Synergy Sunday 9/22 – can be made up until Friday 10/4. Lessons 1.1-1.5 will be graded throughout this upcoming week by Friday 9/27.
Homework: None
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to 8th Grade Science! Now that we have had a couple weeks under our belts, and are starting to get into the flow of our first major unit on Earth Science, it is now time to restart the weekly email send. I hope you all had a wonderful summer. Mine was very busy getting projects done around the house that get neglected for most of the school year, and spending as much time as possible with my family – while of course, getting ready for this school year. I’ve already reminded the students of this several times, but the year is going to fly by faster than they can imagine. I am already dreading having to say goodbye to them in the spring as they promote to high school. Last year was one of my favorite years that I have had with 7th graders, and I have high hopes for this group for this final year as they finish middle school. While most of the students are returning to Kelly for their 2nd or 3rd year, there are a handful of students who are new to the Kelly family. Please expect an email like this one about every week from here until the end of the school year where I let you know about what is going on in Science, and other miscellaneous announcements – such as Picture Day happening on Monday 9/23 during science class. During track season they become a little bit more hit and miss with their timeliness as track often keeps me busy until 6:00 PM or later at school. I am also taking classes of my own throughout the school year twice a month at the UO on Friday evenings and Saturdays – feel free to ask me individually, or ask me at Open House if you want to know more. I am attaching copies of my syllabus to the first email so you can have a digital copy. Overall, things are already going well in class, and we have our first test the first week of October which heavily focuses on the evidence that supports the Theory of Continental Drift. If your student is missing anything or has any incomplete work, please know that the 2-week grace period for make-up material is firm this year – the deadline for pre-earth science material is Friday 10/4 as noted above. Please send me an email if you ever need anything this year. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Welcome to 8th Grade Science! Use this page to keep up on what is going on in class. I will typically post assignment information, resources, calendars, class announcements, and helpful links on here so that you can have a successful year.
KK