Mrs. Petrides – Eighth Grade
General Expectations
Eighth grade students are expected to demonstrate leadership in the school by being faithful in their own academic responsibilities and by setting an example of cooperation and service.
Homework: All homework should be completed and turned in on time. Late papers will have 10% deducted for each day they are late. Most homework may be redone for a better grade. The original homework paper must be attached to the new homework. Extra credit will be offered on an occasional basis and will not be accepted late.
Classroom: Students will be expected to bring all materials to class, including textbooks, folders, spirals, homework, and writing utensils. All math must be done in pencil. Textbooks must be covered at all times. Good manners and classroom respect are required.
Tests: Tests will be announced in the newsletter and in class. There is plenty of review material in the textbooks in addition to what will be assigned in class.
Attendance: Regular attendance is crucial to your child’s success in school. If your child is absent for the day, please call the school office before 9:00. You may request that homework be sent to the office for you to pick up at 3:00. If your child misses class due to appointments, he/she may ask a friend for the notes or assignments or write me a note asking for missed work. In any case, students are responsible for missed work.
Parent – Teacher communication: Be sure to ask your student for the weekly newsletter. This continues to be the most effective way for parents to know what is going on in school. Communication will be even more crucial this year because of important 8th grade activities and graduation. My web site, www.freewebs.com/eapetrides, will contain copies of most parent notes, most long-term assignments, as well as daily updates for homework. There is a link from our school web site to my classroom web site. My e-mail address is eapetrides@gmail.com. E-mail is probably the easiest way to contact me. You may also send in a note or call the school office to leave me a message. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns, questions, or comments. If you would like a report on your child’s progress, please contact me and I will be happy to get that information to you by the next day.
Health: Please make sure your teenager gets enough sleep and has some sort of breakfast. Students who are tired or hungry have difficulty focusing on learning tasks and are at risk for illness.
The algebra student should be self-motivated, diligent in completing homework, attentive in class, with excellent reasoning skills. The algebra curriculum includes equations, inequalities, graphing, and functions. Students will keep pace with
English
The focus of 8th grade English class will be on writing, though grammar and language structure will also be included. Final drafts of most writing assignments should be typed. Some computers are available for typing at school during designated class times, after school, and during recess, for students who do not have a computer available to them outside of school.
English binders will be the primary means of organizing student work. These will include warm-ups (writing and grammar mini-lessons) grammar work, writing tips, a working portfolio, and a section for old writing.
Final copies of writing will be filed in published portfolio so they don’t get lost. Grading sheets will be given students. All writing may be revised again for a better grade. Students should turn in grading sheet and old piece from file with new revision. Grammar will be assessed in quizzes, tests, and binder checks, as well as being part of writing grades. Binders will be checked periodically.
Eighth grade students will write research papers after Christmas in preparation for the Academic Fair in March. This will require finding books at the library in the early stages of this process, and creating a backboard at the end of the process. Like previous Science Fair projects, there will be intermittent deadlines, and students must meet those deadlines in order to receive full credit for their work.
We will be writing and performing an opera this year. We will write and rehearse during class time, performing for the school and again in the evening. A date has not yet been set. We’ll ask for parent help when we need it.
Much of the 8th grade curriculum reviews and expands concepts learned in previous years. In addition to homework, labs, and tests, I will evaluate students’ notebooks on an occasional basis as part of their total grade. Vocabulary and connecting concepts throughout the sciences is a main focus of 8th grade science.
The 8th grade science curriculum includes information on reproduction and human development. I will use this opportunity to teach other topics in our 8th grade Human Sexuality curriculum, and will let you know via the newsletter when these topics will be taught. As a parent, I firmly believe that the primary responsibility for teaching about sexuality belongs to the parents. You can be assured that as a teacher I will faithfully teach orthodox Catholic doctrine in regard to the sexual morality and life issues, so that your children (and mine) may be formed as disciples of Jesus, as well as good scientists.
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