Highschool Prep & Feedback

As we begin 2016, high-school comes very much to mind. By September of this year, students will be there!

So, students, is there anything you feel you need to help you prepare?

If so, please take this survey and share your ideas about high-school prep!  I'll keep it open until this Saturday, January 9 and then see/share what the results are.

There is a separate survey for your parents. Please show them this link on the website.  I'd love to hear their feedback as regards the high-school and the year in general!

Also, please see the picture on the side bar listing important upcoming dates from Eastview.

Keep in mind that we will be doing/have been doing a little bit of 'high-school' simulation here in class. (Also, keeping in mind the age appropriateness of tasks/skills! We are still in grade 8, after all!)

Here's some examples:

ANIMAL FARM
Our upcoming class read aloud, Animal Farm, lends itself nicely to a deeper form of literary analysis. This is definitely a text we can dive deep into. It is suitable for 13 years olds, but it also read in high-school (and even university). It has many layers!

CASI/ESSAY WRITING
The CASI reading comprehension assessments that we do in class also do a nice job of preparing students for in depth text analysis and emphasizes skills like providing proof to support arguments...which dove tails nicely into academic style essay writing and persuasive texts.

MATH
The math program for Grade 8 is specifically designed to offer a comprehensive review of skills. It is very much a 'consolidation of math knowledge' year.

GENERAL SKILLS
We will also be addressing other good habits, like note taking and how to study, homework completion (home projects will increase this term), and meeting due dates, etc. On top of our usual push for communication skills, creativity, and, problem solving skills!

RESPONSIBILITY & INITIATIVE
And, as always, I'll will be encouraging students to take ownership over your own learning. As usual I will be asking students to ask themselves:

What do I need to succeed? and Where can I go to get what I need?

ORGANIZATION & TIME MANAGEMENT
Lastly, lets talk about organization and time management skills!

I model a number of these methods in class (think of how I  break large tasks into smaller tasks and track their completion such as with the writing process wall, or of how I use the timer to track work completion or how I use lists to organize my day).

And students, if you have not already harnessed the organizational power of your personal device, please do so by copying all the relevant due dates listed in the side bar into your device's calendar! (If you do not have a device, consider investing in either a paper calendar like the one we post in class or using your provided paper agenda).