Team 8 Red

 

Team Members:

Gillian Freeboy – Language Arts

Dan Healy – Language Arts

Donna Dykstra – Social Studies (Team Leader)

Mary Jane McElwreath – Math

Michael Zummo – Math

Cara Gilligan – Science

 

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” Winston Churchill

 

Time of Transition

Eighth grade is a time of transition for your teenager, from the world of middle school into high school. Many changes have taken place in the maturity of your teenager over the summer prior to eighth grade. They come to eighth grade ready to be more serious about their school work and willing to accept more responsibility. We capitalize on that change by having our students set their own goals in order for them to take control of their education journey. We encourage their individual sense of responsibility, nurture their respect for themselves and others and provide opportunities for success in working creatively and constructively with their fellow students.

 

Ready to Learn

We expect our students to come to school ready to learn. They should have their writing materials, homework and books every day. We expect the students should consult with teachers on their missing assignments, how they can improve their grades and various matters concerning their academic work. They need to be responsible for themselves.

 

Professional Learning Communities: Future of Education

We are fortunate to be involved in Professional Learning Communities which meet every day to assess our teaching, learn new ideas, create interdisciplinary activities, discuss student successes and concerns, and make improvements in our programs and school environment. We are a team of teachers that are constantly using creative problem solving and are tenacious when it comes to finding a solution to a problem one of our students or parents are experiencing. Because we meet daily, we make sure all our students are given attention and any matters of concern are dealt with immediately and parents informed, if necessary. We like to consider our approach is one of teamwork that involves parents as part of the team that is made up of teachers, guidance counselors and administration. Our team is rich with not only core academic teachers but we also have the art, language, music, woodworking, and world foods teachers, all of whom add to the development of the well-rounded student. This wonderful mixture of talents and experiences also enables us to work together on interdisciplinary projects throughout the school year. Our guidance counselors are also members of our team.

 

Students as Individuals

Our team, as experienced middle school teachers, knows very well the intricacies of this maturation process. We always strive to make our subject matter relevant to the students so that they can identify with what they are being asked to learn. We emphasized the intellectual growth of our students, but never forget the whole person and their place in the fast changing and challenging world of adolescence. We understand, as a team, all students learn differently and at different rates and tailor our lessons to account for this diversity in learning. We want the students to feel safe, successful, challenged and empowered in our classrooms. The school provides the technology which plays a very important role in education today and to that end, we have available laptops and computer labs available to the students.

 

School Schedule

The school schedule for the core academic classes is organized into 80-minute periods. The time within the block is divided into two or three different activity units. The extended block of time allows the students to reach the higher-level thinking questions and processing skills that often cannot be reached in the shorter period. It also allows for active learning to develop and time to process the information and reflect on the learning that has taken place.

 

Global Awareness/Community Service

As you may know, in eighth grade many of our students become involved in “Take Action” projects. This is a voluntary project which grows from a deep concern about a social or political issue in our world. The students involve themselves in changing the world and feeling that they can make a difference.

 

Parents and Teachers Working Together: Teamwork

We thank you for trusting us with the academic journey of your child. We love teaching and helping the middle school student mature and make the transition to the high school. We want you to consider us a team working together with you and your teenager to make this an excellent year of academic, social and emotional growth.

 

“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him.” B.T. Washington