State Shape Activity

         This week and next week in Social Studies, we are working on a State Shape Activity. It is a project where we are required to pick one of the states/provinces/territories in the U.S. or in Canada. We have to make a shape representing the state/province or territory that we are doing. Mrs. Mishall needs to see any visual that connects to the place we are doing, so we have to be very creative. We are also required to include information on our place. Some of the information may include the capital, population, total area, state facts, sports, and climate. Our boundaries are endless, so we all have to think carefully about what we are going to do with our state/province/territory and show off our creativity. Tonight for homework, we had to write down two states that we wanted to do for the project. There are plenty of places for everyone to do, so everyone should be able to have their own place. I picked Oregon and New Jersey because parts of my family live in those two states. I am really excited about this project and I can't wait to see how it turns out!
-Lindsay Wilson

7th Grade Cross

 This year in art we are making a cross out of sculpey. We first started off with the shape. We all had to draw what we thought it should look like, and then both classes voted on which one we liked the most. After we picked the shape of the outside, we had to divide it into 32 pieces. Then we had the finished drawing of the cross, and we had to cut out pieces of sculpey for each shape on the inside. Each one of us got one piece of the cross, and we had to design our piece with shapes and letters. Some people made stamps to press into them. When we finished designing them, we had to make sure all of the pieces fit, so we traced them. After that we pushed some of the pieces together to make it fit better. This cross design is similar to the one we picked.

National History Day

All of seventh and eighth grade have been working on the annual National History Day project for over a month now. The project began on the second day of school and will be graded on October 3rd. The grading will be done by Mrs.Hartney and Mrs.Mishall who will be judging the projects on many elements including but not limited to: quality, appearance, historical accuracy, and how well the project follows the National History Day guidelines. The following day, anonymous judges will arrive at LCC and critique the projects based on similar elements. A select number of participants from each of the five categories will be chosen to bring their project back to school in early November to be judged yet again. Out of the remaining contests, one individual and one group from each category will then move on to the county competition in March. There, they will present their project to a new set of judges who will be picking a select number of lucky winners to move on to the next round. Eventually, projects will be presented at a national competition level to compete with kids across the United States. Winning National History Day would be a huge accomplishment but for now, most kids are just concerned with turning their projects in by the deadline! Seventh grade is required to work individually but eighth grade has been given the privilege of working on this project with a group. The five categories that you can submit your project to are exhibit, documentary, website, performance, and research paper. Since the beginning of school, students have gone to a National History Day class on Tuesdays and Thursdays in order to get directions on how to approach the project. As a cooperative middle school, every child including myself has completed a process paper, research paper, and an annotated bibliography. We have also taken a field trip to our local library in order to gather more extensive research. By this point all that's left to do with our projects is actually create what we'll be showing next Thursday. Good luck everyone!

Wheel Speech Project

Wheel Speech Project:
In Wheel we are  learning how to compose a compelling, and interesting speech. There are many ways to organize or structure a speech.  There are the sandwich, cause and effect, chronological, acronyms, and mind map techniques. We also learned about the "power of three" when you write a speech.  If you address three topics, multiple times in your speech, chances are that people will remember what you talked about later on.  If instead, you talked about ten different topics in one speech, the listener would remember less.  Another way to enhance your speech, is with your body language.  If you have good eye contact, and a lot of voice variation, chances are that people will be intrigued with your speech and want to hear more.  The eight grade class, was given the option to write a speech on their NHD topic, or a breakthrough. The breakthrough could be historical, environmental, medical, entertainment, or anything else that is a significant breakthrough.  I chose to write my speech on the development of the ultrasound machine. Our speeches have to be between three to three and half minutes long. These speeches are due on either October 23 or October 30th, depending on which date we signed up to present our speech.  Overall, I learned a lot about how I can improve my speech and make it more interesting.  I can't wait to her everyone's speeches!

-Emma V.

 

Science Fungus Lab

For the last week in science, we did a Fungus lab. The five main types of fungi are Sac fungi, Club fungi, imperfect fungi, zygote fungi, and lichens. For the first part of our lab, we examined a common type of zygote fungus under a microscope. The fungus we looked at was a bread mold. Next, we did some research on two common types of imperfect fungi, athlete's foot and ringworm. They are actually the same type of mold, but they infect different parts of the body. For the club fungi, we looked at the gills of four different types of mushrooms under a microscope. The gills are located underneath the cap of a mushroom and hold the reproductive spores. We also did a spore print of a mushroom by putting a mushroom cap on a piece of paper and covering it with a beaker. The mushroom will them release its spores onto the paper after sitting for a while. Lastly, we added yeast, an imperfect fungus, to warm and cold water to see the reaction. We were not able to do a section on lichens because of the rain. The labs were due today, September 25th. The lab was very interesting and was a lot of fun too! The only problem was that the mushrooms began to stink after a few days!
-Kalen H.

Spanish Review

This week in Spanish Honors we have been learning about direct an indirect object pronouns.  We have started reviewing for our test on written Friday.  We also have a test on Monday that we are asked questions in class and we have to answer them orally.  To review, we do many different activities.  Listening to someone speak and answering matching up to who did what on a sheet of paper is one example.  At the end of each section of a chapter, we always do the review.  We usually review for a test during block schedule so we have enough time to get through the entire review.  The review is very helpful because it gives us examples of what the test will be like.  We also get new vocab along with grammar.  This section is all about taking a trip and the different objects in the airport as our vocab.  To study for the test, I usually study with a friend and make flashcards.  I hope I do well on my test!
by, Annabelle

 

 

Science Pollution Experiment

 

For the experiment we had to do for pollution we had to make a "pollution catcher." This is basically a piece of poster or cardboard with a sheet of wax paper with Vaseline on it. You make it and put it somewhere outside where you think there is air pollution. You can put it anywhere. I decided to put it on my porch outside. So far nothing has happened. But in a few days I can see if any dirt or anything blows onto it and sticks. I personally think that there might be some "pollution" on my "Catcher." There might be little to none though because it is not a busy part where there might be a lot of pollution. I personally think that this experiment is fun. But I also think it can be disgusting depending on how much " pollution" gets stuck on the Vaseline.

This is my "catcher" 


by: Sydney A.



We Beat the Streets

This year all seventh and eight grade students read We Beat the Streets - the story of three doctors who beat the odds and worked together to succeed against the odds.  Students discussed the many lessons in the book.  In addition to learning and studying to become doctors, the three also tried to develop a career in the music industry rapping.  Following this idea, students used rap as a medium to review the lessons that were taught in the book.

"I used to think all I had is the streets
Nothing left but drugs and fights I couldn't defeat
That no hope was there
That no one cared
Except for ME

Realizing stuff
truly made me believe
That I can do it
Push through it
Make it rain

With my success came millions and fame
Where you come from doesn't determine where you go
For all you people  out there
I hope you know
You gotta strive your best to be the best

There really is
success out there
hope out there
It is really true
The only one who can make it happen is you!"
 ~ Kyra B.


"One thing, I understand why
It really does matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time
(To Persevere)
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
You need to realize even though it gets hard
To push through all the way
(Its so unreal)
You can be a better person
You just keep trying and believe in yourself
Try to hold on and don't waste your time
You can do anything if you set your mind to it
One thing, I understand why
It really does matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme
To remind myself how
I tried so hard
In spite of the way people were mocking me
I persevered until I turned out to be
A much better person in the end
I'm surprised I got so far
Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
I'm such a changed persons because I tried
You can change too, just push through
Until the end"
~ Kalen H.


As a conclusion to our unit, students wrote essays explaining one of the lessons and applying it to their personal lives.  The overwhelming topics were to believe in your dreams and with hard work you can accomplish anything!

Spirit Day

As part of our 8th grade unit, Who Am I?, students are talking about what makes them unique and special in the modern world that we live in.  As part of this study, we have learned that we are all valuable members of our community and they have decided to continue the tradition of giving back!  This year we will have teams participating in both the Race for the Cure Breast Cancer Walk and the SPCA Pet Walk.  As part of their fundraising efforts, students are sponsoring a coin drive.  All proceeds will be split between the SPCA and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. 
Today, students dressed in their college team colors to support UF, FSU, and USF.  The middle school celebrated at a tailgate party during break.  Currently, based on the dollar bills (not counting coins yet) that have been donated USF has raised $57, UF has raised $201, and FSU has raised $243.  Everyone is doing a great job and we have lots of reasons to celebrate!

PANTHERS LIVE TO GIVE!!!!

Summer Reading Projects

This years independent summer reading project was to create a way to advertise the book they read using technology on their new devices.  In addition to sharing the title and author, the project had to include a concise summary.  This was a way to get students to explore their new device and demonstrate some of the different sites and apps that are available.  Students blew me away with their creativity.  Anna S.'s project kept us on the edge of our seats and Charlie O. literally blew it up with his special effects.  Some of the sites/apps students used included:

• iMovie
• Proshow
• Wix
• Keynote
• Puppet Pals
• Go Go Pin
• Cute Cut
• Simple Different
• Whip
• Animator
• Webs
• Exanimation
• Pic Collage
• Glogster
• Vine
• Instagram
• Notability
• Billboard
• Tumblr
• Twitter
• S-Note
• Collage Maker
• Camera

Back to School

The first day back to school was full of the usual catching up with friends and going over procedures for the new year.  The eighth grade was full of energy as they embark on their last year as Panthers.  We took the traditional back to school photos the first day.  Because of the temporary carline procedures, some of our friends missed the pictures.

The day culminated with our first mixer of the year.  Alumnus Simon Mendenhall made a guest appearance as DJ.  Students enjoyed the fun afternoon of dancing, singing, candy, and silliness.  It was a great way to start the new year.