Welcome to 8

th
Grade

This year your child will be challenged and supported in the achievement of things he or she may
have never thought possible. Eighth-grade students will write and perform poetry straight from
the heart, design and create complex machines, learn firsthand about government and engage in a
congressional simulation, tackle the complexities of linear and quadratic functions and navigate
the social and emotional challenges of adolescence. At times the journey will be difficult and
perhaps frustrating, but ultimately we hope that it will be satisfying and fulfilling. As the
schools mission states, Bosque is working to prepare young men and women to become
lifelong learners with the highest character values and academic goals in a natural New Mexico
setting with strong family and community involvement. This statement may or may not
immediately align itself with your childs goals for eighth grade. Fashion, Facebook and friends
are likely to rate higher on an adolescents priority list. However, with the combined efforts of
teachers, students and parents, we are confident that with each achievement, with each success,
these nascent young adults will come to appreciate the value of their eighth grade experience.

Teachers: One of the pillars of Bosque is community. This community is evident in faculty
interactions with each other as well as interactions with our students. The eighth-grade faculty
team meets formally about once every two weeks to discuss grade-wide issues as well as
individual student concerns; however, we meet informally many times each day with one another
and with our students. We are dedicated to the success of our students. Because we are
concerned about the development of the whole child, we can also be found attending an
individual students extracurricular activities such as a play, a dance recital or an athletic event.

Helping students develop organizational and time management skills is a high priority for us. To
help students develop these skills, we
maintain individual teacher web pages. Although optional, most members of the eighth-
grade team provide some or all of the following: a list of homework assignments,
calendar, links and class handouts as well as other features. Please remember, however,
that your childs planner supersedes anything on the web page. It is impossible to update
the site immediately following each class, and it would be pedagogically unsound to
rigidly follow a set of lesson plans at the expense of what is actually happening in the
classroom.
post an eighth-grade web page. The link to this page is found under faculty resources. It
contains announcements, monthly academic calendars, late work policies, and
information on special events. This information is updated intermittently.
instruct and review backward planning during advisory. Teachers and advisors will help
students truncate long-term projects into more manageable tasks.
foster the students sense of resiliency in terms of academic growth and social interaction.
Individuals, students and adults alike, can often have a mindset about their abilities and
their performance that has the potential to impede their progress. This fixed mindset is
often associated with the word cant. In advisory, we will help students ascertain how
they might use their mistakes as learning opportunities. Resiliency asks students to
develop a positive attitude about their ability and their social interactions.
provide planner checks for selected students. Many eighth graders still require assistance
maintaining an accurate planner and staying organized. Advisors and teachers are
available to work with students needing extra help by checking planners for accuracy
and/or completeness.

Students: Eighth grade is, appropriately, a step up from seventh grade in terms of academic and
organizational expectations. There will be more required reading and writing in English and
social studies. Finally, science will involve fewer field trips but an increased expectation in
reading and writing. In May of last year, we asked our graduating eighth-grade students to
write letters to their incoming counterparts. Here is some of their advice:

Do not procrastinate! I repeat, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!
Writing down everything in my planner, and writing down when everything is due really
helped me to get through the year and stay on track. Keep your planner with you at all
times.
One thing that I would tell you to do is use your teachers, they are there for you and they
want you to learn. Always send in drafts of essays and outlines, even thesis statements
and topic sentences.
Use the time the teachers give you wisely and start your homework in class.
Make sure that the groups you pick in every group project are good for you, not just
social wise but also academically.
Sign up for at least one study hall during activity blocks and use the time to do your
homework.

Parents: Perhaps you will face the greatest challenge that the year offers. Yours is a balancing
act. Your thirteen year old is still a child, and as such, still needs boundaries, clear expectations,
and monitoring. At the same time, both you and your young adolescent are encouraging his or
her independence. There is no one-size-fits-all in this journey. There are no absolutes. The only
thing that is for certain is that your involvement, to some degree, is still an essential part of the
process.
Let your child bear the majority of the responsibility for knowing what the assignments
are and when they are due.
Help your child break up long assignments into more manageable chunks.
Check that your child has an accurate and complete planner. We can make more formal
arrangements regarding planner completion if necessary. (See teacher section above.)
Include extracurricular obligations and family commitments in the planner.
Consider creating a large monthly calendar or whiteboard with due dates for projects,
papers, family events and extracurricular activities.
Ask your son or daughter to explain his or her organizational methodology at the
beginning of the year. Then, check binders intermittently with your child to ensure that
this organization is being effectively maintained.
Contact the advisor if you have a concern that involves more than one subject.
Carefully evaluate the necessity of family trips during the school year. As stated in the
student handbook, Missing classes diminishes a student's learning experience and may
result in serious academic consequences. Because much of what we teach requires in-
class group work and discussion, some learning opportunities will be missed and cannot
be replicated outside of the classroom. It is at the discretion of the teacher how this will
impact the student's overall grade. Extended vacations are greatly discouraged because it
is not always possible or appropriate for teachers to assist students in making up missed
work.
Encourage your child to sign up for a study hall during activity block.
Review homework policies with your child (see Teacher Web Pages and the 8
th
Grade
Team Page Late Work Policy link) especially following an absence. Teachers will, of
course, review policy with students as they introduce their courses; however, students are
often in information-overload during their first several weeks of school. It is good for
them to hear the information again.

Bosque is a place where children are valued, honored, affirmed, and challenged to grow to
reach their full potential both as individuals and members of the school community (Student
Handbook). The eighth-grade team is committed to the success of your son or daughter. This
success requires the cooperative efforts of not just the faculty; it is the combined efforts of the
student, the parents and the faculty that will support your childs growth and development in the
coming year. In this partnership, good things will happen.


Sincerely,

The 8th Grade Team