Blue Devil News
J.M. Alexander Middle School
The Social Studies Column
By Mr. McClintock
“Efforts and courage are not enough without
purpose and direction”
In the month of December we
continued our exploration of
the American Revolution and
the role North Carolina played
during the war. The students
learned about the steps and
events that lead us into the
American Revolution. They
analyzed the Declaration of
Independence as well as the
Mecklenburg and Halifax
Resolves. The students
examined significant battles of
the war, key leaders for both
sides, and how the American
patriots eventually pulled off
one of the most improbable
victories in world history.
As the New Year rolls around
we will be answering the
question “What’s next?” After
the victory in the American
Revolution our founding
fathers had to get to work
deciding what this new
country would look like. We
8th Grade January
Upcoming Dates

February
2/14 – Valentine’s Day
-JFK
2/17 – UNCC Men’s Basketball
will be arguing the pros Game 7:00 pm
and cons of the Articles of
Confederation and why 2/19 – Make Up School Day
ultimately the Articles 2/20 – Girls Soccer Try-outs
had to be discarded and
the Constitution had to be 2/20 – Baseball Try-outs
written. We examine the
2/22 – Honor Roll Celebration
Constitution and the Bill
of Rights and how both of 2/22 – Track Try-outs
those documents affect
our daily lives in 2018. 2/23 – IB Community Service
Celebration Day
Finally, in January the
2/27 – Progress Reports
students will be
introduced to their
democracy research
project where they will be
asked to identify an
injustice they see in the
United States and
complete an academic
analysis and study of that
injustice.
.
The ELA Examiner
By Ms. Dicker
"Hello families and scholars! in
English Language Arts, we will be
exploring Thematic Connections
between texts using discussions
about inequality, inclusion, and
difference. We will be reading
Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison
Bergeron," Louis Lowry's The
Giver, and Ray
Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. We
will also be discussing banned
books. We will explore all of this
content through use of many
literary elements, such as
foreshadowing, suspense,
allusion, and irony, to name a
few. We have also incorporated
new interactive resources into
our instruction to help us
prepare scholars for End of
Grade testing. If you have any
questions, please ask your
scholar's ELA teachers!
Mr. Lawson’s Math 2 Monitor
Important: Scholars that are currently taking Math 2 in the 8th grade will no longer have to take both the
Math 2 NC Final Exam and the Math 8 EOG. They will only be required to take the Math 2 Final Exam!
The Mathematics Messenger
By Mr. Lawson, Ms. Lyles, and Mr. Zebracki
We're learning about FUNCTIONS:
- SWBAT identify the slope in graphs, tables, and equations to compare two
proportional relationships represented in different ways. (8.EE.5)
- SWBAT recognize that the slope is the same between any two points on a line.
(8.EE.6)
- SWBAT identify functions from equations, graphs, and tables/ordered pairs.
(8.F.1)
- SWBAT compare two functions from different representations. (8.F.2)
- SWBAT use equations, graphs, and tables to categorize functions as linear or
non-linear. (8.F.3)
- SWBAT identify the slope and y-intercept from tables, graphs, equations, or
verbal descriptions to write a linear equation. (8.F.4)
- Given a verbal description or graph of a situation, SWBAT sketch a graph to
model the description or provide a verbal description of the situation. (8.F.5)
Mastery Goal for ALL SCHOLARS:
80% on all objectives
Mastery of all objectives @ 80% or above puts all of our
scholars on a path to be College and Career Ready (4 or
5) on the NC EOG in May/June.
Formal Assessments (Remaining of Q2):
- Christmas Break Project (due Jan. 4)
- Unit 5: Functions Assessment (Jan. 11)
- Interim Assessment #2 (Jan. 16-17)
*Dates are subject to change.
Reminders:
- MATH MAP TESTING: Jan. 23-24
- Be sure your scholar is reading independently at least 30 mins. per
night as it increases comprehension across contents.
- Scholars should review/study math notes and practice sets each
night for at least 20 mins. per night. Have your scholar summarize
their learning to you.
Math 1 – Welcome Scholars
and Families! During the THE PTSA ORACLE
month of January, scholars
will be focusing on learning
Are you looking to become
about exponential functions.
To relate this concept to the more involved with your
real world, students will scholar’s education?
determine how much money Consider joining the PTSA!
they will have to pay back if
they take out loans for college 
using a compounding interest The PTSA is responsible for
formula.
many of the great activities
that take part at JMA.
The Science Planet
By Ms. Puckett 
The first JMA fundraiser for
During December and the year, the Fun Run, will
January, scholars are learning take place October 6, 2017.
about the properties of
matter and chemistry. 
Practical learning includes Visit the JMA PTSA website
understanding the differences to learn how you can be a
between physical and
part of this amazing
chemical changes in everyday
objects and substances such opportunity!
as diapers in lab
experiences. Later in January
we will begin to study Energy.