Classroom Newsletter

Mr. Choquette Sci-8 / SS-8

May 28, 2012

The end is near – 8th grade “happy hour” on Friday

Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns. I am dedicated to your child’s success.

Email:

cchoquette@kas.kh.edu.tw

Phone: 07-5830112

Students testing their solar cars on race day on the “green court.”

This is our last week of instruction for the 2011-2012 school year. Our 8th graders have been incredibly busy with

projects, presentations, quizzes and tests over the past four weeks. As our final week of learning and review

wraps up students are looking ahead to next week as they will be fully engaged in final examinations.

With the academic year quickly drawing to a close I feel that the time is right to take a moment to pause and

congratulate our 8th grade students on their dedication to their studies, their completion of Middle School and

the transition into high school. With this in mind I would like to have a brief gathering for the 8th graders on Friday

June 1st from 10:45-11:40 to allow students to relax and maybe enjoy some pizza and/or ice cream. I extend my

sincerest appreciation to Mrs. Rice and Class mom Mrs. Liu for organizing the food for our students. Our students

are so lucky to have such supportive parents.

This will be a nice social time for the 8th graders. Students will be able to hangout with friends in the cafeteria

and use the blue courts for volleyball and basketball. Such a break is surely deserved and it will act as a respite

before final exams get under way following the weekend.

It has been a pleasure to teach this group of students. While I will miss teaching them I am happy to know

that I will see them in the hallways and at school events next year. As always, if you should have any questions

or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me via email at cchoquette@kas.kh.edu.tw.

2 Mr. Choquette / Newsletter #11 / May 28, 2012

SCI-8 Update: Solar Car Project = renewable awesomeness The 8th graders really surpassed expectations with this

project. Initially there were some concerns as to

whether they were going to be able to get their solar

cars to run on a flat surface. As you might recall

students were placed on teams and they were given

total freedom to design and construct their cars

however they wanted to. The only real restrictions

placed on the students was that they had to use the

same photovoltaic cells, electric motors and gear sets

to keep a level playing field. The weather did not

always cooperate but students used the rainy days to

work on their cars and project report boards. Teams

worked diligently to design, construct, test, redesign, and reconstruct their vehicles. On May 24th we had a

sunny day and their hard work paid off. Every single team had a running car. Not all were fast but all ran, not all

went straight but they all went. This was a huge success. After several practice runs and two warm-up races it

was time for the championship race. The winning teams car, “Hurricane,” travelled the 9 meter race length in

13:01 seconds with an average speed of 0.69 meters per second or 2.5 KPH or 1.5 MPH which is pretty fast. The

second place car “High Tide” and the third place car “Buttercup” finished just 1:25 and 1:31 seconds behind the

first place car respectively; it was a close race. Look for the video on the Classroom Facebok page soon J

SCI-8 Final Examination Info: The Science final examination will include chapters 7-10, as well as our recent learning on Atomic Structure and

the Periodic Table. Students will be reviewing in class on Thursday and Friday; vocabulary games are on Quizlet.

SS-8 Update: Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment. Since the last newsletter students have completed their learning of Unit 5 on Japan during medieval times.

Students really seemed to enjoy learning about Japan’s history and the samurai warrior class. We have shifted

our focus back to Europe to explore the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Enlightenment. We have had some

very interesting discussions about the attributes of a good leader, the perfect society and we have spent

sometime arguing about Machiavelli’s “The Prince.” I absolutely love the debate and student participation that

I have witnessed in our recent classes. We have just wrapped up our learning of the Reformation and we will be

completing our lessons the Enlightenment on Wednesday and Friday.

SCI-8 Final Examination Info: The Social Studies final examination will only include information from chapter 28, 31, and 33.

Cars lined up after the races