Eighth Grade

Homeroom – Jesse Mercer

In eighth grade all roads lead to high school and much emphasis is put upon academic and emotional readiness. Eighth graders at Grymes become leaders with a well-deserved sense of pride and confidence. They have earned their spot at the top of the bleachers at assemblies and are looked up to and celebrated by the rest of the students. They are chosen to be officers of the Student Leadership Council and are prominent as they organize events including fundraisers, dances and school programs. They impress everyone with their convincing performances in the annual Shakespeare play and the poised delivery of their eighth grade speeches. Each member of the class is recognized by a faculty member at a dinner just before graduation where students share the memories that make up their class history and make a special presentation about their class through the years.  As they receive their diplomas at graduation, their maturity and self-assuredness makes everyone at Grymes feel like a proud parent.

English – Dana Bost

Eighth grade English is a year long conversation about the nature of mankind. It is a journey of self discovery, and by the end of the year, students emerge seasoned travelers in the Socratic Method. Students read both classic and modern literature. Much emphasis is put on what they think about what they read. They learn to write the five paragraph essay responding to ideas brought up in our discussions of the literature. The study of grammar and vocabulary is sprinkled throughout the curriculum to enhance and enrich communication, written and oral. The Eighth grade speech is a culminating event that evolves over the year as each individual discovers what he or she wants to say to the entire student body. Writing Workshop includes all genres and helps to deepen our understanding of each other and provides another way to share ideas. An in depth study of a Shakespeare play includes participation in the Folger Secondary Shakespeare Festival in Washington DC and a full length performance at the end of the year. The project, begun with trepidation, always ends too soon with tales of chivalry and tears. Each year, the class also participates in UVA's Bayly Art Museum's  Writer’s Eye competition. Students become invested in a class that depends on them for direction. The class is not a transfer of knowledge, but rather one in which the student leaves equipped to hypothesize, criticize, analyze and argue for his or her ideas.

Algebra 8 – Jesse Mercer

This high-school level class covers a complete Algebra I curriculum. Topics covered range from simplifying and evaluating algebraic expressions, solving single-variable equations with terms in both members, solving quadratic equations, simplifying rational and radical algebraic expressions, solving rational and radical equations, factoring quadratic and cubic polynomials, working with exponents, graphing linear functions, and solving systems of linear equations. Students are also exposed to notions such as two-column proofs, imaginary and complex numbers, and logarithms. There is a strong emphasis placed on the importance and method of problem-solving in mathematics. Methods of modeling real-life situations as algebraic expressions and equations are practiced throughout the school year, and individual and group work is used in working through solving these various problems. The goal of this course is to give students a solid foundation in Algebraic methods and to give them a taste for the complexity and beauty of mathematics as a field of study.

Geometry 8 – Laurie Roche

Grymes’ Geometry course is designed for eighth grade students who have excelled in algebra. The pace is comparable to a high school level Geometry course and topics covered include: basic tools of geometry; logical reasoning with conditionals, biconditionals, inverses, contrapositives, deductive and indirect reasoning; proving lines parallel and perpendicular; proving triangles congruent; quadrilateral figures, properties, and associated proofs; similarity in polygons and right triangles; trigonometry; transformations such as translations, reflections, rotations, dilations, and tessellations; area, surface area, and volume of polygons and polyhedrons; and circles, tangents, and chords. Students investigate geometric concepts using Geometer’s Sketchpad and prepare and demonstrate a PowerPoint presentation about a geometric concept to the 5th grade class at the end of the term. In addition to normal course grades, students take a mid-term and final exam.

History – Steven Brooks

This course is the second part of a two-year sequence begun in the seventh grade. It begins with George Washington’s first administration and builds upon the previous year’s concluding study of the framing and ratification of the Constitution. During the first semester, the class traces the political and geographic development of the republic as it struggles with foreign entanglements, territorial expansion, economic growth and emerging sectional conflicts. Our study of the political debates and conflicts of the first half of the nineteenth century focus particularly upon the competing interpretations of the Constitution that fueled them. As the semester progresses, the class follows the country’s inexorable slide toward secession and Civil War.

The second semester begins with a military historical review of the Civil War and then moves into our exploration of the very different United States which emerged afterward: rapid industrial growth, political corruption, the rise of Big Business, the social polarization of the Gilded Age, populist and Progressive reaction, the boom of the 20’s and subsequent collapse and Great Depression. The semester  ends with Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entry onto the stage of world war.

Throughout the year, we make an effort to take a number of side-trips into special topics, such as literary history or the introduction of new technologies. Popular culture is emphasized in our study of the early 20^th century.  The course emphasizes the development of skills in the specific areas of note taking, note organization and synthesis, analytical reasoning, historical causation and expository writing. Frequent short essays are required.  The spring research project involves a 4-6 page paper and a multi-media presentation.

Science – Anna Burkett

Eighth graders begin science with a course on Force and Motion. Here they learn about speed, distance, acceleration, force, gravity and momentum as they race trolleys and cars, collect and graph data on walking and running, boat races and the Iditarod. In a course called Chemical Interactions students conduct experiments to observe matter transformations. They learn the periodic table of elements and study kinetic energy and energy transfer as they heat and cool solids, liquids and gases and observe chemical reactions. A third course on Planetary Science rounds out the year with a look at Earth, the Moon and the Solar System. They explore the origin of the Moon, celestial motions, Moon phases, lunar geology, cratering processes, imaging technologies, scaling and space exploration.

Personal Development - Charlie Seyffer and Melanie Handelsman

The Personal Development seminar is an age-appropriate course designed to identify the broad spectrum of physical, social and emotional issues that arise during each stage of adolescent development and to increase student understanding of themselves and others in order to make healthy life choices.  The course meets once a week during the second semester and is taught by two faculty members. Students meet in a large group setting as well as small groups broken down by gender.  The eighth grade curriculum is designed as a continuation and expansion of knowledge presented in the seventh grade. The eighth grade course focuses on issues related to the transition between GrymesMemorialSchool and high school. The class meets once a week during the first semester.  Topics in eighth grade include values, stress management and emotional wellness, family issues, relationships, internet safety, communication, good vs. bad touch, psychosocial issues of puberty, birth control, being assertive (saying and accepting “no”), review of reproduction, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, smoking, substance abuse and transition into high school.  Guest speakers from the community are also invited to speak to the class.