Welcome
Lyman Moore
Eighth Grade Students!
What's the same 
what's different in my school?
Lyman Moore Middle School is the largest Portland middle school with over 550 students which is roughly 180 students or so in each grade, divided into two "Houses," per grade. We are the Acadia House and the Baxter House each named after the famous, beautiful Maine parks. In grade 8, Acadia and Baxter Houses continue with the same core subjects, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, Foreign Language and Physical Education but the "electives" which are called "Related Arts" or "Unified Arts" in middle school, are different in 8th grade.
This year, the "Unified Arts" classes are two: Art, with Ms. Melissa Maher, and Health Education, with Ms. Regina Erskine. Ms. Sue Doyon, our Portland Partnership Developer also will be coordinating many guest speakers who will present to eighth grade classes this year encouraging the thinking about career, further education and the future.
We continue with foreign language choices of: Spanish or French. Most students will enroll in one of these foreign language classes and they will meet every other day, with the alternating day a physical education class. These two alternating days will still be "Blue" and "Red" days.
Other teachers working with eighth grade students include chorus, music, special educators, school counselor, English Language Learner teachers and special education teachers. Our Special Education Team Leader, Mrs. Roberta Lucas, provides oversight for individual education plans and special education processes and our Teaching Strategist Mrs. Kathleen Ball, collaborates with all teachers on best practices to support all students' learning. Our special educators working with grade 8 include Mr. Kevin Martin, and Educational Tech, Sarah Burton. We are also very proud to have our Chapter 104 Gifted and Talented teachers' continue with consultation in the eighth grade!
Scroll down and check out other changes you can expect in eighth grade!
How is 8th grade different from seventh grade 
Learning: Learning critical thinking, asking deeper questions, making connections to the world and to future education is key in eighth grade. You will hear references to the high school curriculum and habits of work. Homework will become more directed related to building skills and practice in-class learning. Parents, students and teachers all feel this difference! This is the exciting, yet also challenging time of increased responsibility and growing up. Some differences students report from seventh to eighth grade also include:
- School, friends, teachers - it all begins to make more sense!
- More options for After-School activities
- Changes in friendships and intensity of those friendships -- your best friend and you may decide to go to different high schools and that independence surprises you and your parents.
- Or on the other hand, you now really need people to "be there" when you thought you were used to going it alone and your sudden need for reassurance surprises you and your parents and your friends.
- You begin to articulate who you "are" and what matters to you. You get mad. You pull away. You get excited. You dive in. You confuse yourself and inspire yourself. It's not easy being in 8th grade, but the mixture of feelings is N-O-R-M-A-L!
√ You will experience the increased responsibility for your own school work. Last year, you adjusted to the fact that teachers no longer reminded you to turn in homework or to find out what was your responsibility if you missed a class. This year they expect you to speak up about your views and to do so clearly and with thoughtful reasoning. You might enjoy a discussion (and you thought it was an argument!) with a teacher in a way you did not before.
√ You're standing up for yourself about how you learn - and you'll see that you have more choices about what to learn and how to learn. Projects, ideas, the way to demonstrate learning -- these will be areas that if you let yourself be creative, you can choose your own style more in eighth grade. You are older now - you are expected to become the leaders in our school - in how you interact with adults, treat each other and respect a learning environment.
√ Reading remains an essential component of the learning environment at Lyman Moore (with a class of intensive silent reading) and also you will find that when you dive in and explore a topic you enjoy that your reading improves, your understanding improves - and your ideas crystalize. You make concrete, real-life connections. All these connections help build and increase your "background knowledge" which will serve you well the rest of your life!
√ Individual meetings between you and your whole team of teachers, or you and parents and teachers are encouraged if anyone has a concern or ideas for improving your learning. Teachers, parents and students find these kind of meetings helpful even as they may be intense - to talk about and resolve an issue with respect, fairness and a focus on your future.
Who, What, Where, When and stuff:
- WHO: Lyman Moore has two Houses in each grade and the Houses are called "Acadia" and "Baxter." Students have "looped up" with their same peers for three years now which is why we call this a "vertical" team. New students enroll each year, too, in 8th grade and are welcomed right into our community! This year also, some students who have been involved in an intensive learning of English as a second or third language may transition into regular classes with all their peers - and our learning environment continues to enrich all students!
Acadia House: The Acadia House grade 8 teachers this year are: Lee McKay, Science; Lauren Cormier, Social Studies; Trudy Brown, Language Arts; and Melissa Green, Math.
Baxter House: The Baxter House grade 8 teachers this year are: Rob Miller, Science; Regina Morton, Social Studies; Maureen Tevanian, Language Arts; and Ronda Beck, Math.
- WHAT: Eighth grade students take science, social studies, language arts, math and physical education. Most 8th graders also take a Foreign Language class every other day. The "Unified Arts" classes for eighth grade are: Art; and Health Education.Each of these courses is for half of the year.
- WHERE: Both 8th grade Houses are on the second floor of the school this year. Joining you on the second floor this year is one of our two part-time Assistant Principals, Mrs. Louise Moses; our Chapter 104 Gifted and Talented Teacher consultants; one of our English Language Literacy / Reading Support labs and a multi-purpose classroom. The sixth and seventh grade houses are all on the first floor.
- WHEN: The school day begins at 8:25 a.m. and ends at 2:35 p.m. Student are welcome into the school building at 8:10 a.m. (unless they come early for breakfast or for homework help -- available by request with many teachers and very frequently with me, school counselor!) and our school dismisses at 2:25 p.m. We still have EARLY RELEASE WEDNESDAY beginning in October for professional development and training -- students dismiss on these Wednesdays at 1:35.
SCHOOL BUS: The best way to check about the school bus is by contacting Portland School's Transportation Department directly at 874-8240 because some of the transportation requirements have changed this year. In general, Middle School students must live more than TWO miles from school to be eligible for the bus.
CAFETERIA: All eighth graders have lunch at the same time in the cafeteria but we have a big change here. We now no longer have one line for hot lunch and one separate line for a'la carte lunch. Both lunch lines have the same options. Students who want the hot lunch ($2.25 per day), students who qualify for free lunch (.00 cost) or reduced lunch (.60 cents per day) all eat together, get lunch from the same serving line. Students sit with students from their House. An earned reward for many students with pro-social school behavior is a "Falcon Pass" which permits students to mingle at lunch with the students from the other House. 
