8th Grade

Skyline Middle School

A Proud History of Excellence in Education since 1966

Skyline Middle School

2900 Skyline Drive

Wilmington, DE 19808

Phone: 302-454-3410

Fax: 302-454-3541

To contact us:

8A:

ELA—Mrs. Simon
Mrs. Simon has been involved in education since graduating from Texas A & M University in 1984.  She began her teaching career as a kindergarten teacher and, while raising three sons, she worked as a tutor, a preschool teacher, a substitute, and a HOSTS coordinator. She began working fulltime at Skyline in 2002 as the DSTP ELA teacher, and in 2006 accepted a position as an 8th grade ELA teacher.  In addition to teaching 8th grade ELA, Mrs. Simon is the co-advisor of the National Junior Honor Society and the sponsor of The Jaguar Journal, Skyline’s student newspaper.  She is also the assistant coach for the Girls and Boys Interscholastic Volleyball team and serves as a member of Skyline’s Discipline Committee.

Math—Mrs. Hackett
After teaching science for 15 years Mrs. Hackett came to Skyline Middle School in 2002 to teach math and algebra on the 8A Team.  She is Skyline’s 8th grade math league coach, team leader, and mentors students through the discipline committee.  Mrs. Hackett holds a middle school math certification as well as an elementary education (grades K to 8) certification.  Mrs. Hackett is “highly qualified” to teach middle school mathematics.  She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware, where you may see her volunteering at football games in the concession stands.  She received her Masters of Education from Wilmington College.  Mrs. Hackett received one of her greatest honors in 2002, when she was selected as Red Clay’s Teacher of the Year.  After raising 8 children, Mrs. Hackett says her greatest joy is grandparenthood.

Science—Mrs. Farmer
Mrs. Farmer has an undergraduate degree in science and Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction.  She worked in the medical field for 14 years as a medical technologist before becoming an instructor for medical and elementary school  programs at Delaware Technical and Community College. She is highly qualified to teach science in grades 6 to 8. Mrs. Farmer is also very active with the Red Clay School District science coalition and new teacher mentoring program as lead mentor.

Social Studies—Mr. Meade
Mr. Meade has worked in three Red Clay schools.  Mr. Meade holds a secondary certification to teach Social Studies.  He is considered a Highly Qualified teacher in Social Studies.  Mr. Meade earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware, and he also earned a Masters Degree in School Administration from Wilmington University.  In addition to role as a teacher of Social Studies, Mr. Meade also serves as Skyline’s head wrestling coach.  Mr. Meade has a wife named Anne and two wonderful stepchildren Amy and Brian.   

8B:

ELA—Mrs. Faccenda
Mrs. Faccenda comes to teaching as a second career. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English/Theatre Arts from Cornell University and a Masters Degree in Education  from Wilmington University.  She is highly qualified to teach English/Language Arts for grades 5 through 12.  After owning and operating a successful publishing business out of her home for the past 20+ years, Mrs. Faccenda decided to fulfill her lifelong desire to teach. She is thrilled to have a job that combines her passion for the printed word and her love for children (especially middle school children).

Math—Mrs. Urwin
Mrs. Urwin is originally from Schenectady, NY.  She has her bachelors and masters degree in Choral Music from SUNY at StonyBrook.  She is also highly qualified to teach middle school mathematics.  Mrs. Urwin likes to garden, enjoys camping and swimming, and is known as “the singing math teacher.”  She has been teaching for over twenty-five years. 

                 Also, please visit Mrs. Urwin on the Skyline SchoolNet page.  Make sure you select Skyline in the drop-down menu in the upper-left part of the page.

Science—Ms. Matthews
Ms. Matthews has taught Science for many years in Red Clay, most recently at Skyline. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biology and has a Masters in Microbiology from Indiana University. Ms. Matthews completed her teaching certification at the University of Delaware and is highly qualified to teach Science. She enjoys working with young people at this “challenging” age! Away from Skyline, everyday is a great day at the Jersey shore and anything beach related.

Social Studies—Mr. Lingenfelter
Mr. Lingenfelter graduated from Cecil Community College in (1985) with a degree in Professional Photography. He later went on to get a Bachelors degree in Elementary education(1995) and the a Master’s degree(2000) from Wilmington University. He teaches American History and Social Studies in 8th grade. He also teaches at Wilmington University and is a staff photographer for Senator Tom Carper. He loves to play guitar, write songs and spend time with his wife.

 

Special Ed.

ELA/Social Studies—Mrs. Hansen
Mrs. Hansen currently teaches eighth grade special education courses in both English Language Arts and Social Studies.  In addition, she teaches a graduate course at Wilmington University.  Mrs. Hansen has taught in a variety of special education settings and school districts in Delaware including Christina School District, Brandywine School District, and currently in Red Clay Consolidated School District. She is a two time graduate from University of Delaware where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary and Special Education and later earned a Master of Instruction Degree.  She is Highly Qualified to teach both English Language Arts and Social Studies and earned National Board Certification as an Exceptional Needs Specialist in Early Childhood through Young Adulthood.   

Science/Math—Mrs. Shepherd
Mrs. Shepherd earned a Master's in Elementary Education in 2000 and continued on to receive a Master's in Special Education in 2004 from Wilmington University.  At Skyline, she has taught 6th, 7th, and 8th Math and Science Special Education classes.  She has also have enjoyed working with the various clubs as well as coaching Soccer and Girl's Track.

Here you will find curriculum information for the 8th grade classes as well as short biographies of the 8th grade staff.  For contact information please use the staff directory found on the Our Staff page.

8th Grade ELA Course Overview:
Grade 8 ELA is filled with valuable learning experiences to aid the students’ transition from middle school to high school.  Based on District and State Standards, the 8th grade ELA curriculum integrates reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking into our daily lessons through our overarching idea, “Discovering Who I am Through Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening,” which is reinforced in the following areas:

Reading:  The McDougal Littell literature series, with the accompanying Interactive Reader Workbook, and the Accelerated Reader Program are used to sharpen reading skills.

Writing:  The 6 + 1 Writing Traits Program is the cornerstone of our writing program.  Written responses, including various journal entries, follow a CASE format to ensure the students include sufficient detail and support in their writing.

Vocabulary:  For vocabulary advancement, students complete varied word activities, such as frayer maps and pictograms, associated with the current literature study.  In addition, students complete weekly vocabulary lessons and explore Greek and Latin roots to strengthen vocabulary development.

Grammar:  Students focus on grammar lessons two times weekly by completing MUG (Mechanics, Usage, and Grammar) Shots from the Daily Language Workouts Handout.

These areas of focus, in conjunction with the district MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing, will advance the students’ ELA skills and prepare them for the Delaware State Testing Program, as well as for high school and the world beyond.

8th Grade Math Course Overview:
The 8th grade math curriculum at Skyline follows National and Delaware Content and Performance Standards as students are prepared for high school math courses.  Our program is a very rigorous one, in which students may receive high school credit in Algebra I and even take Algebra II.  Algebra I students will be following the 9th grade curriculum map for the district and Algebra II students will be following the 11th grade curriculum map.  Pre-algebra students are studying an integrated curriculum with geometry, algebra, statistics, and number sense using the Holt Course 3 Series and Connected Math Program (CMP).  Teachers will also be using mathematics goal strands of Numeric Reasoning (number sense and operations); Algebraic Reasoning (patterns and change; representations; symbols); Geometric Reasoning (with measurement and transformation) and Quantitative Reasoning (data analysis and probability).

8th Grade Science Course Overview:
There are four major units of study all aligned to the Delaware State Science Standards.

                 -Weather and Climate:  The goal of this unit is to study factors that cause weather, distinguish between weather and climate, and make weather predictions.

                 -Transformation of Energy:  The goal of this unit is to show that the flow of energy drives processes of change in all biological, chemical, physical, and geological systems .Energy stored in a variety of resources can be transformed or changed into other energy forms, which influence many facets of our daily lives.

                 -Planetary Systems:  The goal of this unit is to better understand the interactions and motions of objects within the Solar System such as the Sun, Moon, Earth, planets and other celestial bodies.

                 -Ecosystems:  The investigations in this unit demonstrate how organisms are linked to one another in an ecosystem by the flow of energy and the cycling of materials. Humans are an integral part of the natural system and human activities can alter the stability of ecosystems.

8th Grade Social Studies Overview:
The 8th grade Social Studies classes will focus on a comprehensive study of the History of the Americas.  Students will actively examine the course of events that influenced the lives of past and present Americans.  Lessons and units will be structured to support the prescribed curriculum established by the Red Clay School District.  Students will be presented with a variety of activities that will foster a desire to learn more about their nation and a desire to take an active role in our democracy.