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benefit them.  So if something comes up at home or work and it is something you can share or do with them, please do. 
• At the end of January, the 8^th graders will be taking the NAEP test and in the spring Dakota Step tests.  It is always important they are getting enough rest and a good breakfast to start off their school days and just know they need to do the best they can every day.
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• MathCounts - Mrs. Johnson
• MathCounts is a nationwide coaching and competition program that promotes academic excellence and provides challenging enrichment for middle school mathematics students.  3M Aberdeen sponsors MathCounts in the Aberdeen area by conducting several competitions each school year.  3M engineers administer the tests and provide the trophies and medals.  They also give a t-shirt to each participant and shirts to the teams that go to the chapter competition.
• Groton Area School District has recently received two grants from 3M.  The first was a 3M K-12 School Partnership grant in the amount of $500 in support of the school's MathCounts program.  The second was a community giving grant in the amount of $250 as recognition and compensation for the time, resources, and planning in hosting an Aberdeen Area MathCounts competition. 
• The South Dakota Northeast Chapter MathCounts Competition on the campus of Northern State University in Aberdeen was held Saturday, February 9.  The results will determine which teams and individuals advance to the state competition in Pierre in March.
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• Transition Mathematics - Mrs. Johnson
• Formulas for area and circumference were used extensively in the opening school days of 2013.  With the introduction and use of the distributive property, students have become better prepared to solve more complex algebraic equations.  After having studied translations, reflections, and rotations last semester, another type of transformation, the size-change model, has been explored.  Enlargements and reductions have been graphed by applying a size-change factor.
• The focus on building algebra skills will continue into the next chapter as students solve and graph equations and inequalities.  The direction to solve implies the need for showing complete steps and checks in their work.  Students will also be combining percents and multiplying rates and probabilities.

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