If the eighth grade class is small enough, have each student sign his or her name onto a sheet of blank, white paper. These signatures can then be scanned into a computer and then reprinted as an iron-on for a T-shirt. The signature of each eighth grader can then be placed on the back of a T-shirt. A nice touch is to include the school year. For example, a T-shirt may have the signatures on the back under the school year "2011-12."
A simple T-shirt idea to remind the students of their school pride is to create a T-shirt in the school's colors that features the school mascot. For example, a T-shirt featuring the school mascot may be a light color with the name of the school and a picture of the mascot on the front. The lettering would be in the school colors.
Have the eighth graders choose a class motto. If this isn't feasible, use the school motto. Mottos should be short and inspiring. One example of a class motto is, "If we cannot find the road to success, we will make one." Another example is, "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." The motto can be printed on either the front or back of the T-shirt, along with the class name and year.
Instead of printing the year that the eighth grade class is currently in, print the year that they are expected to graduate from high school. For example, if the eighth grade class is leaving middle school in 2012, they should graduate from high school in 2016. A slogan that can be printed on such a T-shirt can read, "Four more years! 2016, here we come."