Language and Literature- Mr. Schaefer
6th Grade Literature and Vocab– The students have finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and really enjoyed it. We watched the 1938 film adaptation and discussed what they liked and disliked about it. As usual, they all thought the book is better than the movie. The next novel we will read is Cheaper by the Dozen.
7th Grade Literature and Vocab– The students are so close to finishing To Kill a Mockingbird. We will be having some great discussion about what justice really means and talk about the iconic nature of many of the characters in the book. Next, we will trek into local legend Edgar Allan Poe’s tales of terror.
8th Grade Grammar and Vocab– Our time with verbs has almost passed and we will move on to modifiers. We will finish the unit on verbs before the end of October.
Language and Literature- Mr. Maddock
6th grade Grammar and Writing– Gee, are these guys opinionated. The trick is to back up these opinions with real, detailed, well-organized reasons, and we’re continuing our work with those. They’ll draft their formal essays in the next two weeks. Also, since nothing’s worse than writing with weak, inactive verbs, in Grammar we’ll be starting that unit, the most complex unit of the year.
7th grade Grammar and Writing– Now that we’ve tuned up our verb usage and made our nouns specific, we’ll start hunting around to find colorful, personalized modifiers to express our opinions on just about everything. The great thing about 7th grade is that one never has to actually ask for an opinion; they just get offered up non-stop! They’ll practice backing them up using something besides volume.
8th grade Literature and Language– We’ll finish our look at the central books of the Odyssey in the coming weeks, and spend a few days discussing the concept of the hero in Western literature. And speaking of odysseys, the 8th grade will begin navigating the high school application process, and to help with that, we’ll continue brainstorming ways to answer those tricky essay questions.
Science- Mr. Short
6th grade: The students are finishing up learning about the characteristics of life and will begin learning about cells. They will learn about parts and functions of the cell as well as the cell cycle and cell theory.
7th grade: We will finish learning about Newtonian physics and move on to sound.
8th grade: The students will finish learning about the Rock cycle in the next few weeks.
Language Acquisition- Madame Rooks
6th Grade: We Have successfully completed our “Great Cognate Search” project. Look for the posters in the hallway soon. The students did a fabulous job demonstrating that many, many French words are similar to English words of the same meaning. They chose their own themes for the posters and were very creative. We will have a Unit 1A test on Tuesday, October 27th. On Wednesday, we will begin our study of the Geography of France.
7th Grade: We are nearing the end of our first High School unit and will have an assessment on that next week. We have officially delved into the magical world of verb conjugation, adjectives and noun gender! We also enjoyed a French film, “Belle et Sebastien”, a story about a French boy living in the Alps region of France, and his dog. This is a movie that was based on the classic French series of the same name, by author Cecile Aubry. It is a film that I fell in love with at last year’s French Film Festival, right here in Richmond! We watched and listened in French, with English subtitles.
8th grade: We have been enjoying learning about the foods of France and going to the supermarket and individual markets in France. We are learning how to talk about our likes and dislikes and how to shop in a different culture and of course, in French. We will finish this unit in the next week and will probably begin to plan a feast or “Pique-nique” of some sort, after some days of speaking only French in class. We also enjoyed a French film, “Belle et Sebastien”, a story about a French boy living in the Alps region of France, and his dog. This is a movie that was based on the classic French series of the same name,by author Cecile Aubry. It is a film that I fell in love with at last year’s French Film Festival, right here in Richmond! We watched and listened in French, with English subtitles.
Bon Weekend!
Mme Rooks
Language Acquisition- Senora Thompson
6th grade: We are finishing up our Unit 1A with our quiz on numbers next week. We went out to the garden this week and counted all the plants in the garden and labeled them in Spanish. Our next unit of study will be about countries.
7th grade: Fashion week in Spanish class is coming to an end. We still have a couple of students that have to walk the runway. They looked amazing and they were so much fun to watch.
8th grade: We are still working on our sports unit. They have learned all about the “boot” verbs and did excellent on their “e” to “ie” verb quiz. We will have a quiz on the “o” to “ue” verbs next week.
Math- Mrs.Dyer
The annual Pumpkin Contest is well underway in the middle school. Everyday students submit their guess of the weight of the pumpkin in the math classroom to the nearest hundredth of a pound. The winner will be announced next Friday in celebration of Halloween. Meanwhile, eighth grade Algebra students have celebrated the end of word problems….. for now. Word problems will be back!! Seventh grade Pre-Algebra students are wrestling with exponents and winning!!! Sixth grade Math students are finishing their study of decimals and will move on to fractions soon. And November will bring the first famous mathematician to our classroom.
Math- Mrs. Schiavo
Sixth Grade Pre-Algebra: We finished Unit 1 Algebra and Integers. Subtracting integers was the most challenging section for the students but I am pleased with their progress. They appear to be more comfortable working with signed integers now and experienced much success on our most recent chapter test. We just started Unit 2 Algebra and Rational Numbers.
Seventh Grade Algebra: We have been working on solving inequalities, how to write and graph inequalities and solving word problems where there s a maximum or minimum value. Students have been manipulating some of the more difficult absolute value equations; I gave them the gift of a “comfortable struggle” and their performance was outstanding.
Individuals in Societies- Mrs. Tuskey
6th Grade: The students are finalizing their research for the upcoming debate on whether or not the Thirteen Colonies should declare independence. After that it will be time to fight the American Revolution.
7th Grade: The 7th graders have been studying the positives and negatives of the Progressive movement of the early 1900s and linking it to the current Progressive movement. Then it will be time to study WWI, “The war to end all wars.”
8th Grade: After completing their exploration of early Chinese dynasties and the Mandate of Heaven, the 8th grade students will delve into the history of ancient Greece.
Religion- Mrs. Slifka
• All grades: Yes, all middle school students will be joining the school in the Saints Parade on Friday October 30th. Students may dress up as a saint or favorite Bible Character. We will gather in the back parking lot at 9.45 and start the parade to St. Mary’s Woods at 10am—Friday, October 30th Costumes should be easy- something they can put over their uniform. They are not to come dressed in costume when they arrive—and uniform policies are still in effect.
6th: areas we have or will work on in class in the next week or so include:
Discussions are a big part of this class- we have really gotten into some incredible discussions in the last few weeks- sometimes a child will ask a random question and it leads to really deep theological talks.
Recognize and understand the importance of the characters (both men and women) of the Hebrew Scriptures; Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Ruth, Queen Esther, etc. –class project
Recognize that Mary is the Mother of God and Mother of the Church
Rosary-Luminous Mysteries
Saints
Support parish mission drives through prayer, Haiti prayer partners we sent down prayer bands for the children in Haiti and have been praying for them. If you are still reading this – please email me with readthenews in the subject line before 10/26 for a little surprise for your child.
*******************************************************************
7th: areas we have or will work on in class in the next week or so include:
Share the message of our Christian faith- Jesus Journal
List the books of the New Testament; compare image of God from Old to New Testament
Continue to use the Dynamic Catholic videos on strengthening our Faith
Continue to act out a skit on the Luminous Mysteries created by the 8th grade
Saints. If you are still reading this – please email me with readthenews in the subject line before 10/26 for a little surprise for your child.
We have been discussing Old Testament concepts, sharing stories and ideas in class often.
*******************************************************************
8th: areas we have or will work on in class in the next week or so include:
We are wrapping up our Prezi research on various Catholic information- they will finish this up in the lab.
Explain the history and veneration of saints/relics- have each person create portrait and essay on assigned saint.
Relate the lives of the saints, especially Mary, to personal journeys of faith (journal assignment) If you are still reading this – please email me with readthenews in the subject line before 10/26 for a little surprise for your child.
Discussion on how to make hard decisions and what keeps us from doing the right thing have been generated by some of the Matthew Kelly videos. A discussion on “why suffering exists” show me that your kids are really getting God’s love for them.
Language Based Learning Difficulties- Mrs. Clopton
Along with Breast Cancer Awareness month, October is also Dyslexia Awareness Month. Dyslexia is often times misunderstood. The three most common myths of Dyslexia are:
- People see backwards
- Can’t read at all
- It’s rare.
1 out of 5 = 20% actually have Dyslexia
What is Dyslexia?
- Dyslexia is inherited.
- People with Dyslexia find it difficult to read, write and spell despite being smart enough, motivated or exposed. Dyslexia is language based.
- Despite having difficulties with reading, writing and spelling, people with dyslexia have a variety of strengths that help them succeed.
Famous people with Dyslexia
- Albert Einstein
- Thomas Edison
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- Pablo Picasso
- Jim Carrey
- Jay Leno
- Muhammad Ali
- Nolan Ryan
- George Washington
- Richard Branson
- Steven Spielberg
- Walt Disney
The strength based definition of Dyslexia from the new book by Cheri Rae called, DyslexiaLand: A Map and Guide for Students, Parents, and Educator is as follows:
Dyslexia, a specific learning ability, a neuro-biological in origin, typically characterized by strengths including creative expression, athletic performance and scientific discovery. The individual with dyslexia often exhibits strength in thinking outside the box, making unexpected connections, and from an intuitive sense about the world.
Secondary strengths include a different learning style that may be auditory or kinesthetic, the ability to demonstrate knowledge in ways other than the written word, and an uncanny sense of entrepreneurialism that may lead to great innovations and financial success.
This book is available from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/DyslexiaLand-Guide-Students-Parents-Educators/dp/0934161585
Design- Ms. Oliver
No updates
PE- Coach Spicer
The 6th-8th grade students have finished the volleyball unit and have just begun the basketball unit.
The 6th grade students have started with a brief review of the basic skills and practice. The students will be introduced to the positions and basic rules of the sport.
The 7th grade students have begun their skill practice, and the students will be learning all of the rules in basketball, as well as its history. 7th grade will learn how to track a team’s season, understanding how to interpret statistics, etc.
The 8th grade students have worked on their skills in a game-like setting. Soon, they will be reviewing all of the rules, violations, and positions. 8th grade will better understand player roles on a team, as well as some offensive and defensive strategies.
Music- Mrs. Taylor
No updates.
Art- Mrs. Dunham
Students have been completing their micrography self-portraits. These will be on display in the upper commons in May on Grandparent’s Day.
Students must have all completed homework turned in by Tuesday, October 27th, in order to receive credit in time for report cards.
6th Grade Art: Students have completed their “Scuba Blues” color study. We will soon begin working on a mixed-media Ming Vase project.
Religious Arts: Sixth grade Religious Arts students have been studying the Rosary. In groups, they have been creating posters, visually interpreting the Mysteries, to be used in a theatrical production about the Rosary.