Language and Literature- Mr. Schaefer
6th Grade- We’ve completed our first novel and there will be a test on it Monday (10/20). The students loved the humor and the drama involved in Mark Twain’s classic. We will wrap up our discussion during the week of 10/20 with a writing assignment. Our journey through the Vocabulary Workshop book will begin again. There will be a matching definition test on Unit 5 on Friday (10/24).
7th Grade-GUILTY?!? Today we heard the verdict in Tom Robinson’s trial. Our class discussion during the trial has been phenomenal. Hopefully we will finish the novel next week, but there is a chance we will complete it early on the week of 10/27. Our journey through the Vocabulary Workshop book will begin again. There will be a matching definition test on Unit 5 on Friday (10/24).
8th Grade- Our little sponges have begun reviewing transitive and intransitive verbs which will lead to lessons on objects of verbs and then predicate adjectives and predicate nouns. How exciting! There’s a chance of verb quiz next week with a test on verbs definitely being sometime in the week of 10/27. Our journey through the Vocabulary Workshop book will begin again. There will be a matching definition test on Unit 5 Friday (10/24
Language and Literature- Mr. Maddock
6th grade Writing and Grammar—– The kids have received my opin-ion on their Opinion Essays, and for the most part I had good things to say. We will continue exploring the things of this world in our study of Nouns during the week of the 20th, including a testy little quiz mid-week!
7th grade Writing and Grammar– – We’ll be talking about the 5-paragraph structure in 7th grade this week, and then stop talking while they each write one during a timed-essay event, midweek. In fact, the idea of their not talking is so appealing that I’m willing to grade forty-five 7th grade essays (and harshly!) in order to experience it.
8th grade Literature and Writing— We’ve finished Book X of the Odyssey, and introduced a few literary terms to our class discussions. We’ll read Book XI during the week of the XXth, an excellent moment for the week before Halloween, as Odysseus finds himself in a creepy, bloody, ghost-menaced place.
Science- Mr. Short 
6th: The dichotomous key is due on Tuesday. I pushed the due date to allow them to study for the test today. Next week we will begin ch 2 and learn about cells.
7th: The students will have a test mid week on ch 3.
8th: To finish up the rock cycle the students played Rock On today and will have a test middle of next week.
All Grades: Grades close in less than 2 weeks. Make up assignments and points must be made up by Oct. 21st.
Language Acquisition- Madame Rooks
French 6– Congratulations on finishing our first Unit (Greetings, numbers, classroom objects and commands). The students have also recently completed a project on cognates, “The Great Cognate Search”!
We spent a little time in our Scholastic magazines and learned about Zombies in Paris, and the famous singer, Stromae, who is currently touring in world.
Next we will be studying the Geography of France, and other places where France is spoken.
French 7– We have just completed our second high school unit and the students took their chapter 2 test today. Monday, some students will finish a speaking interview with me, and we will complete the listening component of the assessment. Unit 3 will be about what happens before, during and after school, and the differences between school in France and in the U.S. We will learn how to conjugate many new regular –er verbs.
French 8– We have recently completed our Shopping for foods unit/Chapter 6, and a chapter test is scheduled for this coming Monday, the 20th. We watched episode 3 of “Chez Mimi”, and discussed healthy eating habits in French. “Mangez bien, c’est pas pour rien. Faites du sport, soyez fort » !
Then we will be onto clothing and fashion shows. Stay tuned…
Bonne Fin de Semaine!
Language Acquisition- Senora Thompson
Spanish 6th grade– Students continue learning numbers this week. They will be doing some “Spanish math” problems. They will also practice their numbers with the colors. They will have a quiz with a listening section for numbers 1-1000 very soon.
Spanish 7th grade-Fashion Week is OVER! The students really enjoyed performing their skits. We will be working with “ar” verbs this week and they should be able to conjugate the verbs and answer questions with the correct verb form. Answering questions in the correct form can be tricky, so they must practice, practice and then practice some more!
Spanish 8th grade– – We continue in Unit 8, Health and the Doctor. The students will be creating a medical skit. This should be quite fun for them as they practice new vocabulary. Students are also trying to understand the verbs ser & estar (to be). Just remember: for how you feel and where you are always use the verb “estar”!
Math- Mrs. Koehler
NOTICE: Remember, Math Lab is on Monday and Wednesdays from 3:00 – 4:00 in the Math Room. Please have your student utilize this resource if they need it.
6th Grade: We have been working in Chapter 4 on multiplying decimals and we just started reviewing dividing decimals which they learned in 5th grade. There is a mid-chapter 4 quiz scheduled for Tuesday, 10/21, on lessons 4-1 to 4-3. This will not be included in the 1st quarter grades but will be the first grade for 2nd quarter. Let’s get them off to a great start for 2nd quarter!
7th Grade: I hope you are still encouraging your students to practice all operations with integers. Some of the students still need to master these skills. We finished off this week with the Chapter 3 Vocabulary Quiz. The students will have a Practice Test to work on over the weekend to prepare them for the Chapter 3 Test on Tuesday, 10/21. They had a little difficulty at first with solving equations using the Distributive Property but they seem to be getting the hang of it!
8th Grade: We finished Chapter 3 this week with both a Vocabulary Quiz and a Chapter Test on solving linear equations. I am hoping to have these graded in time to include in the 1st quarter report grades. Chapter 4 focuses on using proportional reasoning. This includes solving ratios and proportion problems. This is integrated with trigonometric ratios, solving similar triangles using proportions, and some work with probability/odds. As we enter the close of the quarter on Tuesday, many of the students are trying to calculate their grades so we learned about “weighted averages” this past week which we will discuss further in Chapter 4.
Answer to last week’s riddle:
What is the largest number you can get from using just two digits?
9 raised to the 9th power which equals 387,420,489
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Koehler MYP Math
Math- Mrs. Schiavo
Sixth Grade Pre-Algebra I am continuing to focus on word problems as we finish up Chapter 3. The students are very good at computational problems but word problems cause many students difficulty. Specifically, we are working on understanding the vocabulary, distinguishing relevant information, write an equation, choose the correct operation, solve the problem and express the answer in the correct units. So many steps and so many skills are involved but we are making progress. I am optimistic. There will be a Chapter 3 Test and a Unit 1 Test next week.
Individuals in Societies- Mrs. Tuskey 
6th Grade US History
The students received their colonial brochure project grades today, so be sure to take a look at both their grade and my feedback. The week of 10/20 will find the students learning about the Great Awakening, the Enlightenment, and the French and Indian War. There will be a test toward the end of the week on these topics.
On Friday the 24th the students will receive information about their current event presentation. Each student will be responsible for a presentation once per nine weeks. Please feel free to use this assignment as an opportunity to engage your children in discussions about what is going on in the United States.
7th Grade US History
The students will receive their grades on their Civil War projects on Tuesday the 21st. They will continue to study Reconstruction, including the passage of the Thirteenth through Fifteenth Amendments. There will be a quiz on Reconstruction either by the end of the week or early the following week.
On Friday the 24th the students will receive information about their current event presentation. Each student will be responsible for a presentation once per nine weeks. Please feel free to use this assignment as an opportunity to engage your children in discussions about what is going on in the United States.
8th Grade World Civilizations
The 8th graders ended their week by taking a test on the early empires of Mesopotamia. The week of 10/20 they will move farther east across the globe and explore the early civilizations of the Indus River Valley.
On Friday the 24th the students will receive information about their current event presentation. Each student will be responsible for a presentation once per nine weeks. Please feel free to use this assignment as an opportunity to engage your children in discussions about what is going on in the world.
Religion- Mrs. Slifka
All Grades: • Living Portrait Project– All grade levels are researching a Saint for a project that will mostly be done in school. It is similar to the “live portraits” you may have seen the Harry Potter movies on the walls that come to life. Each student needs a foam board the size of normal poster board. I have shown students the size that works best. If you could pre-cut them to a 5 inch frame it will save us a lot of time. The center needs to be cut out so that it makes a frame around their face. I would like to have cut boards by the end of next week. • We will be decorating this frame in class with items that fit for their Saint/Biblical figure. They will need these items later –but I recommend collecting now. We will decorate in class. Printed pictures, stickers, fun duct tape, words or quotes,… all work well. They will hear more about this in the next two weeks. If a student falls behind, they may need to work on this at home. I do not anticipate this. The research portion should be close to complete by next week. We will start working on Frames as soon as the majority in the class are ready. To be in touch. • World Mission Day is this Sunday, but we will focus on this at our Wednesday mass in school. We are learning about this mission in class- please ask your child what they know. Our collection on Wednesday will go to this mission. We have encouraged all students to donate.
Design- Mrs. Clopton
Grade 6– Students will finally be introduced to their first IB project this week. This project will be done in class with the exception of materials they may need to bring in to complete their project.
Grade 7– Students will be presenting their IB Country Poster project this week.
Grade 8– Students will be meeting with their mentors in the next couple of weeks. They will also begin the process of writing and developing their research topic and paper.
PE- Coach Spicer
The middle school students are starting their basketball unit.
6th grade has been reviewing and practicing their skill work, including dribbling, passing, and shooting.
7th and 8th grade have been reviewing these skills, as well, and have started with small sided games. Next week, these students will learn/review the rules for basketball, and they will focus on teamwork and team offensive and defensive strategy.
Music- Mrs. Taylor
Composer of the Month: October/Johann Sebastian Bach For an October classic, check out Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor!
6th grade-Begin Music 2nd Semester. They may bring their Music Process Journals (1 in. binder) down to the music room to be labeled and stored.
7th grade-Outside Performance Critique Proposals are due next week! The students need to research and find a local musical presentation, concert, or an online music program of 30 minutes or more that they will be viewing and submitting a review of next semester. Our Christmas program and Nativity will be presented here in the church on the night of Tues. Dec. 16th 7-8pm.
8th grade-The 8th grade received many positive comments in regards to their portrayal of the Living Rosary. We will begin work on their 8th grade Culminating Class Project—early indication predicts this will be a Dinner Theater production.
6th Grade Art
In Religious Arts, students have just completed painting and carving into their lovely plaster “Creation Day Frescoes”. Look for them coming home soon wrapped in newspaper. Each project was to illustrate a day of creation in the form of a fresco, the earliest known form of Christian art.
In their regular art class, students have just completed their first major project, a snowy landscape tempera painting. They were to use a range of values and have a clear foreground, middle ground and background. Photographs were used as a reference. Details were added in charcoal. We are now beginning to explore the possibilities and limitations of paper as a 3-D medium for our next project, Totem Lanterns.
Some sixth graders are still struggling with bringing their hardbound Process Journal (sketchbook) to class each time and completing their homework as directed. We are working to improve on this!
8th Grade Art
Eighth grade artists are currently working on a memory drawing project, based on the work of contemporary American artist, Faith Ringgold.
Other Updates
- Grades close Tuesday, October 21st
- Please note: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 is an early dismissal day allowing for a half day of professional development for our faculty and staff. There will be NO Mass on this Wednesday.An Early Dismissal Schedule will be followed for the day. The bell schedule will be:Homeroom 8:00 AM – 8:15 AM
1st Period 8:15 AM – 8:45 AM
2nd Period 8:45 AM – 9:15 AM
3rd Period 9:15 AM – 9:45 AM
4th Period 9:45 AM – 10:15 AM
5th Period 10:15 AM – 10:45 AM
6th Period 10:45 AM – 11:15 AM
7th Period 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM
8th Period 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM
- Dismissal 12:15 PM – 12:20 PM
Please note that middle school students will return to their homeroom for second period. Otherwise, the Wednesday sequence of courses will remain the same.
Report cards go home Friday, October 24th
MS dance is Friday, October 24th!