Language and Literature- Mr. Schaefer
6th Grade- Percy’s quest continues and has more excitement to come. Speaking of excitement, there will be a quiz on Percy Jackson on Wednesday!
7th Grade- Bilbo and company seem to be getting in one mess after another on their journey to the Lonely Mountain. Our journey through the book will take a break on Wednesday when we have a quiz on the book.
8th Grade- We should wrap up our studies of clauses on Tuesday. They will take their last test in my class on Thursday which will be on clauses (not Santa)! After that we will do some exam review and learn about diagramming sentences.
Language and Literature- Mr. Maddock
No News this Week
Last week’s news is below
6th grade Grammar and Writing– May Day! We’ll begin the month with the traditional Festival of Prepositions. Make sure your student has his/her costume back from the dry cleaners!
7th grade Grammar and Writing– May starts with the Short Story form, and the kids will be working on their own stories for the next couple of weeks.
8th grade Literature and Language– This is the last month of St. Mary’s for this wonderful group of kids, and we’re going to begin it with White Fang protagonist finding his way through some gripping struggles. See everyone at the Dinner Theatre!
Science- Mr. Short
6th grade: will be working on an engineering problem to create a watercraft to transport pennies.
7th grade: will have a test on Tuesday on the reproductive system.
8th grade: will finish up the year learning about stars and galaxies.
Language Acquisition- Madame Rooks
6th Grade: Students have recently completed weather journals where they tracked and reported the weather in Richmond and in another French-speaking city. We have a few lessons left before we begin review for final exams.
7th Grade: Chapter 5 Test hopefully early next week, and a crepe fest, in order to celebrate 5 French speaking only days in the classroom! Please check with your student to see what they have signed up to bring. Merci.
8th Grade: Congratulations on the play we presented Friday, April 24th. It was a hit. The students did really well learning their lines, with their pronunciation and their acting.
We will begin our lesson on speaking in the past tense, and then we will begin to review for the final exam.
Bonne fin de la semaine!
Language Acquisition- Senora Thompson
No News this Week
This is last week’s news below.
6th grade- We are finishing up our Unit 2 and will be having a test within the next two weeks. At this time we are learning how to tell time in Spanish. They should be reviewing their vocabulary and practicing telling time. They will get a review sheet for the final exam and we will also be reviewing some in class.
7th grade- We are finishing up our Unit on the Family and will have a test within the next two weeks. We will have a vocabulary quiz this week and a quiz on the verb “tener”. They will be getting a review package for their final exam soon and we will also review in class.
8th grade- We finished our Unit on travel and will have a test within the next two weeks. They were given the last group of vocabulary words and last two verbs in our Spanish class. Some of us had a tearful moment thinking about the end of SMS Spanish class. We’ve had some very special times together. The final exam will be cumulative and they will receive a review package soon!
Math- Mrs. Koehler
NOTICE: Please note that the last Math Lab will be on Monday, 5/18. Please mark your calendars!
All of the math classes will be given an exam review/study packet by Thursday, 5/14.
Please make sure your student’s journal is up-to-date because they will be collected soon for grading which will account for a quiz grade. I will be starting with 8th grade on Monday, 5/11.
6th Grade: 6-T took the Chapter 12 conversion/measurement test on Friday, but 6-K was postponed until Monday, 5/11. Some students wanted a little more practice and review. The remaining days will be spent on Geometry. The students will not be tested on this material, however, they will be responsible for knowing it on the final exam.
7th Grade: We finally mastered Chapter 9! The students have been working very hard! We have started Chapter 13 on operations with polynomials. I wanted to introduce the students to this as a preview for Algebra 1. There will not be any more graded assessments (except the journal), but the students will be responsible for the Chapter 13 material covered on the final exam.
8th Grade:
Congratulations to the Class of 2015 for a magnificent performance!
Advanced Algebra (HS) – The Chapter 10 test (Lessons 4 – 6) was postponed until Monday, 5/11. As one can imagine, the upcoming graduates were quite rowdy this past week with all the preparations for their big production! There are still a few more teaching days left and we will be learning about the quadratic equation and solving radicals. There will be no more assessments (except the journal), but the students will be responsible for the new material on the final exam.
Algebra (HS) – The Chapter 10 test (Lessons 1 – 3) was postponed until Tuesday, 5/12. As one can imagine, the upcoming graduates were quite rowdy this past week with all the preparations for their big production! There are still a few more teaching days left and we will be learning about the quadratic equation. There will be no more assessments (except the journal), but the students will be responsible for the new material on the final exam.
The countdown continues……..!!!
Ms. Koehler
Math- Mrs. Schiavo
Mrs. Schiavo – Pre-Algebra
This week we started our study of Polynomials. We added, subtracted and multiplied polynomials. Next week we will learn to identify linear, exponential, quadratic and cubic functions by working with number patterns in tables, drawing graphs, and writing equations. Polynomials have cool graphs. Also, next week students will be given an exam review sheet so they can start studying for their final exam.
Individuals in Societies- Mrs. Tuskey
6th grade US History:
The students have started working on their Civil War projects. They will have next Monday through Wednesday in class to finish their masterpieces which are due on May 14th.They also know that they are to work on these projects at home if needed in order to meet the deadline. Their presentations are May 14th, 15th, and 18th. This project counts as two test grades, so the students are really focused on doing their best work.
Exam review guides will be handed out May 14th, and we will spend the 19th, 20th, and 21st reviewing.
7th grade US History:
The 7th graders are becoming very familiar with the Cold War and the fun world of espionage. We wrapped up this week talking about the space race and the Watergate scandal. Next week the students will examine a variety of topics of their choice from the 1970s through present day.
Exam review guides will be handed out May 14th, and we will spend the 19th, 20th, and the 21st reviewing.
8th grade World Civilizations:
The 8th graders have been exploring the Renaissance, and they ended this week by learning a French medieval court dance. Thanks to Ms. Katherine Boltz for teaching us how to get our groove on, 15th century style! The students will spend next week exploring Renaissance art, music, and politics. Can you say Machiavelli?!
Exam review guides will be handed out May 14th, and we will spend the 18th, 19th, and 20th reviewing.
Religion- Mrs. Slifka
6th and 7th grades- if you brought in a binder at the beginning of the year- we are using them now and will continue to need them next year. I have noticed that some students may have used this binder for other classes. Please get a 1 ½-2 inch binder with pockets and dividers (at least 5-8).
All Grades– Use the back of the Jesus journal to review for the Final. We are preparing for Finals next week.
Be sure to be prepared to write about what you know. Part of the final involves writing like we did on the study guides. (solid paragraphs with details, examples, descriptions…)
7th Grade
Continuing to explore maps from the time of Jesus and comparing to maps from now. Preparing for Finals.
8th Grade
Preparing for Finals. Finishing up presentations still and notetaking on the councils.
Design- Mrs. Clopton
Grades 6-8
On Wednesday, May 13th, the middle school will attend a quick presentation in the gym regarding Social Media and Internet Safety. We will have a guest speaker present this information also to the 5th grade as well.
6th and 7th grade- Students should be finishing up their projects as needed in class. We only have two more days of class before the end of the year.
8th Friday, May 15th , the 8th grade students will be having their Community Projects on display before the start of field day. I have been so impressed with the 8th grade this year. They have worked so hard these past few months. I am so proud of them. I hope you are able to join us before field day from 8:10-9 in the gym to take a look at all of the Community Projects the class has completed. Everyone is welcome to come and look.
PE- Coach Spicer
Field Day 2015
Students who ordered a field day t-shirt will receive their shirt next week before Field Day. These shirts are to be worn by the student on Field Day. If a shirt was not ordered, then a t-shirt of the correct team color should be worn on Field Day. Students should bring a snack and a water bottle, and sunscreen is recommended, as it will most likely be a warm day. Since Field Day will be following a half-day schedule, please do not bring a lunch. Students will be brought back to their classrooms around noon, so they will be ready for the dismissal at 12:20 p.m.
Music- Mrs. Taylor
Composer of the Month: May: Claude Debussy My personal favorite–Clair de Lune is a perfect end of year song, bittersweet.
6th grade: Spring Sing was a success, 6th grade played a great part of that success. Performance Critique final questions are due on Wed May 20th.
8th grade: Cre8ting Tomorrow’s Heroes certainly generated a lot of buzz, the students did a tremendous job. Thank you for your support of this project. We will have our Composer quiz next week.
Art- Mrs. Dunham
Thank you to all who came to support the Art Show and help make it a success! I am proud of what our students have accomplished.
6th Grade Religious Arts
Some students have been completing their “Illuminated Manuscript” project, adding “gold” to their embellished initial.
We read about the “fruits of the spirit” in Galations 5:22-23. Students have been making a comic-style illustration of one or more “fruits of the spirit”.
7th Grade Art
Students are continuing work on their Winding One-Point Perspective Projects. This has been proven to be quite a challenge to many of our students.
