Language and Literature- Mr. Schaefer
6th Grade: Today we finished The Giver in class. While much of adolescent literature answers all the questions for the reader, this book leaves the reader asking more. The children have been challenged to question the balance of importance of freedom versus safety. The students have realized that many of life’s most serious questions have complex answers. I have really valued the class discussion we’ve had during this book. There will be a test next Wednesday on the entire book. It will test general knowledge of the book and have some discussion questions about some of the key themes of the novel. We will have a vocabulary test on Unit 13 on Friday (3/27).
7th Grade: The classes finished reading Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl at the end of this week. Next week will be devoted to learning other stories of the Holocaust, genocide in other parts of the world, and the importance of first person accounts in learning history. There will be a test next Wednesday on the entire book. It will test general knowledge of the book and have some discussion questions about some of the key themes of the novel. We will have a vocabulary test on Unit 13 on Friday (3/27).
8th Grade: All of the eighth grade students have had multiple class periods to research and begin writing the research paper for religion and history. I have offered to edit, read, and comment on work as they progress through their papers so I hope they take me up on the offer. While we will not have any more class periods where I check out the chromebooks for the students, there is a chance we might be able to go to the computer lab and do some research prior to Easter break. The class is now moving forward to the next grammar unit which covers phrases. We will have a vocabulary test on Unit 13 on Friday (3/27).
Language and Literature- Mr. Maddock
6th Grade Grammar and Writing— We’ll be continuing our work on Modifiers, and should have a quiz on Adjectives before the week ends. This is an excellent time to have your student try using the google quizzes to develop a feel for a particular part of speech.
7th Grade Grammar and Writing— Prepositions, prepositions, and more prepositions! Quiz this week on prepositional phrases. We will also watch Life is Beautiful and write about issues related to material being studied in Social Studies class.
8th Grade Literature and Writing— Now that we’ve seen the last of Long John Silver, we’ll step briefly into the 21st century for a short story or two, before picking up another novel at the end of the week.
Science- Mr. Short
Science Fair is due for all grades on Monday, March 23rd!
Language Acquisition- Madame Rooks
6th Grade:
We are enjoying watching and participating in Le Grand Muzzy. It’s a great video story of a princess, her parents, her beau, and of course a friendly monster. We are listening in French with French subtitles.
7th Grade:
We just finished the National French Contest and will carry on with our unit on dining out in France.
8th Grade:
We just finished the National French Contest and will carry on with our unit on train travel. We are considering which play to perform. Stay tuned!
Bon Weekend, tout le monde!
Language Acquisition- Senora Thompson
Spanish:
6th grade Spanish will have a Unit 1 Test this week. This will include “ser”, articles el, la, un, una and Unit 1 vocabulary. Then we will continue to work with our verb “ser” in the plural.
7th grade will have a Unit 5 test this week. Then we will begin Unit 6 on Family and we will hopefully complete that before the school year ends. It only has one new verb, so they will quite happy about that!
8th grade is completing Unit 10 this week. They have been busy with the plays and then the National Spanish Exam competition so we are now headed back on track to finish Unit 10. The scores look really good for the National Spanish Exam, now we just have to wait and see how they stacked up with the rest of the students.
- 7th grade Students that signed up for the National Spanish Exam will take them this week after school. If they are taking the exam in two parts they need to come on Wednesday, March 25th from 3:00-3:45 and Thursday, March 25th from 3:00-4:00. If they are going to take the exam in one day, they only need to come on Thursday, March 26th from 3:00-4:00. They have been working so hard, I hope they score well!
Math- Mrs. Koehler
NOTICE: Math Lab continues to meet on Monday and Wednesday from 3:00-4:00 in the MS math room.
This year Day was extra special — 3.1415 (3/14/15)!!! It landed on Saturday so we celebrated this week with the traditional “Reciting of Digits Contest.” The winners were honored with a pizza and pie lunch to celebrate and all participants will receive “extra math points”! The results of the contest are listed below:
6-K
1st place: Emelia Woolman (151 digits)
2nd place: Kelsey Buisson (90 digits)
6-T
1st place: Catherine Pinotti (85 digits)
2nd place: Thomas Tucholka (39 digits)
7-2
1st place: Ellen Herrera (110 digits)
2nd place: Maggie Benton (72 digits)
7-3
1st place: Stephen Rathbone (70 digits)
2nd place: Becca Peppers (48 digits)
8th grade
1st place: Eve Maddock (an unbelieveable 450 digits!!!)
2nd place: Natalie Mauer (115 digits)
6th Grade: We are moving right along and completed Chapter 9 assessments this week. We will continue to use the newly learned Algebra skills in Chapter 10 to solve ratios and proportions.
7th Grade: Chapter 8, one which proves to be rather challenging, continues! The students will be tested next week on the entire chapter. They need to master the skills from the test given on Lessons 1-4 and Lesson 6, as well as the remaining lessons in the chapter. They will be allowed to use a large index card on the test with notes, examples and formulas. Please remind your son/daughter the material is getting more difficult and proper study time is absolutely essential!
8th Grade:
Advanced Algebra (HS) – We completed Chapter 8 and will be moving on to exploring polynomials. This is one of my favorite chapters so I hope the students will like it too! No assessments have been scheduled yet.
Algebra (HS) – Be on the lookout for the Chapter 8 assessments mid-week.
Happy Spring!!!
Ms. Koehler
MYP Math
Math- Mrs. Schiavo
Sixth Grade Pre-Algebra
There’s Excitement in the Air! The students have mentioned several times that they can’t wait till we work in Chapter 9. We started Chapter 9 (Applying Algebra to Geometry) this week. We learned how to find and use squares and square roots and to identify numbers in the real number system. Of course, they wanted to know if there was some kind of number other than a real number. So, we spent a little bit of time talking about Imaginary and Complex numbers. They continue to be such great thinkers and are so very inquisitive.
Individuals in Societies- Mrs. Tuskey
6th Grade US History
After taking a test on the growth in the early to mid-19th Century of both our country and sectionalism, it’s time to take a look at one of our most controversial presidents, Andrew Jackson.
7th Grade US History
The students are continuing their study of World War II. The week of 3-23 the students will get the information on their projects. This project will be a combination of in class and at home. Please be on the lookout for the project handouts.
8th Grade World Civilizations
The 8th grade students will be working on their interdisciplinary religion/world civ project research the week of 3-23. They will also continue their exploration of life in the very early Middle Ages.
Mrs. Pam Tuskey
Religion- Mrs. Slifka
All grades:
- 6th Grade– We will explore the Passover celebration and its influence on the early church. Our focus for the Peace Maker program is still “Kindness”. It would be great if you could bring this up at home, too. The Prayer for this month has been the Act of Contrition (mostly done in class).7th Grade- We are learning about Saint Don Bosco in collaboration with the unit just completed in Social Studies (World War 2); we have reviewed information on a “open book pop quiz” which is information needed for the Final and should be secured in the Jesus Journal. We are discussing the meaning of the Act of Contrition and why Catholics go to confession. See the youtube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvo0OCcp600 Notes and prompts have been added to the Jesus journal and we will review what will be graded next.8th Grade- We will begin to put our research of the various councils throughout our Church History into a presentation. I will be grading the content covered in the religion rubric. We will also go over the scriptures for Palm Sunday and present them in groups through one of the following based on the reading:
- create a skit
- create a rap or a song
- create a scripture doodle
- create a poster/visual aid to show the reading
- create a homily in writing
Design- Mrs. Clopton
6th grade- Students will be presenting their iMovie trailers in class next week and reflecting on their work. I can’t wait to see the finished products.
7th grade- Students will be introduced to their final project of the year. They will be using the IB Design Cycle to create a 3-D model of a technology Device
8th grade- We are in the final stretch for 8th grade. Students are working on several projects in class. They are working on their slide show and have already brought in over 500 pictures!! They of course want to use all of them, but our goal is around keep it 400, but we’ll see. Please still have students bring in pictures regardless because we have all enjoyed reflecting and reminiscing about the old days. Many students have brought in pictures of their classmates to share, so even if you don’t have a lot of pictures, know that all students will be represented. Students are also beginning the final stages of their Community Project. This project isn’t due until May the 11th, but they are working on their planning and development to figure out the best way to plan, create and finish their project on time. They should be able to discuss with you the status of their project. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or their mentor to voice concerns. Some students are ready to create now, while others may still need some time to figure it all out.
PE- Coach Spicer
The middle school students have been working on their floor hockey skills in one of the more enjoyable parts of the year. The students’ progress has been very noticeable over the last few weeks, as they have been learning the rules and getting used to playing together, while looking out for each other’s safety. They have been impressive in how they have respected the equipment, and more importantly, their classmates. In a potentially dangerous activity, they have been very good at minimizing risk. The 6th grade focused on stick handling, control, and passing, while 7th and 8th grade focused more on the rules and teamwork, specifically about making passes at the right time to set up others for scoring opportunities.
Music- Mrs. Taylor
Composer of the Month: March: Franz Joseph Haydn-“Papa Haydn” the Father of the modern symphony orchestra.
6th grade: We continue to work on material for the Spring Sing which will be held here on Friday May 1st. All narrations and solos will be given out the week before Spring Break in order for them to practice. We had a chance for all students to go through their process journals and access their individual participation levels. I am genuinely pleased with how the 6th grade students are preparing for the performance, as well as their genuine self-awareness.
8th grade: The Dinner Theater production date has been set as Wed. May 6th at 6-8:30pm—PLEASE SAVE THE DATE you will not want to miss this culminating event. We are creating and voting on t shirt designs and logos, script writing, music rehearsing, etc. it’s an exciting and busy time as we put all of the components together. Each student has a unique and specific role to play within the production. We try to have all production elements, as well as rehearsal happen during school time (busy after school schedules for all involved). Thank you for your support of this project.
Art- Mrs. Dunham
6th Grade Religious Arts
Students are currently working on their “Illuminated Manuscript Initial” project.
7th Grade Art
Students have completed their “Rad Bike” project for the art show and are currently practicing one-point perspective in preparation for their next project.
Currently collecting for the art room: egg cartons, newspaper, plastic kitchen wrap and dish soap. Thank you!