Middle School Weekly 2/10/2020

Middle School Updates

Week ending February 14, 2020

 

5th Grade

• Religion: As we delve deeper into our exploration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we will be taking a close look at the Transubstantiation and gaining a clearer understanding of this pillar of our Catholic faith. We are also reviewing the connection between Adam & Eve, the Passover, the Last Supper, and the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
• History: Mr. Kevin Bowling from the Ottawa County Courts visited us this week. He is our contact for the upcoming Law Day on Friday, May 1, 2020, at 10:00 am at the Ottawa County Courthouse, Grand Haven, MI. We talked about the three branches of government, the 10th Amendment, and “Having our day in court.”
• Language Arts: We are working on our second draft of our essay that discusses the various virtues demonstrated in the two biographies we have selected. We will continue to practice various writing conventions as we work on improving our grammar skills. We continue to work in our vocabulary books as we expand our lexicons. We are continuing our practice of penmanship with our cursive review. We are also exploring the lives of influential African Americans throughout history.
• Science: We are learning about the types of water on Earth and looking to solve the problem that we are finding about the cleanliness of freshwater.
• Math: We are using place-value concepts to help us in solving math problems involving decimal multiplication or division. Our knowledge of multiple is assisting in finding common denominators and equivalent fractions for those of us working on fraction operations. We continue to practice our banking skills with our classroom bank.

 

6th Grade

• Religion:  In religion this week, the 6th graders talked about the fall of man and the original sin committed by Adam and Eve.   We looked at the different roles that Adam, Eve, God, and the serpent played. Next week, we will begin to look at the story of Cain and Abel.    
• History:  This week, we did some deeper comparisons of limited and unlimited governments, looking at the kind of government that the United States has and comparing it to other countries.  Next week, we will look at some of the roles we have as citizens.
• Language Arts:  In language arts this week, we continued looking at how to write a proper introduction.  We also began a research project that we are conducting during Black History Month. This project goes along with the book that we are reading, The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
• Science: We are beginning our study of the human body systems, looking at how the body’s that God gave us are infinitely better than anything we could design ourselves.  This week focuses on the circulatory system.
• Math: We are working using our knowledge of the distributive property to factor algebraic expressions. We will begin exploring polygons and how to find the area of specific ones. A few of us are wrapping up our work with areas of various polygons and composite figures, and we will be designing a city. Some of us are using our knowledge of percentages and proportions to convert measures between units. The rest of us will begin exploring statistical measurements dealing mean, median, and mode. Students should be keeping their computation skills sharp by practicing nightly.

 

7th Grade

• Religion: We are continuing to study Salvation History, reviewing how the Bible has presented us with God’s revelation of his love to humanity and to each student.  We are working through the prophets this week with students researching and presenting each topic.  
• History:  In social studies this week, the 7th graders studied some of the early empires in Africa.  They also created maps of Africa that highlighted the locations of several of these empires.  Next week, they will be looking at imperialism and Africa and European colonies.
• Language Arts:  We continued with Sadlier Vocabulary for the week, completed our first drafts of our Faith in Action Essay ~ it is Faith-based/writing contest, submitted our poetry written by women for our upcoming Poetry March Madness competition, and completed reading The Cay by Theodore Taylor.
• Science: We are beginning our study of the human body systems, looking at how the body’s that God gave us are infinitely better than anything we could design ourselves.  This week focuses on the circulatory system.
• Math: We are going to be exploring inequalities and utilizing our skills from solving equations to solve inequalities. Some of us are finishing up our review of percentages and its applications, and we will begin working with angles and their relationships. A few of us are exploring slope and its connection to linear equations and direct variation. The rest of us are going to explore triangles and the Pythagorean Theorem. Students should be keeping their computation skills sharp by practicing nightly.

 

8th Grade

• Religion: We are continuing to study Salvation History, reviewing how the Bible has presented us with God’s revelation of his love to humanity and to each student.  We are working through the Prophets this week with students researching and presenting each topic.
• Language Arts/History: Students continued with Sadlier Vocabulary for the week, completed our first drafts of our Faith in Action Essay ~ it is Faith-based/writing contest, submitted our poetry written by women for our upcoming Poetry March Madness competition, and continued reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Mr. Kevin Bowling from the Ottawa County Courts visited us this week. He is our contact for the upcoming Law Day on Friday, May 1, 2020, at 10:00 am at the Ottawa County Courthouse, Grand Haven, MI. We talked about the three branches of government, the 10th Amendment, and “Having our day in court.”
• Science: Students are going through the rock cycle to determine what is occuring in order to change a rock from one type to another type .
• Math: We are continuing to graph linear equations and work with slope, as well as, explore the relationship between proportions and slope. Some of us are exploring inequalities and utilizing our skills from solving equations to solve inequalities. Students should be keeping their computation skills sharp by practicing nightly.

 

Important Dates

 

February 17 & 18, 2020 No School Mid-winter Break.

 

February 20, 2020   5:30 – 7:30 pm  Open House

 

February 22, 2020 Crusader Toss – Sign up today. All are invited and encouraged to attend.

 

February 25, 2020 PSAT Testing – 8th Grade, 8:30 – 12:00 pm

 

February 25, 2020  Regional Spelling Bee at Black River – Join the Corpus Christi Community as we cheer on Sheona and Yavin Fickel  7:00 pm

 

February 26, 2020 Ash Wednesday Mass at OLL  9:00 am