Middle School Weekly Update

Middle School Updates

5th Grade
Religion: We have discussed how the miracles of Jesus show us God’s love and how God’s covenants in the Old Testament were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. This week, we are discussing how the seven sacraments mirror important moments in our lives and how each sacrament can be understood through its various components (form, matter, minister, recipient, and effects).
History: History is moving on! The Europeans are sailing to the United States. Christopher Columbus, Queen Isabella, and Ferdinand Magellan are historical figures that we are learning about. We continue to work in groups as we help each other learn.
Language Arts: We are proofreading and editing our persuasive essays, ensuring that the flow and organization of the essay supports our point of view. We are continuing to incorporate text evidence to support our answers and discussions. We will continue to expand our word knowledge by focusing on the prefix pro-. We will be using Vocabulary.com as the platform of practice this week.
Science: We are presenting our pendulum tri-folds and collecting information from the other presentations to get the students prepared for a large scale science fair.  We will move into space and how stars are formed at the the end of the week.
Math: We are utilizing our knowledge of multiplication and place-value to solve division word problems. We are also practicing how to interpret the quotient or remainder based on what the word problems is asking. Sometimes we will need to round our answer, write the remainder as a fraction, or just use either the quotient or remainder.
6th Grade
Religion: This week in religion, the 6th graders did some investigating of the Bible where we looked at different tools that the Bible has that will help us to understand it better such as footnotes, cross-references, and helpful introductions to each book. We also went on a Bible scavenger hunt which allowed us to practice using these new skills as well as practice looking up verses in the Bible. The 6th graders will have their first religion test next Wednesday, October 23.
History: In geography this week, we finished talking about water on Earth by looking at different ways that we waste water in our everyday lives. The 6th graders then did some research to see how much water is wasted doing such things like washing clothes, brushing teeth, washing dishes, etc. They put the data that they found into a bar graph so we could easily compare the different tasks. We finished the week by looking at the land on earth and how the movement of tectonic plates creates different landforms.
Language Arts: We continue to spend time each day reading in class so the 6th graders get closer to their weekly reading goal. Please make sure they are reading each night at home so they are able to accomplish their goal. We began to edit our narratives this week, as well. Next week, we will do some peer editing in class. The final draft of the narrative is due next Thursday, October 24.
Science: We are looking more closely at the roles of some of the cell’s organelles, determining how they do their roles.
Math: We are applying our computation skills to solve word problems. Some of us are working on identifying like terms, constants, and coefficients in algebraic expressions. Others of us are identifying relationships between situations using ratios and proportions. Students should continue to practice their skills nightly online if they do not have homework from class.

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 Abraham this week with students researching and presenting each topic.
History: This week, we began looking at the Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia. In small groups, the students researched different aspects of these ares and then presented their information to the class. We also began presentations of our ancient religions projects. We will continue these presentations next week.
Language Arts: Final drafts of Autobiographical writing are turned in, we continue to learn about the genre of Mystery. Students are divided into four different reading groups ~ Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham, Leepholes by James Grippando, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. We are also writing Who Am I? Clue Cards – to practice deductive thinking.
Science: We are presenting our compare a cell projects and will be moving on to diving into some of the functions of the organelles more deeply.
Math: We are applying our computation skills to solve word problems. Some of us are applying our computation skills to solve various equations or inequalities. Others of us are working on operations with monomials and exponents. Students should continue to practice their skills nightly online if they do not have homework from class. Students in the morning class will have a test on Wednesday.

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 Abraham this week with students researching and presenting each topic.
History: The push is on ~ the formation of our Government and the individuals involved are being studied. Are you familiar with the Magna Carta, Constitutional Convention, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington? Well ~Join us on Monday, November 25, 2019, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm in the gym as grades 5th – 8th present a “Historical Showcase.” More details to follow.
Language Arts: Final Animal Farm projects are underway. Students will begin Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie as their next reading books. Third drafts of our American Hero Essay Contest are turned in and the final push is on to meet the deadline for our final pieces. We hear in May who takes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in our building ~ then it is on to the State Level. Eighth grade continues to expand their vocabulary with Sadlier Workshop Way.
Science: Students are learning about how to scale down large distances to manageable distances. They are creating a cruise line that will travel to the planets in the solar system, connecting their abilities to scale down the solar system with information about the solar system.
Math: We are working on practicing our computation skills to solve word problems. Some of us are working on transformations on the coordinate plane. Others of us are working on applying our problem-solving skills to weighted averages and uniform motion problems. Students should continue to practice their skills nightly online if they do not have homework from class. Students in the morning class will have a test on Wednesday.

Important Dates

Thursday, October 24 – Last day of the marking period
Friday, October 25 – No School – Teacher In-Service Day
Please contact Mrs. Day if your child is interested in playing basketball or sideline cheerleading