Preschool - Mrs. Malone, Ms. OnkkaOur themes for the month of October include fall, fire safety, pumpkins, and, of course, Halloween!
We discussed the job of a firefighter, the tools firefighters use, and ways we can keep ourselves safe. We have fire drills at school. Does your family have practice drills at home? Our 3 & 5 day pre-k classes enjoyed their visit to our neighborhood fire station. Thank you to all of the parents who accompanied us on our field trips!
Fall means pumpkins everywhere, so we will spend some time investigating their sizes, shapes, and insides!
We look forward to discussing your child’s progress this week during conferences.
Our Halloween parties will take place on Wednesday, October 30th and Thursday, October 31st. We are all very excited about Halloween!
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Kindergarten - Mrs. Guinan, Mrs. Millar, Mrs. Vaughan
Kindergarteners have been exploring plane shapes and solid shapes. They’ve had fun finding the different shapes around them in the classroom and outside. The boys and girls have also created different types of patterns using shapes, colors, and cubes.
Our students are learning more and more sounds in reading, and now they are blending those sounds together to read new words. Remember to pull up their weekly stories on our reading website at home and have your child read the stories to you.
The boys and girls are looking forward to brightening the day of our neighbors at the Parsons House and parading in their costumes for Halloween.
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First Grade - Mrs. Kleffman, Mrs. Caito, Ms. WrightFirst graders have been very busy in math class! We have introduced both addition and subtraction, and will be reinforcing specific strategies with your student that will allow for further success. A great way to review this skill at home is to practice math facts on a regular basis.
Thank you for all of your hard work preparing your child for our All Saints Day parade! We are looking forward to sharing one of our favorite events with you!
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Second Grade - Ms. Hargens, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. TruscottThank you for helping prepare your child for the sacrament of First Reconciliation. The children worked really hard preparing in school. You should feel very proud.
In Math, we started talking about graphs and data. Students will look at different types of graphs and learn how to read them. They will also get the opportunity to make their own graph and look at ways to compare information.
Continue working on math facts and reading with your child. Be sure to be filling in Book It calendars.
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Third Grade - Ms. Ruelas, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. SchofieldIt is hard to believe the first quarter has come to an end. Time flies when you’re working hard and having fun! Thank you for all you are doing at home to help your child complete homework and stay organized.
The students are using their Chromebook daily, with teacher guidance, in the classroom, and at specials. We will be placing more assignments in Google Classroom as the year progresses to help students navigate this learning tool and further enhance their education.
Circle of Grace, Safe Environment for children, will be taught during the month of November.
Thank you to the parents who will be helping with the Halloween party. We appreciate you taking the time to plan, organize, and execute this fun activity.
No “TRICKS” here! Being at school is a real “TREAT!” We are blessed to witness the amazing growth of the students!
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Fourth Grade - Mrs. Madison, Mrs. Thede, Ms. Geist
During October, the month of the Rosary, fourth graders have been learning about the Mysteries of the Rosary and the different prayers that are prayed on the corresponding beads. They made their own Rosary to pray this beautiful prayer. We will continue to pray the Rosary throughout the year.
In science class, we are exploring different types of energy. Students had fun practicing being electricians by creating series and parallel circuits to light a lightbulb. During our heat lessons, we compared convection, conduction, and radiation waves.
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Fourth graders had the oppertunity to visit the Douglas County Courthouse on October 21st. They got to tour the building, and they were lucky enough to get to talk with Honorable Judge Keim. This was a perfect way to apply the skills they had learned in their government unit in social studies!
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Fifth Grade - Mrs. Dotzler, Mrs. Jones, Ms. Salerno
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We’re excited to start the second quarter and have the opportunity to meet parents in person for conferences this week!
Fifth graders have had a great start to their second quarter! They are learning about European colonization in social studies, diving into chemical changes in science, and investigating how matter can change when it comes into contact with other substances. Finally, in English, students were excited to randomly draw their state name for the State Fair and have begun the writing process for the first paragraph of their research paper in English.
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Sixth Grade - Mrs. Wane, Mrs. Bernt, Mrs. Guinotte
Math: Students are currently learning and practicing with expressions and inequalities, which is a great introduction to algebra! From there, they will continue to practice working with and solving formulas involving area, circumference, distance, etc. As we wrap up this chapter, we will then move into our unit on integers. Students will be practicing with number lines, negative numbers, absolute value, and order of operations. This is by far the most fun chapter this semester!
Social Studies: Students just finished learning about Ancient Mesopotamia. We are now moving into our chapter on Ancient Egypt, which is packed full of interesting information and fun activities. 6th graders will also be completing an activity for Veteran’s Day to honor all those who served and continue to serve.
English: Students are working with adjectives this month. What ways can you describe simple things? A freakishly humungous hairy beast sounds better than a tall monster with hair.
Literature: Students are traveling with Billy Colman and his two red hounds in the novel, Where the Red Fern Grows. This is usually a favorite of students, especially if they have experienced the love of a pet.
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Science: Students are working hard on their inventions and presentations. Please come see your child’s invention on Friday, November 10th, at 2:15 P.M. in the Parish Center. Everyone has worked very hard and they are excited to show you their inventions.
Religion: Students have finished their “God’s Wonder and Awe” mosaics. The mosaics will be displayed during conferences. Please come see the beautiful artwork, which will be hanging outside room 63.
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English - Mr. Leever
English 7 and 8-- English students have been reviewing parts of speech (nouns and adjectives) to prepare them for working with more complex sentences. We will continue this review by examining how adverbs and prepositional phrases function in sentences, the different types of pronouns and how to use them correctly based on their case, and how helping verbs are used to convey the tense and mood of the sentence.
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Science - Ms. Kolberg7th grade
Seventh graders have been finishing up the Moneran Kingdom and completing the Barrow’s mystery. Students found out that e.coli was causing the problem after much discussion and problem solving. We are starting on fungi next. Your seventh grader may be talking about mold and mildew……
8th grade
Eighth graders are finishing up studying about light and waves and learning about how we see. We will be dissecting a sheep eye and comparing a human eye to a sheep’s eye. We will be finishing up our wave unit and moving into chemistry next.
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Math - Mr. PolacekThe end of the first quarter brings quite a bit of change to the 7th and 8th grade math classes. We usually start the year with a chapter or two reviewing topics from the previous year and by the time October rolls around the amount of new material starts to increase. All of the classes have spent quite a bit of time on basic topics from decimals to solving equations. Good math habits of showing our work and writing down our steps have been emphasized.
The algebra class is moving on to a chapter of graphing lines and calculating slope. Many different forms and formulas will need to be memorized and correctly used to successfully navigate the varied problems.
The pre-algebra classes will take a short pit stop from their algebra track with percent’s before speeding on to spend some time reviewing all kinds of shapes in our geometry unit, while the 7th grade math class finishes a review of decimals and fractions before moving on to some more pre-algebra topics such as proportions!
I appreciate so much the continued support of the parents and the hard work of all the students. I look forward to being able to continue on this educational journey with them.
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Religion - Mrs. Nigrin
The students in both 7th and 8th grade will be spending a lot of time during the month of October discussing vocations and praying for their own future vocation. All of this is in preparation for Vocations Week in November. Along with this, both classes made a retreat. 8th grade headed to the Pro Sanctity Center while our 7th graders gathered in Kampschneider Hall. I ask you to please keep them in your prayers this month and moving forward as they prepare for Confirmation.
We are focusing, also, on the power of the rosary. We began the month praying the rosary during each class and continued to pray it each Monday. We also included a Novena to St. Therese of Lisieux. We continue to learn about Catholic traditions so that we may make them a part of our lives forever.
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Social Studies - Mrs. Sullivan
7th graders recently finished a unit on human geography. We learned about economic geography, political geography, and population geography, with much of our discussion being focused on cultures around the world. We were able to make many connections to recent things happening in the world. Our upcoming units include focusing on specific places in the world starting with the United States, Canada, and North America as a whole. The students will be making maps throughout the next several units to help with our study. In addition, they will work on individual and small group projects. We have also been working on how to take notes, using guided notes as a tool.
8th graders just finished up a unit on the Revolutionary War and the Constitution. The students learned about the reasons for the revolution as well as the parts of the Constitution and how they connect to our world and government today. Upcoming units will include the Jefferson and Jackson eras as well as Manifest Destiny. Our study will include making timelines of these events. There will be several individual and small group projects throughout this study. The 8th grade has also been working on how to take notes, using guided notes as a tool.
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Literature - Mrs. Fosbender
The seventh grade literature students have started the seventh grade textbook. In unit 1 students will consider "Does every conflict have a winner?" The students will be working on different strategies to help them find different ways to solve conflicts and will also have writing and research activities to complete.
The eighth grade students finished reading My Brother Sam is Dead and will start the novel, Stargirl. The theme is based on friendship, bullying and being yourself. Students will complete activities to help reinforce the correct way to treat others, and also use strategies that will help with comprehension and writing skills.
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Art - Mr. Pflaum
Art projects are in full swing as we head into late fall. Here is a summary of each grade level:
Kindergarten - The students just completed their fall leaf watercolor paintings and are now creating Halloween themed expressive faces Jack-o-lantern drawings.
First grade - The first graders will be starting this clay finger puppet project.
Second grade - The students are continuing to glaze their clay dot pots.
Third grade - The third graders are working with clay to create pinch pot creatures.
Fourth grade - The students have been introduced to hand built clay coil pottery and have started painting their fired masterpieces.
Fifth grade - The fifth graders are using special paint to glaze their fired ceramic crosses.
Sixth grade - These artists are working a couple of drawing projects and are learning about Picasso’s Cubism art style.
Seventh grade - The seventh graders have begun their printmaking art project which is like creating art with a unique hand carved stamp.
Eighth grade - The students have been introduced to clay mask making and are sculpting their own ideas with clay.
Join The Spirit Catholic Radio Fall Art Contest. Deadline for submission is December 13, 2024. Info can be found at this link: : https://spiritcatholicradio.com/art2024/
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Computer - Mrs. Kuhr
Kindergarden - Students have been working on typing a sentence in Kid Pix. They have been learning how to use the Shift key and Spacebar when typing. Next, we will learn how to login to Teacher Your Monster to Read. This site works students through learning how to read and letter sounds in a game format. Their login is their first name and the first letter of their last name.
1st grade - Students have been learning about different technologies found around the home and about what information they should not be posting online. We will then head to Kodable, a site they always enjoy, to code fuzzes through a maze. The class codes are - 11blue, 12pink, 13red.
2nd grade - Students have been learning what makes a powerful password. After learning the dos and dont's, they created secure passwords and tested them on How Secure Is My Password.
3rd grade - Students have been working with our Edison Bots and learning how to program them. We went through the barcode coding and are now working on the block programming. The students have been having a blast.
4th grade - Students have finished their AI project. We talked about how AI works and how we use it every day. Students then made flashcards using two different AI Google Tools, AutoDraw, and Google Translate.
5th grade - They finished their Choose Your Own Adventure group story. They did a great job. We will now be working with spreadsheets to create a battleship style game. They will use conditional formatting.
6th grade - They finished their Pop Art project using Google Drawings. I always love this project. Next we will talk about creating safe and secure passwords and a method hackers use. They will be using a spreadsheet and use the function concatenate to make multiple passwords to test out.
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8th grade - We started the year learning about and creating podcasts. The students did a great job. We had a wide range of topics from serious to humorous. Next, we will be using Scratch to code our own adventure game.
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Educational Strategists - Mrs. Heavey, Mrs. Price, Ms. Bousquet
In mid-September teachers across the Archdiocese had the opportunity to participate in the Mental Health Symposium. It was a wonderful opportunity for teachers to learn more about mental health and the many ways teachers can support students in the classroom. One presentation noted that kids generally only have the ability to think one day ahead for every year they are old. So, for example, a seven-year-old student can only realistically imagine the week. Often as educators and parents we prepare kids for long-term goals like next quarter, next school year, high school, college, future jobs etc., and while those long-term goals are important, it’s hard for students to see how their actions today lead to those future outcomes.
Instead, I encourage you to set a weekly goal for your child. Perhaps sit down on Sunday and ask what he or she needs to accomplish this week and how you can support him or her in achieving that goal. Or, more personally, ask about one personal goal your child would like to accomplish this week. It could be as simple as making his or her own lunch two days this week or as practical as not having any missing or late assignments. Try to keep goals simple and relevant. It will help kids develop agency and take ownership of their achievements.
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Guidance - Mrs. Skudlarek
What a busy month it has been! Our theme has focused on being kind and not showing bully like behaviors. Kindergartners learned about the importance of using caring and sharing rules when playing on the playground, eating together and working in the classroom. First graders learned about ways to show kindness when working with others. Second graders learned about the different types of bullying and what to do when they see something that does not look quite right. Third graders learned about the three types of people that make up a bully situation: victim, bystander, and bully. They also discussed examples of bullying and acted out ways to put a stop to unkind behavior. Fourth and fifth graders reviewed the types of people that make up a bully situation and we focused a lot on the role of the bystander. In sixth, seventh and eighth grade, students learned about harassment and how bullying and harassment differ. The conversations were very thoughtful and thought provoking. In all of the grades we discussed when a bystander has a positive impact the difference that can be made. We will continue to practice ways to be kind and compassionate inside the school as well as outside the school. Our kids amaze me each day with what they know and what they want to learn. Our 7th and 8th grade students spent Friday, October 18th participating in a retreat day. 7th graders took part in a Courage Retreat put on by Youth Frontiers. It was a memorable day. Our 8th grade students had their confirmation retreat at the Pro Sanctity Center. Please continue to keep all of our students in your prayers.
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HAL - Mrs. Miller
The first quarter has gone by quickly! The 4th and 5th graders have been busy learning about division and will also start working with concepts in preparation for fractions. The 6th grade group is glad to be finished with properties of exponents and are now on their way to solving equations. Slope is a topic that the 7th grade algebra group is anxious to learn about and try out their skills at graphing. In literature class the 7th graders finished up a short unit on figurative language and have started reading a documentary novel, Nothing But the Truth. The 8th graders enjoyed discussing and writing about how being bored isn’t always a bad thing in life and maybe a necessity.
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Media - Mrs. Kaiser
We are off and running in the library! Kindergarteners have begun selecting their own book from the shelves. Grades 1-3 are discussing the various genres of books. Grades 4 and 5 are practicing research and citation skills. If your child is doing research at home, links to the resources we practice using are listed on the Media page of the school website. In general these sites have better options than a Google or Kid Rex search. Grade 7 students are working on their design skills by creating a marble run made from recycled materials.
We are all looking forward to the school Book Fair!
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Music - Mrs. LeMense
Our 5th and 6th graders will be the next to perform on the SVdP stage!
They will be presenting songs from musicals such as “It’s A Musical” from Something Rotten, “Seize the Day” from Newsies and many more! The date for that program is November 21st!
4th graders are learning to read notes and to play their recorders.
You will hear them next at Mass on November 1st playing on “Oh, When The Saints Go Marching In”.
3rd graders have been creating rhythms to play as an ostinato (a repeated pattern).
1st and 2nd graders are going to start working on their Christmas program!
Pictured below are Olivia, Cecilia, Owen, Emilia, and Lucy, with instruments that they made themselves.
They did this in a science lesson with Mrs. Caito!
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Music - Ms. CampbellThe 7th and 8th graders just had an amazing music program! It was great to see them all shine and enjoy their time onstage! This would not have been possible without their homeroom teachers (7th: Mr. Leever, Ms. Kolberg, Mr. Polacek 8th: Mrs. Nigrin, Mrs. Fosbender, Mrs. Sullivan), our administrators, our operational staff, and countless others who gave their time and talents to make it all possible. Next, 8th graders will be doing a style of music unit, and 7th graders will be learning about periods of music!
A reminder that the 6th grade concert is on Thursday, November 21st at 6:30 P.M. Please let me know as soon as possible if your child cannot make it as grading arrangements will have to be made. Their program will be a continuation of last year’s program: Musicals Part 2! I am thoroughly impressed with how quickly the 6th graders are learning their music and how amazing they are at singing! 6th grade is also learning about Musical Form.
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PE - Mr. Boone
One of my favorite times of the year is the fall! The changing weather, students settled into a routine at school, and the chance to review and introduce students to new activities—with a month full of excitement and great weather, October is just simply the best time of the year.
Kindergarten-2nd grade. Students in these grades started the month off with their foot skills soccer unit. The students worked on ball handling by doing toe taps, foundations, and dribbling. The students earned their driver’s license by using controlled dribbles and trapping so that they did not run into each other. Red light/green light was another activity that encouraged the students to use a controlled dribble with the ball. Next they were pirates and went on a treasure hunt where they dribbled and collected treasure one at at time. Lastly the students did soccer bowling. They worked on their accuracy by knocking a soccer ball off a cone.
After the soccer unit, these students worked on their underhand tossing, throwing, and catching. Activities such as Banana Buckets, Monster Ball, Cornhole, Battleships, Fire and Ice Tag, Ghost Busters, and Hocus Pocus had the students tossing and throwing at objects.
Rounding out the month, 3rd-5th worked on their invasion skills and strategies.This involves going into another team’s territory to either grab an object and bring it back or make it to a zone safely. Yoshi, Tit For Tat, King Pin, Mobile Fill Your Own, Capture The Flag, and Trick or Treat were the activities that got the students to think of different strategies to be successful.
6th grade Lastly, finishing the month the 6th graders played table tennis. The games were fierce and fast and very entertaining to watch.
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PE - Mrs. Conry
We finished up with football with the completion of the written test. The students' test scores were very good.
We moved into the five health-related fitness tests that are evaluated with the FitnessGram Assessment, including aerobic capacity, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility. FitnessGram is designed to help students understand their health-related fitness and NOT to compare themselves to one another. The students made pre-test goals before taking the test, and recorded the scores they got. We will re-test in the spring to see how well they have achieved their goals.
After completion of the fitness testing, the students were given a test so I can see how much they learned about themselves and fitness.
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Gr. 2-4 Spanish - Mrs. McDermott
Students in second grade Spanish are learning how to respond to 1) “Como estas?” (How are you?) with “Muy bien“ (very well), “Mas o menos" (so-so), “Muy mal "(very bad), and 2) "Como te llamas?” (What is your name?) with, “Me llamo_______” (My name is______).
Students in third grade Spanish are learning the names of dinner foods such as el biftec (steak), la chuleta, (pork), el pollo (chicken), el pescado (fish), el jamón (ham), el arroz (rice), la sopa (soup), and how to use “(No) Me gusta________ (I (don’t) like) when speaking about food.
Students in fourth grade Spanish are learning the months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, and diciembre).
Note: the days of the week and months of the year in Spanish begin with a lower case letter.
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Gr. 5th-8th Spanish - Mrs. Singh¡Hola!
Second quarter is off to a great start. Hoping to ask a favor of you… if you email me with any questions, please let me know which homeroom your student is in.
8th graders have been practicing introduction conversations. They will start using Spanish personal pronouns and start conjugating verbs this quarter. We will start with sports vocabulary and will expand that vocabulary to include favorite pastimes/hobbies.
7th graders created a spooky Halloween themed image to label “Las partes del cuerpo” / the parts of the body. They are working on a short skit with a partner to describe a body part that is hurting. We have been reviewing numbers 0-100 and we will start learning how to state the time in Spanish as well as use ordinal numbers. Students will also learn how to say the their classes in Spanish and will be able to state which class they have at what time.
6th graders created a calendar page of their favorite month. We are practicing using the terms for “day, week, month, year, season” and writing the date in the Spanish format of day/month/year. Don’t be confused when looking at dates in Google Classroom or on homework!
Students are also presenting their first skit talking about their birthday and how old they are turning this year. We will start learning about weather terms next.
5th graders are continuing to practice numbers and are having fun playing “buzz.” It’s a number game where each student says one number as we count to 50. BUT, they can’t say “siete” / 7 or a multiple of 7…instead they say “buzz”!
Next we are going to practice Saludos y Despedidas (greetings and goodbyes). Students will create a mini cartoon strip.
It’s wonderful to hear students speaking more Spanish in class and in the hallways.
¡Gracias!
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