Preschool - Mrs. Malone, Ms. Onkka
All of our preschoolers are making great progress learning the routines and procedures of school. This month we discussed feelings, five senses, and one of our favorite fall topics-- apples!
Our 5-day class has been enjoying PE with Mr. Boone! He has been helping them work on motor skills, taking turns, and cooperation.
Our 5-day class also had fun outside with Mr. Dunn’s 8th graders during our first school “Buddy” activity.
If you haven’t accessed your child’s Google Classroom account, please do so soon! It’s a great way to know what’s happening in your child’s classroom!
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Kindergarten - Mrs. Guinan, Mrs. Millar, Mrs. Vaughan
We've been in school for over a month, and the kindergarteners are adjusting wonderfully! Hopefully, the parents are as well! Our first month has been a busy time with introductions to school rules, new friends, beginning sounds in reading, positional words in math, the five senses, and recognizing that God made all of us and the beautiful world around us.
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First Grade - Mrs. Kleffman, Mrs. Nigrin, Ms. Hermsen Happy Fall! October brings all sorts of new activities to First Grade. One of these is Gumball Math timed tests. Please start studying addition fact families 0-4 to prepare for this. Students have 2 minutes 30 seconds to correctly complete at least 40 problems to pass to the next level.
Our favorite first grade event, All Saints Day, is coming up on November 1st. Please watch for further details coming home soon. We are excited to share this special day with you!
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Second Grade - Ms. Hargens, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Truscott
It has been a great start to the school year. We have been working hard on memorizing our math facts (addition and subtraction). Second graders are working on becoming better problem solvers in math, too! Our super readers have been finding the beginning, middle, and end of stories. Be sure to ask your child about the books they are reading at home! Have them show off those wonderful skills.
Our scientists have been working on the design process, how it is used, and how we apply it to when we are doing experiments. In Social Studies students have been talking about families and how things have changed over the years. Please take the time to have these discussions with your child and let them know about their history.
Thank you for attending the Reconciliation retreat. Please keep all the second graders in your prayers as they prepare to receive this special sacrament.
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Third Grade - Ms. Ruelas, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Schofield
We are so happy to be at school with your children!
The students have been working hard on transitioning to a new grade and routine. Third graders continue to utilize the assignment notebook as a tool to organize and complete daily work. Thank you for your assistance in helping them become responsible learners.
Students are using XtraMath at school as a way to develop and maintain quick recall of basic math facts. You can access this program at home on your child’s Chromebook or through Google Classroom on your personal device.
It’s almost time to “par every hole” at The Masters, SPREE 2023. Our classroom projects will be "making a hole in one” at this fun event. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Ramos, Mrs. Mead, and Mrs. Henery who came to school and helped the students with these creative activities.
We are sending prayers daily for everyone’s safety and good health as we continue on the journey called third grade.
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Fourth Grade - Mrs. Madison, Mrs. Thede, Mrs. Caito
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Practicing the terms "criteria" and "constraints", the fourth grade scientists enjoyed participating in two engineering challenges. The first was to create the strongest straw structure using 15 straws. The second challenge was to create the tallest prototype in 10 minutes using 10 notecards and 10cm of tape that could hold a science book. It was wonderful seeing their creativity and teamwork.
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Fifth Grade - Mrs. Dotzler, Mrs. Jones, Ms. Salerno
It has been a great first month to the fifth-grade school year! Students have adjusted to the new procedures and routines. In science, students are learning about the physical properties of matter by doing various investigations and analyzing data. In English class, students have been busy learning about using punctuation marks correctly, capitalization rules, and applying these concepts to their writing. These skills will be used throughout the entire year! In social studies, students have begun learning about early explorers. We’re looking forward to a school year full of lots of growth and learning!
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Sixth Grade - Mrs. Wane, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Guinotte
English - We will finish our noun unit in September and move into pronouns. Students will continue working on editing, grammar, and vocabulary. Sadlier Connect has changed its online version, which allows students to complete the assignments online up until the date of the test. There is no longer a need to turn things in on paper if your student missed the 8:00 P.M. deadline. Students can still go online and complete it for a late grade.
Literature - We will wrap up our Hatchet novel unit at the end of September and move into Where the Red Fern Grows. Ask your children if they think they would be able to survive in the wilderness like Brian did!
Math - We will finish Chapter 1, which covers place value, expanded form, comparing and rounding decimals and whole numbers, and estimating the sum and difference of numbers. The next chapter will be over the many uses of multiplication. This will include exponents, scientific notation, estimating sums and differences, and applying multiplication to real-life story problems. This is a great time to share with your child the many purposes of math in real life and how it can be used on a daily basis. Religion - Students are creating mosaics of God's wonder and awe.
Science - Students are starting their adventure into Invention Convention! They will be creating products that will solve a problem or make life easier.
Social Studies - We just finished Module 1, “Uncovering the Past.” These first few lessons were over the studies of history, archaeology, civics, and economics. We discussed how those studies relate to our lives and compared them to today. In the next module, we will be learning about prehistoric people from the stone ages and how the development of agriculture came about. In addition, we will learn about their migration patterns and how they adapted to new environments across the globe.
Thank you to everyone who volunteered for Grandparents' Day! We could not do it without you!
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English – Mr. Leever
English 7
Students have completed the fall editing and writing assessments. We have already completed two vocabulary units and have started Unit 3. Our language studies have included working with homophones and learning the spelling that corresponds to the meaning of the word. Students have also been studying the characteristics of the personal narrative by looking at professional and student narratives. Students have begun using the writing process to create their own personal narratives.
English 8
Students have completed the fall editing and writing assessments. We have already completed two vocabulary units and have started Unit 3. Our language studies have included working with root words and how knowing them can help students determine the meanings of unknown words. Students have also been studying the characteristics of how-to writing by reviewing and discussing professional and student examples. Students have begun using the writing process to create their own how-to articles.
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Science - Mrs. Kolberg
7th grade Seventh graders have been very busy learning the parts of the microscope and what those parts do. We are also learning how to use the microscope correctly. Next week we will be looking at live pond creatures (if we get some really gross water samples!)
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8th grade Eighth graders are learning about longitudinal and transverse waves. One of our first tasks was to create both a transverse and a longitudinal wave with the same frequency. Next up will be a lab on finding the speed of sound and determining if cup “telephones” really work. Sounds like fun (no pun intended).
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Math - Mr. Polacek
We are off to a great start here in 7th and 8th grade math in 2023. The 7th grade math class is going over some basics to begin with. We have chapters on decimals and fractions to get us going before working our way into some Algebra expressions.
The pre-algebra classes started off with some new topics such as negative exponents and will soon be solving equations and inequalities, which require quite a bit of pencil and paper work.
The algebra classes finished solving equations and will be solving and graphing inequalities and solving systems of equations by a variety of methods in the next couple of chapters.
With continued work in our Simple Solutions books, an emphasis will be placed on reading problems carefully and trying to be as meticulous with our work as possible. The students have done a great job of showing work and we are looking forward to that continuing as we tackle many more new algebra topics down the road.
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Religion - Mr. Dunn
In religion class, 7th graders are learning about Faith in History and Faith in the Church.
Meanwhile, 8th graders are studying the Universal Mission of the Church as well as Human Dignity.
Maranatha!
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Social Studies - Mrs. Sullivan
In social studies, the 7th graders have been working on several aspects of geography including the themes of geography, maps, and the Earth’s systems. They will be working on projects including a biome project with a partner as well as learning about world govenments.
The 8th graders have been focusing on learning about European exploration of the Americas and the first European settlements in the Americas. In the upcoming month, we will focus on learning about the colonies, including who settled where, government, interactions among people, and starting to learn about what led to the Revolutionary War. It has been a great start to the school year. We are looking forward to the coming months!
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Literature - Mrs. Fosbender
The seventh grade literature students have been reading, The Skin I’m In and eighth grade are reading, My Brother Sam is Dead. Students have been practicing comprehension skills, being leaders of discussion, and making connections with their novels using a variety of strategies. Both seventh and eighth grade students have been working on a poetry project that brings in details from their novel, and they have very creative ideas!
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Art - Mr. Pflaum
The students are very busy with their art projects. Here is a summary of what each class is working on...
In kindergarten, the students have just completed a Van Gogh-inspired oil pastel drawing. The first-graders are finalizing their 'birds on a wire' illustrations while the second-graders have completed their hollyhock watercolor paintings. In third grade, the students are still working on their counter-change illustrations and in fourth grade, they are continuing work on their elementary design drawings. The fifth-graders are nearing completion on the divide and rearrange art and in sixth-grade, the students are creating their own version of our SVdP church using the iPad. The seventh-graders are continuing work their colored-pencil grid drawings while the eighth-graders are putting final touches on their composite drawings.
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Computers - Mrs. Kuhr
Kindergarten - They have been learning how to use the new laptops and mastering the trackpads. The next step is to start familiarizing them with the keyboard.
1st Grade - They finished working on their Zoom books in Kid Pix. Next we will practice letter placement on the keyboard by going to one of our favorite websites, Typetastic! This is the site we use in kindergarten and 1st grade to practice using the keyboard for typing. 1st graders will start working on Level 2.
2nd Grade - They finished working on creating monster GIFs in Kid Pix. Next they have been introduced to the typing program that we use in 2nd grade, Typing Club. This program walks them through using the correct finger placement with the different letter keys. They start to learn about using “Home row” while keyboarding.
3rd Grade - After getting familiar with our online keyboarding program Typing.com; students will take their first keyboarding test. Next they will also be introduced to one of our robots, Edison. They are using barcode programming to see the different features that Edison can do. The next step with Edison is starting to use block base programming to see what they can get Edison to do.
4th Grade - We started the year off by learning about AI (artificial intelligence). We used a few different AI tools. They created flashcards using Google Slides, AutoDraw, and Google Translate. Next we will head over to Typing.com to practice keyboarding skills.
5th Grade - This year we started off working on Google Slides & Docs to brainstorm and collaborate on creating a group “choose your own adventure” story. I always love to see what stories and adventures they come up with. Next over to Typing.com to practice keyboarding.
6th Grade - We are working on creating Pop Art using Google Drawing. Students select an image, and learn how to create customized shapes to recreate their image. They then fill in the shapes with bright Pop Art colors, which is one of my favorite projects.
8th Grade - We started the year with learning about podcasts. Students worked on choosing topics and creating scripts for creating their own podcast. They are now getting ready to record their podcasts on BandLab, an online music creation and editing software. I encourage students to work on recording their podcasts at home where they will have more time to record and quieter locations to use.
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Educational Strategists - Mrs. Heavey, Mrs. Price, Ms. Bousquet Summer is over and school is back in session! The transition to school can be an adjustment for children and parents. Here are some ideas to help make going back to school a little easier.
- Clear the Decks: Pick a specific spot in the house for your child’s backpack. Store school folders and assignment notebooks in the backpacks when they are not being used. In the morning, you’ll find these supplies with ease.
- Read All About It: Most days your child will bring home papers in a mail folder or “take-home -folder.” Teach your child to empty the contents of these folders each day and place papers in a designated spot. Review the papers with your child each day.
- Ask Questions: Show an interest in your child’s school day. Ask specific questions that will bring on conversations. What was the best thing that happened today? Tell me one thing you learned today.
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Guidance Mrs. Skudlarek
We have had an excellent start to the school year! The kindergarten students have been learning all about the role of the counselor in the building. They have been practicing good listening skills. We will begin talking about different feelings in the coming weeks.
First and second graders have been discussing the importance of being kind to others. We read, How Full is Your Bucket and did different activities to practice being a “bucket filler”.
Third graders have been working on the importance of respecting each other in a social setting. They have shared some wonderful ways to be supportive this year in their classroom community.
Fourth graders have spent some time focusing on the transition in to fourth grade from third grade. They have had some time to reflect on the differences and how they feel about this brand new year.
Fifth graders have been working on learning new things about each other through social sharing. Students were recently partnered together to create an acrostic poem about respect and what it looks like at and around school.
The sixth graders are learning about the importance of growing their brains and challenging themselves.
Seventh and eighth grade students were asked to identify their superpower, something they are extremely good at. We have also discussed time managements skills and how to be prepared for this school year.
I am looking forward to another great year as the counselor. Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.
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HAL - Mrs. Miller
The HAL classroom has been busy since the start of school! After spending a little time reviewing, the students are forging ahead with our new lessons.
The 4th grade math class is learning about decimals, place value, and simple computation. Fifth graders are continuing their studies and learning about powers of ten in writing expanded form. Pre-algebra is the focus for the 6th grade students, and they are learning about computation with all types of rational numbers. Seventh grade algebra students are working on radicals and radical expressions.
The junior high literature students completed their first novel this month and presented projects based on topics related to their books. Seventh graders focused on what our faces say to others and how they hope to be perceived; while the 8th graders studied the Revolutionary War and its impact today.
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Media Center Mrs. Kaiser
Welcome back to the library. Students have been reviewing how to locate books on the shelves and use the check out machines. Grades four and five are now moving on to sources and how to cite them. Grade seven students are strengthening their design skills by building a 12-second marble run from recycle materials. Happy reading everyone!
Thank you to the following students and their families for donating a book to the library in honor of their birthday: Ruby Kleber, Eva Burns, Luke Schorg, Maggie Hammes, Penelope Heimann, Gaby Rodriguez, Quinn Scheppers, Loni Williams-Booge, Brooks Meek, Barrett Houghton, Beau Meek, Avery Morris and Jovie Williams-Booge.
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Music Mrs. LeMense
Hello and welcome to a new year of music!
The 5th graders have been working on some broadway musical numbers for their October 19th program they share with the 6th graders; you’ll get to hear pieces from The Sound of Music, Fiddler On The Roof, Grease, Annie, Mama Mia and more!
4th graders have begun learning the recorder! So far so good! We are having a good time working on playing technique as well as learning to read the notes.
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2nd graders are having a good time with songs in meters of 2 and 4! Pictured above is some dancing to “Rocky Top”!
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Music Mrs. Goodwin
Sixth grade has already begun learning music for their program on October 19th. The program will be a mix of songs from different musicals that many of the students are familiar with. After their performance, they will begin a world music unit.
Seventh and eighth grade have been reviewing and applying musical fundamentals through writing and playing. They will begin to prepare for their patriotic themed concert on November 16th.
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PE - Mr. Boone
Welcome back to school one and all! We’ve had a great start to the beginning of the school year so far. We started off reviewing our rules, procedures, and expectations for my classes. Part of this is making sure that our students are showing up wearing the correct shoes. Please have your child coming to school wearing tennis shoes. Chuck Taylor’s Converse or other canvas shoes are not acceptable. They do not provide your child with the proper support needed for the activities that we do in class. Please make sure they leave the house with tennis shoes.
Kindergarten-2nd grade: One of my favorite times of the year is at the beginning of the school year. I like to do various cooperative activities where students have to communicate with one another and use teamwork. Some of the activities that we did were Hula Hut Architects, Noodle Transfer, and Tunnel Relays. Students took turns helping direct their groups or provide input to help find a solution.
3rd-5th grade: Similar to the younger grades, these students did various cooperative activities. In addition to the games mentioned above, students did Over The Top and The Challenge. The students got a reality check on how much they needed to rely on each member of their group to accomplish their goals.
6th grade: Our middle schoolers did cooperative activities as well. However, they did activities such as... partner supports, basket tossing, trust fall, surfing, and spider web. These activities put the students in situations where they had to strategize and plan how they wanted to complete the tasks. They had to place trust in each other that they could rely on each other.
*6th grade parents please note that your child will be given a written assessment at the end of each unit we do. This will be located in my Google Classroom and will be assigned every 2-3 weeks. I include my assignments in their weekly assignment calendars that they receive each week. Please help them be conscious of these assignments and to complete them on time. Thank you for your support.
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PE - Ms. Conry
7th & 8th grade PE
We started the year with some fun games that gave me an opportunity to welcome the new seventh grade classes. It was good to see the eighth graders again, too.
The elementary school years represent a time in which students should be developing, refining, and mastering fundamental motor skills and movement patterns. Our flag football unit will focus on all of those skills:
Fundamental Movement Patterns
• Throwing • Kicking
• Catching
Movement Concepts
• Spatial Awareness Pathways
• Directions
• Levels
We discussed the rules of the game and then actually played mini flag football games that were really fun for the students.
We will finish the unit up with a quiz.
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Spanish 2nd-4th Mrs. McDermott Students in second grade Spanish are learning basic greetings such as Buenos Dias (Good morning), Buenas tardes (Good afternoon) and Buenas noches (Good night) and how to use good manners by saying Por favor (Please), Gracias (Thank you) and De nada (You’re welcome).
Students in third grade Spanish are learning the names of breakfast foods such as: el cafe (coffee), la leche, (milk) el jugo de naranja, (orange juice) los huevos (eggs), el pan tostado (toast), el jamón (ham), las salchichas (sausage), el cereal.
Students in fourth grade Spanish are learning the days of the week (lunes, martes, miercoles, jueves, viernes, såbado, domingo (starting with Monday). FYI- the days of the week in Spanish are not capitalized
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Spanish 5th-8th - Mrs. Singh
¡Hola!
¡Bienvenidos a la clase de español! Welcome to Spanish class! I invite you to check in to your student’s Google Classroom as all of our activities and useful information are posted there.
Next month, we will celebrate Hispanic Heritage! Students will learn about activities going on locally and learn about influential people of Hispanic origin and their contributions to the world.
We have spent the last several weeks learning some greetings and ways to say goodbye en español. The days of the week and the date in Spanish are something we practice each class meeting. Our weekly prayer is posted in Spanish and English, which provides an opportunity to learn new words and build fluency.
All classes are learning the alphabet in Spanish and practicing vowel sounds. They should know two fun phrases that help them with pronunciation. Ask your student!
8th graders have expressed an interest in learning about sports in Spanish. Next week we will review numbers 0-199 and learn how to say popular sports in Spanish, as well as learn about a few sports that originated in Spain. 8th graders started learning how to conjugate verbs last year, so we will also review subject pronouns and practice conjugating the verb “practicar” / to practice + sport.
7th graders will learn/review numbers 0-40 and learn body parts in Spanish. We will continue to practice the alphabet… students will need to be able to spell their numbers out loud. We will make Halloween themed body part pictures.
6th graders are also practicing their alphabet. We will use the words from their Alphabet quiz to use 3 different online dictionaries….we will not use Google Translate!! Students will continue to practice “calendar” vocabulary and create a google slide of the months in each season, and a “hard copy” version of one month. They will learn about a Saints Day or important Hispanic holiday in their month.
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