11/22- Bakes Sale/ Dress Down Day

6th and 7th 

6th and 7th graders are running a bake sale and dress down day 

to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

11/15- 7th Service Learning

7th Service Learning

This year each class was paired with a service partner. 

7th grade has been working with Epiphany House where they believe, 

"every child should have a loving and stable home. 

No child should ever be rejected or unloved. 

Through community outreach, adoption, foster and respite care, 

Epiphany House meets the needs of vulnerable children." 

At Epiphany House they live the words of this mission

every second of every day, 

and each time we visit, I am so happy

that your children are witnessing and working with 

these amazing people. 

This visit the 7th graders helped redecorate 

a little girl's room while she was out at school. 

They hung curtains, clocks, wall art, and family photos. 

They also changed over the bedding

and painted a personalized wooden hanging for the room. 

It instantly feels welcoming and loving whenever we go. 

This time they had hot chocolate and marshmallows

waiting to warm us up. 

We are lucky to have them so close that we can walk. 

It gives us time to adventure as a class. 

S and I spent much of this time trying to sneak pictures of the boys

so they wouldn't duck and hide before the shot was taken. 

We're working on it. 

11/8- catching up & 8th informational

8th Grade

In literature class the 8th grade continues to read All American Boys. We are approaching the end, but will likely have to wait until Monday to finish. They have been responding to the text through writing after each reading segment. Their responses are giving me life. They are making connections to the real world through their current research, through news they heard on the radio or TV, through their experiences, through songs they've listened to a million times but are now making sense of, through clothes they saw a favorite basketball player wearing...they are making developed and supported connections within the covers of the novel, but they are also making connections that transcend the book's borders. That is electrifying. 

They are waist deep in their research paper process with a major milestone due Monday. We will begin a thorough editing/ revising process Monday. 

We have also started "Laudato Si", the encyclical from our Holy Father Francis on care for our common home. The range of topics that we are able to cover and discuss through this piece is thrilling. While we are just at the very beginning of the piece, the level of questions they are asking and ideas they are contributing are demonstrating a significant growth in natural curiosity, critical thinking, and self- motivation to figure this world out. 

Can you tell I don't have any pictures of the 8th grade this week? 

There are some of them in the Community Time and Halloween pictures below. 

7th Grade

7th grade finished a unit on adjectives with some student-created review games. 

They have started their unit on pronouns and a new vocabulary unit. 

We are reading some non- Poe short stories 

with specific focus on different elements of fiction for each story.

They read "Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes 

and are currently reading "The Smallest Dragonboy" by Anne McCaffrey.

6th/7th Religion

As the entire school focused on the Joyful Mysteries,

 the 6/7 worked in groups to explore and present 

a chosen mystery to the class. 

They are now working on the parables of Jesus and how they apply to their lives. 

Escape the Room - Middle School Community Time

Halloween Pictures