The sixth graders did a fabulous job leading our school mass in our fancy new location! For the remainder of the year we will be celebrating mass in the gym while the church is being painted. There was a special person in the birthday group this week!
The seventh and eighth graders welcomed Holocaust survivor, Ava Schieber, to the Dank Haus on Friday. To anticipate her visit, they read her stories and poems in their Holocaust study. Ava was fifteen when she went into hiding on a farm in Serbia. She was separated from her family and spent the years in hiding alone where she pretended to be deaf and mute. The students did a wonderful job participating in the discussion and asking thoughtful questions. Way to go!
The sixth grade students adopted Medieval personas in original three-act plays about social classes in Europe. Chivalrous knights attempted daring deeds, spunky peasants tried to improve their station, and a noble family welcomed the audience into their manor. Next week, they will apply the knowledge gained from these plays to investigate a day in the life of a specific individual.
7th Grade got as close to the beach as the weather would allow this week when they investigated the relationship between the volumes of 3D shapes. They created rectangular prisms and rectangular pyramids with congruent bases and heights, and they used sand to determine how many times the contents of the pyramid would empty into the prism. Ask them about the formula they derived!
6th grade put their knowledge of multiplying and dividing fractions to the test in the kitchen! They adjusted some of their favorite recipes to make them bigger or smaller and then had to test their new recipes to make sure their conversions were successful. The final products were delicious and educational!
On Wednesday, the eighth graders spent a chilly day at the DuSable Museum of African American History. We heard from an energetic speaker who taught us the ins and outs of the Reconstruction Era. The students made wonderful connections to their I&S class and Language Arts novel. With such great background knowledge, we are prepared to delve into the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s.
Seventh graders examined the roles of upstanders and bystanders in the Holocaust. They read from different primary sources and identified upstanders and bystanders by their actions and behaviors. Next, they created symbols of their readings and highlighted important text evidence to support their claims.
Sixth grade did a nice job this week putting on skits about the journey of the Israelites in Exodus. They were very resourceful with making props out of classroom materials, and the skits really came together nicely, even with just a short time to prepare.
--Sixth Grade Donation Drive: send donations for refugee families to school in a bag with your child's name on it; homeroom teachers will collect it. Every child that participates will receive a dress down day pass, and the class with the highest percentage of participants will get a special treat! The final day to bring in donations is May 11th, and the winning class will be announced at Global Fest.
--May 11th: The IB Global Fest gallery walk will take place from 8:30-9:15am in the SMS gym. Mark your calendars and come see what your kids have been doing in class!
--May 14th: Global Fest party
Mrs. Prinzivalli and Ms. Denten