Students in 8B this week continued to build their robotics kits and tried downloading code to get their robot to transform from biped (two feet) walking to rover vehicle form. It was quite a challenge and some have to go back to the engineering process to revise their servos. 8B will be completing their builds at home and then working on coding the robot to complete specific tasks at school. Students in 8A started writing code to simulate the solar system with the planets orbiting the sun! For the last couple weeks in music class, the sixth graders have been researching decades in history and learning about the music of those time periods. Students have selected a particular decade from the 1930's to the 2010's and are selecting songs that were impactful to the culture to include in a radio broadcast that they will present to their class. Combining important historical facts, major weather news, and innovative products from each decade, students will play DJ and write a script, creating a historical snapshot of that decade, including songs that were woven into the culture of each period in history. Creativity is definitely encouraged! We can't wait to hear these final presentations! 7th graders started using Tinkercad - a computer aided design software program to use for 3D prints! They are using the Engineering design process to create prototypes of an invention to help solve a problem. Ask you students what they are inventing. It could become a great family discussion on what problems need to be solved and how they create a great invention to help solve the problem. Students have already come up with some amazing ideas! This week students started a new unit that works on their hand eye coordination. Students used a paddle to bounce a ping pong ball numerous times. The goal of this activity was to not let the ping pong ball fall to the floor even when walking! Nice job everyone! (Each piece of equipment is sanitized before and after use. Students also hand wash and/or use hand sanitizer after class.) We made it to our biweekly mass as a Junior high this Thursday. We had help from 7th Graders, Simon, Finn, Lauryn, and Maeve. With some lovely singing from our 8th grader Degame. Fr. Larry led us in prayer and we were all able to pray together. We are always happy to come together in prayer.
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Our 8th graders are currently reading Lord of the Flies in L&L. Here they are able to work collaboratively to analyzing each chapter of the classic novel. We are so grateful to work together safely in person, it really makes a big difference for our students! All of our JH students participated in an obstacle course made out of chalk this week in PE. This obstacle course consisted of fundamental gross and locomotor skills such as running, jumping, hopping, and skipping. Look at them in action! In music, the 7th and 8th graders are exploring and uncovering protest themes and researching the effect protest songs have had on history and culture. They have spent time listening to protest songs from the 60’s to present day and have been inspired to create their own protest songs. The students have expressed concern about our city and nation and have begun expressing their feelings and emotions, writing lyrics about such themes as racism and equal rights. All through the peaceful medium of music. They will then use the program “Music Maker Jam” to create the accompaniments to their songs. We cant wait to hear the finished products! This week marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month! In Spanish Class, our JH students researched famous actors, musicians, politicians, scientists, athletes and more who are of Hispanic decent. They compiled some important information about them like their nationality and their major contributions. Then they built a display in the stairwell for the 1st-5th graders to read and learn all about these important people. Check back for more posts as we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! This year in the MYP, we are placing extra emphasis on not only the Learner Profile Traits but on our Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills. The ATL skills are thinking, communication, social, self-management, and research skills. All students have different learning styles and needs. In teaching the ATL skills, students are guided to understand how they learn as individuals. In September, our focus is Self Management - Organization Skills. Students are learning how to manage their time effectively and to use their MYP planners to record all assignments. After 5 months away from our school building, it is important to reteach these essential skills. This year in the MYP we have a new math program! “Into Math” has great online resources for our students as well as a workbook that allows each of them to write inside of their books. Students are smiling behind those masks because they are having so much fun! All of our Junior High students have been working on how to successfully throw and catch a frisbee using the alligator snap and crab claw method. Students were also introduced to a game called “Kan Jam. ” This is a flying disc game that works on tossing and deflecting. Nice job everyone! (Each piece of equipment is sanitized before and after use. Students also hand wash and/or use hand sanitizer before and after class.) The Junior High was able to attend mass this week! It was our first time all together in our church since March and we were all excited to be together. Fr. Larry led us in a special prayer in remembrance of 9/11 and as we all prayed together for peace. Thanks to 8th Graders Louis, Molly, Paige, Sophia as well as 7th graders Colton and Megan for helping to lead us in prayer. After getting through all of our material for the week, a couple of students got together to play a game of Tenzi. Tenzi is a game where each player has ten dice and the objective is to get roll all of your dice to get the same number before the other players. During the game we discussed probability of winning or rolling certain numbers. Even though an event has a low probability doesn’t mean its impossible! In PE this week, our students learned the names of different muscles. They even did some exercises using those muscles. For example, when doing a squat, the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves along with the abdominal muscles are all engaged. Students loved learning all about the different types of muscles and how they can be used during our warm ups! Our 8th graders took some time to reflect on quotes from Scripture that would be a source of help, support, and encouragement for them this year. Then we hung their favorites around our classroom as a reminder of the quotes that help them the most. Creativity and divine inspiration led to these wonderful prayer experiences! We took full advantage of the beautiful weather to get outside as much as possible! 7th grade began reading their novel “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” in L&L this week. When it came time to individually read, they headed out to the Rectory Garden for the perfect quiet spot. Pinwheels for Peace Project is an art installation that recognizes September 21st as an international day of peace. Here at St. Matthias, we are going to decorate the fence with our own pinwheels for peace while also commemorating our first responders on September 11th. Each student is creating their own pinwheel with the messages and symbols to express their prayers and actions to bring peace into our world. Here are some of our 8th graders putting their pinwheels together. When the wind is blowing you will be able to see our beautiful pinwheels in action and hopefully stop to take a moment to discuss the importance of peace. |
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September 2020
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