Our sixth grade girls team won the Chicago Park District North Region Girls Tournament in a close game against Burley. They once again dominated on the court, winning 28 to 26 in quite the nail-biter. We'll definitely be on the lookout for more wins from this team in 2017.
Though transitions between classes can get crowded, our eighth graders made the best of it by creating an enthusiastic entrance for Ms. McKenna’s sixth grade homeroom.
The best days in science are when we get to use materials! This week sixth grade used a simple model of hot and cold water with red and blue food coloring to explore how convection currents work. This really deepened their understanding of how plate tectonics works. (Get it??) After being mesmerized by the rising and sinking food coloring, they applied their newfound knowledge to figure out how convection currents arise in the mantle. They even got to watch a video showing a mini plate-tectonics/hot cocoa experiment. Earn a ticket if you try it out at home!
Sixth grade started a new literature unit for R.J. Palacio’s novel, Wonder, by doing a graffiti activity. Students traveled around the room answering questions on posters hung on the walls. Then, each group chose a poster to read and analyze by finding the similarities and differences in the answers, as well as pointing out answers that stood out to them for a particular reason. We will use these posters to spark class discussions about the themes we will encounter in Wonder.
Sixth grade practiced mindful listening by teaching and repeating complicated beats. Their listening certainly improved over the course of the activity!
Seventh grade explorations of natural selection continued this week with another model. Forkbirds battled it out to see which "beak" trait was most successful in catching the fruit loop prey, and to add some excitement (and scientific accuracy), random mutations were introduced every generation. Slowly but surely we are on the path to discovering what drives evolution!
The eighth graders taught their classmates the difference between commonly confused words that they do NOT want to confuse going into high school. Each student prepared a Powerpoint presentation, a game, and a worksheet to share with the class. They did an excellent job!
The eighth grade students visited Ms. O'Donnell's preschool class for a sweet and festive activity - making gingerbread houses! They helped their buddies frost and decorate the houses, resulting in some magnificent creations. Some lucky students may have sampled the candy, too! We can't wait to see our buddies in 2017!
The junior high crew participated in the final Mustang Cup competition of 2016, with Christmas-themed logic puzzles, Christmas carol charades, and the penguin waddle. If you're looking to liven up your holiday parties, we highly recommend the penguin waddle! We love seeing the students bond with their teams in these friendly competitions!
St. Matthias will be closed for the holidays starting on Friday, December 23. Students and teachers will return to school on Monday, January 9.
Please return February lunch forms to Mrs. Figueroa by Friday, January 13. Also, try not to break any mirrors, walk under any ladders, or cross the path of any black cats after turning in your lunch forms.
See you next year!
Ms. Denten & Ms. Scheiber