In 7th grade, we started the week with some intense thinking in I&S, with the last round of "Tennis Debates." Students worked in teams to generate arguments for or against Puerto Rico's statehood. Students investigated both sides, and had to back up their arguments with evidence and consider possible opponent "turns" to their claims. The debate goes back and forth across the table like tennis, and their classmates scored each round! 7th graders also demonstrated their knowledge on ratios, scale, and proportions by “Being the Teacher” at the board and teaching their classmates! The real fun kicked in at our Christmas Party/Last Mustang Cup of 2017! Many thanks to all the parents who donated and coordinated our Gingerbread House Challenge! We had so much fun building free-standing, aesthetically pleasing (and tasty!) creations! From all the teachers at St. Matthias Junior High, we wish our students and their families a Merry Christmas and a blessed and restful break. We are so excited for what 2018 will bring!
0 Comments
8th graders investigated the transformation of electrical energy to other forms of energy, such as light energy, thermal energy, and kinetic energy! They build simple electric motors using batteries, magnets, and copper wire. Through lots of trials and some failures, students were able to make theirs motors spin using electrical energy! They also used a motor as a generator to light an LED bulb and investigated the ways in which current flow affected the light. 6th Grade continues to work on their Advent Kindness Calendar Journeys. Each day leading up to Christmas, students have an act of kindness they will do. In coordination with a project Kindergarten began in November, 6th Grade also made "Kindness Rocks" with positive phrases on them to spread good cheer this Holiday season. On Saturday, many Junior High students attended the winter "Snowball" dance, hosted by Student Council. This included students from Northside Catholic Academy. The dance featured a Hot Chocolate bar and student-made photo booth! UPCOMING EVENTS:
December 17th: CHRISTMAS PAGEANT December 21st: Mustang Cup Matchup Dec 22nd-Jan 7th: NO SCHOOL. Jan 8th: School Resumes St. Matthias Junior High Students showed their brightness and creativity in many areas this week-from deep thinking in Writer's Workshop to interactive activities in Science! During writer’s workshop, sixth grade worked on organizing main topics and subtopics in a group activity. They worked together to decide which pieces of content best fit under the categories of “Family Dynamic,” “Auggie’s Perspective,” and “Belonging.” This trimester, we will work on organizing our thoughts in our writing pieces. 7th graders are exploring a unit on evolution in science class. To introduce the concepts of variation and natural selection, students acted as a “Forkbird” with various numbers of fork tines simulating their beaks. They collected “Wild Loops” during feeding time, and the birds with the most food produced offspring with variations of beaks. In the end, students compiled class data to see which variation of beak had the highest frequency after 10 generations. Can you guess if Forkbirds with a 4-tined beak, 2-tined beak, or 1-tined beak survived for more generations?? 8th grade reviewed their knowledge of rates, proportions and interest. A scavenger hunt for one group and a matching game for the other! UPCOMING EVENTS!
12/9 Winter Dance for 6-8 grades 6-9 p.m. St. Matthias School * if you are interested in chaperoning all or even part of the dance, please contact [email protected]! 12/10 Christmas Pageant Dress Rehearsal 1-3 p.m. St Matthias Church 12/12 Our Lady of Guadalupe program 8:15-DROP OFF AT MAIN CAMPUS 12/17 Christmas Pageant 1 p.m. St. Matthias Church 12/21 Last day of School! Winter Break! 8th graders created their own experiments to test the effects of mass and height on energy transfer to a nail. They were given materials and tested different variables and their effects. They really nailed it with some great experiments! The junior high is working very hard preparing their music for the Pageant and getting energized to share their gift of music!. Along with music preparation, students have been designing costumes and preparing set designs. These designs are reviewed and assessed by Mrs. Reckamp. Some design ideas are used in making decisions about the actual set and costumes! It is an exciting time! We can't wait to present "The Tale of the Drowsy Shepherd" on Sunday, December 17th at 1:00 P.M. at St. Matthias Church. Please make sure that your child has turned in his/her permission slip to their homeroom teacher. This is a mandatory performance for the junior high. The 7th graders playing a review game using QR codes to help study for their test on inequalities! UPCOMING EVENTS
December 9th-Snowball Dance 6-9pm December 17th- Christmas Pageant 1pm MYP PROJECT REQUEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nina Ranalli is collecting school supplies NEXT WEEK for high risk youth in Chicago. A bin has been placed in the front foyer of the school for pencils and notebooks and other supplies. The collection will take place from December 4-8th. |
Archives
September 2020
|