This week, our students welcomed some very special visitors to the main campus and to Dank Haus. Sr. Rose and Sr. Maria spoke with the students about the calling to live in service to God. They reminded the students that not everyone may be called to be a sister, brother, or priest, but that we are all called to live in God's image and give of ourselves to help others.
Mrs. Alkhalifa joined our junior high students on Monday afternoon to speak about her work with refugees. The students learned about the struggles refugees of all ages face upon entering a new country and discovered ways that they can make a difference. We hope to partner with her this year for a service project!
After learning about how to help those in the global community, the students lent a helping hand to those in the surrounding neighborhood. On Monday and Tuesday, the sixth and seventh grade students packed several hundred brown bag lunches for Together We Feed Chicago. We are very grateful for the donations of bread, meat, cheese, and fruit cups from our families, as well as for Ms. Scheiber and Mrs. McGovern's help coordinating the delivery of the meals!
The eighth grade students served breakfast and lunch at the rectory on Wednesday morning. They also used up the last of the supplies to make a few more sandwiches. Together our donations benefited TWFC, Uptown Baptist Church, Sarah's Circle, St. Thomas soup kitchen, and the Catholic Worker house in Uptown. Thank you for your generosity!
The sixth grade class started the "Dancing with Class" program this week. Mr. Scott taught these ladies and gentlemen the basics of the first of five dances - the merengue. They also learned how to politely ask for and accept dances, add flair and sass to liven up a dance, and how to promenade after a performance. We can't wait to see them dominate the dance floor at the competition in March!
On Thursday, the junior high students celebrated themselves by choosing an activity. Despite the frigid temperatures, eighth grade chose to have extra recess. Seventh grade played board games and sixth grade took over the second floor for free time. They certainly felt appreciated!
On Friday, the students of the upper and lower schools gathered in the gym to support eighth grader Colin W.'s MYP Community Project. His global jeopardy game sure stumped the students! Overall, he raised $171 for Feed My Starving Children. This organization will provide food for many children thanks to the generosity of our students!
Last week, the junior high students introduced some new games to their classmates in gym class. Sixth grade learned how to play KanJam, seventh grade learned how to play croquet, and eighth grade played table tennis. They are learning new games and polishing their presentation skills!
Sixth grade took a look at what drives ocean currents, exploring both temperature and salinity differences. They did a great job analyzing how global warming would affect ocean currents based on these two mechanisms!
In Language and Literature, 7th grade worked on characterization AND literary devices with the metaphorical grab bag! Students chose a miscellaneous item out of the grab bag and worked with a partner to create a simile or metaphor about the protagonist in our novel, Esperanza!
The seventh grade sleuths had a fierce competition to show off their skills at solving percent problems. Without talking to their teammates or sharing any of their work, they had to put themselves in order of their answers from least to greatest. With a reward of Starbursts and fruit snacks on the line, the stakes were high and the competition was ruthless.
-Parent teacher conferences are TODAY (February 3)! Please email your child's homeroom teacher if you were not able to sign up for a conference today.
-There is no school on Friday, February 10 for teacher professional development and on Monday, February 20 in honor of Presidents Day.
Happy weekend!
Ms. Denten & Ms. Scheiber