On Friday of last week, the sixth and seventh grade students donned their finest duds for the 2016 Catholic School Dance-Off. Sponsored by "Dancing with Class", this event showcased not only the technical skills taught in each dance, but the etiquette and enthusiasm that go hand in hand with dancing with class. Congratulations to all of the students who participated in this event!
Ask any eighth grade student who they support in the 2016 Presidential election, and you will (hopefully) receive an articulate answer that avoids "band-wagoning" and focuses on the candidates' platforms. On Monday, in anticipation of the Illinois primary, Ms. Denten's class held an in-class election. The students followed primary coverage at home and then compared the class results with trends in Illinois and the U.S. primaries so far. We are so proud of this group of independent thinkers and can't wait till they can REALLY rock the vote!
The seventh grade investigated the events of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, by reading several first-hand accounts. We examined photographs in our books and magazines to understand the effect choices had on people's lives. Next week they will put an emphasis on the power of language in those reading a by creating found poems.
The seventh grade students participated in a jigsaw peer teaching activity to explore laws passed during Hitler's time as Chancellor and Fuhrer of the German Reich. After explaining the meaning of the laws and their impact on the "inside" and "outside" circles of citizens in Germany, the students discussed why the majority of individuals tacitly accepted the legalization of discrimination. In the next class, we will continue our conversation on what it takes to be an upstander in the face of growing opposition.
On Thursday, Ms. Nolan stepped in as PE teacher with Mrs. Prinzivalli and Ms. Denten looking on in a supervisory capacity. This open-minded, risk-taking math teacher instructed our sixth grade students to construct obstacle courses spanning the length of the gym using any and all available equipment. The results were fantastic!
(*Team Denten obviously won)
In their unit on the human body, the seventh grade students studied the Nervous System by doing a hands-on lab with Ms. Scheiber. They sought to discover the smallest distance at which they can discern the difference between one and two points. Using two toothpicks, they tested their hypotheses and will analyze their data next week.
Ms. Denten & Mrs. Prinzivalli