Welcome to the Middle School Blog! Every other week the Middle School Team will post a classroom update in this space to help parents stay connected to the ongoing learning happening in the middle school hallway.
God Bless,
The Middle School Team
General Updates
1. The Middle School Team would like to extend our Lenten Blessings to you and your family!
Our School/Parish Lenten theme is “Radiate Christ.” You’ll be hearing about this theme throughout these 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
As we strive to Radiate Christ to others this Lent, here at school we will be hosting an almsgiving collection, called The Change Challenge!”
Students will be encouraged to bring in loose change and bills to place in Lenten Team Jars located in the main hallway of school.
We’ll be watching and sharing with excitement as the change in these jars grow with generosity throughout Lent!
Here are some important upcoming Lenten events/dates:
-Lenten teams will meet on March 11thand March 28thto pray the Examen Prayer as a school.
- 3-8thgrade will participate in Reconciliation on April 2nd
-On April 11ththe school will gather for Eucharistic Adoration in the Church.
-The school will attend a Veneration of the Cross Service on Good Friday afternoon at 1pm – all are welcome to join us!
2. Remember to check the Middle School Homework Site @ https://sites.google.com/stpiusxschool.org/middleschool
Daily assignments will be update by teachers each afternoon by 4pm!
3. We continue to have great participation in the Pius Academy program so far this year! Thank you to those who have been taking advantage of this great program!
For those interested in attending Pius Academy in the future, it’s offered on Tuesday afternoons from 3:00-3:45pm. Pick up takes place outside the main doors of the school (west doors).
Parents: If your student plans to attend the game, please send a note to the school office so we are aware of the absence. Thank you!
Teacher Updates
6thgrade & 7B Language Arts with Mrs. Bartscher
Please watch for Mrs. Bartscher’s next blog entry on March 29th. Thank you.
6-8 Math with Mrs. Gipple
6th Grade Math
With the new semester starting this week, we have begun our work with proportional relationships. Students were introduced to ratios, rates, equivalent equations, ordered pairs and proportions. The quiz over these concepts will be next Wednesday, Mar. 13th. After spring break we will work with percents, learning how to find a percent of a number, how to calculate sales tax, commissions, and simple interest.
7th Grade Math
Today we finished our first geometry chapter by taking the posttest over geometric figures, angles, angle pairs, lines, and congruent figures.
Next week we will continue in our geometry unit by working with perimeter and area formulas, as well as finding circumference of circles. Then we will take our formulas a step further by finding volume of 3 dimensional figures.
7th Grade Pre-Algebra
This week we began working proportions. We reviewed what ratios, rates and unit rates are, then used these to write and solve proportions. The quiz over these concepts will be next Wednesday, Mar. 13th. After spring break we will use proportions to solve percent problems, as well as exploring and using the percent equation, finding percent of change and other real world applications of percents.
8th Grade Pre-Algebra
This class has finished the geometry unit and took the last test this past Wednesday. Those scores can be viewed in Powerschool.
Now we turn back to working with algebraic equations. We will work with algebraic expressions, combining like terms, using opposite operations to isolate the variable, and then we will be solving multi-step equations, equations with variables on both sides, and systems of equations. We will not have any tests or quizzes on these concepts until after spring break.
8th Grade Algebra
We are halfway through our introduction to polynomials. Students have learned what they are and how to perform operations with polynomials: adding, subtracting, multiplying and factoring. This week we also worked on factoring trinomials into two binomials. Next we will work on factoring special cases and how to factoring by grouping. The quiz over these concepts will be after spring break.
Have a wonderful spring break with your children and hopefully spring will actually be here when we return!
Blessings,
Mrs. Gipple
6-8 Religion with Mr. Tallman
Have you hear about Mr. Tallman’s Twitter account?! It’s all the rage on social media ;)I’m up to 71 followers – even @Jesus123 is following the account (I’m pretty sure it’s really Him!) With that kind of endorsement, how can you not join in on the fun?! You can follow our religion class tweets @MrTallmansClass it’s free and worth the effort…you’ll get daily tweets from all middle school religion classes, plus the very popular Religion Question of the Day (RQD) – You don’t want to miss this!
6th, 7th, & 8thgrade:
All middle school classes have concluded their Theology of the Body studies. I appreciate how serious our middle school students take these conversations!
Please note that due to various stdent absences and the ending of the trimester, the following grading changes will be made: the 8thgrade TOB score will go on Tri 2 grades, while 6thand 7thgrade TOB scores will go on Tri 3 grades.
Please watch for the following over the next few weeks:
-6th grade will begin studying the biblical covenants of Noah and Abraham.
-7thgrade will begin a developing a timeline of Jesus’ ministry and passion throughout Lent.
-8thgrade will begin preparing and constructing a life-sized rendition of the Crucifixion scene which will be on display in the Church Narthex during Holy Week!
Have a blessed weekend!
Peace,
Mr. Tallman
6-8 Science with Mrs. Erickson
6th Grade: In sixth grade we are just starting our life unit! We are learning what all living things have in common and what makes something qualify as a living thing. The past two days we have looked at a wooly bear caterpillar, viruses, and the dumbo octopus to determine which are living things and which are not and why. Our unit is relatively is short and will end with a test next Thursday, March 14. We will be working on a research project next week to help understand how characteristics of life are used to show that an organism of the students’ choice is in fact alive.
Remember that information can always be found at https://sites.google.com/view/mrsericksonscience/home
7th Grade: In seventh grade we have started talking about the human body. We finished talking about a general overview of the systems in the body and bones. Starting our short unit on muscles and the muscular system and will finish with a test before we leave for spring break. We will then move onto the integumentary system (if you’re not sure what system this is ask your seventh grader!)
Remember that information can always be found at https://sites.google.com/view/mrsericksonscience/home
8th Grade: We finished our unit on Work, Power, and Machines and are now working on Energy. Energy builds on many of the concepts from the previous units. We are also going to look at renewable and nonrenewable resources this unit and how sustainable our lifestyles are. Our test for this unit is planned for Wednesday, March 13.
Remember that information can always be found at https://sites.google.com/view/mrsericksonscience/home
Mrs. Jaci Erickson
6-8 Social Studies with Mr. Klein
8th Grade:
We will begin our next DBQ this morning, this one ties the Indian Removal Act with what is stated in the Declaration of Independence. We will continue working on the essay next week with it being due on Thursday. After that, we will begin looking at the different routes that Americans took heading West.
7th Grade:
We have a test on Japan, North, and South Korea scheduled for Wednesday. After that, we will begin learning about the ancient history of Vietnam.
6th Grade:
We are finishing up our Africa unit with a project that the students will present on Monday. Then we shift gears to Eastern Europe.
Mr. Klein
7T & 8th grade Language Arts with Mrs. Pedersen
7 Tallman - Students have finished reading The Outsiders. In place of a unit test, students are working on an end of the unit project. Students have been given class time this week and will have some class time next week, but may also need to be working on the project at home. The project is due Thursday, March 14. Our next reading unit will be nonfiction literature. In grammar students are learning about pronouns. This week students handed in their five paragraph essay about why St. Pius X School is such a great place. I can't wait to read them! This week I conferenced with students about their AR goal for third trimester.
8th Grade - Students finished reading Part One in To Kill A Mockingbird this week. Next week they will be working on an assessment over Part One. We have been learning about how to research a topic. We've talked about reliable websites, primary and secondary sources, how to take notes, how to cite sources, and students narrowed their topics. Now we are finally researching topics. Students are required to have at least 2 source cards and 20 content cards by Thursday, March 14.
nstead of AR third trimester, students are required to read a dystopian society book. All students already have their book and have started reading. Students are required to make an appointment to conference with me when they finish reading their book. Ask your child how they are coming with their book and what plan they have for finishing and conferencing with me.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Pedersen
SPX Parish Youth Ministry with Ms. Blaser
Hello, SPX parents!
I hope you are all well and are trying to stay warm in this never ending snow! I have a few things coming up that might be of interest to you and your kids!
1. Just5Days: middle school mission trip going to Omaha, NE from July 15-19, 2019! This trip is designed specifically for middle schoolers where they will have a balance of service, prayer, community, formation and, of course, fun! Limited spots available, so I need to know soon if your child is interested or would like to register. The price is $330 for student and chaperones are free!
2. NCYC: November 21-23, 2019 is for all high school students (current 8th graders)! This is a conference for high schoolers where 20,000+ other practicing Catholic teens will be with the best Catholic speakers. This conference is tons of fun, full of formation and a time for your teen to take the next step in their faith life. Prices coming soon.
Both of these opportunities are priceless. They offer your child the next step in deepening their relationship with God and with each other. These are the times to have your kids start solidifying good and healthy friendships with each other and more importantly, with God. They provide fun, community, prayer and formation.
Call the parish office or email me at sblaser@saintpiuschurch.org if you would like more information or to register for either!
Shalom,
Samantha Blaser
Thank You for reading the SPX Middle School Blog!
Our next blog post is scheduled for Friday, March 29th, 2019
