5th Grade
Art: 5th grade students began creating self portraits inspired by Amedo Modigiliani. Lots of elongated heads, necks and noses.
Bible: Last week we talked about the 12 disciples and this week we began looking at Jesus’ miracles. Students rewrote the story of the healing of the demon-possessed man from a different perspective. Matthew 28:18-20 is due Fri, Feb 05.
History: This week students have been listening to stories about the first colonies! Next week we will wrap up our unit with a test on Fri, Feb 05.
Language Arts: This week we continued B.O.B. and took a closer look at the setting and themes of The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA. We had great discussions about the importance of understanding the historical context when reading a book set in the past. We will continue to study themes and work on B.O.B. next week! Monday starts Week 5 of B.O.B.
Math: We are finishing up our chapter on expressions. There will be a quiz next week Thursday and a test the following week.
Music - Band: We had a quiz on Boogie Blues this past week. WOW. Fun to hear! Practice p. 25 and The Blessing and Linus and Lucy.
Music - Choir: We continue to work on our upcoming Symphony Event. We are learning about all the orchestral instruments.
Music - Orchestra: The 5th grade orchestra students continue to work in their Essential Elements Book 1. This week we continued to learn about slurs and ties and are practicing playing them as we cross our strings. They continue to review First Scale March and have completed their first few run-throughs of Rigadoon. Assignment: January practice cards are due on Mon, Feb 01
PE: 5th graders will be finishing up their jump unit by performing a jump routine in small groups in front of their class. We will then start working on basketball skills.
Science: Students have been learning about simple chemical reactions. This week we were creative thinkers as we investigated a reaction of baking soda and citric acid to figure out the identities of the products that we made. We will have a test during the week of Feb 08-12. Students will receive a review sheet and begin reviewing in class in the coming week.
6th Grade
Art: 6th grade students worked with watercolors this week experimenting with various watercolor techniques. More experimenting next week and learning about drawing a landscape from a source image. Check the homework calendar for project and sketchbook due dates.
Bible: Last week students finished writing their Case for Christ letters expressing their faith and arguing why they believe Jesus really is the Son of God. This week we began talking about the early church and the persecution that early believers faced. Romans 8:35, 37-39 is due Fri, Feb 05.
History: This week students have been working on a group project, researching a famous Egyptian pharaoh. Next week we will wrap up our unit with a test on Thurs, Feb 04.
Language Arts: We continued our unit on short stories by studying character, theme, and tone in “Eleven” and “The All-American Slurp.” Next week we will synthesize our learning of the literary elements in short stories and take a deeper look at mood and tone.
Math: The 6th graders are wrapping up their chapter on expressions. There will be a quiz next week Tuesday and a test week Thursday. A review sheet will be given to the students on Monday.
Music - Band: We have a big solo video due at the end of next week, it’s on Google Classroom/Calendar.
Music - Choir: We started our unit on the Sound of Music (the musical).
Music - Orchestra: This week in 6th grade orchestra we worked in our Essential Elements Book 2. They are now playing songs that use more eighth notes and dotted half notes while playing D major scale finger patterns. They continue to work on El Toro and have enjoyed exploring the harmony and different rhythms. Assignment: El Toro (first half). Due: Tues, Feb 02, video assignment to be sent to Mrs. Dykeman on Google Classroom: El Toro (Beginning-31)
PE: 6th graders just finished up their jump unit by performing a jump routine in small groups in front of their class. We will now start working on basketball skills.
Science: Differential heating of Earth’s surface was our topic this week. Next week we will investigate how this factors into weather events.
7th Grade
Art: 7th graders continue work on drawing out self-portraits as Lego Minifigures. We will start the painting process next week. Check the homework calendar for project and sketchbook due dates.
Bible: In Bible we are learning about and evaluating sermons. Students are taking time to dissect the parts of a sermon in class. They are encouraged to take notes and evaluate the sermons they may hear this weekend as well.
History: We’re wrapping up our study of Africa this week. Next week will be focused on a mini-unit covering different types of human movement in the world - immigration, colonization, and refugee migration. Looking at specific examples of these types of movement in Africa will serve as the bridge between units.
Language Arts: We will continue our study of Trouble, theme, and characterization. Depending on how the organism research goes in Science and OE, we might be able to begin some creative monologue writing.
Math - 7th Math: We will be building upon our knowledge of solving one step equations in order to solve two step equations in the coming week. Students should expect to see a quiz later in the week.
Math - Algebra: We will continue to review the rules of exponents and how to solve problems using radicals. These are practiced as we also learn about exponential equations. There will be a quiz on Tuesday.
Math - Pre-Algebra: In Math this week we will be working through Chapter 8 on solving equations and inequalities. Students will take a short quiz after lesson 4 on Tuesday on the first four lessons.
Music - Band: Key signatures, multiple flats and sharps, music from many countries: major works and fundamentals. Practice the method book and sheet music.
Music - Choir: The unit on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers continues, spiced with a number of other things. (The periodic table set to music, a single voice singing all of Star Wars etc)
Music - Orchestra: This week the 7th grade orchestra students worked out of their Essential Elements Book 2. They were introduced to the d minor scale and have started to play short pieces using that scale. They continue to work on their piece English Carol, and are striving for longer bows with a bigger tone. Assignment: English Carol. Due Mon, Feb 01 video assignment to be sent to Mrs. Dykeman on Google Classroom English Carol (measures 24-61).
PE: 7th graders just finished up their jump unit by performing a jump routine in small groups in front of their class. We will now review basketball skills/rules and apply it to a game setting.
8th Grade
Art: 8th graders should have begun plastering their cardboard shape representations of their families. Please ask your 8th graders if they have completed the cardboard construction part of this project. If your student has not completed please encourage them to come to the art room during lunch recess, before or after school, to get caught up. Very soon 8th graders will be moving on to painting these projects. Check the homework calendar for project and sketchbook due dates.
Bible Huttenga: Students will be completing part 2 of their Narnia projects, involving a comparison essay. A set of thorough instructions and resources can be found on Google Classroom. Upon completing the projects, we will begin our final unit of the trimester, a study of Lee Strobel’s The Case for Faith.
Bible Sloterbeek: This week, we’ve begun studying the gospels. We’ve looked at what “gospel” means and started looking into the book of Matthew. Next week, we’ll cover Mark and Luke. With each of the 4 gospels, students are learning an overview of the book’s structure and themes and engaging in interpretation of or reflection on particular passages.
History: Students are finishing their introductory project to American colonies this week by making brochures on particular colonies. Next week, we’ll dig deeper into the structure of colonial governments and economies with the help of some simulations!
Language Arts: Final drafts of the NHD essay will be absolutely complete by Tuesday. Students will continue their study of The Diary of Anne Frank, incorporating theme and characterization into our ongoing discussion of character complexity. With NHD behind us, we will begin writing creative nonfiction in an ongoing series of essays. As we write, we will also be studying more English usage and style.
Math - Geometry: In Geometry we will continue learning about quadrilaterals and polygons.
Math - Pre-Algebra: We are continuing our focus on equations by learning how to solve multi step equations in addition to equations that have variables on both sides.
Music - Band: We continue to work our way through complicated things (the key of Concert D-flat, good grief!) and numerous pieces of music - practice the method book and First Suite.
Music - Choir: The show is progressing - we are gradually blocking and learning and working through things as a team.
Music - Orchestra: This week the 8th grade orchestra students continued to work in their book, Essential Techniques for Strings (3). They are now exploring playing short songs using third position. In addition, they are playing exercises that shift from lower positions to the upper harmonics. They have completed several run-throughs of Mahler with a Twist and are now working on dynamics. Assignment: Mahler With a Twist Due Mon, Feb 01 video assignment to be sent to Mrs. Dykeman on Google Classroom: Mahler With a Twist (Beginning through J).
PE: 8th graders just finished up their jump unit by performing a jump routine in small groups in front of their class. We will now review basketball skills/rules and apply it to a game setting.
Athletics
Girls basketball is continuing to practice and waiting to hear from our GRACEAC league on the status of our season. Due to the current restrictions in place from the MDHHS we are unable to start games until Feb 21. Please watch your email for more information soon.