St. Mary Catholic School Middle School Curriculum Update—Feb 10, 2023
What’s New in the World of Science?
The fifth and sixth graders presented their animal kingdom presentations this past week on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. The students showed a great amount of interest in their individual work and I was so excited and proud to hear how much they have learned. Next, we will be taking a closer look at bacteria and diseases.
Specifically, we will exploring how diseases develop within the body. We are also planning to have several guest speakers from the medical community come to be guest speakers with us during this unit. They will be teaching students about preventive practices to avoid illness and they learn how diseases are treated. Looking ahead for the third trimester our focus will be using curriculum from Discovery Education. As always, please make sure that your student completes their weekly current event assignment due every Tuesday!
SPACE the final frontier is our current focus for students in seventh and eighth grade. In particular, we are examining the following questions: How did the work of scientists throughout history contribute to our knowledge of the solar system? What new information are we currently learning from deep space investigations? How do stars operate and what part do they play in the larger galaxies and universe.
On the docket for the spring will applied science activities with several guest teachers as well as trips to Alliant Energy, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and to the JSOL in town. More details to follow.
Students in grades five and six are almost halfway through our unit on the ancient Greeks, which is always a student favorite. Specifically, we have looked at the geography of Greece and how it affected the development of civilization and culture. In addition, students have been assigned a project related to Greek gods/goddesses. The project will help students understand Greek culture, develop good research habits, and offer experience with student-led teaching. This will be the last major project before we end the second trimester. Monday February 20, 2023, is the due date for this project. Students will have some class time to work on the project, but students may need to work on it outside of school. Please take a few minutes to check in with your child on their progress as we move forward. I am excited to see students teach each other about these important figures of Greek culture.
Now that the seventh and eighth graders have completed their unit on the Russian culture region, we are moving on to Europe! We have begun to study Europe’s geography and the effect it has had on the people and culture both historically and presently. Afterward, we will move on to a brief overview of Europe’s history and systems of government and finish with a chapter on Europe today and the current issues facing the region. We will not be engaging in a major project for this unit, but students will be taking a formal assessment to evaluate their understanding of the material. The date for this assessment will be set closer to the end of the unit. Plans are also coming together to invite a series of guest speakers to class who have visited various European Nations as we study them. Stay tuned for future updates!
Conferences
Please make sure to schedule a parent conference ASAP! Mr. Buckman, Mr. Mitchell, and Mrs. Frederickson are reaching out to parents to schedule conferences for students who they may not normally see. Reminder that conferences are next Thursday, February 16, 2023. We look forward to seeing you all again! Please make sure to reach out to Mr. Buckman, Mr. Mitchell, or Mrs. Frederickson if you have any questions or concerns.
