After finishing our Studies Weekly Unit 15 on Ancient Japan, we tried sushi. Students watched videos on making sushi, using chopsticks and the "proper" way to eat sushi.  Everyone tried it..... what brave souls :-)

What a fantastic year! Lots and Lots of hard work, effort and grit.... now, it is time to play hard.  Enjoy your summer!! It is perfectly fine if you want to do some Simple Solutions or Moby Max at home :- ) And, you could always use Common Sense Math to keep your math skills fresh or work on becoming more fluent on certain skills..... Mental math is a must ! 

7th and 8th Grade classes spent some time  discussing and collaborating on the meaning of and difference between Grace, Mercy and Justice. There were plenty of EXCELLENT discussions.

    So excited to see everyone and get going!

6th Grade:  Get ready to learn all about tncient Civilizations and what the world was like during the time of Jesus! And in Math..... its time to get started on your journey into algebra thinking and  algebra technical language (don't tell anyone, but it is actually lots of fun).

7th Grade:  We will continue from 6th Grade with the Middle Ages in Social Studies and learn about tthe times before those explorers you learned about in 5th grade came to America, as well as, really get into Kansas History. And in Math..... we will continue the journey into algebra and build on 6h Grade skills! Ratios and fractions will really be your BFF :- )

8th Grade:   Soooooooooo much going on in the world! IWhat a great time for you to really connect 6th Grade and 7th Grade History and dive into our Declaration, Constituion, and Bill of Rights.  We truly live in the greatest country ever. Plus, it is an Presidention Election Year...... let's take a good look into the Candidates and their policies and how they line up with our values and the Constitution!  And in Math...... You are going to love putting all the foundational concepts from 6th Grade and 7th Grade into conquering some tough stuff.  Because you are ALL ready, it should be easier and dare I say FUN!!! 

 Terrific job on the Kansas Math State Assessments!! So proud of our students and teachers. Students had tremendous ownership, growth and grit all year and it payed off, big.   St. Joe, Ost has some of the top scores in the state. We work very hard everyday to deeply understand and permanently learn (or "get") concepts knowing that  eventually everything connects. Your optimistic approach in Math that what you do today will benefit you tomorrow and in the future is working. Don't forget to say thank you to Mrs. Doonan and your Pre-K to 5th Grade teachers for their important part in helping you be TOTALLY prepared for the journey into middle school algebra thinking and language. A big WOO HOO to all Middle School students, Mrs. Doonan and Pre-K to 5th Grade teachers..... you are truly AWESOME!

     What a terrific year. Your State Assessment & End-of-the-Year Moby Max scores were EXCELLENT! You did the work,  put in the effort and showed tremendous grit..... now,  enjoy some well deserved fun this summer!  Woo Hoo Crusaders :- )

     Many of you will be involved in various summer camps, sports, competitions, hobbies and recreational activies.  Go out and challenge yourself,  take ownership and be a leader...... whatever you do, be the best you can be! 

     And remember, Jesus is a great friend to have with you while you are "playing hard" this summer and wants to be with you as you both struggle and succeed.  Let Him be with you on the pitcher's mound, in the batter's box, trying to ski for the first time and everything  else you do. He wants you to be optimistic and will help you stay positive, be humble and keep growing.  

6th Grade - Ancient World History - We will start this new year by learning about the “Purple People”.  That is what the Ancient Phoenicians were called. Next, we will go to Ancient Egypt and  on to Ancient Greece around the same time they are studying “Mythology” in Language Arts!     By the end of the year, we will have spent time on Rome’s Rise and Fall, Japan (which we will try Sushi), China, India and the Middle Ages.

7th Grade – Geography - We just finished with the Five Themes of Geography (Physical Features, Human and Environment Interactions; Politics, Gov't and Religion). There were lots of vocabulary words and concepts, but students did excellent!  We will continue to integrate the Five Themes as we discuss current events from time to time.

State Assessments – We will take a little detour and work on the 7^th Grade State Assessments for a couple of weeks before moving to our Kansas History.

 Kansas History - Kansas played a big role in the development of America. We will learn to appreciate the hard work and sacrifices it took to settle in and live in Kansas. Students will have a better understanding of the ancestry of their families. We will look more deeply into the role that “Bleeding Kansas” played in the events that found the United States in a Civil War that started in April of 1861 (about three months after Kansas became a state…. hmmm…. coincidence? or not?).

8th Grade – Civics - We spent most of the 1^st Quarter diving into the United States Constitution, citizenship and our guaranteed rights as stated in the Bill of Rights. We discovered what our legal duties as citizens are.    

 American History - We are currently looking at those the taxes, politics and events that lead to the Revolutionary War in 1776. We will look more deeply into the culture of the times in the colonies to better understand why things happened the way they did.  

Since we are closing in on the 250^th Anniversary of the “Boston Tea Party”, we watched documentaries on “The Boston Tea Party” and “The Boston Massacre” to gain a better picture of what, how and why these type of things happened. 

Our goal for 2^nd Semester is to find out what happened over the 70-80 years between America’s beginning and its almost falling apart in a Civil War. We will cover The Jackson Era, The Industrial Revolution, Manifest Destiny, The Age of Jackson, Reform Movements and the Sectionalism that was splitting the country apart. By the end of the year, we will study the period after the Civil War known as Reconstruction. 

In preparation for our study of the US Constitution and Civics, 8th grade studens participated in a "Mock Congress" session where they discussed, debated, compromised and voted on which industry they were going  bail out. Each small group represented a different city / region in America. There was some terrific discussion, ideas and role-playing. (I think Drama class is paying off)

We then explored what "bureaucracy" means as we looked at implementing our bailout policy.  Students quickly realized how complicated implementing government policies without a lot of "red-tape" really is. We even had a visit from Mr. Brown, our custodian, acting as our President. :- )   Please, continue to visit with your Middle School students about current events! God Bless America.

We noticed our Middle School students had some gaps in basic Geometry due to the situations schools were in with Covid a few years ago.  So, we did an extensive "hands on" geometry review using marshmallows and spaghetti with 6th, 7th and 8th Grades.  Our goal was to build and understand the Geometry Vocabulary better. .  It worked!!! Students showed tremendous growth in Moby Max on the Geometry Standards...... Take That Covid :- )

7th Grade spent a few days in a class "Trivia Contest" over the 6th Grade Ancient World History Curriculum and some modern trivia facts, before moving into the 5 Themes of Geography and our modern world

.

We did some Team Building activities at the beginning of the year. They were to turn the tarp around without stepping off...... some great problem solving, for sure!  The hardest thing might have been to fold it back up as flat as when it came out of the package :- )

Watch Video ----> Team Building - Turning a Tarp (4).MOV  

We turned our classroom into bowling lanes, so middle school students could do some real-life math. They learned how Algebra is used to keep score and how strikes and spares really help mathematically to raise your score. We even did a little Geometry and Physics to help us understand better how to get more strikes by hitting the pocket and pick up spares. It was great to see students use the skills they learned on our end-of-the-year bowling trip.

Congrats and Good Luck to our Middle School Students on the Kansas Math Assessments. Thank you, students, for working very hard this year to prepare.... and a big thank you to your previous teachers who did a terrific job preparing you for Middle School Math..... I know you'll do well.  Love teaching Math here at St. Joe !!!

On the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on America, middle school students watched a 90 minute documentary that focused on courage and actions from ordinary people. It fit well with our school theme: "In this world you will have trouble, but take courage for I have overcome the world". 

Their notes and summaries were incredibly insightful as they all realized the true American Spirit we share with one another when faced with tragedy.  We focused on the big picture of what, why and how things happpened, as well as, the importance of remembering history. Our students are amazing :- )

In 6th Grade Social Studies we "time travel" from the study of America's history up to the Revolutionary War in 5th grade to Ancient World History's empires and civilizations and end with the Middle Ages and the Feudal System. Whew!! What a trip :- )  I know we have made some great connections between what we read and hear about everyday at Mass from the Bible and what we learn in our classes. We were even blessed this week with a reenactment of Sir Jocelyn being knighted by Queen Meng. 
 

For 8th Grade to better understand the Industrial Revolution, we are combining social studies, science, careers, technology and math by building simple machines with Legos. At the same time, we are learning how simple machines are part of much of our daily lives and the math behind those simple machines.  We will even explore "career math" that will actually use concepts like formulas, equations, order of operations & mental math that they have learned in their Math classes!! 

In Middle School, students have been working on a "2020 Election Packet" as part of our Current Events studies. We had some great discussions about the Electoral College, as well as, the tactics used in Political Cartoons and Political Ads.  We all agreed that we are REALLY tired of the ads :- )  8th Graders have just finished a 10 Week study of the US Constitution and Civics Foundations. One important discovery we made was that VOTING is important and something we should value. Our study of the Constitution has given them some great facts and tools to defend their values and opinions about current events..... just ask them! :- )  

PLEASE JOIN US IN A "MOCK ELECTION" - NOW CLOSED - THANKS FOR VOTING. t

 When was the last time your read the US CONSTITUTION? Use the following link (B) POCKET US CONSTITUTION.pdf to print a pocket size US Constitution.  

We had a great time at the Vocations Fair, March 7th, at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Hutchinson put on by the Serra Club of Reno County.  You can check out their FACEBOOK page for more pictures, including the individual pictures students took.  They were so proud to take 1st Place in the "Banner" contest .... the second year in a row for St. Joe, Ost!!  NICE JOB!

6th Graders worked hard to put together "Fr. Dan and the Crusaders" for our Catholic Schools Week Talent Show.   As a Careers Project, they collaborated, planned, practiced and learned the art of presenting and performing. They can now put Talent Show Best Group on their resumes! Watch their performance to "Dance to the Music" and check out the details and how they matched their actions with the music! A terrific job by all the performers who were brave enough to go on stage and let their "inner talents" or "inner humor" shine to entertain us. St. Joe Crusaders are AWESOME!!

"WORK HARD, PLAY HARD" - 6th, 7th, & 8th Grades

 We reached the first level of our "Cake Race" in 6th, 7th, and 8th Grades and earned a "Work Hard, Play Hard" activity. So, we made donuts in class, today, AND did our regular work for the day. It took some SELF-CONTROL on everyone's part, and we had a pretty successful day!  

CAREERS & TECHNOLOGY
      Self-control, prudence (thinking before speaking or acting) and temperance (keeping balanced with created goods) are the emphases for Careers & Technology classes this 2nd quarter, as well as, the school focus on gratitude.  Please, ask your students to share some of the virtues and characteristics we have discussed and are implementing.  Also, let them know how important they are in your jobs and as a family unit.   

 8th GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES, CAREERS & MATH
       We will use our donut-making as an example in 8th Grade Social Studies. We are learning about Economics and in particular the role of businesses in a market economy like the United States. Over the next few class periods, students will be looking at the idea of entrepreneurship and what goes into starting a business like making donuts!  We will support their next math concepts like slope, y=mx+b, and graphing of lines as a business tool. Should be fun!! :- )  Any information you can give them about starting or owning a business would be great.

THE PARADE downtown Medicine Lodge 

We saw the  US Calvary

Wagon trains with settlers and merchants from the Santa Fe Trail

Native American warriors

Cowboys fresh off the cattle trail

And, even a hanging of a cattle rustler!  YIKES !!!

Carry Nation's House: The kids enjoyed seeing her hatchet!

THE STOCKADE: We saw a Calvary Campsite. This is the Officer's Tent.

They said that 50 men would have slept in the round, cone-shaped tent below. The bottom is off because this would be what a camp was like in the summer.  In the winter they put on the bottom part.  

The Commanding Officer had a much better sleeping arrangement!

Log house from the 1800's.  

The Peace Treaty Pageant  There is so much reenacted in the pageant, from early Spanish explorers to stage coaches, to President Lincoln and the role of "Bleeding Kansas" in the events leading to the Civil War.

Wagon Train stopping for the night

We saw the Calvary save the Wagon Train from an attack!

President Lincoln giving the "Gettysburg Address"

8th Graders :- )