Our focus this month has been the development of character. Allowing God to deal with us in a real and intimate way. The first character trait we are learning about is Love.
Mr. Lopez
This month we are talking about wining your race. Every one who competes in Olympic games must enter strict training. We are training in the Word and allowing God to develop character in us. It has been exciting to see 6th grade respond to God as they learn how to win their race.
Mr. Lopez
Last week students rehearsed the fall skit, “The Telltale Talent.” It is a humorous, Christian spoof on Edgar Allen Poe’s haunting poem “The Telltale Heart.” As they practice, students are working on characterization and voice projection, as well as learning a valuable lesson: God gives us our talents and expects us to put them to good use!
Mrs. Lapp
This week students will be “playing teacher” by giving presentations on Asia’s First Civilizations, India and China. We just wrapped up a unit on ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in which we also compared these cultures to the emerging culture of the Israelites. The Israelites were (unlike their neighbors) monotheists whose God was seen as a protective Father rather than as fickle, violent, and anthropomorphic like the other ancient gods. We saw this first hand by reading the “Enuma Elish,” a Babylonian creation myth.
Mrs. Lapp
History students have been learning about the Revolutionary War and the founding of our country, focusing specifically on the ideas of liberty and order. Is it better that a nation has a government of the people with mistakes, or a government led by a dictator who imposes order? Currently we are studying the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and learning how the Constitution fixed many of these weaknesses by creating a stronger national government.
Mrs. Lapp
Government students have been learning about the founding of our country, focusing specifically on the ideas of liberty and order. Can liberty and order coexist? Students also participated in a passionate discussion about whether or not rebellion against a tyrannical government is justified. We are currently studying the Constitutional Convention and have even been having our own mock Constitutional Convention with delegates debating and compromising in order to form a classroom Constitution.
Mrs. Lapp
October has been an exciting month. KV was able to go to Green Meadows Farm on our class trip. We were able to pet and feed farm animals, enjoy a hayride, and pick out pumpkins. Kindergarten had a great time and enjoyed baking pumpkin seeds the next day in class.
Miss Velez
In the month of October, the English 10th grade class has been making our way through “Oliver Twist”, by Charles Dickens. Getting the students to spend time at home reading the book was challenging at first. As we discussed the novel in class more and accompanied the discussions with a short viewing of the movie here and there, the interest of the students was sparked and questions flooded the room. Exciting class discussions have borne from this novel, which included the life and experiences of a child and the treatment of orphans. Watching the movie allowed an expression of shared pain and sympathy. It is so exciting. At times the movie is the only thing that is desired, but we must – read on, at home and as a class! I have had the students use their creativity to start writing their own introductions of the book. Some humorous, some sarcastic, some filled with questions and all exceptional. I hope to include some of their own acting and drama with a narrator and judges, sort of like a mini-production. I’ll propose a choice of activities and we’ll see what the class chooses.
Ms. Farrell
In the month of October, the English 9th grade class has been making our way through “A Christmas Carol”, by Charles Dickens. Although the reading may be challenging due to the author’s language and numerous vocabulary words, the story is captivating and allows frequent opportunities to survey our life as it stands today. We have engaged in lively discussions which included the topics of: ‘How do you want to be remembered’, ‘How can you strive to live a life free of regrets’, ‘If you could change one thing in your life, what might that be’, as well as other similar topics of discussion. Usually there are so many responses; the discussion has to be cut off at some point, as we need to move on. We are spending much focus and proceeding with continuous momentum in this novel, because we have a goal to reach and prize to gain, which is to go to the theatre and view the movie on November 9th!
Ms. Farrell
We have been discussing key elements in reading. We have covered Main Idea, Finding Details, Comparing and Contrasting as well as Cause and Effect. While we were discussing comparing and contrasting I had each student put their foot up on the table and we compared our footwear. Although there were many similarities, such as color, laces, or brand, there were also many differences. I explained that you can take 2 items and compare them. The students are also beginning to connect the concepts they are learning in reading and implementing them in other subjects.
Mrs. Bienemann