7th Grade Newsletter
August 31-September 13
Important
Dates
Sept. 3 Labor Day—No
School
Sept. 6 Mass @
Sept. 11 Late Start @
Religion
Mrs. Kristin Griffin
Students have begun their study of
the New Testament by learning that sacred scripture is inspired by God. We have discussed the different types of
literary devices used in the Bible:
letters, psalms, gospels, lists, genealogies, short sayings, etc. We will explore how our actions, thoughts,
and words reflect our commitment to living the covenant God has made with
us. Please share with your child how you
personally keep God at the center of your life.
Mrs. Diane Marrin
The seventh grade religion program
is Jesus in the New Testament.
Students have discussed an overview of world religions and are working on a
poster noting historical evidence for Jesus. In Chapter 1, “Introduction to
Sacred Scriptures,” seventh graders will focus on explaining the purpose of the
Bible in their lives. Every Thursday
students participate in an all-school Mass and on Fridays class meetings are
held, and other activities and projects planned. Try discussing some
“religious” ideas with your student. You may be very surprised at the depth of
their thinking these days.
Mrs.
While it has been so nice to already know my homeroom
students from health class last year, I am truly enjoying getting to know this
particular group of students better on a deeper level. Being able to pray
with them daily and hear their intentions, finding out what they did over the
weekend, and already delving into some of the harder questions of faith make
our homeroom a very nice place to be. This week we celebrated with David
Gillcrist as he had his chemo port removed, closing a chapter in his life—praise
God! Throughout the year, I’m sure there’ll be many more great things to
celebrate.
We have spent our first two weeks
exploring the structure of the Bible and the difference between the Old
Testament covenant and the New. The students had a quiz this week and
will be beginning Chapter 2 next week—an introduction to all four
Gospels. Our text for the first half of the year is Jesus in the New Testament.
We will finish the year with Church
History. There will be regular quizzes and tests as well as
projects and writing assignments. Chapter reviews and practice tests can
be found at www.faithfirst.com. The students
are also responsible for leading prayer and have signed up for specific days in
this first quarter to do so.
We will attend all school Masses
every Thursday and will have regular class meetings on Friday mornings.
Our class will prepare Mass for Sept. 13—please join us. Also, seventh
graders are expected to help out with Safety Patrol throughout the year.
The students are given the opportunity to sign up and need to be here by
Geography
Mrs. Dianna Youngblood
The second full week of school has ended, and everyone is off to a good start. I am enjoying getting to know the seventh graders. I am still working on getting all the names straight, but they are being patient with me. This year I will be teaching your child about the geography of our planet. We will learn basic geography skills that will then be used as we study the various continents. There is a test scheduled for tomorrow, August 31, over the geographic terms we will be using this year. Currently we are studying Chapter 1, “An Introduction to Geography.”
Language Arts (Reading & Writing)
Mrs.
Students began the year by reviewing strategies used
by successful, active readers. Good
readers should question, predict,
clarify, summarize, and evaluate or “pull
it together.” We then practiced
these strategies together by reading Joan Aiken’s “The Third Wish.” We are now currently focusing on plot (the sequence of events in a story)
as we read “Rikki-tikki-tavi” by Rudyard Kipling. Note:
Students should always re-read any short stories assigned. The test over this story will occur at the
beginning of next week.
FYI—Your child should have these reading
supplies: One spiral notebook and three paper folders with
prongs for future novel reading.
Reading grades will be based on written assignments, anthology
reading, novel reading, AR reading, class participation, quizzes, and tests.
Writing class finds us reviewing the
parts of speech and types of sentences.
Our particular emphasis right now is on distinguishing between complete
and simple subjects and complete and simple predicates (verbs). Seventh graders have also been introduced to
their purple vocabulary books. Our
spelling test words are taken from these books, and you should see your child
studying them nightly. Next week we will
embark upon The 6 Traits of Writing. The six traits are: ideas, organization, voice, word choice,
sentence fluency, and conventions.
Subsequent newsletters will highlight each trait and the activities we
work on to improve our writing skills.
As we learn about each trait, our main focus in seventh grade will be on
expository writing. However, students
will be given the opportunity to enjoy creative writing throughout the year as
well.
FYI—Your child should have these writing
supplies: One 1 ½ inch 3-ring
notebook with six dividers (for 6 Traits) , one spiral notebook (for grammar work, etc.), and plenty of loose-leaf
paper.
Writing grades
are based on writing work, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, class participation,
quizzes, and tests.
Math
Ms. Mary DiGiovanna
After studying the classroom guidelines for math class, the seventh graders have begun Chapter 1. Already half-way through the first chapter, we are moving along very well. Students have described patterns and used them to solve problems. They have applied the order of operations to evaluate variable expressions with exponents. The Chapter 1 test is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 6.
Mrs. Diane Marrin, ext. 326 dmarrin@stpeterskc.org
Seventh grade math students have made a great start to the year. As you
know from reading the syllabus, many skills are included in this
curriculum. If your child is going to
keep up with these expectations, he/she needs to spend 30 to 45 minutes
studying math every night. It would be a great benefit to your child if
you would monitor his/her time management. Please discuss your student’s first
quiz when he/she brings it home to be signed. The Chapter 1 test will be Sept. 5. In this chapter students describe patterns
and use them to solve problems. Students also apply the order of operations to
evaluate variable expressions involving powers and exponents and to solve
equations. They use these skills to find
the perimeter and area of rectangles and to solve real-world problems.
Science
Mr.
The seventh grade science classes are off to a very
solid start. The students have completed their study of the scientific method
that they will use constantly, and not just in science. They are in the process
of developing their proficiency skills in working with the microscopes and
preparing slides. They have already taken quizzes over the scientific method
and the microscope. Beginning next week, the students will study life
processes; a test is scheduled for the latter portion of the week. During the
week of Sept. 10, the students will begin their study of the Cell Theory and
cellular activities (diffusion, osmosis, active transport, respiration, and
reproduction).