Friday, February 24th

Religion--Mrs. Timmins This week was a little crazy for the 7th graders. We were in charge of the Mission Dress Down day and raising money for Terra Livre. The students made wonderful posters and hung them around the school. We are blessed to be able to help such a fantastic organization. We also completed a mini-lesson on miracles. We looked at a specific Eucharistic miracle that occurred in Buenos Aires.  If you are not familiar with it, please ask your student, as it is truly miraculous. Next week we will begin looking more closely at the New Testament and main characters associated with the New Testament. Soon after we will be studying many different saints. It should be fun few weeks with a lot of new information.

Language Arts--Ms. Hilton We are in the midst of our career unit in language arts! This week we worked hard on our bibliography pages and adding in-text citations to our research papers. 7th graders have been doing a great job with MLA format. Next week we will be editing the first draft of our research paper and bringing in speakers to tell us about their unique career field. A reminder that all of the information related to MLA, citations, and research papers is on Google Classroom in a google slide presentation! Reading- This week in reading, we picked back up our read aloud book called Nothing but the Truth (AVI). To go along with this, we did a couple of activities surrounding honesty and talked about what it means to lie, be honest, and tell the truth. 7th grade enjoyed discussing these topics as they applied to various situations and in their own experiences. We will continue our read aloud next week in addition to rediscovering the library and hopefully find some choice SSR books to start off Trimester 3!

Social Studies--Mrs. Wallace This week, the 7th graders have started their study of Monsoon Asia.  We will first start out with the political geography of Monsoon Asia and then dive into the physical geography as well.  We will also start a new chapter next week on Mt. Everest.  Within this chapter, we will be doing a Google Expeditions Virtual Reality on Mt. Everest and also have a speaker planned for March as well. Next week, we will have a speaker coming in to do a game simulation with the students called Journey 2050.  This game is a virtual simulation related to food sustainability in the year 2050.   In the coming weeks, the students will then have a quiz over the political geography of Monsoon Asia on Monday, March 6th.

Science--Mrs. Mistry The 7th grade students have started their study of the human body.  We are currently learning about a brief overview of all of the human body systems and how these systems work together to help the body function.  We have also started our study of the skeletal system and learning about bones and muscles.  This Friday, March 3, the 7th graders will have a test on Chapter 1 in their Human Body Unit.  We have completed their study guide (notes) and students have completed a quizlet for vocabulary terms.  These are the two main items that they should study to prepare for their test on Friday.

Math--Ms. Cline  We are starting off the new trimester with a different way of keeping track of homework assignments. I am calculating the percentage of turned-in assignments on a daily basis for each class. The class with the highest average percentage at the end of the year will be rewarded. We are all shooting for 100%! This includes daily assignments and turning in signed quizzes and tests on time. Students in 7A are finishing up the unit on percents. They will be taking their third quiz of the chapter on Friday, February 24, which will cover the applications of percents: sales tax, tipping, and commission.  For the last trimester, students in 7B and 7C were mixed up and placed in different classes. This switch was made so that students can experience being with other peers in the afternoon. So far, the switch has been a positive one! They have been working on supplementary and complementary angles in math. Their quiz is on Friday, February 24.

8th Grade

Important 8th grade dates:

Friday, May 5th: St. Francis Dance

Thursday, May 11th: 8th grade service day: Meals From the Heartland

Saturday,May 20th: 8th grade dance at St. Theresa's

Friday, May 26th: Adventureland: 9:30-5pm

Tuesday, May 30th: 8th grade graduation.  Class picture at 6:30 pm. Graduation Mass in Church at 7:00pm.  Reception following Mass in Parish Hall.

Religion--Mrs. Timmins This week 8th grade continued learning about Church History. We are going to continue into Chapter 12. During this time we will be learning more about the main emperors and battles. The students will be taking a quiz over chapter 12 on Monday, March 6.  We will also celebrate the start of Lent with Ash Wednesday. We will take some time to thank, pray and think of sacrifices as we reflect on the start of our Lenten journey.

Mrs. Callaghan                                         Reading: The last week the kids began the process of reading and practicing Readers Theatre scripts. Each day a different focus was and will be given. Focuses range from tone, speed and rate to expression, pronunciation and enthusiasm. Presenting will begin later next week.                 Language Arts: The last week the focus has been on reading short stories and becoming stronger as literary analysts. Marionettes, Inc. and The Veldt have not only pushed the kids to dig deeper in the text but also focused on irony, similes, symbolism, foreshadowing, and inference. This week debate will be introduced and should take us to Spring Break to complete. Dates to remember: Mondays and Fridays: Vocabulary pre-quiz and quiz

Social Studies--Mrs. Wallace The 8th graders have started their chapter on the three branches of government.  This week, we have learned about the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.  We will also be learning about the system of checks and balances as well.  The 8th graders will have a quiz over Chapter 9 on Friday, March 3rd.  We will then begin our study of the Amendments of the Constitution leading up before spring break.

Science--Mrs. Mistry The 8th Graders are continuing their study of chemistry.  We have recently completed labs on density and viscosity.  We are learning about physical and chemical properties and physical and chemical change.  There will be an element quiz on elements 21-30 on Wednesday and a Chapter 1 Test on Thursday.  We are also learning about the Law of Conservation of Matter and will begin learning how to read and balance chemical equations.

Math--Ms. Cline  We are starting off the new trimester with a different way of keeping track of homework assignments. I am calculating the percentage of turned-in, "on-time" assignments on a daily basis for each class. The class with the highest average percentage at the end of the year will be rewarded. We are all shooting for 100%! This includes daily assignments and turning in signed quizzes and tests on time. Students in 8A have been learning about the different types of angles and the special properties that make certain angles congruent. This week, they combined their knowledge of angle pairs and their dancing skills to play Dance Dance Transversal. Let's just say that most of us are not at the "expert" level yet--our feet were not moving fast enough to keep up with Uptown Funk's angle dance moves! Their first quiz was on Thursday, February 23. Students in 8C and 8B have been working on solving systems of equations. Students in 8C took the first quiz on Wednesday, February 22. Students in 8B tested out a superhero-villain scavenger hunt this week to practice all three strategies of solving systems. Their first quiz will be coming up next week.

Friday, February 3rd

Religion--Mrs. Timmins We had a fantastic Catholic Schools Week! Thank you for choosing St. Francis of Assisi and Catholic Education! We are blessed to have such a loving family. This week in Religion we finished up our Parts of the Mass section. We are going to continue to look at various liturgical ministries and go into depth learning about the Liturgical Calendar and Holy Days of obligation.   Last week, we were able to have Seminarian Christopher Grow visit and give a wonderful talk about his experiences. The kids loved it! As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Language Arts--Ms. Hilton We have started our next big project in language arts! 7th grade is diving into research on a career of their choice. In the last couple of weeks, we have taken a couple different interest surveys, personality tests, and looked at our individual strengths. Now, 7th graders have each chosen a career to research in depth, and we will be starting the process of writing a research paper in the coming weeks. I am so impressed with the hard work and discoveries made by 7th graders in the first two days of researching! If you'd like to help your child at home, I have posted a google slide presentation with all of the research project information including due dates, requirements, and explanations of what we are covering in class on Google Classroom. Reading- We are wrapping up our literature circles as the end of the trimester draws near. 7th grade has been working hard in small groups to read their chosen books and complete discussions, papers, and a final project together. Every day they answer questions related to the reading they assigned themselves for that day, present self-given assignments to their group members, and discuss their questions, discoveries, connections, and frustrations with the book. Many groups have finished reading their books, and are now working hard on their final project (due February 10th) and their final paper (due February 15th). I have enjoyed listening in on the discussions each day and watching students' reactions as they make "mind-blowing" discoveries about their book's characters and events!

Social Studies--Mrs. Wallace The 7th graders have been busy studying the major cities of Europe while also starting a chapter on the European Union.  On Monday, February 6th, the students will have a quiz over the major cities of Europe.  I will post a review game on Google Classroom to help with their review. Then, we will continue to study Chapter 14 over the European Union. We will be studying the political, economic, and social factors that unite and divide Europeans regarding the European Union.  I have a test scheduled over Chapter 14 on Tuesday, February 14th.  This will be their last grade for the 2nd Trimester for social studies. A BIG thank you as well to our 7th grade Junior Achievement volunteers this year; Shonda Smith, Walt Long, Bob Larson, and Brian Ringwalski! The students have really enjoyed their lessons so far related to the world economy.  They have been wonderful to have with us each week! Here are some photos of the European nation salt-dough projects!

Science--Mrs. Mistry The 7th graders have been enjoying learning all about magnets and electricity.  In our mini-unit we have learned about properties of magnets, parts of electric circuits and how a motor works.  The students were able to work with iron filings, various types of magnets and learned how to use a compass.  The also built series and parallel circuits and as our final activity built a spinning coil motor.  All groups were successful in getting their motor to run! Next week the students will have a quiz on Tuesday on magnets and electricity.  The information that they need to prepare for this quiz is on their Google classroom, and is posted as a study guide.  After this unit we will begin our study of the human body.

Math--Ms. Cline  Seventh graders in section 7A have wrapped up the chapter on rates, ratios, and proportions and have begun looking at problems involving percents. Students in sections 7B and 7C have been solving problems involving sales tax, commissions, tips, and simple interest. The next time you go out to eat, have your child estimate the tip!  The seventh graders will be taking their Algebra Readiness Exam on February 23. This will help us determine which class to place each student in for their eighth grade year. Please let me know if you have any questions!

8th Grade

Important 8th grade dates:

Friday, May 5th: St. Francis Dance
Saturday,May 20th: 8th grade dance at St. Theresa's
Friday, May 26th: Adventureland
Tuesday, May 30th: 8th grade graduation.  Class picture at 6:30 pm. Graduation Mass in Church at 7:00pm.  Reception following Mass in Parish Hall.
Dates TBA Soon: 8th grade service day (May) & 8th grade auction breakfast

Religion--Mrs. Timmins We had a fantastic Catholic Schools Week! Thank you for choosing St. Francis of Assisi and Catholic Education! We are blessed to have such a loving family. This week in Religion we went into more depth learning about the history of the Church. We are starting Chapter 11 on Monday and it will discuss the Church growing and focus a lot on the conversion of Saul (Paul) and his movement to keep the Church alive. We watched a very interesting documentary on the travels of Paul and the students were able to see where the Christians had to go into hiding to protect themselves and their faith. Last week, we were able to have Seminarian Christopher Grow visit and give a wonderful talk about his experiences. Please ask your student about this presentation as it was very informative and fun! As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Language Arts--Mrs. Callaghan Reading: Language Arts: Dates to remember:

Social Studies--Mrs. Wallace The 8th graders have continued with their study of the Constitution.  Last week, the students did a mock trial of the Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson.  The students then debated whether the burning of the American flag was established under the First Amendment. I was very impressed with their effort throughout the whole trial. On Monday, February 6th, the 8th graders will also be taking a tour of the Iowa Supreme Court! We are very excited for this opportunity. We are now finishing up our study of the Constitution this week. We will go over the study guide on Monday, February 6th, review on the 7th, and then the students will have their Chapter 8 test on Wednesday, February 8th. A BIG thank you as well to our 8th grade Junior Achievement volunteers this year; Amy Calvert, Terri McIlhon, and Jen Brauch! The students have really enjoyed their lessons so far related to the financial planning  They have been wonderful to have with us each week! Here are some photos of their Supreme Court trials in class:

Science--Mrs. Mistry The 8th Graders are finishing up their study of animals and and currently learning about animal behavior and reproduction.  This is a very interesting topic and we have learned about intelligence of animals, how animals communicate and attract mates and different patterns of behavior.  They have also learned about instinct vs. learned behaviors.  We learned about various types of learned behavior such as conditioning, trial-and-error learning and insight learning.  They also studied circadian rhythms and the process of migration.  Our animal study will conclude with a test on Tuesday, Feb. 7.  Our next area of study will be Chemistry.

Math--Ms. Cline  Students in sections 8C and 8B are finishing up the unit on inequalities. There have been lots of rules to remember for compound and absolute value inequalities, but with the help of graphic organizers, an acronym (KISS ☺), and other helpful sayings, they have been keeping the rules straight! Section 8C took their test on Friday, February 3, and section 8B will take their test on Wednesday, February 8. Students in section 8A are finishing up their study on scientific notation and exponent rules. Their test will be on Thursday, February 9. Next up is geometry!