Advent Program

December 16

December 16, 2010

Dear Parents,

            Wow! It is already time for our Christmas Break! Hopefully you were all able to see your kids perform Monday night at the Advent program. They did a wonderful job! We have been very busy over the last month in all of our classes.

            In math class, period three has been studying factors, rational numbers, and operations with exponents. They are beginning to combine their knowledge of fractions with their knowledge of equations. In period four math, students have been working with factors and fractions. They are currently adding to their knowledge of factors by adding negatives and equations. In religion class we have been preparing for Christmas by building a Jesse tree and learning about each scripture passage.

            Genetic traits and heredity have been the discussion points in Science for the past three weeks. Some of the students were surprised to find out that some traits, recessive genes, can skip a generation. Punnett’s square has been an informative tool when working with genotypes and phenotypes. In Literature we have finished The Cay which expanded the students’ knowledge of racism and how people can change when thrust into a survival situations. The classes were given the opportunity to re-write the final chapter and write a book review which they shared with their classmates. We are trying to locate the movie, made for TV, to show in class to have a compare and contrast discussion.

            Father Gary visited the classroom on Wednesday, which we all enjoyed. He did a wonderful job answering students’ questions which led to more discussions. The time with Father Gary always passes too quickly.       

            Please look at the blog http://seventhgradestjoes.blogspot.com/ for pictures from the Advent Program. Have a wonderful break and a Merry Christmas!

Mr. Eastes and Ms. Hiefield

November 02

November 02, 2010

Dear Parents,

It was wonderful to speak with all of you over the past few weeks at conferences. We have settled back into our weekly routine and have been very busy. It’s November already, and the Holiday season is just around the corner.

In Religion class all students turned in a newspaper article about the times of Jesus. We also put on a puppet show about tolerance for our third grade buddies. We had a religion test today. In math (period three) we are studying solving equations and inequalities with decimals. In math (period four) we are studying expressions and variables. In literature we are exploring survival and racism in the novel The Cay. Cells and cell processes have been the focus of science. We had a great “EGGSperiment” involving enzymes and chemical reactions, with only 2-3 egg casualties.

We had some great costumes and a fun time at our Halloween party. Thank you to all the parents that brought in snacks and treats for the party. Please check the website for pictures! The website can be found at http://seventhgradestjoes.blogspot.com/.

Have a great week!

Mr. Eastes and Ms. Hiefield

October 5, 2010

October 5, 2010

Dear Parents,

We have been very busy these past few weeks with our WISE volunteers visiting, school pictures, student council elections, Sock Hop, and vision and hearing screening. We have also begun our MAPS testing for the fall, and we will continue working on this over the next few weeks. Today Seton Catholic visited our school to speak with the 7^th and 8^th graders about their school, and on Thursday we have an all school mass.

            In religion we have been researching life in the time of Jesus. We have also been studying the purpose, history, and writing characteristics of the four Gospel writers. In period three math, students had their first test last week and have now moved on to studying equations. In period four math, students took their first test today. It covered all information on decimals in chapter one.

In science we have been exploring the Scientific Methods and applying them in various lab activities. We will be moving into cells and their compositions in the next few weeks. We are starting a new book in literature, The Cay. It is a historical fiction novel about a young boy and an old man, and how they develop a friendship as they learn to survive together on an island. 

Enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

Mr. Eastes and Ms. Hiefield   

September 09, 2010

September 09, 2010

Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for helping your child get settled back into the school routine. Last week in the seventh grade we spent our time reviewing expectations and procedures, working on pre-assessments, and reconnecting after the summer! The seventh grade was also responsible for the first WISE assembly of the year, in which your children wrote and performed skits on self discipline for the whole school. They did a wonderful job and received numerous compliments from other teachers and students.

This week in religion class we discussed the “I am” statements in the Gospel of John. All students are writing their own “I am” statements about themselves in order to share their strengths with the other members of the class. In math we have begun the first chapter in the textbook, and we are working on reviewing some previously learned skills. All of your children should now have math homework on a daily basis.

In science we are defining what science is and the role that science plays in our everyday lives. Students are learning that Science is always changing because human understanding is expanding. Life Science will be our focus in seventh grade; with new textbooks we are excited about all the possibilities. In Literature we are exploring the narrative elements of The Captain’s Dog, a historical fiction book about a great adventure to the Northwest from a dog’s perspective. 

Please remember that picture day is on Thursday, September 23^rd. Also Back to School Night is next Wednesday, September 15, at 7 pm. We hope to see you all there.

Have a wonderful weekend. Hopefully we will see you at Sausage Fest!

Mr. Eastes and Ms. Hiefield