Month: December 2023

Dear Parents,

I hope you were all proud of the wonderful job your kids did putting on the Nativity play this year. They knew their parts and practically ran the whole show themselves. Our student teacher, Mr. Merrifield, was a big help this year and kept us all organized and on track. I especially loved his “prompt posters” to let the kids know which scenes were coming and who was in them. I had so many positive comments from people today saying that it was an amazing show and that the eighth graders did a fabulous job.

I have the Legacy Project packets ready to go with this year’s dates on them, but I decided to wait until the new year to hand them out to the kids. I do want you to be able to preview what is in involved with the Legacy Project, since it is a long-term research project about a relative and many of you will be visiting relatives over the holidays. Your child may wish to do some interviewing and gathering of facts and artifacts. For this reason, I have uploaded this year’s Legacy Project packet onto the 8^th grade page under “Resources”. Please look at this, as it has some great ideas for interview questions your child might want to use with relatives to gather information. Remember that your child must choose at least a grandparent or older to research (great uncle/aunt/cousin also okay). 

Thank you for the many gifts that came in today. I feel appreciated! Have a wonderful holiday!

Chris

Dear Parents,  

The Nativity play script has been researched and written, a storyboard was made to keep us organized, roles have been cast, and props made. We will now focus on blocking and acting out this special play, which will be presented this Thursday, December 14^th at 7PM. Please have your child at school no later than 6:30 so that we can change into costumes, pray together, and head to the church by 6:45.  

We had to be creative to be able to include all nineteen kids in the play in some way, so we have many scenes where kids are “acting” (holding) as trees, animals, stars, etc. So that they blend in with the background and allow the props to stand out, the kids should dress in dark pants (black or blue) and a black or blue long-sleeved shirt. Shirts with logos work, but the shirt will need to be turned inside out and the tag cut off. We don’t want anyone burdened with buying clothing, so please borrow what you need. 

In literature class we read a short story by Truman Capote called “A Christmas Memory”. We studied Capote’s style of writing which evokes imagery by using sensory details. We talked about how he “shows” a story rather than tells it. Truman Capote does a very good job of drawing out emotions from the reader. Using Capote’s style of writing, the kids had to write a personal narrative about a Christmas memory of their own. They spent the majority of their language arts time this week working on these and I am grading them this weekend. The kids will have a chance to rewrite them this week. 
 

I told the kids that they will have only one book report due in December, but it must be turned in by December 14th (the last school day of the month). Please remind them about this and also about the reading log due on Monday. 

In US history class we continue to study the formation of our government by the Founding Fathers, including the Articles of Confederation, the US Constitution, and the importance of finding ways to avoid the abuse of power.  

I will be sending an overview of the “Legacy Project” next week. This is a long-range project in which the students study an ancestor and write a narrative biography about the person, then create a 50-page album about them. Although we won’t really launch the project until January, I am sending the overview before Christmas so that those who will be seeing relatives during the break can start gathering information, family stories, photos, etc. about the person they choose. The person must be a grandparent or (preferably) older relative/ancestor. No repeat ancestors are allowed by siblings.  

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,  

Chris  

Dear Parents,

We had a great week back from Thanksgiving break! The students are right back to working hard to finish the year strong!

As we move towards the new year, we continue to work on our Nativity play in our religion class. The students have been making some fantastic props that I’m excited for you all to see. The chance for them to let their creativity flow in the classroom has been fun for everyone. Additionally, everyone has volunteered for their roles in the play, so some of you may notice your children coming home with their costumes. Please wash and iron these and send them in next week so that they are ready for the play. We’re going to be working on rehearsals and script reading to ensure we put on the best play ever!

Fr. Moore held a lesson on morality this week and also explained the paper he assigned before break so that there would be no confusion. Your child is welcome to reach out to Fr. Moore if more clarification is needed. Next week, we will be having a Circle of Grace lesson and Reconciliation. I mentioned that we would be having a Circle of Grace lesson two weeks ago in my newsletter and have attached the official letter to parents.

During our literature class we focused our attention on learning about the significance of secondary characters influencing a story’s protagonist. We learned that an antagonist works against the protagonist and how that conflict is the driving force for most novels. We continue to incorporate the use of citing the text and using quotations in our activities to help the kids have stronger evidence to back up their claims.

In US history class we learned more about how our governmental system was chosen by the Founding Fathers. We discussed the strengths and weaknesses of a republican government, identified what a constitutional government is, and talked a lot about what it means to be a citizen. We ended the week by having students read the story of Antigone by Sophocles, a cautionary tale against abuse of power, and even held a mock trial with students representing characters in the story!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Chris