Grade 6 students have been learning important research skills, including asking effective questions, identifying reliable sources, and taking concise notes. They are using what they’ve learned to explore global issues and are turning their work into a simple e-book to share their findings.

Grade 6 (Ms. Susana): Informational Text

The students are developing proficiency in comprehending and analyzing informational text, specifically regarding its defining characteristics and organizational structure. Students are also engaged in refining their critical analysis through annotation and enhancing academic discourse by using established discussion stems.

Grade 7: Global Issues & Group Work – Creating a TED Talk

Grade 7 has also been studying global issues, but with a focus on teamwork and communication. After researching their topics in groups, students will create their own TED-style talks to explain the issue and suggest possible solutions. This project helps them practice speaking, collaborating, and organizing information.

Grade 8: Author Study & Preparing for Born a Crime

Grade 8 began with an author study, where each student chose an author who interested them and will share a short talk about their life and writing. Students are now learning about South African history to prepare for our reading of Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. This unit focuses on developing strong reading skills, understanding the context, and thinking critically about stories and society

In this unit, our middle school students are engaging in mathematics that emphasizes understanding, problem-solving, and real-world application across Grades 6 through 8.

• Grade 6 – Ratios: In Grade 6 Math, students will begin Unit 4, Introducing Ratios, where they explore how quantities are related and learn to use ratio language to describe these relationships. Students will represent ratios using diagrams, tables, and double number lines, and compare situations using equivalent ratios. Throughout the unit, students will build a foundation for proportional reasoning by solving real-world problems involving ratios and rates, while developing their ability to explain and justify their mathematical thinking.
  
  

• Grade 7 – Scale Drawings and Proportional Reasoning: Grade 7 students will be working in Unit 5, which focuses on proportional relationships, unit rates, and percentages. Students will analyze proportional relationships using tables, graphs, and equations, and connect different representations to deepen their understanding. They will apply these concepts to real-world contexts such as discounts, taxes, and scaling, and continue developing algebraic reasoning by interpreting and constructing equations that represent proportional situations.
  
  

• Grade 8 – Linear Equations and Linear Systems: In Grade 8 Math, students will begin Unit 4, where they investigate linear equations and linear functions and how they model relationships between quantities. Students will work with graphs, tables, and equations to analyze patterns, describe change, and solve problems involving linear relationships. This unit emphasizes connecting multiple representations and building algebraic reasoning, helping students develop the tools needed for more advanced mathematics in high school.
  
  

Reminder for all grades: Students have access to both online and paper-based math practice to help reinforce what they are learning in class. These resources are highly encouraged and they are a great way for students to build confidence and independence in math. Families can support this by checking in with students about their practice, helping them set small goals, and celebrating their effort and progress at home.

Grade 6 Science – Unit 4: Plate Tectonics and the Rock Cycle
Grade 6 students have begun Unit 4, where they explore how Earth’s surface changes over time. Students investigate plate tectonics and how the movement of Earth’s plates causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain formation. They also examine the rock cycle, learning how rocks are formed, changed, and recycled through interconnected Earth processes.

Grade 7 Science – Unit 4: Matter Cycling and Photosynthesis

Grade 7 students are beginning Unit 4, where they explore how matter cycles through living and nonliving systems. This unit focuses on photosynthesis and how plants make food, forming the foundation of all food chains. Students also investigate decomposition and explain how matter is continuously recycled in ecosystems.

Grade 8 Science – Unit 4: Earth in Space

Grade 8 students are beginning Unit 4, Earth in Space, where they investigate the interactions between the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Using models and data, students explain patterns such as day and night and the changing seasons, focusing on Earth’s rotation, tilt, and orbit around the Sun..

Grade 6
Throughout December and January, students continued to broaden their vocabulary related to family and descriptions of family members, friends, and pets. They have shown great enthusiasm in creating detailed family descriptions and have enjoyed highlighting the positive qualities of their siblings by “marketing” their strengths in their written work.

The topic will conclude with a listening comprehension assessment based on a family description. Students will also create written texts to showcase their developing writing skills through classroom display posters. In Unit 3, students will continue to expand their vocabulary while discussing leisure activities, weather, and time in greater detail, helping them grow in confidence and fluency.

Grade 7 & 8
Throughout December, students developed and practised their French writing skills through imaginative blog entries about their lives. They made excellent progress, using accurate structures and new vocabulary with growing confidence. The unit concluded with a short writing assessment to consolidate their learning.

In January, students analysed their assessed work and wrote corrected versions before moving on to the next topic. Our current focus has been learning the perfect tense in order to describe past events such as holidays and last weekends. This work will continue and culminate in a listening comprehension assessment based on a past holiday description.

Following this, students will embark on the topic of School Life. In Unit 3, students will broaden their vocabulary while discussing daily school experiences and exploring the theme of My Dream School. This unit encourages creativity while continuing to build strong grammatical foundations

Grade 8  
Throughout December and January, students began learning new vocabulary and structures to communicate about towns and to understand written and spoken texts describing cities, villages, and the countryside. They created texts about their home towns or villages and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the places they call home. Within these texts, students were encouraged to use a range of tenses they have learned, and many have begun to incorporate comparatives and superlatives to compare their home town with other cities or places they know well.

Students are currently practising listening activities describing different areas in preparation for a listening comprehension assessment. As the unit continues, students will describe futuristic cities (Ma ville du futur), explore aspects of modern city living, and focus on learning and applying the future tense..