The sixth grade students completed work on their chapter about positive and negative integers this week. They explored the idea of absolute value, or how far a number is from zero on a number line. The students also completed work on a special project for next month’s Open House and took their final math MAP test of the school year. Next week will see a chapter review in preparation for a test.

The seventh graders created a special project for next month’s Open House and took their final math MAP test of the school year. They will prepare for a chapter test on one-step addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equations next week.

The eighth grade students took their final math MAP test of the school year this week. They also completed work on two special projects for next month’s Open House. The class will prepare for a chapter test next week on factoring binomials and trinomials. They will also be tested on multi-step equations using the four basic operations.

Sixth grade is all about shaking things up! This week the class focused on earthquakes and underlying causes. Many areas where an earthquake can happen have a large diversity of rocks and rock formations. The class completed a lab that was all about how the different rocks are different in their looks and feel.

Life Science has been hard at work on the cell process that creates the different cells that allow a species to make more of their species. All the chromosomes and DNA that make a living organism go for nothing if there is no way to pass the DNA to a future generation. Meiosis is a fascinating process of cell division.

Eighth grade has been studying the physics of chemical reactions. Everything is made of something, and the something is the atom. But not every atom is the same. It is the similarities and differences that the physical science class has been studying this week. When the class learned of the way atoms and elements are arranged, the shape of the periodic table made so much more sense.

This week, the sixth graders began putting the final touches on their capstone biography projects. They are now working on the third draft of their research papers and using those papers as the narrative foundation for other sections of the project. The students also continued reading The Night Diary. They are studying the development of the plot and characters as they follow this adventurous and dangerous journey across Pakistan and India.

This week, the seventh graders were eager to continue and complete their capstone projects. Through the essay-writing process, the students are gaining valuable experience in organizing, revising, and editing their research. They are also learning the importance of citing sources when using important facts, statistics, and evidence to support their ideas.

The eighth graders completed the novel Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. After finishing the powerful and unbelievable conclusion, the students made real-world connections regarding abuse, injustice, and inequalities faced by women in the justice system. The students have now started reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. This remarkable literary work is one of the most important books of the nineteenth century. The students will examine Frederick Douglass’s process of being enslaved and his courageous journey to freedom and abolition.

This week, the sixth-grade class took a deeper dive into the religion of Hinduism. They learned about the many deities that are foundational to the faith and the roles they represent. They also studied the concepts of karma and dharma and how these beliefs shape the lives of many Hindus.

The seventh graders are wrapping up their study of China. They are learning about the many inventions and innovations created in medieval China. From military inventions such as the grenade and flamethrower to medical advancements like disinfectants, the students discussed how these innovations continue to impact the everyday lives of modern people.

This week, the eighth graders examined the lives of African Americans in the northern and southern regions of the United States during the early to mid-nineteenth century. They learned about the limited freedoms and second-class status many experienced in the North, as well as the brutal systems of control and dehumanization faced in the South. They also studied the important role African Americans played in the abolitionist movement that sought to end this cruel institution.

7th grade continued integrating CSS into their HTML projects, adding visual style and personality that better reflect the content and imagery of their sites. As they refine this process, students are beginning to see how design choices and code work together to create a more cohesive user experience.

6th grade continued work on their video projects, with a focus on establishing a clear workflow for gathering, organizing, and managing their media assets. This foundational step is helping students prepare for a smoother and more intentional editing process in WeVideo.

During this week, 6th and 7th-grade students continued to enrich their vocabulary related to food and continued working on the usage of the verb "gustar" (to like) (e.g., A él/ella le gusta - she/he likes...). They also completed written exercises in which they were able to analyze food preferences—using images as a guide—and compose sentences about them. The new words studied were: la carne (meat), el huevo (egg), la cereza (cherry), la mermelada (jam), la miel (honey), el bocadillo (sandwich), and la limonada (lemonade).

Students continued their work on door decorations in preparation for Teacher Appreciation Week, building on the thoughtful designs they began earlier. They collaborated to refine and expand their displays, bringing even more creativity and care into each project. This ongoing work continues to add a sense of excitement across campus while giving students a meaningful and visible way to express their gratitude to our faculty.

This week in PE, we kept the energy high as league play continued with some exciting, hard-fought hockey games. The competition is really heating up, with all three teams neck-and-neck in the standings! Students are showing great teamwork, effort, and sportsmanship as the season progresses. We also had the opportunity to take a group of 7th and 8th graders to the annual track meet at BHS. It was a fantastic day filled with enthusiasm, friendly competition, and school spirit. The students represented us proudly and, most importantly, had a great time participating in a variety of events.