Beatitude for the month of March:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
April 2, 2026
Happy Triduum, parents and students! (Review time! Tell your parents which days are included in the Triduum! How can it be called the "Three Days" when there are four days?!)
I told the students when we first started working on Holy Week and Triduum that we'd have a short test on Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter after we got back from Easter and before we resumed our book chapters. I'm hoping to be able to give both classes their quizzes on Friday, April 10. Next week, we'll review what we did on the Triduum and spend a couple days talking about the Easter Season! After next week, we'll go back to the chapters we were working on... We need to keep things moving; spring is going to fly by!!!!
I'll post some study links for next week's test soon so they're there for next week! In the meantime, enjoy your days off!
**Although Holy Thursday and Good Friday aren't Holy Days of Obligations, they are key moments in our liturgical year, and there is no better way to help your children understand and know about this special time that experiencing them firsthand! If you're feeling brave, the Easter Vigil, too! They've been learning about it! If you've never been yourself and just know it to be "long"... know that's it's also a beautiful and unique Mass that's considered to be the pinnicle of our liturgical year! If you go, it may help if your 5th/6th grader follows along in the missal so they can see all the steps of the liturgy written out. ✝️
March 17, 2026 ☘️ Happy St Patrick's Day! ☘️
A note about how grades are calculated for parents: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1__JUKjv78hVp-mp49YzoUUJJ7UJheuYRZdEs1MOu1VA/edit?usp=sharing (Interested students are welcome to read, too! Math, it's everywhere!!! Pay attention to Ms. Habicht! 😉)
For anyone who wants to pray it with their family tonight, here are two links to the prayer of St. Patrick! (On my list of favorite prayers!)
An excerpt plus some info on St. Patrick: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J5iy3YQvW_rnjLbofsKNCi4t62oN02ZR1HnoW3t3_l4/edit?usp=sharing
The full, LONG Lorica prayer! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KfnzH36cSH9e6Tbh-SffqD4eqKzbjmCUGzVDe_0UsY8/edit?usp=sharing
Bonus question for a piece of candy tomorrow (Wednesday...posting this early for Tuesday night's homework) if you write down the answer on a piece of paper: Read through the words of the long version of the prayer of St. Patrick. Can you think of a church song that includes some of the lines of St. Patrick's prayer? (Don't confuse it with the prayer of St. Francis! Both saints have popular prayers that have been used in music! :) ) There are multiple correct answers to this; you only need to come up with one! 🎶 *It has to be something that's in the hymnals in our Church. If you just put it in Google and take the top Google AI answer, it's not going to be one that counts! If your parents look at the words of the prayer with you, they may be able to help you come up with something.
March 12, 2026
Grade 5: Most students finished filling in the answers in the Liturgy of the Eucharist packet today. If you didn't, please fill in the rest tonight! Here are the answers that we already checked together in class: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R3SxVvFaWREhEQeG1s6P7EoggQiBT7DgLz6wlMVnsMA/edit?usp=sharing
Both classes: Turn in anything you need to! Corrections, psalm activity (grade 6), Google classroom work, etc. Thank you to everyone who did so already! Yesterday was a really packed afternoon/evening for me with two music practices and a meeting at my home parish, but I should have some time tonight to get things updated on my end!
March 11, 2026
Grade 5: If you didn't finish up through the "Holy Holy Holy" prayer in your Liturgy of the Eucharist packet, you need to finish tonight! (Most students did, and I collected the work they did so far.) Here is a copy of the packet with the answers we alrady reviewed on the first page: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R3SxVvFaWREhEQeG1s6P7EoggQiBT7DgLz6wlMVnsMA/edit?usp=sharing
Both classes:
End of trimester check in:
✔️ Is there any work that you didn't submit? Please make sure you have it to me by Friday! If you need the weekend, you need to talk to me about it so that I know that you're aware of what you need to do and are working on it!
✔️ If there is any GoogleClassroom work that you wanted to correct and resubmit for a higher grade, please make sure you do that by Friday, too! **Remember: ONLY hit the "submit" button again if you corrected your work. My least favorite thing is reading through assignments for a second time only to find out that nothing has been changed. 😑 (But I LOVE it when students take the time to learn from their mistakes and try for a better grade! 🤗)
✔️ Not counting the tests I gave back this week, I believe all of the corrections and extra credit that students have turned in have been added in, so please let me know if you see something that's missing or doesn't look right!
**I'm playing for a funeral on Thursday morning, so I can't promise to be at school by lunch recess on that day. But I'll try to be here by recess time on every other day for students who need to see me!
Reminders for absences and for tests:
You are responsible for finding out what work you missed and making it up.
You can ask a responsible classmate. If you missed reading part of the chapter, you should be reading it at home. You can try to think about which parts are most important and highlight them as you read, or you can ask a friend to borrow their book and see what they highlighted. (But READ as you highlight!)
You can ask me about it at lunchtime or dismissal time. With so many students out sick recently, we can't talk about it in the middle of class with everyone else sitting and waiting.
Look at this homework page! You can frequently get a pretty good idea of what you missed here. If we took notes, I usually try to post them here. If there was a worksheet (especially one you need for homework), it's usually posted here.
I'm bringing this up now because two different students told me today that they had a hard time with their test because they were absent and had missed some pages. If you are studying for a test (in any subject), you should be using the textbook as part of your studying, and if you notice that there are pages you missed, YOU NEED TO READ THEM. Read carefully and thoughtfully to make sure you're understanding the material that you were absent for! Ask questions if you don't understand something. Ask me, a parent, or a classmate!
Even if there is a Blooket... or an interactive quiz... or notes..., you should still be reviewing your book chapter before a test. Our religion chapters are SHORT, so it doesn't need to take a lot of time.
What are the the subheadings? The keywords?
What did we highlight? Did we add any notes in the margins?
Look at the chapter summary page. Make sure you know the bulleted points and the words that are listed.
Pay attention to what's on the chapter review page and the interactive quiz. If I'm using the book test, there could be some very similar questions! (And even when it's a "teacher made" test, I use a lot of the book questions... I sometimes edit if I think their questions are confusing or poorly-worded, but I always start with their questions.)
March 10, 2026
Both classes: If you got your test back today, you can do corrections. Due THIS FRIDAY since grades close. If you would like do do a restest, please let me know asap. You could come in this coming Tuesday to do a retest. You can't take a restest unless you've studied again first!
6th grade:: Psalm of Trust assignment due on Friday! It is for a grade and will be entered as failing grade if you don't turn one in. This should be an easy good grade as long as you follow the directions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bVNh0hJH3kESSeYOKi-duTQazcBNY9xLIl_PPSsm30I/edit?usp=sharing
March 9, 2026
Both classes: Tomorrow afternoon, we will go to the sacrament of Reconciliation as a school community. Take some time today to prepare yourself by reviewing the steps and doing an examination of conscience. Choose one of the two links below to use.
US Bishops (for children): https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/sacrament-reconciliation-children-examination-conscience
A pamphlet written for middle schoolers: https://www.ctkwichita.org/multimedia/parish-1/bulletin-1/113-guide-to-confession-middle-school-youth-1/file
March 2, 2026
Grade 5: Test tomorrow! Ch. 7, Ch. 8, and Lent. Make sure you know all the vocabulary (e.g., Collect, Pentitential Act, Profession of Faith, Prayer of the Faithful, Lectionary, Roman Missal, epistle, etc.) and the responses that we say during the Introductory Rites and the Liturgy of the Word. Scroll down to last week's homework for more info and links!
Blooket Link! https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=69a5e8368ec1ed4b09eba762 (**I made the due date later for the benefit of the students who are catching up from being out last week.)
Try to do the interactive quizzes for chapters 7 and 8, too, if you didn't already! (Scroll down to Friday.)
Grade 6: Test tomorrow! There are a lot of people to know in the story of Joseph; make sure you know who's who! Lent notes linked down below. (last week) Use the packet we were working on last week to help you study! Here is a copy of the packet with answers! The part we did last week has the answers in bold face. The first part of the story (which we read and discussed together in class but didn't go over the answers for) is in blue. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QHgphE0phVOzp2qdD01yWpujTS4KoYNj6Z-Ze0FUy8o/edit?usp=sharing
**Those of you who are catching up from being out and aren't taking the test yet: Please don't look at the answers here till after you've tried this on your own! You'll remember the story much better if you take the time to read and figure it out on your own first!
You can still do the extra credit tonight! It might help you to remember the story!
Interactive quiz: https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g6_s8
Use this book study guide and always look at the summary page at the end of the book chapter! https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g6-ch8.pdf
Don't forget to review what we learned about Lent, too!
Feb. 27, 2026
Grade 5: Test on Tuesday - Keep studying! Ch. 7 (Introductory Rites), Ch. 8 (Liturgy of the Word), and Lent. (Lent notes just below 6th grade.)
Use the Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 links to help you study! (Interactive book quiz and study guides): https://www.loyolapress.com/faith-formation/christ-our-life/christ-our-life-2016/parents-and-students/grades-1-8/grades/grade-5/
Grade 6: Test on Tuesday - Start studying! Ch. 8 (Joseph) and Lent.
Interactive book quiz:https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g6_s8
Book study guide: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g6-ch8.pdf
6th Grade extra credit opportunity: Due Tuesday! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ofTiInbJUvGTNgv-OPVNFDH5hbQVkRPYzgTlNtbibds/edit?usp=sharing (**The Word of God survey was sent along in the email in error! That was 5th grade homework - please ignore it! ;) )
Both classes: Here's what we learned about Lent:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d2uSYnaJD_vqSTLkFxGK_DRZOT4oKdThWjFt8Av7hFc/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dWO2QnSF0Qv3ILRLbjhh01jCCYyWX4QUP6k6a-HyIPc/edit?usp=sharing
Feb. 26, 2026
Grade 5: Bring home your book and start reviewing next week's test! It's on Chapter 7 and 8 and Lent (not including Holy Week and the Triduum - that will be on a test after Easter). See Lent notes below. We'll wrap up the chapter tomorrow and review on Monday.
Grade 6: Here is the promised extra credit opportunity! Due next Tuesday: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ofTiInbJUvGTNgv-OPVNFDH5hbQVkRPYzgTlNtbibds/edit?usp=sharing
Did you miss any answers on your packet today? Here's what we did in class: Gen 42 to the end. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QHgphE0phVOzp2qdD01yWpujTS4KoYNj6Z-Ze0FUy8o/edit?usp=sharing
Start reviewing for your test! Joseph (ch 8) and Lent.
Both classes: Here's what we learned about Lent:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d2uSYnaJD_vqSTLkFxGK_DRZOT4oKdThWjFt8Av7hFc/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dWO2QnSF0Qv3ILRLbjhh01jCCYyWX4QUP6k6a-HyIPc/edit?usp=sharing
Feb. 24, 2026
Grade 5: Complete the rest of the "Favorite Bible Stories" survey at home tonight! You can ask siblings, parents, grandparents, godparents, etc. If anyone forgot their paper, here's one you can print: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BIyK99J1hiDrkHkCaWnK5Ro0oLpIQQG_-NhqoXxwYUA/edit?usp=sharing
Looking ahead: Our next test will likely be next Tuesday. (Possibly Wednesday if we get behind this week!) It will be on the season on Lent, and the first half of the Mass (Ch. 7 - Introductory Rites and Ch. 8 - The Liturgy of the Word.) Tomorrow I'll post a link to some of the Mass responses that I want to make sure everyone knows!
Grade 6: This week, we'll be finishing up our chapter on Joseph. Your test on Ch. 8 ("The Israelites Travel to Egypt" and Lent will be next Tuesday.
Please make sure the Genesis 40 and Genesis 41 sections of your Joseph packet are finished by Thursday! (If not more!)
**Grade 6 - Stay tuned for an extra credit opportunity related to our chapter!
February 19, 2026
Grade 6 : If you didn't finish your "Three Pillars of Lent" paper with your Lenten plans, please finish it at home tonight.
If you need to finish the Lent crossword puzzle, finish that tonight! p. 234 in your religion book.
February 18, 2026 Ash Wednesday ✝️
Grade 5: If you didn't finish your "Three Pillars of Lent" paper with your Lenten plans, please finish it at home tonight. Bring it back for me to check tomorrow. After that, you can bring it home and hang it somewhere will it will remind you of your acts of prayer, sacrifice, and almsgiving!
Here's some of what we've been talking about this week:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d2uSYnaJD_vqSTLkFxGK_DRZOT4oKdThWjFt8Av7hFc/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dWO2QnSF0Qv3ILRLbjhh01jCCYyWX4QUP6k6a-HyIPc/edit?usp=sharing
Lent will be included on our next test, but we still have another chapter to do before then!. The next test will be on The Introductory Rite of Mass (we finished that - short! - chapter), Lent, and the Liturgy of the Word (our next chapter). We'll be doing Lenten prayers/reflections/Bible readings at the beginning of class for all of Lent, but we won't talk about Holy Week and the Easter Triduum in depth until the week before Holy Week. (Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter won't be included on any tests until after Easter break).
February 17, 2026
I'll be out on Tuesday for a family funeral. Tuesday's "homework" is just for our non-Catholic students! This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. A number of Christian religions, not just Catholics, practice the devotion of receiving ashes on Wednesday. Discuss with your parent(s) if you'd like to receive ashes on Wednesday at Mass. (All are welcome but you're not obligated!)
Feb. 11, 2026 Our Lady of Lourdes
Grade 5: Our Lady of Lourdes classwork is due on Friday morning! Everyone had about half of a class period to work on this in class. Some students finished it and turned it in, so everyone who used their time wisely should have gotten a good start on it. You have two nights to finish it up at home (or you can work on it if you have free time at school. The lesson can be found on Google Classroom (unless you asked for a paper copy of the assignment, then you can still do it that way.) I'll post it here, too, in case anyone has issues accessing Google Classroom at home. *Read the question where you have to find a photo carefully. Who is is asking you to find a photo of? Some people were inserting a photo of the wrong person in class today!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NeL7n76pj6OtJpKRXfUnB-AWBKMFiYKoUcq2z3pcWXo/edit?usp=sharing (This one is for printing only. The only way to type on the document is to access it through Google Classroom.)
You should have a copy of this reading passage, and it's also on Google Classroom, but here's a printable version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oafXVm6lOTJtHLc7SAm4FGlOAIXOsnLnNFRKlRbCrO8/edit?usp=sharing
**If you forgot to do last night's homework, you have a bonus night to finish it since we didn't have time to check it and share answers today! See below!
Feb. 10, 2026
Grade 5: Answer the two saint questions on p. 56. Some saints have feast days listed on the bishop's calendar, but only the ones that are ranked higher. This list should have more dates and saints on it: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/
For the patron saint question, you can use your first name if it's a saint's name, your middle name, or a name that your name is related to. (e.g. Georgianna could choose St. George or St. Anna.) Catholic Online has a really thorough saint's index! If you have a name with multiple saints of that name (John, Mary, Francis...), choose your favorite! If neither of your names is close to a saint's name, you can just choose a favorite saint as your patron! (Maybe someone who you're considering as your future Confirmation saint!) https://www.catholic.org/saints/stindex.php
See below about the virtual work! Make sure you bring me your work to check so I can adjust your grade.
Note (for both classes) about corrections and retests: (I did address this in school with both classes today.) Please make sure that you look up the answers to make sure your "corrected" answers are actually correct. No one should be turning in "corrections" with answers that are still wrong. Use your books and your notes. It's 100% fine to guess when you're taking a test and don't know the right answer. It is NOT okay to guess when you have all the information you need available and choose not to take the time to look it up.
If you take a retest, you HAVE to do corrections first. If you don't do corrections, you're not studying the correct answers! You aren't allowed to take a retest unless you take the time to study again. I'm trying to give you every opportunity to do well, but it's a waste of my time and yours if you're not putting in your best effort to bring your grade up.
(This note isn't for everybody! There are some students who are working hard and putting in their best effort every day. There are other students who are trying to get by while putting in minimal effort. Think about where you fall and if you need to work more carefully, pay closer attention in class, etc. Everyone is different - If you are someone who works hard and still gets low grades, your teachers see your effort and know you are trying!)
Feb. 9, 2026
Grade 5 - I just switched the virtual work to be included in the grade. That means if you had missing virtual day work, Option C is currently adding it in as a 0 so it's really pulling down your grade! If you are one of these students, please bring your completed work to me to show me at the beginning of recess someday this week. (Not during class - I need to have time to check it without students in the room.) So far, the only day where I know I won't be in by the start of recess is Thursday (because I want to go watch the religion bee at O'Hara!)
I hope to give back last week's tests tomorrow! If you were absent and have a test to make up, please come see me at recess!
Grade 6 - I hope to give your tests back tomorrow as well! Most of you did very well on them! 🥳
FYI for parents if you missed it earlier:
Feb 5, 2026
Grade 5: Study for tomorrow's test! Don't forget to read over what we highlighted in the book, use the chapter review page at the end of the chapter (the one with the key terms too!), and the study guide that we did in class today! We were doing the other review worksheet at the end of class - Most of those words are "extra", but you need to know altar and tabernacle! See below for more.
Feb. 4, 2026
Grade 6: Test tomorrow on Ch 6 (Abraham). See below for info and study links. Use your book and study guide to study!
Grade 5: Test Friday! It will be on Chapter 5 (Eucharist) and the saints and feast days we have been learning about this week. (St. Agnes, St. Marianne Cope, St. Damien, The Presentation of Our Lord, St. Blaise)
Tonight, try the online practice test: https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g5_s5
Here is the book's study guide page: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g5-ch5.pdf
Saints info: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d-i6WRrntLBJEuAi036xbh2z2XYm9RazGNezvkKiTnk/edit?usp=sharing
Link to notes on the Eucharist:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10meylfwFRooZQhnK9_6MZBa5yPRxCv3RL6ro3S0UWbM/edit?usp=sharing
Vocabulary review for the unit: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/ChristOurLife2016-vocab-gr5-u1.pdf (Ch. 5 is on the second page.)
You can also play the Stump the Shepherd game to review, but it includes info from ALL the chapters in Unit 1, not just chapter 5!
https://games.loyolapress.com/sts_g5_u1
Yesterday, during Grandparents Day, I showed the 5th graders who remained a short clip from Molokai, the movie about St. Damien. It's free on Amazon Prime if anyone is interested in watching the full movie at home. It's rated PG, and I have a parent note I wrote up a couple of years ago to caution parents about some specific content: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nl1fHrlZU1kxLD6heL-HxassERyGzJzomxl6898xRko/edit?usp=sharing
Feb. 3, 2026
Grade 6: Short test on Thursday on Chapter 6, "Abraham is Our Father in Faith." Use your book to study! You can also use your notes and your assignment from the snow day last week.
Book study guide: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g6-ch6.pdf
If you weren't in class today, please do the online book practice test tonight: https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g6_s6 We also did the book chapter review page (p. 56) today - Those of you who were with grandparents, please do it either tonight or tomorrow!
*Know how to spell "shepherd" correctly!
Grade 5: Because so many people were out with grandparents today and we're still going over info on the saints, I'm going to push your test back to Friday. It will be on Chapter 5 (The Eucharist) and the saints who we're working on this week. (See Feb 2!) We took VERY minimal notes on one more saint today! If you were with a grandparent, please add this to your notebook:
St. Blaise - Feb. 3
bishop and martyr
patron saint of throat ailments
Here is the book study guide for Ch. 5: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g5-ch5.pdf
Saints info: (This is in your notebooks, too.)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d-i6WRrntLBJEuAi036xbh2z2XYm9RazGNezvkKiTnk/edit?usp=sharing
Feb. 2, 2026 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Grade 5: Read and highlight your St. Damien of Molokai paper! We'll talk more about him tomorrow! Tell your family what you've learned about him so far.
This Monday and Tuesday, 5th grade will be learning about a few saints. Two that we missed in January, due to the snow days and CSW festivities: St. Agnes (Jan. 21) and St. Marianne Cope (Jan. 23). They'll also learn about St. Damien, even though his feast day isn't till May. Since he and St. Marianne served people with leprosy together, they go hand in hand. They'll also review the feast of the Presentation (today!) and St. Blaise (feast day tomorrow). I'm aiming for Thursday for the chapter 5 test on the Eucharist (which will include all of the saints/feast days I just mentioned.) The Ch. 5 test does NOT include any of the "vessels and vestments" vocabulary that's included on p. 39, although all are good words for Catholics to know (and they could show up on a bonus question!) Same with the vocabulary words that you added into your chapter (pyx, viaticum).
Grade 6: We should be able to wrap up Abraham today. If you didn't have Spanish on Wednesday, that would be your test day, but as it is, we'll have to do it on Thursday. It will just be on Chapter 6, no added feasts or saints this time!
Both classes! Please scroll down to see if you missed anything on the homework page last week. Is all of your virtual work complete and turned in?
Congrats to our religion bee participants, Bella, Lizzy, Timmy, and Matt T.! Everyone did a wonderful job! 7th grader Mae Somers will be representing our school at the next level at Cardinal O'Hara High School.
January 29, 2026
See below! Fix/finish/correct/submit your virtual assignments!
Grade 6: Early warning that we'll have a short test on our Abraham chapter sometime next week. I think it'll be much easier to take a quiz just on that info than adding in all the names and places from the next chapter on Jacob.
Grade 5: This is how I decided to grade your virtual day work:
5 points for each page just for having done the work. 1 bonus point for each page where you got all the answers correct.
So 15/15 means you did all three pages, but made a mistake on each. The 4 people who did all 3 pages perfectly and on time will get a 18/15. The people who forgot to do the Ch. 5 review page will receive a 10/15 (with a possible bonus point or two if you got everything right on the other two pages.) **If you forgot to do any pages, you need to remember to do it and show me! I won't be chasing after anyone for this. I'll adjust your grade accordingly. It would be smart to correct anything you got wrong because this is information you need to know, but I won't be rechecking books for corrections. (That's why I decided to just give credit for completeness rather than for correct answers.) I hope I explained this in a way that made sense! If you have any questions, please send me an email!
January 28, 2026
Both Classes: Virtual day wrap up! All virtual day work is being counted as a classwork grade, so if you didn't get yours finished, please do so and turn it in to me asap. Some 5th graders forgot to do the Chapter Review page at the end of chapter 5 (p. 42)
6th Grade, if I returned your work with comments, please correct what you need to! You NEED to bring your book home and refer to it for the correct answers. Things should be spelled correctly if the book is opened next to you. NO proper nouns should begin with a lowercase letter. ONLY resubmit your work if you have corrected it.
January 21, 2026
Both classes: Same as yesterday! Religion bee tomorrow! Review some different questions than you did yesterday!
January 20, 2026
Both Classes:
Do you have any corrections to do or retests to study for? Work on them tonight! (*If you plan to do a retest, you need to let me know in advance of what day you come in for recess so I can have a test ready for you!)
Read over the religion bee questions! See what you know! You don't need to do the whole thing (There are 268 questions!), but read over a section or two. My advice is to scroll down till you get to one of these sections: Sacraments, Liturgy/Liturgical Year, Holy Objects and Sacramentals. Those three sections are ones where you should see a lot that you've learned over the years. Use the link up above (top of my homework page.) There is also a link on Google Classroom. In class bee on Thursday! 🙂 All will participate to determine who will represent our classes in the school bee during Catholic Schools week!
Have you contributed tissues and/or paper towels to our classroom supply? Thank you too all who did! If you did not, we'd appreciate if you could help us out! A box of tissues doesn't last long in a classroom! 🤧
5th Grade: We're going to have the quiz on this prayer this week on Friday! You'll just need to write it down like you did with the last prayer. I was going to do it next week, but the schedule is too crazy with all the Catholic School's Week festivities!
O Sacrament most holy,
O Sacrament Divine,
All praise and all thanksgiving,
Be every moment Thine.
The s's are uppercase because it's talking about the Eucharist!
January 14, 2026
5th Grade: Fifth grade got their quizzes back today. There was a wide range of grades! Those who struggled should definitely do corrections, and if their grade was especially low, they should consider studying to take a retest next week. (Remember: You get a half a point back for each correction, but a retest earns you full credit.) As of now, I can be here any day at lunch recess next week, but I'll let you know if anything changes.
I still need to update Option C with your other corrections! If I don't get to it before then, I'll definitely do it this weekend!
January 12, 2026
6th Grade: Quiz tomorrow! Christmas season and the 3 saints you learned about. (Just notes/study guide - No book.) Here is the study guide we did last week (with answers): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SaO8SfXCXVB5pMtAFYPsPeLa5KpUMiyVH4NIeO_gd2U/edit?usp=sharing
Here are notes, but this information should be very similar to what's on the study guide. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-WXd-JqtPmiDNaegVcRbNhz5j-JuhJ183BEVpjJfsyY/edit?usp=sharing
Here are some notes on the saints that I made with last year's class. Ignore St. Andrew; he was on the last test! (You need to know St. John Neumann, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and St. Stephen.) ** The information in dark blue is what's most important. The light blue is just "extra". You need to know each saint's feast day and the most important facts about them. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EdF_vOLqb-KLdw0Jv74CrvDsEP7iUgxH9HVILPhcFPw/edit?usp=sharing
Look at Google classroom! I posted a video for each of your saints. If you want, you can "study" these saints by watching the videos. They should review all of the most important information about the saints!
Grade 5: NEW YEAR'S GOAL: COME PREPARED FOR CLASS! Every day, you should come to class with a highlighter and more than one sharpened pencil so that if one breaks, you have a back up. If you need to use the pencil sharpener, you are more than welcome to come into my room at lunch recess before you go outside, but we need to cut down on the disruptions during class. I'll be taking notes on who regularly doesn't come prepared and will share that information with Mrs. O'Hara for the next report card.
Today we started our first chapter on the Eucharist. (There are several more to follow as we learn about the Mass in detail!). Here's the prayer we need to memorize. We'll have a mini quiz at the end of the month, just like we did for the prayer of the Faithful Departed.
O Sacrament most holy.
O Sacrament Divine.
All praise and all thanksgiving.
Be every moment thine.
Jan. 7, 2026
5th Grade: Quiz on the Christmas season this Friday. It's short and straight forward, and then we can move on to next our book chapter first after! These are the answers to the study guide that we started working on at the end of class today. If you want to complete it at home to study, you can. Otherwise, we'll do it at the beginning of class tomorrow to make sure everyone has the correct answers. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SaO8SfXCXVB5pMtAFYPsPeLa5KpUMiyVH4NIeO_gd2U/edit?usp=sharing
Here are our notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-WXd-JqtPmiDNaegVcRbNhz5j-JuhJ183BEVpjJfsyY/edit?usp=sharing
If anyone still didn't do the corrections on your last test, please do them tonight! If anyone doesn't have them done by Friday, you'll need to stay in from recess on Friday to do them.
6th Grade: Your quiz will still be next Tuesday since I don't see you today, and we also still have a few saints to learn about. See above about corrections - The same pertains for your class!
Jan. 5, 2026 Memorial of St. John Neumann
Both classes: This time, I'm going to ask everyone to do corrections on their tests (bonus not included) I'm mostly assigning it as homework to make sure that the students who need it the most do it, but even if you only got one or two wrong, you can still learn from your mistakes! (If you got all questions correct, enjoy your night off! ;)
Here is a reminder of our guidelines for how to do corrections. Please reread before you start to make sure you're doing yours correctly! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V48LnHYQ198R4JQ_qQ_IvugIUoEzpgKM95tgeAHSxxg/edit?usp=sharing
**Note to parents! I warned both classes before this past test that I was going to start to take off a point for writing "God" with a lowercase g! It's lazy and irreverent, and by 5th and 6th grade, every student should know better and do better! I'm hoping this will help the students who need it to take their time and work more carefully. I know that texting has made a lot of kids careless when it comes to grammar mechanics.
*This week, both classes will be learning about the Christmas season and related feasts. (Three saints for 6th grade, as well: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. John Neumann, and St. Stephen). Both classes will have a quiz on this week's material early next week before moving back to our book chapters. Please review as we go along this week! I'll post notes as we do them. Fifth grade, here are the notes we took today. We'll add on tomorrow! https://docs.google.com/document/d/11guFdWDnQhnANCtolJ_3Nd5LTfDD_jb5kzhCjKIcKNk/edit?usp=sharing
My apologies! I heard the grades for a portion of the 5th grade class didn't get uploaded to the report card. I corrected it on my end, but I think Mrs. McManus might still need to reupload something on the office end on Monday in order for you to see it on the report card. However, if you can't see your child's religion grade, you should still be able to go back to the first trimester on Option C (drop down arrow in top right corner), and your child's listed average is what will be on the report card. (If your child has a grade listed, it's correct and won't change when the others get fixed!)
Thank you to all of you who sent in tissues and paper towels for our classroom! It's much appreciated! ❤️
Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025
5th Grade: Students were called to go practice for the Nativity presentation during religion class! All of those students get a bonus day to study and will take their test in class tomorrow. The remaining students were given a choice to complete the test today (since I had already handed them out!) OR also take the extra day to study. So anyone who is taking the test tomorrow, please study a little more! I'll post a new link for the Blooket because the original link was set to end at class time today.
I just added two extra links to Google classroom. You may want to check them out. To the kids who took the test today: If you see something on our Google classroom links that makes you want to have your test back and add something to an extra credit question before I grade them, let me know tomorrow during class... 👀
Everyone who took it today: No more religion homework till 2026 (!). Tomorrow, we'll continue our comparison of Matthew and Luke's Christmas stories! 🐑🌟👼 👑🤱
Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025
5th Grade: Test tomorrow! We didn't finish the Blooket in class, so it would be really helpful if you did it at home!
https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=6941ac397fea454294bac8ee
For other ways to review, see Google Classroom or scroll down!
6th Grade: No more religion homework till 2026! 🥳🎉
Monday, Dec. 15, 2025
6th Grade: Test tomorrow! *Today's class will be short! Mrs. Scartozzi will let me know if the class said they felt ready for the test tomorrow, or if the majority wanted to "bump" the test to Thursday instead. (If you take it tomorrow, we'll watch the Nativity Story on Thursday and Friday. I'm hoping that since you knew about this test since early next week, you'll feel ready even with a short review day today! Use all the study links I provided!!)
Ch 4 + all the liturgical year info/saints/feasts you learned about since the last test. All study links are on Google classroom, or you can scroll down on this page. Blooket link is now active! https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=6940085203a907f3ba5a7997
5th Grade: Test on Wednesday! Ch 4 (Confirmation) and all the liturgical year info/feasts you learned about since the last test. All study links are on Google classroom or you can scroll down on this page. We'll hopefully get to do a Blooket in school on Tuesday (depending on how much you get done in class on Monday with Mrs. Scartozzi.) **If you didn't have time to finish the chapter 4 review page in your book during class, please finish it at home tonight!
For the second part of this week, both classes will be doing lessons on the Christmas story and the Christmas season. We'll continue with the Christmas season when we come back after break because liturgically, IT WILL STILL BE CHRISTMAS! :)
Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 Our Lady of Guadalupe
No written homework over a weekend, but I hope students in both classes will spend some time studying to prepare for next week's tests! (Especially 6th since yours is on Tuesday!)
6th Grade: Test on Ch. 4 (plus all the liturgical year info you've learned since the last test) next Tuesday 12/16. Use this study guide, but you also need to bring your book home to study! The study guide is mostly for all the things you learned apart from what was in your book chapter: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n6AJOWi4r5l8UMtAwnl7BCIOmgs6NSu49WGNWo0I7tE/edit?usp=sharing
Link for the interactive book quiz: https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g6_s4
5th Grade: Test on Chapter 4 (plus all the liturgical year info you've learned since the last test) next Wednesday, 12/17. Here is the study guide I made up for your class: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oDrBaLR_f55YoE1hMNMrfMsOcSseoup1x3Opw1rnO1s/edit?usp=sharing
Here is the interactive chapter review quiz. I'll probably assign it for homework for your class on Monday, but if you do it ahead of time and send me the results that "counts"! https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g5_s4
Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025
6th grade, you watched this video last year in 5th grade when we were learning about our call to be missionaries. Fr. Mike talks about St. Francis Xavier, so I recommend rewatching to review what we learned! https://www.youtubeeducation.com/watch?v=iqbzneFZ6Wc
**Both classes have tests next week! Scroll down for links to the study guides!
Grade 6: If you didn't finish p. 34, please finish tonight!
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025
Absolute last call for missing work! I need to finalize grades at lunch tomorrow, so no one can stay in; I need your work at the beginning of lunch recess at the absolute latest! (You can ask your homeroom teacher if you can put it in my office mailbox in the morning.)
5th Graders who missed class today to practice for the Nativity Presentation:
Today, we started by doing the crossword puzzle that you were given at the end of class on Monday. Please try it at home; it's a good review!
We also started talking about the gifts and fruits of the spirit. We'll do more on this either tomorrow or Monday! Scroll down to the bottom of the Confirmation notes to read about the gifts vs. the fruits of the spirit at home: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yUprQGI7O1u1wQzQv9HxiYoD0Ouit8jiIl_tJ0b5OZ4/edit?usp=sharing
We listened to this "Fruits of the Spirit" song. The Catholic translation of the Bible lists three extra fruits (generosity, modesty, chastity), but if you remember the list in this song, you'll know the majority of them! https://youtu.be/JNb9QJmUBLM?si=YheXUimTlwSzI2Yu
(I know it's a little kid song, but it's very catchy and easy to remember!)
5th Grade: Study guide for your test which will be next Wednesday, 12/17 (bumped back a day due to 1/3 of the class being over at church today!) I included information about St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, which I know you've learned about in the past, but we won't do until Friday of this week. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oDrBaLR_f55YoE1hMNMrfMsOcSseoup1x3Opw1rnO1s/edit?usp=sharing
6th Grade: Test next Tuesday, 12/16. Life is busy and it's a good habit to start reviewing early for a test for you only have to study a little bit each day. 6th grade, you need to make sure you study from your book as well as this study guide! At the bottom of the study guide, I included the link to the book study guide (which I hope you use for every chapter! They offer a good summary of key information). I gave you some tips of what to study from the book, but I'm not going to retype all the information that's in your book. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n6AJOWi4r5l8UMtAwnl7BCIOmgs6NSu49WGNWo0I7tE/edit?usp=sharing
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 Memorial of St. Juan Diego
I'm hoping to give both classes their next tests on Tuesday next week. Since our last tests both classes have learned about Our Lady of Divine Providence, The Presentation of Mary, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the season of Advent, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. On Friday of this week, we'll review the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego.
5th Grade's test will also be on Chapter 4, Confirmation
6th Grade's test will also include Chapter 4 "God Offers Love and Mercy" (Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah, the Tower of Babel), as well as two saints, St. Andrew the Apostle and St. Francis Xavier.
I know that's a lot of information we've covered, so I'll start working on study guides for both classes. You can start reviewing a little bit each night from your notes and your book!
Monday, Dec. 8, 2025 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception - Hail Mary, full of Grace, pray for us sinners!
6th Grade: Finish reading and highlighting the first column of p. 31. In sentence or two (on a separate piece of paper, in your notebook if you have it, or at the bottom of the page), summarize what you read.
Answer the question at bottom of the column. You can find the Bible passage here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1peter/1
**CREATION PAMPHLETS for anyone who has them to finish or correct. Will be checking in with people at recess tomorrow again!
5th Grade: These are the notes from class today for anyone who didn't finishi copying them! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yUprQGI7O1u1wQzQv9HxiYoD0Ouit8jiIl_tJ0b5OZ4/edit?usp=sharing
Friday, Dec. 5, 2025
Some 6th graders brought their creation pamphlets home over the weekend to check against the directions (which have been on GoogleClassroom and the homework page) and the grading rubric (which is taken right from the directions.) Please make sure I have them back by Monday! Any missing projects will go into Option C as a 60 and I'll adjust the grade once I have your project on Monday.
Directions:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pEK5JD_cuKLR-MEvSk9fPLQ6OU2JQtL-AmfG42gaMso/edit?usp=sharing
Grading Rubric:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mOjZQrZ4ODKyRHDX2Ai95Hchlh0YnPQ1g6CRdZ98Btg/edit?usp=sharing
Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025
5th Grade: Fill in the blank section at the bottom of p. 29. The page numbers on the directions are incorrect! All answers should be on p. 28 or 29.
Fifth graders who were absent: We finished the Pentecost "comic strip". This chart should help you to know what to put in each box: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ijlfrToobuGnI4uk49orbMB8kgEYqbN4cPUbAQnHnGo/edit?usp=sharing
6th Grade: For anyone who was absent, today we checked the charts about St. Francis Xavier. You can check your chart against this one and see if your answers are similar:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13VLz0hfrzMrNQQOis5wHET3izjYPwwu8pumue-a-B5k/edit?usp=sharing
Scroll down! Is there any work you still need to turn in? 🤔
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025
PSA because I just mentioned this in an email to a parent and realized that MANY 5th grade parents might not be aware, but last spring, Mrs. Righter put together a really helpful "Middle School Teachers" link at the bottom of the "Academics" menu on the school website. I know it's a lot to keep up with all the teachers' homework pages - This has all the links you need in one spot. (Personally, I just leave my kids' teachers' websites opened on tabs on my phone "forever", though! 😜) https://stjamesregional.com/middle-school-teacher-links
6th grade: Don't forget to finish your notes chart on St. Francis Xavier. Your job is to record the most important information (i.e., things you could be asked on a test!). Remember to change the "Family" box to "Family and friends"! St. Francis Xavier has friends in high places! 🙃
5th Grade: For anyone who wasn't in class today or who couldn't write due to having their arm in a cast 😉, here are our notes from today: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ijlfrToobuGnI4uk49orbMB8kgEYqbN4cPUbAQnHnGo/edit?usp=sharing
Read down below for other things to wrap up during this last week of the trimester!
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025
Wrap up any unfinished work and turn it in! See Monday for your first 2nd trimester extra credit opportunity!
5th Grade: Ask your parents if they know anything about the Jewish feast of Pentecost! (Also called Shavuot) Share with them what you learned today! Band kids who were out during religion, watch this very short video to learn what your classmates learned: https://www.ifcj.org/learn/jewish-holidays/what-is-shavuot-the-jewish-pentecost
6th Grade: Finish your saint charts by Thursday! If anyone forgot it, here's a blank graphic organizer for St. Francis Xavier: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13VLz0hfrzMrNQQOis5wHET3izjYPwwu8pumue-a-B5k/edit?usp=sharing
I don't know that this video has all the practical information you need about St. Francis Xavier, but if you want to learn about him in a way that will be easy to remember, take a half an hour to watch this! :) (It's true that he was a high jumper!) https://youtu.be/5Ltdl-l-ptk?si=5fHfNuXg2aOhrmpc
Here's a much shorter video from Xavier University that hits on a lot of the key facts about St. Francis Xavier (but you have to read it!) https://youtu.be/hV_37tJUVa8?si=zVlzpsIKdIaOQbtl
If anyone missed any parts of the St. Andrew chart we did together, here it is: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dtrZHZsIeYgD-nVrMv5hkgAENsEPCoOPBXvdAKKoMg0/edit?usp=sharing
Monday, Dec. 1, 2025 Happy Advent, happy new church year! :)
Both classes brought home a chart of 24 "Advent Practices". If you do one a day for each day of Advent (date them as you do them - you don't have to go in order), get it signed by a parent, and bring it back in January, it will count as an extra credit grade! These are all things we should be doing anyway as Christians! Just try extra hard to consciously do good deeds each day as we prepare to celebrate Jesus' birth.
Make sure you turn in all work by the time grades close on Friday! 5th Grade - Baptism Projects. 6th Grade - Creation pamphlets. See below for details! Check Option C to see if anything else is missing! (graded classwork or homework)
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025
5th Grade: If you didn't finish your baptism project, you need to finish it at home and return it to school. Check the rubric to make sure you did everything you needed to! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ML4yOEyIvrNOZiftARi-JBVO4cwmOEMqduu6RJInZag/edit?usp=sharing
Students who aren't baptized can use "generic" internet photos of Catholic baptism that you print out. (Same with any Christian kids who can't find photos of their baptism!) All projects must be turned in by 12/6 to be graded!
Check Google Classroom: Did you finish/submit the assignment on Our Lady of Divine Providence? I'll be checking them this weekend!
6th Grade: Stewardship of Creation pamphlet due by 12/6 so I can grade them before report cards. Here are the directions. Go to Google Classroom for a number of links that you can use! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pEK5JD_cuKLR-MEvSk9fPLQ6OU2JQtL-AmfG42gaMso/edit?usp=sharing
Check Option C - Are you missing anything? (Not counting optional extra credit assignments.) Make sure everything is completed and turned in before the trimester ends!
Monday, Nov. 24, 2025
Both classes: Remember, quiz on the Prayer for the Departed is on Tuesday! I'll give you "Eternal rest..." and you need to finish the prayer on looseleaf. Remember, not counting "Amen", it's just two long sentences! https://docs.google.com/document/d/14rxoKFXTMt4QPw1mr52ij2hsdksKPd-P4V5ouNqKkUM/edit?usp=sharing
For anyone in either class who needs to check their answers for the worksheet we did together in class: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BjxAhEolBbN7LwUtgLHTk-6SoOdfggNtZ8mz0OTZBDI/edit?usp=sharing
On Tuesday both classes will be working on finishing the projects we've been doing in class (Baptism poster for grade 5 and Stewardship of Creation pamphlet for grade 6). Anyone who doesn't finish in class this week will need to finish at home. Both are for grades equal to a test grade, but all or most of the work should have been finished in school! (A number of 5th graders are already done.) I'll give them to the end of the marking period (Friday 12/5) to complete whatever work needs to be done so that they don't need to worry about them over the holiday weekend.
Test corrections! Both classes, especially 6th grade since you just got your tests back! Absolute deadline is when marks close on 12/6, but the sooner the better!
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025
5th Grade: Same as yesterday! We didn't get to our Baptism posters today, so you have an extra day if you forgot.
6th Grade: I just posted this worksheet on Google Classroom as an optional assignment for anyone looking for ways to boost their average before the end of the marking period. It's a worksheet on Our Lady of Divine Providence that you did last year. This year, we'll just do a quick review and won't learn about this feast day in as much detail. Doing the worksheet again would be a good refresher! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KFH_zAG9zTzUUaD-L3sobSZJNz4oN5dYdELVK73ykCw/edit?usp=sharing
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025
5th Grade: Anyone who didn't finish the coloring/cutting portion of their Baptism poster brought it home tonight to finish that part so they can get their pieces glued on tomorrow.
If you want to do test corrections, try to get them done this week while the information is fresh in your mind! Check your book or notes for the answers!
Quiz on the Prayer for the Faithful Departed will be next Tuesday afternoon! Here is the prayer you need to know: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14rxoKFXTMt4QPw1mr52ij2hsdksKPd-P4V5ouNqKkUM/edit?usp=sharing
6th Grade: See above for prayer - Same for your class!
If you are one of the people who needs to finish your All Saints Day homework to be graded, please do!
Monday, Nov. 17, 2025
6th Grade: Your priority is to finish reviewing for your test tomorrow! You need to use your book as well as your notes and/or the study guide. It will be on Chapter 3, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. If you didn't do the interactive book quiz last week, try it tonight: https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g6_s3
The link to the book study guide is at the top of this document! Don't miss it! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZXhCVygrIrGXgAwyDD7vVeFgpyyJG06GdDnfcYR3opo/edit?usp=sharing
Here is the Blooket we did in class today! Try it again to review! https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=691b7629f50da7196093ddda
For tomorrow or Tuesday night: Over the weekend, I caught up on some grading I hadn't gotten to! One of them was the All Saints Day reflection from the beginning of the month, which I'll give back today. If you did NOT turn in this assignment, you need to complete it asap so it doesn't show up as a failing grade on Option C! (Most of you did it and did well with it!) If for some reason you didn't do well with it, you can redo it and turn it in again. Here it is, for the students missing it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pVQW8227Lb1u6TFiqRwgx697RbkyGv0Z7bl6baw6wSo/edit?usp=sharing
Please make sure I have it by the end of this week!
5th Grade: Go on Option C and check your grade for the Google Classroom St. Charles Borromeo assignment. If your grade is low, it probably means you didn't finish it, so I just graded it based on the answers you completed. You can complete it tonight or tomorrow and resubmit it. Only use the "Turn in" button if you corrected it and want me to check it again. If you didn't make any changes, please don't turn it in again! (I don't want to spend my time rereading assignments only to find out that everything is exactly the same as it was when I returned it to you.)
I'm hoping we can get our Baptism projects finished (or mostly finished!) today, so if you didn't bring in photos yet, now is the time!! :)
Both classes: This week, we have two days on the liturgical calendar to learn about: Our Lady of Divine Providence and the Memorial of the Presentation of Mary. Ask your family members if they know anything about either of these days. (When we celebrate them, what we celebrate.) You don't need to look anything up about them, it's just an informal poll for when we start our discussion since they're lesser-known days that are in your curriculum.
Friday, Nov. 14, 2025
This weekend is the last "regular" Sunday in Ordinary Time where the priest will be wearing green. The weekend AFTER this will be one of my favorite feasts, The Solemnity of Christ the King - the LAST Sunday of the Church Year! 👑 After that, it's Advent and the new Liturgical Year! :)
5th Grade: We'll work on your Baptism poster again on Monday!
6th Grade: Here's a partial study guide for your test - It's just the things we took notes on. You need to study from your book, too, but it's not a long chapter! The test is on Tuesday! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZXhCVygrIrGXgAwyDD7vVeFgpyyJG06GdDnfcYR3opo/edit?usp=sharing
If you forgot to try the interactive quiz, see below for the link!
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025
6th Grade: Do the interactive book quiz for chapter 3 and email me your results! tcunnane@stjamesregional.com https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g6_s3
Your test on Chapter 3, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day wll be on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Start studying!
5th Grade: Test tomorrow! Look back to the other days this week for studying info. I highly recommend playing the Blooket since we didn't get through all of the questions in school today! https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=69163325cdb764db32b5fc15
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025
5th Grade: Study for Friday's test! Here is the study guide I made up. (I finally updated it with the notes we took this week!) **If you forgot to finish gluing the Rite of Baptism steps into your notebook, you can use the study guide list to help you! We didn't have time to check the today, so you have an extra day to finish! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y40ZNOD0q9ak1gQrAVSXNk8RxD0yyefT1CdYDfeczsU/edit?usp=sharing
Try the interactive book quiz for Ch. 3 and email me the results at tcunnane@stjamesregional.com (Hint: If you copy and paste where I just typed it, you don't have to worry about mistyping it!) https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g5_s3
Tip: If you sometimes have trouble with these quizzes, you might want to look over the book's study guide before you try it! I bet the study guide will help you with some of the answers: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g5-ch3.pdf
FYI for the adults: Our book is outdated now! The current terminology is ORDER of Christian Initiation for Adults. (or "of Adults" - both are used.) The word "Rite" is used when the catechumens are celebrating the sacraments at the Easter Vigil, but "Order" includes all the steps along the way. I'm revising the test to use "OCIA" not "RCIA".
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025
Sorry! I just realized that I forgot to update the homework today.
5th Grade: If you didn't finish gluing your "Rite of Baptism" papers into your notebook in the correct order during class, please finish at home! Use p. 21-22 to make sure your answers are correct. If you glued some in the wrong order earlier, you can either number them in the correct order, or write them on the next page in the correct order!
Test on Friday! See below!
6th Grade: No written homework, but start thinking of ways the we (as individuals and as a community and/or nation) can be good stewards of creation as the Church teaches us. We've all known since kindergarten that we should recycle and that we should pick up litter... Think deeper! Maybe discuss ideas with your parents or other family members. We'll be doing in-class poster projects on Thursday. More details to come!
Monday, Nov. 10, 2025
5th Grade - We will be wrapping up our Baptism chapter in these next couple of days. Our test for this chapter will be on Friday. I made up a study guide that you can use to study at home this week. If you print it out, please make sure you check back here - I'll note on the homework page if I made any changes to it. (**I'm going to fill in the sacramentals and the section on the Rite of Baptism during class today when we go over them.) The test (and study guide) include information on Ch. 3 (Baptism) as well as All Saints Day, All Souls' Day, and St. Charles Borromeo. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y40ZNOD0q9ak1gQrAVSXNk8RxD0yyefT1CdYDfeczsU/edit?usp=sharing
Review a little bit each night! The plan for this week: Wrap up the chapter today and tomorrow. Start our Baptism posters on Wednesday. (So please have your photos by then!). Test review on Thursday. Test Friday. By Wednesday, students need to know the date of their baptism, the name of the priest who baptized them, the name of the church where they were baptized, and the name of their godparents. If you are Baptized in another Christian religion, it still "counts" and you can get info on your own baptism! You can adjust parts that are different, i.e., cross out "priest" to write "minister" or "pastor." If the students who aren't baptized could look for some "generic" online pictures of Catholic Baptism to print out for their poster, that would be very helpful! Thank you!
Both classes: Don't forget! You need to know the Prayer for the Faithful Departed by memory by the end of the month. Your quiz on it will be on Tuesday 11/25. (I'll give you the two words "Eternal rest" to get you started, and you need to write down the rest of the prayer.) https://docs.google.com/document/d/14rxoKFXTMt4QPw1mr52ij2hsdksKPd-P4V5ouNqKkUM/edit?usp=sharing
6th Grade: Read the second column of p. 22. Put a star next to any religious truths that you figured out yourself. Add to the list you were writing in your notebook. (You don't need to write them all. You should have at least 6 truths listed.)
Looking ahead: We should be wrapping up our chapter on creation this week. Your test will be next Tuesday 11/18. Last year, I gave the chapters 3 and 4 test together, but this year, I'm going to do them separately so it's not as much to study. Your test will be on chapter 3, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. If we have time to talk more about it this week, I'll also include a question or two on the 3rd Beatitude ("Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.")
Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025
5th Grade: If you forgot to finish or turn in your St. Charles activity yesterday, please do so tonight. **If you did it yesterday and I returned it to you with things to fix, you can do so and resubmit it for a higher grade! ONLY resubmit it if you corrected it. If you don't have anything you need to correct, you don't need to turn it in again once you have a grade.
God bless all the St. Madeline's 7th graders who will be confirmed today!
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025
5th Grade: Your St. Charles Borromeo worksheet (on Google classroom) is due tomorrow. If you didn't finish with the time we had in school today and yesterday, please finish at home. To log into Google Chrome, go to the Google sign in page and sign into your school email account: _________@stjamesregional.com. Sign in with your school password. Then, go to Google Classroom to look for our lesson. (Tip: It helps to have Google Classroom bookmarked on the bookmarks bar so you can get there quickly!)
I'm going to put a link to the worksheet here. If you have any issue getting onto Google Classroom at home, you ONLY have to complete the answers on the worksheet that you know you didn't get to on the computer. Make sure you hit "submit" to submit your finished work online. I'll return it to you once I grade it, and if you have anything to fix, you're allowed to correct it and resubmit it. Here is the worksheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A9KKmKc7Kot4wM4mIiquOvV4Cb9evkhhGNDFLKb8SvY/edit?usp=sharing
If you get stuck on the second part of number 8, you can find the answer somewhere on St. Mad's website: https://stmadelineparish.com/
*One point of the assignment is for having it submitted on time! Don't forget!
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025
If anyone (5th or 6th) didn't finish their notes today, here they are! You can finish copying at home. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LgFnMy_TlEc3gND5G0KUHnLb7GiZhCZ_3j1coMNElPQ/edit?usp=sharing
Test corrections for anyone who didn't do them!
5th grade, I expect to be working on your Baptism project in school by next Monday (so that's when you'll need your photos!)
Monday, November 3, 2025
Today, both classes will review/wrap up learning about All Saint's Day and will learn about All Soul's Day, including the Catholic teachings of Purgatory and the Communion of Saints. All of these topics will be included when we get around to our next chapter tests in a couple of weeks.
During the month of November, we will be praying for those who have died. We'll frequently be using the Prayer for the Departed at the beginning of religion class. Both classes will be expected to know the prayer by the end of the month... hopefully they will without any extra studying after praying it all month (and it's a short prayer, anyway.) At the end of the month, they'll need to write the prayer down and it will count for a quiz grade. I'll prompt them with words "Eternal rest..." and they need to complete the rest. Spelling doesn't count, but anyone who writes God with a lowercase g will get a point off! I may start doing the same on tests. By 5th and 6th grade, I shouldn't be seeing any students writing ANY proper names - especially God's - with a lowercase letter at the beginning! Here is a link to the prayer. All students should have it glued in their notebooks: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14rxoKFXTMt4QPw1mr52ij2hsdksKPd-P4V5ouNqKkUM/edit?usp=sharing
Here are the notes we took today if anyone didn't finish! (Just the All Saint's Day section. We ran out of time, so we'll do the All Soul's Day section tomorrow.) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LgFnMy_TlEc3gND5G0KUHnLb7GiZhCZ_3j1coMNElPQ/edit?usp=sharing
5th Grade:
Did anyone forget to complete their All Saints' Day homework? Do it tonight if you did!
Did everyone who wanted to do corrections turn them in?
Don't forget about your Baptism photos, but due to learning about All Soul's Day, St. Charles Borromeo (in the 5th grade curriculum), and the 2nd grade saint parade, we only have a couple of days this week to work on our Baptism chapter, so I don't expect to actually be doing the end of chapter project till next week. Scroll down to last Monday 10/27 for more details!
For our friends who were absent: We watched part of this video today to learn more about All Saints Day and All Soul's Day. I started the video at :45 seconds in and we ended it at 7:45. https://youtu.be/jJBtcgFl0EM?si=8QihvZ04vQWKhCdu
6th Grade:
All Saints Day homework due tomorrow (Will be graded!)
If you want to do corrections on your chapter 2 test, please do them asap! Sooner is better so that you don't lose your test or forget about doing it! Here are my guidelines for anyone who needs them: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V48LnHYQ198R4JQ_qQ_IvugIUoEzpgKM95tgeAHSxxg/edit?usp=sharing I'm going to post this document on my "Resource" page so it's always there if you need it. If you want to take a retest, you need to do corrections first. You have to make sure you know the correct answers before a retest is possible! If you scroll down, you should see my Ch. 2 study guide, which may help with your corrections. (You can also use your notes or book.)
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025
Both classes took notes on Holy Days of Obligation. Here they are in case you didn't finish! (You don't need to write the parts in italics.) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LgFnMy_TlEc3gND5G0KUHnLb7GiZhCZ_3j1coMNElPQ/edit?usp=sharing
*Because All Saints Day is on a Saturday this year, the US bishops lifted the obligation to attend Mass on that day.
5th Grade: Finish your saint survey! I won't be in school tomorrow, so you can bring it back on Monday. Here it is if you lost or forgot it! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hpBhxXcC-MJgkrPTMAW-6dVKKAe1Vb8n0SZw9_bqaXQ/edit?usp=sharing
Did everyone who wants to do test corrections turn them in?
Don't forget about your Baptism photos!
6th Grade: Graded All Saints Day reflection due on Tuesday! If you forgot or lost your paper, here it is: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pVQW8227Lb1u6TFiqRwgx697RbkyGv0Z7bl6baw6wSo/edit?usp=sharing
I recommend doing it tonight so you don't forget about it!
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2025
5th Grade: I forgot to ask if anyone had corrections for me! If you want to do test corrections, try to do them tonight! The sooner the better so you don't forget. See yesterday for guidelines!
*See Monday for information about our upcoming in class baptism project (photos needed!)
Today in class we learned about OCIA, formerly called RCIA. Do you remember what it stands for? (You don't need to write it down!) What else do you rememeber? For anyone who was absent, this is the video we watched and discussed: https://youtu.be/P1HC0Vz67yo?si=jAQDYL7_VXL6cD2J
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025
5th Grade: If you want to do test corrections, I recommend doing them asap so you don't forget! Here are my guidelines for doing corrections: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V48LnHYQ198R4JQ_qQ_IvugIUoEzpgKM95tgeAHSxxg/edit?usp=sharing
If you didn't finish your Baptism notes, please finish them tonight! You can also use this if you want to review what we did today: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19BHNWuKukiFUbLqP1WEgvHWIN_5VIVulCQnZv3_U-uw/edit?usp=sharing
Monday, Oct. 27, 2025
6th Grade - Test tomorrow! It's been on the homework page since last Monday, so hopefully you've been studying!
*Use the study guide document that I posted last Thursday!
* If you didn't do the book quiz yet (i.e., last Thursday's homework), do it! Don't forget to email me the results so you get credit for doing your homework!
* Today in class we'll do a Blooket. Here is the link to play at home: https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=68ffb9cf801d5eb5963e0f4d
5th Grade: Today, we started our chapter on Baptism. At the end of a chapter, we'll be doing a small in-class project on Baptism. If each student can have 1-4 photos of his/her baptism printed to include on his/her project, that would be helpful! Photos that show specific steps or symbols are best! (pouring of the water, anointing with oil, the Baptism and/or Paschal candle, etc.)
Students who aren't Catholic but are baptized in another faith will still be able to do a project on their own baptism if that applies. (So you can bring photos, too!) Anyone who isn't baptized will be sharing more general information about the sacrament of baptism. Thank you for your help!
You don't need the photos this week, just giving you an early heads up so you have time to look, get something printed, etc.
**Waiting for a few more people who were absent to take the test before I return them! Coming soon...
Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025
5th Grade: If you didn't finish your Rosary diagram, please finish it any time on your own time between now and next Thursday and turn it in for a classwork grade. You can use this diagram to help you. Include at least three things you know about the Rosary in the center section. Don't forget to add the Apostle's Creed and the Hail Holy Queen to your diagram!
6th Grade: Although chapter 2 looks short, there is a lot of important information in it, and - as you can see on the study guide - we also covered a LOT of other topics that aren't in the book since our last test. If you haven't already started reviewing, please do so tonight! Our test will be next week on Tuesday. There is plenty of time between now and then, but you shouldn't wait till Monday night to study! Here is a study guide with all of the notes and topics you should know: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h0gu8CVqUKMYfY7I01639NXOo49ELbqKGln3xq8AQoc/edit?usp=sharing
Please do the interactive book quiz tonight and email me your results! If you have a hard time with quiz, you can do it multiple times till you get all the answers correct! https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g6_s2
Here is the book study guide. (The review pages at the end of the book chapter should be helpful in figuring out what information is important, too!) https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g6-ch2.pdf
**If you didn't finish p. 18 (review page in your book), please finish it tonight! Do # 1-10 at the top and the "Categories" section at the bottom! Those last four are important to know for the test. Use p. 14 to check your answers for that section. All answers call be found somewhere in Ch. 2!
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025
5th Grade: Test Tomorrow. If you didn't do the interactive book quiz, you should try it tonight! Our tests are always a combination of questions from the book publisher and questions I made up, and sometimes the book questions repeat what was on the quiz! ALWAYS smart to try it (more than once if you get some wrong first time through.) Link below.
Use the study guide below to help you study! (on yesterday's homework)
Today in class, we'll do a Blooket review. Here is a link to try at home! These questions are helpful for studying, too!
https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=68f918053a9398dcc2b363df
6th Grade: Homework assignment from yesterday is due tomorrow! (See below.)
I'm going to try to combine all the notes we took into one document like I did for 5th grade to help you study. (Check back here; I'll post a link.) Remember, your test will be next Tuesday. Don't wait till Monday night to start studying for it!
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025
5th Grade: This should help with studying for this Thursday's test. There's nothing new here, but I took all the separate note documents and put everything together in one GoogleDoc. (I did add what you learned about how to cite Bible passages underneath the section on the Gospels.)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZLddiaSZhzDWJGR3TwiZjngchU2u789lvlAY_gXnOAs/edit?usp=sharing
Tonight, please try the interactive chapter quiz and email me the results at tcunnane@stjamesregional.com. (Make sure you have the double n in the correct place or I won't get it!) https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g5_s2
6th Grade: If you didn't finish your notes on the Dead Sea Scrolls, please finish them at home. Also, answer the three review questions in your religion notebook: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qHeY7_W06X4EWK67wvTml-7Gap41J4RVQrqalcY7ITs/edit?usp=sharing
(Spanish tomorrow, so you have two days to do this!)
Here is the video we watched about the Dead Sea Scrolls:
https://www.youtubeeducation.com/watch?v=xUwLDzs91CI
Monday, Oct. 20, 2025
For any parents who would like to come in for a conference with me, here is the sign up link. I know some of you have multiple children with multiple teachers and it can be lot to puzzle together! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A49AAAD2FA5F9C25-59742407-religion
5th Grade: You'll have your next test this Thursday. It will be on Chapter 2, but will also include some questions from these topics that we learned about that aren't in the book: the angels (Memorial of the Guardian Angel, Feast of the Archangels), Rosary/Our Lady of the Rosary, and 40 Hours. Everyone should have notes on all of the above in their notebooks, and if you scroll down on our homework page, you'll see links to my copies on the notes. Tonight, I'll try to write up a study guide that includes all of the above in one place, but you have plenty to study from in the meantime! I would study a little each night.
Here is my copy of notes you took on this book chapter: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z7eWqelZo35i3sjZ3eYU3YocUW-Zwgp82NnAVdCLLWo/edit?usp=sharing You can also study from the book, paying special attention to parts we highlighted and the chapter review page. (Adjust the font if you print! It's huge from displaying on the board!)
The book study guide is always helpful: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g5-ch2.pdf
I'll post the book's interactive quiz tomorrow night for homework!
Grade 6: Due to Spanish class and a half day on Friday, we won't get to your test till next week, but it will be on Tuesday, so you should start studying this week! It will include everything I listed above for grade 5, and your class has also learned about two new saints, St. Jerome and St. Teresa of Avila.
Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025
Please check Option C! Last night, I added in all the extra credit and text corrections that I had in my folder. Does anyone still have any corrections in their folder that you forgot to hand in? 6th grade, if your test grade wasn't a passing grade, you should have done corrections to bring your grade up! Last call before progress reports! If you give something to me tomorrow, I may not be able to adjust your grade before Progress Reports, but it would still help for your "real" report card.
I didn't see 6th grade yesterday, so if anyone went to benediction on Tuesday night can give me their papers today.
5th grade should have their next test next week. More info on that coming soon!
Between now and report card time in December, I'll try to make sure we also have some sort of graded classwork or in school project - I always try to make sure we have some of each for the benefit of students who struggle with test taking.
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025
On Tuesday, we'll do a mini-lesson on 40 Hours/Adoration and then go over to the church for some quiet prayer time before the Eucharist. Extra credit opportunity for anyone who attends the benediction service at St. Mad's tonight! (Paper has info for both nights so I can revise it again for next year - bad timing with the school holiday on Monday!) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ImJLmWTUGB8BbPJDDLqIJ04BV1rv59V3-zh1D0jo5vE/edit?usp=sharing
In case anyone in 6th grade didn't finish their notes today!
We just did the first slide, Blessed Sacrament, monstrance, exposition, and benediction. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1giSipa082_YbkW_NpvXNZ4OVtZcsKC5KNCtZxE4Vmcg/edit?usp=sharing
**Sorry! I know I still need to add in the last extra credit, as well as test corrections for the students who turned them in. With progress reports coming up this Friday, both will definitely be done this week!
"Kid Talk" safe environment lessons:
Twice a year, all teachers are required to teach a "safe environment" lesson to our classes. Teachers were asked to teach their lessons this week (and it's generally done in religion class). Because Tuesday is 40 hours, the 5th grade will have their lesson on Wednesday, and 6th grade's will be on Thursday (since they have Spanish on Wednesday).
Here are the links to your child's lesson for anyone who wants to read them over. (Both fall and spring lessons are included in the link.)
Grade 5: https://childyouthprotection.org/docs/lesson/Grade-five.pdf (See p. 22 of the link for the parent letter.)
Grade 6: https://childyouthprotection.org/docs/lesson/Grade-Six.pdf (Your parent letter for the fall is also on p. 22!)
Friday, Oct. 10, 2025
5th Grade: If anyone didn't finish copying the notes today (or for anyone who was absent), here they are:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z7eWqelZo35i3sjZ3eYU3YocUW-Zwgp82NnAVdCLLWo/edit?usp=sharing
6th Grade: For anyone who was absent today, we watched and discussed this video today: https://www.youtubeeducation.com/watch?v=mTBud-9Vlzo
Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025
6th Grade: If you didn't finish the "spot check" paper in class today, finish it at home tonight! For anyone who was absent today, here is the paper, but this will be easier to do if you have your religion book to use. (All answers on p. 12 or 13.) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bNqI40ezPrW7Nz1OujKfA_Hqv0YmbGWVYvjDjnWO1zY/edit?usp=sharing
5th Grade: We added a few more chapter 2 notes. Here they are for anyone who wants to review: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X5U9FdwwSUSg0yS90Nhw2_si1N3eeVcYqor_hCJ_weQ/edit?usp=sharing
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025
If you wanted to test corrections, don't forget to get them done and hand them in!
Here are some notes on the Rosary/Our Lady of the Rosary in case you want to review at home: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FJKLV4IpJzNIFmc6DlZCYJ0uzvGKZZFU1kIP56QaFsY/edit?usp=sharing
Monday, Oct. 6, 2025
Tomorrow is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. We will have our school Living Rosary out in the school parking lot at 1:15. If you would like to bring Rosary beads from home for when you pray, you may.
Today in class, we reviewed what students have learned about the rosary in past years, as well as learning about today's feast day. Here is some vocabulary/information that both classes should know. Look over this at home and see what you remember! (You don't need to write the answers down. You can talk to a family member about these words/questions!)
Why do Catholics pray the Rosary?
devotion (the Catholic meaning as a noun, not the verb)
mystery
decade
Can you remember what the four sets of mysteries were? What sort of order do all of the mysteries go in?
On what day do we celebrate Our Lady of the Rosary? (The whole month of October is celebrated as the month of the Rosary, that's why we always do the Living Rosary during this month.)
(6th grade got through more of this than 5th since it was a review for them) Here are our notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FJKLV4IpJzNIFmc6DlZCYJ0uzvGKZZFU1kIP56QaFsY/edit?usp=sharing
Friday, Oct. 3, 2025
Tomorrow is the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi! St. Madeline's Blessing of the Animals will be on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 12:15. If you belong to another parish, check your parish's website/bulletin - Yours might have one, too! (My parish, St. John Chrysostom, has theirs tomorrow at 1:00. I'll be there with Coach Blaine! 🐶)
If you want to do corrections, this weekend is a good time to get them done since you don't have other homework! Scroll down to Tuesday for details! Email me with any questions!
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 Happy October and happy memorial of St. Therese!
5th grade, see below if you want to do corrections! You *might* have other homework from me tomorrow night, so tonight might be a good night to get it done!
6th grade, you'll get your tests back tomorrow!
FYI for parents/students: If a student skips something on a test, has a "half answer", or has a vague answer (to an open-ended question) that might be correct if they add a little more, I'll usually give them a chance to finish the question if they can. I still have a few more 6th graders to follow up with about test items like these!
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025
5th grade is allowed to do corrections for their tests. Please follow these guidelines:
Write your corrections neatly on a separate piece of paper (preferably lined.)
Write the FULL question/answer out in a sentence! Single words answers out of context won't be accepted. We write because it helps you commit the information to memory!
LOOK UP your answers to make sure your correction is right! Use your book, your notes, and info/notes that I've posted here on the homework page! Finding the answers is part of the learning process, too; don't just ask your parent!
You receive half a point back for each correctly done correction. (Anyone can do corrections; it doesn't matter how many you got wrong!)
After I've checked your corrections, if you really had a hard time with a test and want to do a retest, you can, but corrections come first because I need to know that you're studying the correct information! (Students receive full credit for retests. I recommend using this option for times that the grade is low enough that it'll still be low, even after doing corrections.)
The most important thing to me is that you learn the information, and I hope that all of these options (corrections, retests) help you learn what we need to know! Tests are a learning tool and when you learn the information isn't as important to me as knowing that you're learning it!
(Thanks for your patience, 6th grade! Yours are next!)
5th grade, notes about angels are below!
6th grade learned about their first saint, St. Jerome today!
Monday, Sept. 29, 2025 Happy Feast of the Archangels!
6th grade, if anyone didn't finish their notes today, here is the link! (5th grade will do these tomorrow.) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QsqMJkra2GoJw0l43ORoMV-W5jBbnHCh8ORztEBFQt0/edit?usp=sharing
Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025
Both classes: Chapter 1 tests tomorrow! Both classes' tests will also include two feasts of Mary (Nativity BVM and Our Lady of Sorrows), two saints (St. Carlo and Si. Pier Giorgio), and the first beatitude. Scroll down to Monday and Tuesday for more study links and information!
Today, fifth grade did a great job in their review! We didn't get through all of these questions, but we did a lot. Fifth grade, if there were questions any I asked today that you didn't know, make sure you study them!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-9pExhFE-B-Ha5dn-csBgURL7kuXBCv0M5IGDJUFVSQ/edit?usp=sharing
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025
Chapter 1 test Thursday!
If you didn't have a chance to try the quiz and/or study from the study guide, please do it tonight!
Here are some notes on things we learned that are NOT in the book. (Both classes.) At the end of class today, I told the 6th grade to think about what seemed like the most important things to know, and they did a GREAT job coming up with questions for each other! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V3aKkMYHRapII9svsWFT-gQpiYqEfrMbyChQGJd0pSI/edit?usp=sharing
Here's how I would study:
If you did the quiz last night, tonight, read over the notes I posted above and (if you remembered your notebook!), read over the notes we wrote in your notebook. If it's in your notes, it's important. If you forgot your notebook, scroll down and find the link to your grade's chapter 1 study guide, which summarizes each lesson.
Tomorrow, study from your book! Go back and see what we highlighted. Just like notes, if we highlighted it, it's important. If we added any words into the book (like "synagogue" for 6th grade), you should know it. Read over the chapter review pages (including the one with the key words and facts.)
Everyone has been doing a great job! 5th grade and I will do a review game tomorrow. (6th grade will be at Spanish, but here are the questions we used in the review game last year! We had a good review today, but ran out of time to play a game! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PQ3EjHLpgsYJaSj_2CLLB3DUuqobjk6ewMY95wpmL2Y/edit?tab=t.0
Monday, Sept. 22, 2025
Both classes: Chapter 1 test for both classes on Thursday. In addition to what's in the book, both classes should know the first Beatitude (and what it means), and know a little bit about St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio (we'll review both a little this week.)
Tonight, take the book chapter quiz (links below) and email me your result! (tcunnane@stjamesregional.com). If you have time, you can start to study from the book study guide, too.
Grade 5 quiz: https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g5_s1
Grade 5 book study guide: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g5-ch1.pdf
If any 5th graders didn't get your notes copied, look here! (Scroll down to the 9/22 section). Remember, if something is in your notes, it's important!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bJGMKp11UHnTHcoAffrPk_tyPqkdwysySuoDf7OSqVA/edit?usp=sharing
Grade 6 quiz: https://isr.loyolapress.com/col_g6_s1
Grade 6 book study guide: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lpress-craft/files/col2016-files/Christourlife2016-study-gd-g6-ch1.pdf
If any 6th graders ran out of time to get your notes copied, this is what we did today: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y-JeThHGqKB2WH665cVjb1y1Wn_tZdQG9WsWcddE60Q/edit?usp=sharing
*Remember! The Loyola Press links can always be found on the "Resource" section of my website if I ever forget to post it here!)
Friday, Sept. 19, 2025
Looking ahead: I plan to give both classes their first test next Thursday! (Pushing grade 5 back a day, too.) I'll revise last year's study guides over the weekend - There are some things that I skipped this year due to starting the year learning about our new saints and the Beatitudes before we delved into our usual lessons.
Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025
5th Grade: Prayer survey! We started this in school. Ask family members who live with you, ask a neighbor or call a family member or two on the phone! Complete the chart.
Looking towards next Wed. to have a test on Chapter 1 and the two feasts of Mary that we learned about so far (The Nativity of Mary and Our Lady of Sorrows.)
6th Grade: We will probably have a test next Thursday! Scheduling tests for 6th grade is tricky due to having Spanish on Wednesdays.
It will be on chapter 1 (which we're still finishing) and the two feasts of Mary that we learned about so far (The Nativity of Mary and Our Lady of Sorrows.)
Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025
5th Grade: If anyone either didn't finish copying your notes or wants to review what we did today, here is a link to your notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bJGMKp11UHnTHcoAffrPk_tyPqkdwysySuoDf7OSqVA/edit?usp=sharing
In this chapter, we're learning about praising and worshipping God. (Why we praise Him, ways we worship Him, etc.) Don't forget to pray to God each day at home to thank and praise him for all the blessings in your life! If you want to pray by listening to the song we reflected on for our prayer in class today, here is the link: https://youtu.be/NIPEGrwPABY?si=yywh39dEpLpIjreV
(6th grade goes to Spanish on Wednesday afternoons during their religion time, so the only time they should have Wednesday night religion homework is if it was assigned on Tuesday and due on Thursday.)
Monday, Sept. 15, 2025
Both classes:
You have a little homework tonight. I know that all the days to honor Mary can be a lot to remember, so we're going to review the first couple to make sure you have them down.
If you forgot to bring your notebook home, please write this on another piece of paper (lined looseleaf if you have it), and you can glue or tape it into your notebook tomorrow.
Please write down both the sentences and the answers! See if you can remember the answers first, but if you get stuck, you're allowed to look them up.
On September 8, we celebrate the ________________ of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This feast day occurs 9 months after the Solemnity of the ________________ ________________, a holy day of obligation that falls on ______________ 8.
On September 15, we celebrated the Memorial of Our Lady of ___________________.
We recall the prophet ______________, who told Mary that her heart would be _________________________________.
Mary is a model of always being faithful to _________, even in difficult times.
Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 Happy Friday! Have a good weekend!
Were you planning on doing the extra credit on St. Carlo and/or St. Pier Giorgio? Wrap it up this weekend so you can turn it in!
Here's the document in case you lost your copy or left it in school. (This is my last reminder!) https://docs.google.com/document/d/14B_D6-FZn0cFxgIXo7B_3W_fHVpprNVzDqFapbzv0N8/edit?usp=sharing
Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025
We always start our religion class with a prayer. Many times, our prayer is related to our lesson for the day. Sometimes they're traditional prayers from our curriculum, and sometimes its something pertinent to the calendar date. Here's our 9/11 prayer for anyone who also wanted to pray it at home: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1acj-Y0-WojideV_zppimhZgvcwftuQzIm4cFVr0GLSY/edit?usp=sharing
Extra credit due on Monday for anyone who was interested!
If your parent filled out a survey, don't forget to turn it in for them.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025
Thank you for all who came to back to school night! If you missed it, here's the info I passed out. (I have plenty of printed copies left. Just send me an email or ask your child to get one for you if you need one: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ts-2TZCMBvLVc9BavN-xZEBCdmzTalK_niIMsSprnSg/edit?usp=sharing )
Here's the parent survey I passed out for anyone who missed it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16ar14-Gmhr_xKh3NsDF8e2MeWy3UKi52zlImkSHLzNo/edit?usp=sharing
Our first school Mass will be tomorrow at 9:15.
Extra credit for anyone who is interested is due by this coming Monday!
This week we talked about the Beatitude we're working on for the month of September: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This means:
God is great and we are small!
We recognize that we rely on God for everything!
We are obedient and humble: We recognize that we don't know everything.
We are accountable: We recognize our faults and admit our mistakes.
We are servants: We live and love like Jesus when we act as a servant to all.
We practice spiritual detachment: Trying to put what God wants over what we want. "Your will be done."
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 Back to School Night tonight! Hope to see you there! 🙂
We went to the sacrament of Reconciliation today. Here are some prayers for after Confession for anyone who is interested! https://www.ctkwichita.org/multimedia/parish-1/bulletin-1/113-guide-to-confession-middle-school-youth-1/file
Keep working on the extra credit if you are interested! (Due next Monday. See Friday 9/5 for more info.)
Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
You can do the extra credit any day this week if you want! Deadline next Monday 9/15. See last Friday for the link to the GoogleDoc if you lost yours.
Tomorrow, we'll have school confessions in the afternoon. If anyone wanted to look over these examination of conscience questions and/or review the from of confession, you can use this link: https://www.ctkwichita.org/multimedia/parish-1/bulletin-1/113-guide-to-confession-middle-school-youth-1/file
Here's a nice prayer for a good confession that we said together today:
Come, Holy Spirit, into my soul. Show me my sins, both the wrong that I did and the good I failed to do. Give me the grace to be sorry for my sins out of love for God, so that through confession my soul might be healed and strengthened to do good. Amen.
In class, we talked about today's feast day (Nativity of Mary) and its relationship to the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8. (9 months before we celebrate her birthday!!). 6th grade reviewed the vocabulary solemnity, feast, and memorial. (We ran out of time in 5th, but they'll learn the distinction, too, as the year goes on!)
I hope to see you all at Back to School Night tomorrow! :)
Sept. 5, 2025 Happy Friday! Today is the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta. 💙 "Let us love one another as God loves each one of us. And where does this love begin? In our own home. How does it begin? By praying together." - Mother Teresa 💙
Start your year with (optional) extra credit! I'll be talking about this opportunity in class today, and will provide the students with hard copies of the document that's linked here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/14B_D6-FZn0cFxgIXo7B_3W_fHVpprNVzDqFapbzv0N8/edit?usp=sharing
If anyone (students or parents!) wants to learn even more about these new saints, here are all the links I saved for class. (We used some of these in school, but definitely not all!):
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12g0uOK-rmfd2q5nj1RqOtyHtKfavf3ZFtbezyef-YNQ/edit?usp=sharing
Blessed Carlo Acutis: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pudi6imqzXrPpbV94hVHMUfd4Pr2cwXRbT4ICzHTLvk/edit?usp=sharing
Sept. 4, 2025
Books covered! (I ran out of time to check the books today! Tomorrow! 😅)
Sept. 3, 2025
Today, both classes reviewed our classroom rules. Can you remember what they are to tell your parents? (Hint: They should be the top rules in your household, too! And the top rules in LIFE! 😇) Find them on my home page! https://sites.google.com/view/mrscunnane/home
Don't forget to have your books covered! Allergy-safe candy treat tomorrow for everyone who got it done! 🙃
Tomorrow and Friday, we'll be learning about the two saints who will be canonized by Pope Leo this Sunday: Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio.
Sept. 2, 2025
Welcome back to school!!
I'm looking forward to teaching you all! Check back here frequently for homework, study info, links to notes, etc.
Your first item of homework this year will be to have your book covered in clear contact paper! Sorry, parents, I know it's a pain. But the books get pretty beat up being carried around in the switch bags all year. The ones that were covered lasted the year. Some of the ones that were not lost their covers by the end of the year... 🤪 (And there are prayers in the insides of the front and back covers, so we use them!)