Greetings, Middle School Families,

Over this next week, students in all grades will be engaged in creative writing projects to be shared with their classes next Tuesday and Wednesday. No work at home will be required for these projects.

*7th graders will have serving practice for the 8th grade dinner this Tuesday at 2pm (during school).

*Permission slips for the 8th grade retreat are due on Wednesday. Drivers needed!

5th and 6th Grade language arts classes will doing a “Fractured Fairy Tale” storytelling project. Students will be in groups of 4 storytellers with each student assigned a separate storytelling role. The goal is to collaborate and create a “fractured” fairy tale (in the spirit of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs). Groups will share their stories with the class next week. In addition, students will finish up their spring writing in their last few writing lab classes.

7th grade language arts is doing a quick poetry project. Students have chosen a poet and will research to create a flip book about their poet. Flip books will be shared next week.

8th grade language arts is doing a storytelling jigsaw. Students will randomly pick a character, setting, and conflict and create a story from it.  8th graders will also do a few practices for graduation this week.

Looking Ahead:

Friday, May 31: Blue & Gold Dance (all middle school grades)

Monday, June 3: 8th Grade Retreat (8:30 – 12:00 at Dixon Lake) & Parent vs. 8th Grade Games/Potluck (1:00 – 2:45)

Tuesday, June 4: 8th Grade Dinner @ 5:30pm (8th grade’s last day of school)

Wednesday, June 5: 3pm Graduation Mass, 4pm Graduation; Early Dismissal 

Thursday, June 6: End of the Year Parties; Early Dismissal

Friday, June 7: Last Day of School! (10am dismissal)

Happy May, Middle School Families!

This last month of school is jam-packed with end-of-the-year activities. Coming up this Thursday, May 9th is May Crowning. As tradition, May Crowning is a required for all students except kindergarten. The 8th graders are in charge of leading the service while the rest of the grades join in leading the rosary. Whole school practice for this event will happen this Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday in preparation for it. Grades 1-7 will need to be at school half an hour before start time wearing their Sunday best.

5th & 6th Grade Language Arts 

We’re just about finished with Hatchet! This week will be dedicated to review and the test on Thursday. All 5th and 6th grade students will take the test during Thursday’s writing lab class. This will be our last novel study unit, so students will be expected to have their own silent reading novel for the remainder of the year. Our last reading unit that will start next week for 5th graders will be informational text and text features. 6th grade’s unit will be shorter and will begin after camp. We will end the year with fairy tales and legends during the last week of school.

7th Grade Language Arts

We’ve finished The House on Mango Street and will be moving into Seedfolks this week. In addition, the remainder of the year will be focused on on-demand argument writing.

8th Grade

Portfolios are two and a half weeks away! Early this week, students will be signing up for their presentation time (15 minutes). Once students have signed up, we will send out a parent sign-up for you and any other family/friends who will be attending. Students will be working on putting their binder together in class this week and their board next week. Students will need to provide their own materials for these last parts of the project. Please take a look at the project instructions on Google Classroom for more information. You can also see last year’s 8th grade presentations on the school’s website. Please also continue to upload or help your child upload photos to the Portfolio slideshow website, as we will be putting the slideshows together this week and next. This can be done at home. Expect emails throughout the week regarding May Crowning information.

Looking Ahead

Week of May 6: STAR Math

Week of May 6: Teacher Appreciation Week

Wednesday, May 8: Early Dismissal

Thursday, May 9: May Crowning 

Saturday, May 11: Gala

Week of May 13: 6th Grade Camp

Friday, May 17: Teacher Experience (5-7pm)

Saturday, May 18: 5:30 pm 1st Grade Mass

Friday, May 24: 8th Grade Portfolio Presentations

Monday, May 27: No School (Memorial Day)

Friday, May 31: Catholic School’s Night @ Petco Park

Monday, June 3: 8th Grade Retreat (8:30 – 12:00 at Dixon Lake) & Parent vs. 8th Grade Games/Potluck (1:00 – 2:45)

Tuesday, June 4: 8th Grade Dinner @ 5:30pm (8th grade’s last day of school)

Wednesday, June 5: 4pm Graduation; Early Dismissal 

Thursday, June 6: End of the Year Parties; Early Dismissal

Friday, June 7: Last Day of School! (10am dismissal) 

Greetings, Middle School Families!

Spring Break is just around the corner! We also have some exciting things coming up at the end of this week leading up to Easter. On Thursday, 4/18, the 5th graders will be putting on the Washing of the Feet prayer service at 8:30am. All parents and family members are welcome to attend, especially if your child is playing the role of a disciple. On Friday, 4/19, the 7th and 8th graders will be putting on Living Stations of the Cross. All parents and family members are encouraged to attend! This will begin promptly at 10:00am. Students may go home with their parents right after Stations. If you take your child home early, please make sure you go to your child’s classroom and checkout with the homeroom teacher. Finally, progress reports will be ready for you to print and sign tomorrow after school, Wednesday, 4/17. Please sign and return them by Friday.

Spring Break – 5th & 6th Language Arts

Students will have 2 chapters assigned to read over the break. The reading will be assigned to 5th grade tomorrow and to 6th grade on Thursday so students can finish it at the end of this week so they don’t need to do it during vacation time.

Spring Break – 7th & 8th Language Arts

Students will finish The House on Mango Street this Thursday, so no reading will be assigned over break! However, students are encouraged to read their own book during the vacation.

8th Grade Portfolios & May Crowning 

We’re getting closer to 8th Grade’s big events! On Google Classroom you will see a document with the instructions and due dates for all components of the Portfolio. Over the break, please take some time to look through pictures to upload to the Portfolio Slideshow link provided by Mr. Adriano. Students will begin putting the slideshow together when we return from break. Next up is the optional May Crowning essay for 8th grade girls. Mrs. Montijo will be doing this with the 8th graders. Please see Mrs. Montijo’s email regarding the required dress for May Crowning.

Looking Ahead:

Wednesday, April 17: Progress reports go out

Thursday, April 18: 8:30am Washing of the Feet

Friday, April 19th: Progress reports due back to homeroom teachers – signed

Friday, April 19th: 10:00am Living Stations; Early Dismissal, NO EXTENSION

April 20 – April 28 EASTER BREAK, NO SCHOOL

Week of April 29: STAR Reading & Spirit Week

Friday, May 3: Early Dismissal

Saturday, May 4: 2nd Grade First Holy Communion (10am)

Week of May 6: STAR Math

Week of May 6: Teacher Appreciation Week

Thursday, May 9: May Crowning in the evening (8th graders arrive early in formal wear)

Saturday, May 11: Gala

Greetings, Middle School Families!

Tomorrow (Monday, April 8th) is Spring Picture Day. Students may come to school wearing free dress for pictures! All students will be taking these photos, but it is entirely optional to purchase them.

5th & 6th Language Arts

Our Hatchet unit is a little more than halfway through. As usual, students will have reading homework just about every night to prepare for the next day’s novel study lesson. There will be a quiz Wednesday for 6th graders and Friday for 5th graders. This week, students are working on revising the rough draft of their “You Should Try…” opinion writing in Writing Lab, and the revised second draft will be due Monday of next week. The final polished copy will be submitted to Google Classroom on Thursday after a second round of revising next week. After this writing unit, students will be practicing on-demand writing, followed by a research and debate unit at the end of the year.

7th & 8th Language Arts

Students will begin the short House on Mango Street part of the next unit this week! We will complete this short collection of vignettes right before Spring Break. There will only be a total of 4 novel study rotation class periods for this The House on Mango Street. Students will have a comprehension bookmark and response booklet that goes with it. In Writing Lab, the rough draft of the Night essay is due this Monday followed by a revision station workshop. Due to the Engineering Fair, I have extended the due date of the final draft to next Thursday, April 18. That means students will have one extra day in Writing Lab to revise, ask questions, and get help.

8th Grade Portfolios & May Crowning 

We’re getting closer to 8th Grade’s big events! Coming up first is the first (rough) draft of the Portfolio S.L.E. essay. This is due next Monday, April 15. This essay was assigned in late February and students have had several days of class time to get started on this. They also completed the outline for it back in March. On Google Classroom you will also see a document with the instructions and due dates for all components of the Portfolio, which we will go over in detail this Monday. Next up is the May Crowning essay for 8th grade girls. Mrs. Montijo will be doing this with the 8th graders. Mrs. Montijo will also be giving you the information regarding crowns. Please continue to look for and upload pictures of your child for the Portfolio slide show. Also, please check in with your student regarding his/her Portfolio song to make sure he/she has chosen one. For 8th graders, May’s language arts classes will primarily be dedicated to Portfolios.

Looking Ahead:

Monday, April 8: Spring Pictures – Free dress for students

Wednesday, April 10: Early Dismissal

Thursday, April 11: Engineering Fair

Wednesday, April 17: Progress reports go out

Thursday, April 18: Team Day

Friday, April 19th: Progress reports due back to homeroom teachers – signed

Friday, April 19: 9:30am Washing of the Feet; Early Dismissal, NO EXTENSION

April 20 – April 28 EASTER BREAK, NO SCHOOL

Week of April 28: STAR Reading

Friday, May 3: Early Dismissal

Saturday, May 4: 2nd Grade First Holy Communion (10am)

Week of May 6: STAR Math

Week of May 6: Teacher Appreciation Week

Thursday, May 9: May Crowning in the evening (8th graders arrive early in formalwear)

Saturday, May 11: Gala

Happy April, Middle School Families!

We’re only about 2 months away from the end of the year – WOW! Time flies! We still have a lot to do in these next 2 months, then summer will be here before we know it.

5th & 6th Language Arts 

Our Hatchet unit is well on its way. As usual, students will have reading homework just about every night to prepare for the next day’s novel study lesson. We started opinion writing in Writing Lab last Thursday, and will continue this until just before Easter. The topic of this essay is “You Should Try…” where students will persuade others to try something new. The rough draft will be due this Thursday for an individual and peer revising workshop. As usual, this will be done in Writing Lab.

7th & 8th Language Arts

The Night unit is just about complete, with the test coming early this week. Students have already completed the study guide. In addition, students are still creating an Architect of Peace poster. The research was done in class, but the poster creation will need to be done at home. It is due this Friday. They are starting the essay on Monday, and class time this week will be dedicated to argumentative essay writing. Our next unit which includes Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street and Paul Fleischman’s Seedfolks will begin early next week. To prepare, students will be doing a Where Your Name Came From activity on Thursday.

Looking Ahead:

Friday, April 5: Early Dismissal

Sunday, April 7: 5:30pm 2nd Grade Mass

Wednesday, April 10: Early Dismissal

Thursday, April 11: Engineering Fair

Wednesday, April 17: Progress reports go out

Thursday, April 18: Team Day

Friday, April 19: 9:30am Washing of the Feet; Early Dismissal, NO EXTENSION

April 20 – April 28 EASTER BREAK, NO SCHOOL

Happy Spring, Middle School Families!

We had a great WCEA visit last week! The accreditation team was impressed with our school, and gave a special shout out to our students!

5th & 6th Language Arts 

Our Hatchet unit is well on its way. As usual, students will have reading homework just about every night to prepare for the next day’s novel study lesson. We will be starting a new writing project at the end of the week: opinion writing. This will be done in Writing Lab. Please note that there is no spelling homework or test this week! Students have a break due to our short week.

7th & 8th Language Arts

We’re just about done with Elie Wiesel’s Night! This was an emotional read for all of us, but it was also eye opening and insightful. The Night test will be next Monday for 8th graders and next Tuesday for 7th graders. In addition, students are creating an Architect of Peace poster. The research was done in class, but the poster creation will need to be done at home. It is due on April 5. In addition, the essay for this unit will be assigned next Monday, but it will be written primarily in class during Writing Lab. The next novel unit includes 2 books: Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street and Paul Fleischman’s Seedfolks. Both are short novellas.

Looking Ahead:

Wednesday, March 27: All school Reconciliation after Mass

Friday, March 29: No School

Friday, April 5: Early Dismissal

Sunday, April 7: 5:30pm 2nd Grade Mass

Wednesday, April 10: Early Dismissal

Thursday, April 11: Engineering Fair

Wednesday, April 17: Progress reports go out

Thursday, April 18: Team Day

Friday, April 19: 9:30am Washing of the Feet; Early Dismissal, NO EXTENSION

April 20 – April 28 EASTER BREAK, NO SCHOOL

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Middle School Families!

WCEA comes this week! They’ll be on campus from Tuesday through Thursday, and we’re eager to share with them all the new changes to our school.

5/6 Language Arts 

We’re a few chapters into our Hatchet novel study unit in which we are focusing on the hero’s journey. Expect students to have reading to do at home during this unit. 6th grade also has a vocabulary assignment for each chapter, and additional homework for both grades may be unfinished classwork. Both 5th and 6th graders will have a Hatchet quiz on Friday.

7/8 Language Arts 

We’re just over halfway through our Night Holocaust novel study unit. Students have a close reading bookmark assignment that goes with each chapter. This week, students will begin doing research on a advocate for peace. The novel study will be completed within the next week and a half, and then students will begin their Night argumentative essay.

Looking Ahead:

Monday, March 18: Please return signed report card envelopes this week

March 19-21 WASC/WCEA visit

Thursday, March 21: Early Dismissal

Friday, March 29: No School

Friday, April 5: Early Dismissal

Sunday, April 7: 5:30pm 2nd Grade Mass

Wednesday, April 10: Early Dismissal

Thursday, April 11: Engineering Fair

Wednesday, April 17: Progress reports go out

Thursday, April 18: Team Day

Friday, April 19: 9:30am Washing of the Feet; Early Dismissal, NO EXTENSION

April 20 – April 28 EASTER BREAK, NO SCHOOL

Happy March, Middle School Families!

The last day of the second trimester is this Wednesday, March 6th! After that day, all teachers will be updating and finalizing grades for report cards the following week. They will come home on Friday, March 15th.

5th & 6th Language Arts 

Students are finishing up their expository essays in writing lab. Most of this is done in class, but your child may have to finish editing and submit at home later in the week if they don’t finish in class. 6th grade will begin our Hatchet unit on Monday! This unit theme is Courage Requires Fortitude, and we will be studying the novel as a heroic journey. I am aware that several students have read this novel in the past, but please encourage them to still keep up with the reading. You always find out more the second time you read something! 5th grade will begin this unit next Tuesday.  The 5th grade View from Saturday test is this Friday.

7th & 8th Language Arts 

Students have begun the next novel study on Elie Wiesel’s powerful Holocaust memoir, Night. To begin the unit, students are conducting a short group research biography on a teenage Holocaust survivor, and are also in the middle of a 4-Corners debate. Both activities will be finished up by the end of this week. To preview the novel, please be aware that it is incredibly emotional and at times graphic. The diocese-recommended Character Based Literacy Program that I use describes it as a novel that “is sometimes hard to read, but presents an important picture of what happened in Nazi Germany.” During the novel study, students will have a chance to explore The Architects of Peace project on the Santa Clara University website. You can take a look at it here: https://legacy.scu.edu/ethics/architects-of-peace/ . For homework, students will have nightly reading, annotating, and vocabulary just like the last novel study. This time, the vocab will be given to them as a bookmark and they will not need Google Classroom for it.

Recycling Art Project

This Thursday is the LAST DAY students will have to complete the project at school. Projects are due no later than Monday, March 11th. Representatives will be at the school picking up the projects for the competition the following morning.

8th Grade Portfolios & May Crowning

Our deep dive into portfolio work will begin this Friday! We have just over 2.5 months to go. Save the date for Friday, May 24th for presentations. We’ll have specific time slots about a month before the presentations. Be sure to keep uploading photos to the website provided by Mr. Adriano! While this is the last major component of the project, it does take some time to gather photos. They can be from anywhere and any time in your child’s life. May Crowning information will be coming your way soon. Mrs. Montijo will be doing the majority of May Crowning preparation with the 8th graders this year. I am aware that some of our girls have already started looking for dresses, and that’s great! Keep in mind the dress requirements: must be long, spring colors, modest neck line, and shoulders must be covered. We no longer require girls to wear the white satin jackets that were worn in the past. Instead, girls may find their own shawl or cardigan if the dress does not cover their shoulders.

Looking Ahead

Wednesday, March 6: Ash Wednesday

Wednesday, March 6: End of Trimester 2

Saturday, March 9: Change your clocks to spring forward tonight!

Sunday, March 10: 3rd Grade Mass (5:30pm)

Wednesday, March 13: Early Dismissal

Thursday, March 14: Team Day (jeans!)

Friday, March 15: Report cards go home

March 19-21 WASC/WCEA visit

Thursday, March 21: Early Dismissal

Friday, March 29: No School

Greetings, Middle School Families!

We’re about to finish up our current units in all language arts classes.

5/6 Language Arts 

6th grade has finished The View from Saturday and the final assessment is this Thursday. Students will receive the study guide on Monday. 5th graders will finish the novel this week, and will have their final assessment Wednesday. Second drafts of expository essays are due Monday, and the final draft will be due next week. Additionally, we’ll be starting our unit on Hatchet next week as well! This is a novel that some of our students have already read before, but are still excited to read again. It has a reputation of quickly becoming a favorite among 5th and 6th graders.

7/8 Language Arts 

Our unit on To Kill a Mockingbird is done! Students are submitting their Maycomb County newspapers on Monday, and we’ll finish watching the movie as well. This week, students will do a few pre-reading activities to prepare for our next unit on Elie Wiesel’s Holocaust memoir, Night. Similar to To Kill a Mockingbird, Night tackles some tough but important issues. Be willing to discuss these issues with your child over the next few weeks.

Washington, D.C. Trip 

Our deadline to register has been extended to this Friday, March 1st! If you haven’t already signed up, there is still time! Go to worldstrides.com/register and enter our trip ID: 1711992.

8th Grade Portfolios

Please continue to help your child find and upload pictures to the link provided by Mr. Adriano for the slide show. This will be one of the last (and most fun!) components of the portfolio process, but it is best to start locating photos now.

Looking Ahead

Friday, March 1: Early Dismissal

Wednesday, March 6: Ash Wednesday

Wednesday, March 6: End of Trimester 2

Sunday, March 10: 3rd Grade Mass (5:30pm)

Wednesday, March 13: Early Dismissal

Thursday, March 14: Team Day (jeans!)

Friday, March 15: Report cards go home

March 19-21 WASC/WCEA visit

Thursday, March 21: Early Dismissal

Friday, March 29: No School

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Washington, D.C. trip meeting is THIS TUESDAY, February 12th at 6:oopm in room 9! This meeting is open to all 6th and 7th grade families. We hope to see you there!

5th & 6th Grade Language Arts 

We’re just about ready to finish up The View from Saturday! We’ll wrap up this unit next week, and the test will be the week after (week of the 25th). In addition, students are writing their rough drafts of their expository essays. The peer workshop for the first draft is this Thursday.

7th & 8th Grade Language Arts 

We’ve finished To Kill a Mockingbird! This week, we’ll wrap it up by talking about themes and instances of “otherness” before the test next week. The newspaper project that students have been working on since last week is due the following week. Our next unit, which we will begin late next week, is on Eli Wiesel’s Hollocaust novel, Night.

8th Grade Portfolios

The 8th grade portfolio SLE essay was assigned this past Friday. I assigned it early so students have time to gather evidence to use for it. The first part of the essay, an outline, is due at the beginning of March. Students and families should also be looking through and uploading photos to the link provided by Mr. Adriano. These photos are for the end-of-presentation slide show that each 8th grader will present. This is the fun part!

Looking Ahead:

Washington, D.C. Meeting: Tuesday, 2/12  (6:00pm)

Early Dismissal: Wednesday, 2/13

Valentine’s Day: Thursday, 2/14 (7th/8th grade cookie decorating party at 2pm)

No School – President’s Day: Monday, 2/18

WCEA visitors on campus – Tuesday, 2/19

Parent STEM Night: Wednesday, 2/20 (5:00pm)

4th Grade Mass: Saturday, 2/23 (5:30pm)