LANGUAGE ARTS AND HISTORY:

Last week, as a final project for The Giver novel study, seventh graders designed and presented their own utopias to parents and the 6th grade class. Each student was tasked with developing an ideal community that included all the essential components of any modern society-- government, education, family, jobs, transportation, environment, and technology, et al. They also had to create a map and flag representing their community. What excellent work was produced by all students! Serious thought went into the designs-- we had a water-based community built on a lake, a biome-dominated world, and a community built on a terraformed Jupiter. I loved the creativity each student displayed; the end product reflected their own interests. This is part of the St. James education-- we can truly focus on individualized learning!

MATH AND SCIENCE:

Ft. Worth Regional Science Olympiad

The Spartan Science Olympiad team traveled to Ft. Worth to compete in one of the ten Texas Science Olympiad Regional tournaments. There are over 100 teams in Texas competing at these Regional tournaments for 30 spots at the State tournament. Our team placed 2nd overall at our Regional, so we are eagerly awaiting a notification to see if we advanced to the State level...This would be an incredible feat for a first-year team!

1st Place Events:

Density Lab (Chris & Jonah)

Dynamic Planet (Chris & Nick)

Write It Do It (Annabelle & Molly)

2nd Place Events:

Boomilever (Dylan & Morgan)

Herpetology (Chris & Ayres)

3rd Place Events:

Fossils (Jonah & Morgan)

Thermodynamics (Annabelle & Nick)

MATH AND SCIENCE:

ONE SMALL STEP…ONE GIANT LEAP

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. ~John F. Kennedy, 1962

It’s difficult for our kids to imagine what it was like before the lunar landing, to imagine a time when going to the moon was one of the greatest challenges set before our nation. We spent some time reflecting on the greatness of landing on the moon by looking both to the past, as well as to the future. What future? What is our “next giant leap”? Mars!

The middle school took our learning out of this world by diving in to a multi-grade investigation of the solar system. Fifth grade stayed somewhat close to home with their research of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Sixth grade traveled far and wide as they studied the other planets and moons of our solar system, including the dwarf planets (can we please bring Pluto back?). Seventh grade took a deep look into what it would take for humans to live on Mars. Each student and grade shared their findings with one another in whatever manner they found most effective and engaging. We had great fun learning, as the students became the teachers.

LANGUAGE ARTS AND HISTORY:

In History, the 7th graders have been studying Mesoamerica. After trying spiced hot chocolate in our Aztec study last week, this week students demonstrated their knowledge of geography through landscapes of the Inca empire. Each student was given a large piece of paper and asked to review their notes and represent the effects of geography on Inca culture. Their work turned out beautifully and each shows how the Andes Mountains was a central part of Inca life.

Seventh grade is completing its study of feudal Japan this week and preparing for a unit test. Having studied the European feudal system in 6th grade, the students have grasped the hierarchy well. Our study has also included learning about the fascinating samurais, whose bravery captured the boys’ attention. This week, they read about the changes to Japanese society as Japan resisted, then welcomed, and then again resisted foreigners. The students created a short summary of the chapter on the board, which they then transferred onto a Google document for studying. Summarizing is an excellent tool to show how well you understand a concept. To review their knowledge in a different format, students finished the class with a Kahoot game-- always a fun way to test yourself!

MATH AND SCIENCE:

Science Olympiad

Our middle school Science Olympiad team traveled to Ruston, Louisiana, to compete in their first invitational tournament. According to www.soinc.org, “Founded in 1984, Science Olympiad is one of the premier science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to nearly 8,000 teams in all 50 states.” Our students rose to the challenge and brought home a 2nd place overall team trophy. We also had 7 first place finishes, 13 second place events, and 3 who come in third. The 23 events span all aspects of science, technology and engineering. Great job, team!

1st Place Events:

Disease Detectives (Chris & Molly)

Dynamic Planet (Chris & Nick)

Fossils (Jonah & Ayres)

Potions & Poisons (Molly & Elle)

Thermodynamics (Nick & Annabelle)

Water Quality (Dawson & Kennley)

Write It Do It (Annabelle & Molly)

2nd Place Events:

Anatomy & Physiology (Emma & Charlie)

Battery Buggy (Charlie)

Crime Busters (Dawson & Kennley)

Density Lab (Staten & Jonah)

Elastic Launched Glider (Dawson & Nick)

Experimental Design (Elle & Annabelle)

Game On (Chris & Elle)

Herpetology (Chris & Ayres)

Meteorology (Jon & Staten)

Mystery Architecture (Kennley & Emma)

Road Scholar (Ayres & Jonah)

Roller Coaster (Nick & Emma)

Solar System (Dawson & Jon)
3rd Place Events:

Boomilever (Staten & Jon)

Circuit Lab (Charlie & Jon)

Heredity (Dawson & Charlie)

MATH AND SCIENCE:

Building Stax

The seventh graders are learning about saving and investing along with their study of rational number arithmetic. They will meet with a couple of financial advisors in conjunction with their research project. This week they fell in love the the simulation Building Stax by Next Gen Personal Finance. According to NGPF, STAX “teaches students how to invest using an engaging, fast-paced game in which students will make 20 years of investment decisions in....20 minutes. They will choose among stocks, bonds and index funds while also learning about the importance of having an emergency fund as ‘life happens’ to them in this simulation.”

LANGUAGE ARTS AND HISTORY:

This post is not flashy, but it is important as it reflects our daily practice of reading. At the beginning, or occasionally, the end of each Language Arts class, we set aside ten minutes to read. We actually do this in my other classes, too-- in 6th, we end the day with a read-aloud, and in 5th, students read individually for 10 minutes. Reading for pleasure holds immense value. The key to this practice is allowing student choice. Students may read any book, from our current class novel to a graphic novel that they can finish in an hour. Regardless of the title, reading a book of your choice fosters not only independence and validation of your interests, but it also enriches your life by opening you to new ideas. Students can learn so much that they can apply to their daily life--empathy with characters, appreciation of their own circumstances, knowledge about a historical era. Reading also exposes students to new and familiar vocabulary, reinforces literary elements of theme, mood, tone, imagery, etc. The list is endless. In these photos, two 7th graders read graphic novels and one reads a realistic fiction book by a well-known middle-grade author. Although I’m not in the photos, I am reading, too, to model good practice for my students. When the timer goes off, it is often unwelcome. As much as I don’t want to, I sometimes have to close students’ books! Afterward, we talk a bit about our books and recommend them to each other. These minutes represent a gift to ourselves to quiet our brains and absorb ourselves in another world.  

LANGUAGE ARTS AND HISTORY:

Seventh grade has been studying the imperative case for verbs in Latin. This case is used when making a command. You merely remove the last two letters of the infinitive for a singular command and when giving a command for more than one person, you add “te” to the singular stem. To reinforce the purpose of the imperative, the students practiced giving commands to the 5th grade class to determine if they were using the right form (and if the 5th grade heeded their words!).

MATH AND SCIENCE:

Aquaponics in the Classroom

Life science has truly come to life in 7th grade at St. James Day School! Thanks to a generous grant from the Junior League of Texarkana, our students gained the opportunity to build an aquaponic ecosystem in the classroom. Aquaponics combines aquaculture (raising fish) with hydroponics (gardening without soil). The waste from the fish fertilizes the plants, and the plants purify the water, creating a symbiotic relationship once equilibrium is achieved. The students first researched the best model for classroom use and then consulted with a representative from the AquaSprouts company to learn how to successfully start and maintain their system. We have also made several trips to our local pet store, DogPatch Pet Shop, to learn from owner Lawrence Braswell how to properly care for our fish.

It has been a labor of love for these students, and they have spent countless hours researching and cultivating their aquaponic system. Their learning extends beyond the school day into evening hours, weekends, and holiday breaks. They have become intimately familiar with the nitrogen cycle and how essential nitrifying bacteria are to the health of their system. They have learned the hard way how a spike in ammonia can negatively impact the life of their system, and they are careful to test and treat their water chemistry on a regular basis.

Not only do they care for their system on a macroscale, observing and nurturing visible growth and vitality, but they also study the microscopic components of the plants and water. It was an exciting moment when they successfully identified under a microscope the cell wall and chloroplasts in the leaves of plants they had grown themselves. It is one thing to see diagrams of cell structures in a textbook or website, but seeing these components in real life is much more impactful. Every day presents new opportunities for meaningful learning in seventh grade!