February 1, 2012

To the Parents of St. Pius X Catholic School 5^th & 6^th Graders,

We’ve made it half-way! With Tuesday’s mid-trimester reports we mark the middle of the school year. We have accomplished many things and reached a number of our goals. Students have been learning traditional Catholic teachings in their study of Adam and Eve through Joseph and connecting them to moral choices we make today. They have done an awesome job with Mass readings and participation at First Friday Masses and in the choir. Last month the 6^th grade put on a presentation for the first Monday Morning Meeting of the year and challenged everyone to make resolutions around the Catholic identity SLEs. On Monday, February 6, the 5^th Grade will help us focus on service and Lent. They’ve been working hard and should really set us up for success.

Science has been a variety of challenging topics and strategies. Grades 6-8 now know how to measure the mass of an irregularly shaped object, know about force and motion and be preparing an example of a simple machine. These projects, along with their display board are due the 6^th of February and will also be saved for Sci-Ma-Tech. Their class experiments, computer research and text studies have given them a great foundation in physical science. For the 5^th grade, science has included the Scientific Method, means of analysis and experimentation and the Solar System. Their projects which displayed the solar system are great and will also be stored away for Sci-Ma-Tech.

Currently we have begun our study of the environment, with the team planting of terrariums. We are anxiously waiting for them to grow. We will also be using a text to study other environments.

Reading and writing skills are tied closely together. Language has been a mixture of grammar and writing skills. They should have a particularly good grasp of adjectives. Hopefully that will be demonstrated in their Catholic Daughters essays. Currently we are writing an essay to a particular form for the Catholic Daughters Essay contest. Students will also be writing a poem and may submit other works of their own choosing. We’ve generally done rather well and hopefully will again this year. Literature for both groups has been in a variety of genre. The skill of identifying the climax of the story as opposed to the conclusion has been of particular focus. Vocabulary is an important skill for both grades, both as related to their text and to specific vocabulary lessons. Spelling is an ongoing weekly assignment with usually one lesson per week. The spelling bee will be coming up soon.

            We will be attending a play in Everett on Valentines Day. Watch for upcoming information!!!

                                                                                                            Sincerely,

                                                                                                            Mrs. K. Kindell