St. Mary's Middle School Newsletter
December 15th, 2023
Dear Middle School Families,
The moments we've shared in our classrooms and halls have been filled with such joy and festive spirit as we approach Christmas! From the enchanting Christmas tree lighting to the heartwarming Christmas pageant, St. Mary's has been absolutely adorned with the spirit of the season. Our 6th grade student, Livia, showcased her great talent playing the cello at the Christmas pageant. We celebrated our last day before break with a Christmas party (with hot cocoa, marshmallows, and ice cream sundaes) and "The Grinch" movie, and then transitioned into our student council assembly where middle school students gave speeches to run for positions in the student council. The air was filled with excitement on this last day before Christmas break as we bid farewell to the year and treasure its memories. We are so proud of our students and we eagerly anticipate the new adventures that await us in the coming year.
The middle school students had a wonderfully festive time with hot cocoa at St. Mary's Christmas tree lighting last week.
Mr. Antonacci has been teaching the middle school boys how to spin a basketball on a pencil during lunch!
Congratulations to Skyler Montgomery, our new middle school President (pictured on the right), and also to our three middle school council members, Emilia Maciejuk (8th grade), Brandon Lopez (7th grade), and Kennedy McConnell (6th grade).
In Kennedy's speech, she selflessly noted that "there is no wrong choice" as each candidate is a "great choice for your student council." Her magnanimity helped win her a position in the student council!
The 6th graders recently gave presentations after researching "The Great Depression" in order to understand the setting of our new novel, "Where the Red Fern Grows."
Ms. Allen and Fr. Jonathan pose with some middle schoolers before setting off for Christmas caroling!
- In 6th grade ELA, our students have been reading "Where the Red Fern Grows," a story of a boy with his dogs in the 1930's, where we learn of friendship, devotion, and sacrifice. Students prepared presentations on "The Great Depression" in order to better understand the setting of our novel. We practiced the proper usage of plural and singular possessive nouns in grammar, and continued to practice spelling, handwriting, and vocabulary.
- In Math, the 6th graders have been solidifying their understanding of expressions, equations and inequalities the last few weeks. Students can now write a mathematical inequality to describe everyday situations, such as “The medicine must be stored at a temperature lower than 70 degrees.” The mathematical notation for writing inequalities serves as a foundation for difficult math concepts in their future math courses. When the students arrive at school in January feeling rested, they will be ready to embark on the next pillar of 6th grade math: ratios and proportion systems.
- In 6th grade Social Studies, students have been learning about the Egyptian Pantheon of gods. They were able to create their own museum exhibits by making clay models of their assigned god and a museum plaque to go with it!
- In Religion class, the 6th graders are learning how to interpret Scripture through discovering the senses of Scripture. The literal sense is the meaning of the words of Scripture discovered by study of the text. The spiritual sense allows us to understand that the events the text describes (for example, the Flood) are signs of our Faith. We're also learning how the Old and New Testaments form an organic unity, naturally fitting together and helping us understand the other: the New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.
- In 6th grade Earth Science, we recently finished our unit on Rocks and Minerals. For their final project, students completed an infographic on their rock, mineral or gem of choice. Some of the graphics were on Pyrite, Amethyst and Geodes.
Our morning "to-do" last week was to take a few minutes to watch the first snowfall together. We were in such awe and wonderment over the beauty of God's creation!
In their Great Depression research presentation, Adira and Livia instructed the class on how "Depression Cake" was eaten in the 1930's as it used inexpensive ingredients.
- In 7th grade ELA, our students have continued their reading of "The Hiding Place." In our Found Poetry activity, the 7th graders composed beautiful poems based on the themes of our novel about Corrie ten Boom's experience during the Holocaust. In grammar, we've been practicing how to identify transitive versus intransitive verbs with direct versus indirect objects.
- In 7th grade, our recent Math lesson focused on fractions, decimals, and percentages, building on our previous unit on equivalent proportions and ratios. Students learned how these numerical forms can be converted from one form to the next while maintaining an equivalent value. Students also learned multiple conversion methods, allowing them to check their answers and bolster their understanding of the connection between these forms and proportions.
- In Social Studies class, the 7th grade most recently started their unit on Greece. Students completed a map of Greece to get a better understanding of the region. Also, they took a deep dive into the earliest settlers of the Balkan Peninsula, the Minoans and Mycenaeans.
- In Religion class, students are learning about friendships. From the time of creation, human persons were established in friendship with God. Students are understanding that we are made in God's image and likeness, which calls us to be in communion with one another, and that friendship is necessary for us as persons. Friendship is experienced in different ways throughout our lives but should always lead us closer to Christ.
- In 7th grade Science, students completed their nutrition and macronutrient unit. They investigated the building blocks of these macronutrients, such as amino and fatty acids and how differing food sources can provided these nutrients. Moreover, they learned about the differences between unsaturated, saturated, and trans fats and their varying effects on the mitochondrial and cardiovascular function.
- In 8th grade ELA, after finishing their final drafts on the "To Kill A Mockingbird" end-of-book essay, the students have begun their short unit on "The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe," eager to explore its themes and symbolism, and learn about its prodigious author, C.S. Lewis. In grammar, we've been practicing how to identify transitive versus intransitive verbs with direct versus indirect objects.
- In Math, the 8th graders delved into system of inequalities. After mastering the system of equations with one solution at the intersecting point, students learned about how the system of inequalities can have a range of answers, represented by the shaded regions on the graphs. In January, we will move into the system on inequalities, word problems, and applying these abstract concepts into real world scenarios.
- In 8th grade Social Studies, students have recently begun breaking down all articles of the constitution. This includes how our government is structured and will lead into understanding the Bill of Rights.
- In Religion class, students are learning about friendships. From the time of creation, human persons were established in friendship with God. Students are understanding that we are made in God's image and likeness, which calls us to be in communion with one another, and that friendship is necessary for us as persons. Friendship is experienced in different ways throughout our lives but should always lead us closer to Christ.
- In 8th grade Science, students presented their own periodic tables on chosen topics, testing their understanding of periodicity and trends that exist within the real periodic tables. Students then moved into subatomic particles learning about the ions, atomic mass, and isotopes of atoms. When we return from break, students will begin to explore the combination of these elements in molecules and the different bonds that hold these atoms together.
Mr. Nguyen came in to help lead Christmas caroling for the middle school. After teaching a math lesson, he led the 7th & 8th grade students in a caroling practice.
It was such a blessing to bring the Christmas spirit to the Brookline community through joyous song.
