Former WKU College Tennis Player and Parent Guest-Teaches PE
Evalds Jurans, a parent, came in for tennis lessons in PE! He spoke with the 5th grade about his journey playing tennis and how that brought him to the U.S with a full scholarship to play tennis at WKU. Evalds is from Latvia. The students asked great questions. Evalds also shared tennis nets, racquets, and balls to ensure every student played. Thank you, Mr. Jurans!
Jr. High Students Present Book Comparison Collaboration Projects
The 7th & 8th graders kicked off their final trimester of the year strongly with a Book Comparison Collaboration Project!
Over the course of 5 weeks, 7th graders read LIFE AS WE KNEW IT by Susan Beth Pfeffer while our 8th graders read the dead & the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Each week, both grades would come together to compare the plot, settings, characters, and character reactions to analyze the impact of these story elements on the reader's experience.
Once both grades finished their novels, 7th & 8th graders worked together to explore one of the story elements and its’ impact on the two stories more in-depth. In small groups of 2-3, students presented their analysis to both the 7th & 8th graders of their color groups in 3-5 minute presentations. They were able to collaborate to grow their skills in slide design, presentation preparation, reading analysis, and public speaking.
Way to go Junior High students for a successful start to trimester 3!
Kindergarten Students Celebrate 100th Day of Learning with Bowling
Annually, our Kindergarten students take a field trip to the local bowling lanes to celebrate 100 days of learning! They work to knock down 100 pins individually as they bowl, filling in circles to count as they play.
Prior to going to the bowling alley, they also enjoy a variety of centers focused on the number 100 - creating an art piece with the numbers 1-0-0 hidden within it, doing math centers focused on counting to 100, filling gumball jars with 100 gumballs, stacking 100 cups, and sharing 100 of their favorite things!
We were so glad to return to the bowling alley this year, as well as have parents join us for all of our fun 100 day centers!
The Eyrie Theatre's production of The Addams Family musical was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came out to see the show, including Fr. Eifler, the namesake of our Clifton Campus Theatre.
Special thanks to Doug Dreisbach and The Audience Group for our amazing playbills! https://bit.ly/3LfedE7
In honor of World Water Day and the continued work by so many around the world to help others get clean water, our Student Council and Y Club are partnering to collect new and gently used shoes for WaterStep. WaterStep, an international organization based here in Louisville, sells shoes to fund clean water initiative projects globally.
By March 30, Student Council and Y Club have a goal of collecting 300 pairs of new and gently used shoes. Please have your student drop off any donations your family may have in the collection bins in the Gathering Space on our St. Matthew's campus on their way into classes.
After school on March 30, students from Y Club and Student Council will sort all of our shoe donations by style, as well as rubber band them together to assist WaterStep. Questions about this project can be directed to Mrs. Davenport.
6th Graders Participate in Scavenger Hunt for Learning
Our 6th grade students are completing a scavenger hunt to learn about important Greeks today. They hunted for QR code clues around the Youth Center. Each clue was a question that linked to a website for students to learn about ancient leaders. They used their research to determine which leader matched each clue on their research worksheet.
As part of their unit on Ancient Greece, they will then categorize each person based on their contributions to society and create infographics on their chosen leader to share with their peers.
Recently in their science classes, 6th grade students researched, developed, and completed science labs with their peers. Explorations were based on a variety of science topics. Thank you, 6th graders, for sharing your ideas and learning with others!
This year, our students have enjoyed having technology class return to their regular Resource Day schedule! Ms. Barnes, an HT graduate, joined our faculty and staff as our technology teacher and has done a great job offering a variety of learning activities to our students.
During the Winter Olympics, our 5th and 6th grade students participated in the Dash Winter Olympics in Technology. Each country (small group) had to code their Dash robots to compete in an Olympic event. They programmed Dash to participate in Speed Skating and Curling. They continued the learning with a new Olympic Event each week and had a medal/award ceremony for the Countries that won the most events at the conclusion of the unit.
Earlier this year, all grade levels also participated in Hour of Code, with many lessons coming from the Hour of Code organization and website: https://hourofcode.com/us.
1st Graders Complete Study Unit on Bears with Fun Science Labs
Our first graders recently completed their unit on bears, exploring both polar bears and brown bears. Throughout the unit, they completed reading, science, and social studies activities related to bears around the world. The unit concluded with a fun science expansion lab to determine if they could “grow” gummy bears by adding water to them. They could! Other activities throughout the unit included hibernation reading during Flashlight Friday reading time, polar bear blubber activities, and science labs exploring how bears are able to hibernate, as well as why they need to hibernate.
Students Complete Finger Puppet Movie Trailers in Art-Music Collaboration
During the 2nd trimester, we saw many collaborations among teachers. One we especially loved was Mrs. Harrington (music/drama) and Ms. Given (art) combining ideas important to the fine arts for a Finger Puppet Movie Trailer project. Within virtual art classes on Wednesday, students created finger puppets. Then, they used those finger puppets to create a movie trailer for their virtual music classes.
Stories featured included The Five Billy Goats Gruff, The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and other traditional stories from years past. We loved seeing the creativity the students used in their own production of puppets, scenery, voice narration, and theatrical elements! Great work, students, and thank you, Mrs. Harrington and Ms. Given for this wonderful collaboration!