In religion class the students are finishing up a unit on all religions in connection with out Diversity and Inclusion work with projects on religious holidays from religions other than their own.
Here is a look behind the scenes:
Literature
The students finished reading Piecing Me Together while virtual and are now working in rotating partner sets to eventually create a whole class project. Stay tuned.
Story Time
The first day back to in-person school, the students reported that it felt strange, and they would need some time to recover from virtual school. When asked what they think would help them recover, they said just talking with each other, telling stories. So at their request, homeroom in the morning is spent telling stories. They are silly stories, and they are right. Just sitting and talking, laughing, joking, and being silly together has seemed to help them retrieve a previous animation. What clever children.
7th Grade has started Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson. The are currently working on figures of speech and imagery, forced compression exercises, comprehension skills, and analytical skills. Further into the book they will be focusing on theme and conflict.
We are celebrating all religions as a school this month.
7th grade just finished up a unit on Buddhism and has moved into a unit on Hinduism.
November 6, 2020
Parents - please fill out Pick Up patrol every morning, even if your child will not be attending school that day.
As part of initiatives to keep our students well, we ask that snacks and lunches contain minimal sugar. Students may not bring SODA to school.
The STEAM Lab is cold. Students are encouraged to have HCA sweatshirt or blazers over their uniforms on STEAM days.
Happy Halloween! Although our annual Mission Party looks a bit different this year, we had such a fun time carrying on one of our favorite HCA traditions! This year, our Mission Party benefitted our service partners. The seventh-grade service partners are Hub of Hope and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Throughout the year, the students will work on projects such as sandwich-making to assist those experiencing homelessness. Thank you for your contributions to our service work!
Check out our creative seventh-grade costumes and we wish you a safe and enjoyable Halloween!
Molly as Coraline
Sophia as Wybie from Coraline
Andrew, our sailor, as himself
Zayda as a ghostbuster
Tyler in Halloween orange and black
Brayden as Jason from Friday the 13th
Janiyah as Cleopatra Sister #1
Zoe as Cleopatra Sister #2
Matty as a zombie baseball player
Tom as Michael Myers from Halloween
Friday, October 30
Winter Uniform begins on Monday, November 2nd
November is All Religions month at HCA. If you or someone you know would be willing to share with a class, a division, or multiple groups either in person, via zoom, or through a pre recorded clip, please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com , and we will make it as easy as possible.
Looking forward, December is All Families month, and January is Native Heritage month. Please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com if you have any ideas.
On Tuesday Acting without Boundaries gave a presentation as part of our All Abilities Month celebration. The student learned about the program and how it gives people with all abilities the chance to own the spotlight with solos and leading roles in full feature plays.
They also participate in some exercises to demonstrate
some of the frustrations that may come with certain disabilities,
and how that knowledge should guide their actions and reactions.
Finally they got to speak at length with some of the actors at Acting without Boundaries
regarding their experience on stage and in the program.
The Zoom call was such a wonderful experience for our students
to engage with people in a meaningful way about a shared experience.
Another All Abilities Assembly
Last week the students attended a presentation by Simon Bonenfant
where he shared with us how he navigates the world without the sense of sight.
He shared how he reads
and how his braille books take up way more space on the book shelf.
How he uses some old technology...
... some new technology...
... and the incredible speed at which he has trained himself to hear audio
so he can navigate the internet and absorb text.
Simon is an experienced presenter who has been part of many effort to educate
companies, organizations, museums, and schools
on how to make the world more accessible for people with all abilities.
We are incredibly fortunate to have had him present to our children.
The Outsiders
On Friday of last week (after the blog was due),
the 7th grade worked in partners
on an Escape the Room
that tested their reading comprehension
as well as collaboration, deductive reasoning, and critical thinking skills.
The best time went to Z and T.
However, I am happy to report that they all escaped before recess time.
Some only by 30 seconds.
Characterization Projects
Math Games
Vocabulary
Subjugate
Fortify
Alien
(you have to Zoom in on the iPad to get the full skit here)
