Regina Jr Sr High Newsletter
October 2023
From the Principal
The Catholic church dedicates the month of October to the Holy Rosary. We start the month with a Rosary prayer service on Wednesday. As a Catholic convert, I did not understand the importance of the Rosary for most of my life. Through my personal and communal experiences with the Rosary over the last 10+ years, the Rosary has proven to be both a powerful and calming way to pray with Mary to Jesus. Hallow has a great article on How to Pray the Rosary here.
I would like to remind parent of our new procedures for cell phones, smart watches, and earbuds. Students are to turn in these items at the start of each class. They can't retrieve them until class is over. This is to help keep students engaged in class and limit the distractions associated with these devices. The best way to reach your student for an immediate need is to contact the front office (319-338-5436). We will get the message to your student.
This month's newsletter includes:
- Silver Cord
- NHS pillow drive
- Yearbook information
- Spirit Store
- InQUIZition
- Department Updates
Yours in Christ,
Glenn Plummer
Upcoming Events
Our Activities Calendar can be found at https://www.rivervalleyconference.org/public/genie/628/school/9/.
Monthly Adoration
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054DAFA72CA75-eucharistic
InQuizition
15. The Old Testament prophet Jonah was sent by God to warn which of these cities:
- Tyre
- Sidon
- Nineveh
- Sodom
- Jericho
16. Which book is second only to Isaiah in number of times quoted in the New Testament?
- Psalms
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Daniel
- Obadiah
Math Club
Mondays 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm - Mrs. Carmichael's room (610) - 6th through 8th grade students
Wednesdays 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm - Mrs. Hill's room (609) - high school students
Fridays 7:30 am - 8:30 am - Mrs. Hill's room (609) - 6th through 12th grade students
There will be a High School Math League contest at West High on 1/21 (time to be determined).
Silver Cord
The Regina Silver Cord Program was created to encourage and recognize students for their service activities. These service activities, while helping the local community, also develop responsibility, citizenship, and leadership skills in the students involved with the program.
For students interested in receiving a silver cord at graduation they will need to collect at least 200 hours of volunteer service. Students should read the informational sheet on what the Silver Cord Program is. Once they have completed a volunteer service they can submit those hours on the Silver Cord Verification of Hours form.
Silver Cord Program Description
Department Updates
Business
Personal Finance
No matter the degree, no matter the job, we all need to know how our paycheck works. This week students are looking at and playing different roles in understanding the different parts to a paycheck. Why do we pay taxes? What are deductions (Required and Optional)? Students had the opportunity to put their math skills to the test in a speed round of Paycheck Scavenger hunt.
Senior Seminar
Welcome to National Application Month. This week we have started really looking at and diving into everything that is applications. From, Common App to Personal Statement we are doing our part to ensure students know what is expected of them for admissions into the college, military or trade school they wish to attend. Students are also in the process of creating/modifying a resume, writing our own personal statements and starting to work on college essays. Feel free to ask your student, where they stand in this process.
Computer Applications
Perhaps the most common task that students do on a day to day basis is google docs. The students are just wrapping up their introductory unit on google docs to help them not only in Computer Applications, but in every subject going forward. Once we test next week, we will then begin practicing our public speaking and presentation unit.
School Counselors
The year has been flying by. Highlights:
Mr. Moeller and Mr. Wirth took 24 Juniors and Seniors to the college fair at Kirkwood in September.
All AP students are registered for their AP exams. To date, we have 133 high school students who will be completing 210 AP exams or portfolios in May of 2024.
Job Shadows: 100% participation rate–all Sophomores and Seniors have registered for a Job Shadow experience this fall.
Mobile Crisis teams visited Regina a few times during September to do mental health check ins with all Seniors and Cross Country runners who wanted to participate.
Upcoming things to note:
PSAT--October 13th: Interested Sophomores and Juniors are invited to sign up in the high school office to register for the PSAT. The PSAT exam allows students a chance to practice their test taking skills. For Juniors, this is also the National Merit Scholarship qualifying test. More information to be sent out soon.
Spring U of Iowa courses are now open for enrollment for Juniors and Seniors. Students must meet with a UI advisor before October 23rd. Students should see their school counselor for the paperwork.
AP Exam Registration: If students would like to take an extra AP exam (other than those already registered), they should see Mrs. Zoulek for the join code to register by November 10th. This includes classes they plan to take only in Spring semester (i.e. AP Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Psychology) or want to test independently from taking a course (i.e. AP Spanish, Statistics). The cost of each exam is $98. See this link for the full list of AP Exams.
Freshman Field Trip: On October 24th, all Freshman will be going to the Career Inspire Event in Cedar Rapids to explore various careers in 6 of the main career clusters. More details to follow.
College/Career Representatives Visiting Regina During High School Lunch
Oct. 12–Cornell College
Oct. 27–Oberlin College
Oct. 30–Central College
Nov. 9–St. Johns University
Upcoming ACT and SAT registration deadlines:
Kirkwood CC College Fair
Kirkwood CC College Fair
Kirkwood CC College Fair
English
English 7 & ELA:
We’ll finish up The Giver and prepare for a test over the novel and vocabulary. In ELA, we are working on the various mechanics of sentence structure. In addition, we are writing a personal narrative.
ELA 8: In 8th grade, we are wrapping up our folklore unit with tall tales and ballads. We will listen to a couple of Bruce Springsteen songs as an introduction to the ballad. We will then begin a unit on horror and science fiction in October. The students are also finishing their final drafts of paragraphs that feature sensory details and figurative language.
English 9: The 9th grade classes will finish the Effective Reading unit the first week of October. They will move on to the Effective Writing unit which will span much of the remainder of the month. We will see how many of the students can wear away their fingertips!
English 10: The 10th grade classes will continue with the Effective Reading unit for the first two weeks of October. The key text that they will be analyzing is Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott. This will take the students on a fantastic journey of geometrical complexity. We will move on to the Effective Writing unit next wherein the students will work toward proficiency in their professional writing.
English 11: We’re finishing The Crucible, and by the end of the month will be covering the short stories of Washington Irving. In addition, we’ll enjoy the witty, forthright, and honest aphorisms of Ben Franklin, such as “a penny saved is a penny earned” and “lost time is never found again.”
English 12: We’re reading the medieval tale, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and will review the morality and ethics behind Sir Gawain’s choices. Next up is a quick foray into British Renaissance poetry before diving into Hamlet.
AP Language and Composition: We’re chugging along through our AP content, which includes rhetorical analysis and argument. We’ve been studying claims and evidence, which will lead us to logical fallacies detection, which we will pair with reading The Crucible.
AP Literature and Composition: We too are plowing through AP content, and are currently reading The Catcher in the Rye, in addition to short stories. We’ll turn our attention to writing literary analysis and continued test prep.
Albert: test-prep tool - vital tool to assist with ACT prep!
Albert is an online tool to help learners prepare for AP (Advanced Placement) and standardized tests, such as ACT. Albert includes over 20,000 questions, all with in-depth explanations and answers to help a learner solidify and retain their understanding of key concepts. Thousands of learners have used Albert and have increased their test scores, proving its effectiveness. Schools that adopted Albert saw an average of 13% increase in across-the-board test scores in their first year using it. The tool was piloted in 2021 and received positive reviews. Currently AP classes and Regina juniors have access to this tool. Here’s a link to check it out: albert
Intercession:
The new Board Games Club in Mr. Barnes’ Thursday Intercession is picking up speed. Currently the students are battling at the historical game of chess, but who knows what they will see as their next battleground!
P.E.
Performance PE: A huge percentage of our students take advantage of our beautiful weight room facility. Students are learning our core movements (Front squat, Trap Bar Deadlift, Push Jerk, Safety Bar Split Squat, and Bench Press) and the technique cues for each movement. Along with that students are learning speed drills, new plyometrics, and how to track their workout data. Shown is a Regina Student performing a Safety Squat Bar Reverse Lunge. This was a primary movement in the first 3 weeks of school.
Science
8th Grade Integrated Science - Mrs. Goldsmith
Labs in Science 8 this month included the Forms of Matter Lab (determining if oobleck is a solid or liquid), the Clay Boat Lab (determining how we can change the properties of a ball of clay to make it float--hint: it’s density!), and the Curds and Whey Lab (examining types of mixtures and physical vs chemical changes).
Biology - Mr. Staab
In September we finished our unit on Cells and will be moving into cellular functions. Students have had a chance to conduct labs learning about how cells break down toxic substances, how to test for different types of sugars, and looking at plant and animal cells.
Chemistry - Mrs. Goldsmith
Chemistry made exciting new substances during their Forming Ionic Compounds Lab! They were able to name and write the formulas of those new substances after learning about nomenclature in Chapter 4!
Physics - Mr. Staab
In physics we are finishing our review of velocity, vectors, and early year fun. We are now starting to drive into acceleration.
7th Grade Science - Mrs. Coffin
The picture below shows 7th grade Science students practicing their metric measuring skills making Metric Monsters.
Science 8 Curds & Whey Lab
Science 8 Grade Curds & Whey Lab
Science 8 Grade Curds & Whey Lab
Science 8 Forms of Matter Lab
Science 8 Forms of Matter Lab
Science 8 Forms of Matter Lab
Chemistry Ionic Compounds Lab
Chemistry Ionic Compounds Lab
Chemistry Ionic Compounds Lab
Social Studies
Osweiler Classes
World History: Students learned about the top 5 religions of the world and the regions in which they started and where they spread. Students did an activity on matching characteristics of the religions to the religion. The class is already referencing Christianity and its impact on the Roman Empire.
AP World History: Students are exploring the 6 major regions of the world including S. and SE Asia, Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, the Americas, and Africa. Students made posters exemplifying their region and then did a gallery walk.
AP Government: Students had a Federalism Scavenger Hunt throughout Regina in which they had to figure out clues to different ways state and federal laws apply to schools. Example: Elevator for ADA compliance, Science for grant money, Marlene for truancy/attendance policy.
Moeller Class
Economics
Why do we make the decisions we do on a daily basis? Some of those decisions we think long and hard about…ie. Buying a house, what college to attend, etc. and others we make sometimes without thought…ie. What to buy at the concession stand. Students have started to understand WHY we make some of the decisions we do economically. Why do I buy more Pizza when the concession stand raises the price of hot dogs?
Wallace Classes
AP US History
For the past week, the AP US History students have been examining and working on their writing skills for the DBQ essay. The DBQ rubrc from the College Board has been adjusted a bit so we discussed the changes while also working on their thesis statement and context writing skills. The students will have to complete a DBQ outline by Monday, October 16th. We will be finishing up our unit over Chapters 5-8 at the same time as well!
7th Global Studies
The 7th-grade students have continued their study of Europe by not only studying the political geography of Europe, and getting to know all of the countries, but also examining current political issues in Europe such as the European Union. The 7th graders are currently learning about the pros of membership in the EU while also discussing some of the drawbacks of membership in the EU by discussing Brexit. At the conclusion of the last week of September, the 7th graders will start to analyze some documents related to membership in the EU in preparation for writing their first DBQ essay; Is membership in the EU worthwhile?
AP Human Geography
Currently in AP Human Geography, the students are studying Unit 2: Population and Migration. In this unit, the students will focus on issues such as population growth and density, and population composition which will include the analysis of population pyramids, theories related to population, and then the causes and impacts of migration. The students will be finishing up Unit 2 around mid-October in preparation for the Unit 2 exam.
Kahler Class
8th U.S. History
The students did a nice job on their first DBQ on Jamestown. We are starting the Salem witch trials DBQ next week. Our current project was research on a state, in which they put together a presentation on different categories of that state. The first biography of the year is due on Oct 4th. We will study the Revolutionary War at the end of the month.
Pohren Classes
8th History: The class finished their first DBQ Essay on Jamestown and will be finishing their DBQ Essay on the Salem Witch trials early next week.
US History: Ended our first unit on Reconstruction and took our exam. The students will be working on Westward Expansion and Industrialization.
Global Studies: The students did a great job on their first assessments and are discussing the pros and cons of the EU.
Gen Psych: Students are finishing their first unit of the class and will be taking an exam soon.
Spanish
Theology
Regina Junior Senior High School
Email: glenn.plummer@regina.org
Website: www.regina.org
Location: 2150 Rochester Avenue, Iowa City, IA, United States
Phone: (319)-338-5436