Regina Jr Sr High Newsletter
October 2020
From the Principal
We have made it to October. The students, teachers, and staff continue to do an awesome job in following/enforcing guidelines. We cant relax with how well things have gone so far. We are getting close to flu season and that would be an issue in any year. Please remind your students to continue following guidelines and recommendations from the school. The second we stop doing the right thing will be the second we have to go to off-site learning.
This month's newsletter has the following:
- Information on Mental Illness Awareness Week and activities being sponsored by the Diocese of Davenport
- Information for the 2022 Italy trip
- An article that talks about the COVID infection rates in schools
- PSAT date change
- Information re-released the USCCB in regards to political responsibility
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The following prayer by the USCCB is a prayer for healing victims of abuse.
God of endless love, ever caring, ever strong,
always present, always just:
You gave your only Son to save us by the blood of his cross.
Gentle Jesus, shepherd of peace,
join to your own suffering the pain of all who have been hurt
in body, mind, and spirit by those who betrayed the trust placed in them.
Hear the cries of our brothers and sisters
who have been gravely harmed, and the cries of those who love them.
Soothe their restless hearts with hope, steady their shaken spirits with faith.
Grant them justice for their cause, enlightened by your truth.
Holy Spirit, comforter of hearts,
heal your people’s wounds and transform brokenness into wholeness.
Grant us the courage and wisdom, humility and grace, to act with justice.
Breathe wisdom into our prayers and labors.
Grant that all harmed by abuse may find peace in justice.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Glenn Plummer
Upcoming Events
10/1: JH Football @ Mid-Prairie, JH Cross Country @ IC City
10/2: V Football @ Columbus Junction
10/3: V Cross Country @ Wartburg
10/4: Homecoming football and volleyball (Jrs. vs. Srs.) @ 6:00
10/5: JH Volleyball @ Regina, F-S Football @ Mid-Prairie
10/6: JH Volleyball @ Regina
10/8: F-S/JV/V Volleyball @ Regina
10/9: V Football @ Regina - Homecoming Game
10/10: ACT Testing, JH/V Cross Country @ North Linn, V Volleyball @ Washington
10/13: JH/V Cross Country @ Monticello - Conference Meet
10/15: V Volleyball @ TBA - Conference Tournament
10/16: Jr/Sr Service Day, V Football Playoffs (TBD)
10/17:Fall Play at 2:00 & 7:00
10/18: Fall Play at 2:00
10/19: V Volleyball - Regional TBA
10/21: V Volleyball - Regional TBA
10/22: V Cross Country - Districts TBA
10/23: V Football Playoffs (TBD)
10/24: ACT Testing
10/26: V Volleyball - Regional TBA
10/27: Board of Education meeting @ 6:30
10/28: V Volleyball - Regional TBA
10/30: V Football Playoffs (TBD)
10/31: State Cross Country (TBD)
Rosary Every Wednesday
Mental Illness Awareness Week
“At times, the hurt felt by some young people is heart-rending, a pain too deep for words. They can only tell God how much they are suffering, and how hard it is for them to keep going, since they no longer believe in anyone. Yet in that sorrowful plea, the words of Jesus
make themselves heard: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt 5:4).
Some young men and women were able to move forward because they heard that divine promise. May all young people who are suffering feel the closeness of a Christian community that can reflect those words by its actions, its embrace and its concrete help.”
Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, Paragraph 77
Did you know that ⅕ young people will suffer from a serious mental illness? Or that 90% of all suicides of those aged 10-24 were completed by individuals with an underlying mental illness. Rates of anxiety, depression and suicide among young people continue to climb at an alarming rate with no sign of slowing down. In fact, given the social isolation that has come out of the COVID 19 Pandemic, we can only assume that these unfortunate realities have only been made worse. That is why Regina Junior Senior High School in conjunction with the Diocese of Davenport Office of Faith Formation, will be participating in Mental Illness Awareness Week 2020. Since 1990, when Congress officially established the first full week of October as Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW), advocates have worked together to sponsor activities, large or small, to educate the public about mental illness and help fight against widespread stigmas and misunderstandings about mental illness. We invite you to participate with us by praying for those impacted by mental illness.
Resources, including online presentations, can be found at https://davenportdiocese.org/miaw.
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
Applications are available at spirit.prudential.com and nassp.org/spirit. Completed applications must be submitted by November 10, 2020.
If you have any questions, please contact the NASSP at 888-651-2951 or spirit@nassp.org.
2022 Italy Trip
There is a $300 discount through Friday, Oct. 9.
PSAT Moved
Chromebooks
Also, please remind your students to charge their Chromebook every night.
The Distance Learning Playbook for Parents
Department Updates
Art
It's great to have everyone making art back in the art room again!
There are more art students than ever, which means lots of great art.
We're already working on filling the lobby area with projects, and don't forget to follow our Instagram at regal_art. Lots more to come!
Business
Personal Finance
The students this year have done a great job of adapting to the ever changing learning environment that they have been put in. In Personal Finance class that is just as important in the classroom as it is in the real world. Our world continues to gravitate towards technology not only in the class but via the banking industry, utility payments, budgeting, etc. We just recently finished up our unit on budgeting and now the students are working on our debt unit. I encourage all parents to discuss with their students as much as they can about “real world” scenarios you are facing. It is tough to discuss financing with students but I can assure you it will benefit them in the long run. Many of the tenth graders are beginning to get part -time jobs and it is important for them to understand things like FICA and how to best use their money (expenses and savings). We have taken a close look at the benefit of saving money early and how that compares to waiting until we are 40 as many Americans do.
Economics
Ever wonder why we make the decisions we do? Why is it that we choose to do one thing over another? Well, the economic students are studying that exact situation right now. Last week we wrapped up our unit on World Economic Systems and looked at how different systems answer the three basic questions all societies answer in regards to satisfying the one problem we all face….Scarcity. Now we are expanding on those experiences and looking at why we no longer as a society attempt to meet all of our own needs by yourself. Instead, we know look to specialize and rely on others who have an advantage over us in doing one thing..For example, why don’t I grow all my own food or why don’t I produce my own clothing anymore? Students are also taking a look at how we measure efficiency and opportunity cost. As they have learned there is a cost to every decision we make. However, hopefully we are making the one that gives us the most benefit for least cost. We want the best deal. The seniors, especially, are doing just this with some major life decisions right now...School? Military? Trade? Degree? What is best for me?
Senior Seminar
The world around us continues to change day by day and so does the curriculum in this class. I rely very heavily on previous alum to inform me of what can we do better to prepare them for whatever is next. The students spent the last few weeks looking at things like: what do I want from a school? What do I want out of a degree? How do I get a letter of recommendation? Where do I find scholarships? What options are available to me if college isn’t for me? Our students are now moving toward working on a Research paper that is in combination with Mr. McFerren’s senior english course. In addition, we have begun looking at topics current teachers and students have requested we visit. For example, proper etiquette when reaching out to a professor, what is on a college syllabus, personal statements, advocating for yourself and much more. Just a reminder that FAFSA opens next Thursday and all students should continue working on their school/trade/military applications as well as scholarships. As I have told them…”Just because someone else (mom/dad, grandma, etc) is paying for part of your school..maybe...doesn’t mean you can’t save them some money by getting a few scholarships.” While we still don’t know what the future holds for the seniors and the end of the year, be sure to prepare for those things we hope happens...senior pics? Grad party? Invitations? caps/gowns?
Library, Junior High Computer and Learning Center including i-Ready Math
The year is off to the races already, with the time slipping by at an alarming rate. Although I dread the shortened daylight, I do sort of look forward to a bit of snow and a warm fire. I feel incredibly lucky to be allowed to teach from home during this COVID time, and while there have been bumps in the process, it is pretty much business as usual. Mrs. Annie Gavin is the adult in the room who is taking on a lot of responsibility because she likes to keep busy. I am so thankful to have her help.
Speaking of help, last year we had a bevy of parents who recorded audio versions of some of the junior high novels and class books. They included Laura Aschenbrenner, Jenny Comer, and Anna Daniel. So far we have audio versions of Fever, The Outsiders, Before Columbus and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. These are helpful to students who like to listen as they follow along in the book. It helps with hearing difficult words spoken correctly and helps improve both comprehension and reading speed. It should never take the place of visual reading, but as support for it. We are so grateful for these parents who spent a lot of time doing this.
Though libraries in general have suffered a big dilemma during Covid, students at Regina are allowed to use the “hold” feature of the library catalog to reserve books which then get “brown bagged” for pick-up soon after. They can also use a handy Google Form to request help or ask for a book they want. The link they can use is https://tinyurl.com/rhsrequest. In addition, they can just email me for help. I try to keep them informed of good choices through the library Google Classroom page which any student can join to stay informed. I also publish a regular one-page flyer which we named The Toilet Paper, because it used to be posted in the bathroom stalls for convenient access. Now it is just in digital form. If you’d like to see a copy, just email me at joan.belknap@icregina.com.
Due to the huge expense of making our students safe this fall, we are letting our purchase of new books take a back seat for the time being. If you have books your students are done with that are in good shape and relatively new, I would be glad to add them to our library.
My Computer Apps students are a lively bunch, but I think they are having a bit of fun while learning more about the apps they already use, and some new ones as well. Each day we spend the first 15 minutes using a keyboarding program called Typing Club. That gives them some good practice, while I can take care of questions and small problems that occur. Then we delve into a combination of things they wanted to learn with things they need to learn. We just finished a Google Drawing unit where they also learned a lot about copyright. Now we are in the middle of a spreadsheet unit using Google Sheets. This came in handy because it coincided with Mrs. Coffin’s lessons on graphing scientific data. It is always effective when they can see a real-life use for a set of skills.
A 5-dollar app from the Apple Store made remote teaching a lot better. It allows my cursor to become a colored circle so the students can see quickly where my mouse is going, and it also allows me to draw and annotate the screen. It couldn’t be easier to use and the students agree that it is helpful.
English Language Arts
7th Grade English
We are working our way through The Giver. Students recently were assigned a “job” from the Community in The Giver which they had to devise instructions on how to effectively perform their job in the Sci-Fi community. The students had a blast devising the traits of and rules for their job! Whether they were assigned an exciting jet pilot, the all-important Chief Elder, or a humble street cleaner, they all flexed their creative muscles.
7th Grade LA
We continued learning about Pronouns with a test next Thursday and Friday! (Goodness it’s October already)
Creative Writing 7th/8th
We began diving into the main part of our Short story project, combining all of the elements we’ve covered so far: plot, conflict, character design, descriptive writing, and dialogue.
9th Grade English
The Freshmen classes are reading The Time Machine. We’ve had great discussions about where we would like to go if time travel were possible and we all agreed we would certainly like to go to a safer, maskless time in the future. Students will soon be writing a creative piece on time travel which will be great fun.
10th Grade English
We are wrapping up our short story unit soon and just finished reading our final short story, The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe. They will be completing their first major assessment soon--a theme analysis essay.
11th Grade English
The Junior English classes are reading The Crucible, which seems appropriate as we start this year. One definition of a crucible is “a severe test” which seems to mirror the challenges that we face. I was initially concerned about the transition to online and in-person learning, however all is going smoothly and I commend the students for meeting their personal ‘crucible’ with courage and grace.
11th Grade Speech
We will pick up learning about rhetorical devices, analyzing famous speeches by Martin Luther King Jr and Steve Jobs, and then we will start our next speech, the Persuasive speech.
A.P. English Language
Students are reading a nonfiction book of their choosing, in addition to learning the intrinsic components of argument. They are also discovering voice in writing by examining small pieces of poetry and prose. These exercises are preparing them for their May AP exam.
12th Grade English
The seniors in Mr. McFerren’s English class have read two short stories by Catholic writer and University of Iowa alumna Flannery O’Connor. And are currently back to the future in Orwell’s 1984. Soon they will begin working on a formal college-level paper that is a collaborative effort between Mr. McFerren and Mr. Moeller.
A.P. English Literature
The AP English Literature students are investigating BIG questions like: “What is the meaning of life?” What they have learned from the 17 year old Holden Caulfield, the ancient Sumerian hero Gilgamesh, and two short stories by Catholic writer and University of Iowa alumna Flannery O’Connor is still up in the air, but we believe the Christian perspective is becoming a little more clear and real. That’s the objective anyhow!
Fall Play
The Regina High School Theatre Department will present the fall play, Harvey, directed by Richard Tiegs. Performance dates are Saturday, 10/17 at 2 pm and 7 pm and Sunday, 10/18 at 2 pm. Information about ticket sales and reserved seating for performances (to assure social distancing) will be shared closer to the show.
Harvey, a Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy by Mary Chase, is the story of a perfect gentleman, Elwood P. Dowd, and his best friend, Harvey -- a pooka, who is a six-foot tall, invisible rabbit. When Elwood begins introducing Harvey around town, his embarrassed sister, Veta Louise, and her daughter, Myrtle Mae, decide to commit Elwood to a sanitarium. When they arrive at the sanitarium, a comedy of errors ensues.
Family & Consumer Science
We started out in FACS with our Sewing Unit because last semester we never got to finish it so I wanted to be sure to get it in. If they haven't brought home their pillow yet, they soon will! Next unit up is Sewing On A Button and then we will head into Laundry! You parents may be a little more excited about that than the students.
Culinary Arts
We started off with Fruits and Vegetables and I can say that no one got sick from eating their vegetables, even though some were very hesitant to try them. We roasted cauliflower, asparagus and brussel sprout and also made zucchini crisps. The rule in my classroom is they have to take 3 bites (okay, at least one bite!) Ask your child which one they liked best. We had a guest chef visit, covid-style of course, but she talked about herbs and the students got to see the 21 different herbs she grows at her house. We then made a compound butter and herb bread. I believe most everyone loved it! Some seemed interested in planting a few herbs of their own next season - so YEAH! Next up is a little unit on Garlic and then Quick Breads and Yeast Breads. On the menu is Southern Biscuits, real Shortcake, homemade cinnamon rolls and pizza dough! I added a weekly assignment to the class so those are due on Tuesdays. So if you see them cleaning the house or organizing their room - it may be because of that assignment. :)
Math
Mrs. Hill:
Algebra 2: Algebra 2 is working on finishing up transformations and graphing inequalities in Chapter 2. Then, we'll move on to Chapter 3 (Linear Systems) in mid-October.
AP Calculus AB: AB Calc just started in on Unit 2 (Differentiation - Basic Rules). We just finished up the Limit Definition of Derivative, and we're excited to be moving onto Derivative Rules. Starting Tuesday, you can ask your student to explain some of our secret language of Calculus: fig plus gif. In Unit 3, we'll go more in depth with Differentiation.
AP Calculus BC: BC Calc is continuing with the BC-only Unit 6 material. In covering this material, we're reviewing a lot of AB material, too. We'll be moving on shortly to a few more BC-only topics from Units 7 and 8. After that, we'll start in on Unit 9 - Parametric Equations.
High School Calculus: High School Calculus is finishing up Unit 1 (Limits) and getting ready for our first test. Then, we'll start in on basic rules of differentiation.
Statistics: We completed Chapter 1 (Introduction to Data) and are preparing to finish up Chapter 2 (Summarizing Data). We're doing some experiments and some review of data displays. We'll be working on using technology to display data and to do computations, as well as moving on to Chapter 3 (Probability).
Pre Algebra: The Pre Algebra students have just finished up their unit on Ratios, Unit rates, Proportions and Percents. They looked at some real life situations with discounts and compared costs of similar items. We will begin chapter 1 by the end of September and continue through mid October. This includes square roots, cube roots and Pythagorean Theorem. We will finish up with a project over the Pythagorean Theorem.
Music
P.E.
P.E. has been going great so far at the high school level. My number one priority is to improve the health and wellness of our students at Regina Jr/Sr High school. I like to say that we use a F.I.T.S. (Fitness Integrated Through Sports) model to describe our program. We still do a variety of sports and activities, but our main focus is on improving our health and wellness. This program will meet the needs of every student in our school. P.E. in the “old school” days was dominated by the most athletic/skilled people in class, while the people who did not enjoy the sport or weren’t as skilled would sit off to the side and watch with very little participation. We do some sort of fitness oriented activity each class and the sports will be done through small-sided games to maximize participation. The students have already learned a variety of warm-ups that we have done in class, different fitness activities, and sports. The warm-ups include: dynamic warm-ups, agility warm-ups, and in-place warm-ups. The fitness activities we have completed include: yoga, hiking, circuit training, dumbbell complex, plank circuit, core workout, and more! The sports we have focused on so far include: ultimate frisbee and target archery. Our next sport unit coming up will be golf or spikeball! We will be outside as long as the weather allows! Online students have been doing a great job keeping up with their online physical activity tracker forms. I have provided them with a variety of workouts on a google form that they log each class to stay active while at home. I love being a part of the P.E. department here at Regina! Go Regals! -Mr. Elsbury
Mr. Elsbury has been an awesome addition to Regina! He is making me work harder to keep up with his energy and enthusiasm! JH students started off the year playing kickball and adjusting to the long class periods. We have covered the rules and skills involved in Ultimate Frisbee and incorporated some classroom work with the 5 Components of Fitness. The kids did some modified fitness testing and will be setting individual goals to improve in each area by the end of the semester. Last week I introduced them to the game of SPUD we used to play growing up, which apparently makes me really old because nobody knew what I was talking about. As with HS, we will take advantage of being out in the fresh air as long as possible so students have been encouraged to bring a sweatshirt if they get cold easily. - Mrs. B
School Counselor
The October PSAT test for Sophomores and Juniors has been moved to a new testing date--January 26th, 2021. This test is completely voluntary and will be held during school hours. It allows students practice for other standardized tests, such as the SAT or ACT tests. For Juniors, this is the test that would also qualify students for the National Merit Scholarship Program. More details available at a later date.
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Save the Date: On January 18th, Regina is planning to host an in-person ACT prep seminar presented by ZAPS/Doorway to College. More information to come later.
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For Sophomores, Juniors and seniors:
Please consider doing a job shadow this year. There are several virtual options, too. Job Shadow experiences for students are voluntary this year. To sign up for a job shadow experience, visit www.workplace-learning.org. The deadline is October 9th at 2:00 PM
If you had a previous account and can't remember your password, see Mrs. Zoulek to help recover it. The "forget password" link is not working with a regina.org email address.
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Mental Illness Awareness Week is observed annually during the first week of October. The MIAW Project is designed to raise awareness of the signs of mental illness and to explore how we can as a faith community best respond to what we see in others. The Diocese of Davenport has several resources, information and trainings on their webpage.
PROGRAM DATES & DESCRIPTIONS for Clergy, Leaders, Parents and Teens
Tuesday, October 6 - Helping Hurting Teens
Wednesday, October 7 - Caught Between the Rock and the Hard Place: Wellness 101
Friday, October 9 - Developing a Pastoral Response Plan
For more information on this week, visit NAMI: National Alliance for Mental Health
Science
7th Grade Integrated Science (Mrs. Coffin)
We are almost finished with our unit on Thinking Like a Scientist. Believe it or not, the students had a great time watching ice melt. This was a lab we were using to collect data to graph. We are going to begin a lab next week reviewing engineering principles. Watch for our towers made of paper! After we finish with this unit we are going to move into studying human systems. Our major project in this unit will be The Human Body Corporation. (In the photo: notice that the students are talking to the online students in Google Meet breakout rooms.)
8th Grade Science (Mrs. Goldsmith) Students in 8th Grade Integrated Science have started their year studying the human body. We are working our way through all the body systems and learning all kinds of fun facts about the human body! Labs for the year so far have included dissecting chicken wings (while studying bones and muscles) and reenacting the process of digestion using bread, apple juice, and a baggie. After the human body, we will move on to ecosystems & biomes, and then finish with unity & diversity of species to wrap up the majority of the life sciences portion of our curriculum. After that we will move on to physics! High School Earth and Space Science (Mrs. Coffin) We finished up our unit on the Nature of Science and the introduction to studying space. We are now ready to adventure into learning about The Big Bang Theory. We are going to take an indepth look at the evidence that scientists are currently using to support this theory. After we have looked at how it is believed that the universe formed, we will look at the life cycle of stars. Watch for our online Star Bulletin Boards! Biology (Mr. LaKose) We reviewed the nature of science, engineering, pseudoscience, microscope work, and the metric system for our first exam. We have transitioned to macromolecules and are now starting cells. We have done labs on engineering (toxic popcorn), pseudoscience (dowsing), the scientific method (color changes with different chemical reactions), enzymes (catalase in liver), carbohydrates (testing for mono-, di-, and polysaccharides), and microscope skill review in order to observe plant (onion) and animal (cheek) cells. Chemistry (Mrs. Goldsmith) Students in Chemistry have been doing a great job this year so far! We made slime and oobleck to investigate different types of matter at the start of the year. Atoms were our next topic to cover, and now we are talking about how electrons behave in atoms. Part of that involves energy and light. Students were able to use diffraction glasses to see how the light that we see is actually composed of many different wavelengths (colors) of light. Then we burned different compounds and analyzed the various emission spectra that were produced. The oohs and aahs are always fun to hear! Coming up: writing and naming compounds, conversions & dimensional analysis, and moles! Anatomy & Physiology (Mr. LaKose) Students have been introduced to the Language of Anatomy, reviewed chemistry and cytology, and are now studying histology before being introduced to the integumentary system. Microscope work has been a critical part of the course thus far, and many labs have been done (investigating pulse rate, simulating cell transport using eggs, using a stethoscope, etc). AP Biology (Mr. LaKose) Our Unit 1 exam is currently happening, which covers biochemistry (water, carbon, macromolecules, and enzymes). We have done labs on each of the major topics, including students designing their own experiment on water using paper towel strength or absorption, including data analysis, water properties, testing sugars, and a lab on enzyme activity. Our next unit comprises cell structure, function, and processes. Project Lead The Way: Principles of Biomedical Science (Mr. LaKose) Students use PLTW’s curriculum to investigate many different subjects under the umbrella of biomedical science. On day 1 students were shown a replica crime scene where a subject, Anna Garcia, was found deceased. Through a variety of tests, using forensics, students are trying to piece together what happened to her (was it an accident or was there foul play at hand?). We have reviewed good scientific practices and experimental design, looked at hair under the microscope of Anna and the persons of interest, analyzed fingerprints found at the scene, reviewed Anna’s use of technologies and social media posts to create a digital evidence timeline, and analyzed blood found at the scene to test for blood type. Next up is blood splatter analysis and DNA forensics.
Social Studies
7th Grade Contemporary Global Studies
In 7th Grade Contemporary Global Studies, the students are continuing to study the political geography of Europe and the European Union. In class, the students have examined the advantages and disadvantages of the European Union. They will then participate in a debate simulation called a Socratic Smackdown in which they will have to argue an assigned viewpoint on the European Union. Towards the end of the unit, they will then defend their own position focused on the guiding question of, “Is membership in the European Union worthwhile?,” by writing a document-based essay from the DBQ Project. The 7th graders have been amazing in meeting the challenge of tackling such a complex issue and I am proud of their work so far!
US History 8th Grade
Finished studying English Colonies. The students did a Mini DBQ on why so many colonists died at Jamestown and did a fantastic job on their essays! We are now working on a state research project , where they are looking at various information about a state from past to present day.
World History
Students have just finished learning about how empires rise and fall. Specifically, they learned about the Egyptian Empire, the Assyrian Empire, the Persian Empire, and the Qin Dynasty. The next stop in World History will be the rise and fall of Greece and then we march on to the Roman Empire.
Government
What a time to teach government? Students are currently researching and discussing the voting process and who they are as voters. Some of our keywords have been democratic, republican, caucus, primary, and so much more. All this month we will stay focused on the election process and helping students discover what their role as citizens entails. Already we have had a great discussion on the Supreme Court nomination process and how a candidate works through the road to election day.
AP Modern World History
We just finished up Chapter 2 about the Song Dynasty, Renaissance Europe, Byzantine Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. Our next focus will be on major trade routes of the Indian Ocean, Silk Road, and Trans-Subharian. We will also be exploring the start of African state-building. AND THE MONGOLS!!! It should be a great time in AP World.
AP US History
In AP US History, we are currently working our way towards the American Revolution. The students have also started dissecting the DBQ, document-based question, rubric and will be submitting very soon their first DBQ outline on the differences between the Chesapeake and New England colonies. In their writing for APUSH, I emphasize to them to make their thesis statements historically defensible with a clear line of reasoning. They must also use specific evidence from the given documents to help support their thesis. The writing for the DBQ can be challenging, but it is a skill that we will work on together throughout the year!
Spanish
Noticias del Departamento de Español- Septiembre 2020
Spanish I - Students are studying the verb ser (to Be) time telling, and adjectives to describe themselves and others. They are also learning various household chores and to classify them according to preferences, me encanta…./ me gusta…/ no me gusta...
Spanish II
We had our second test/quiz already. Students were tested over the weather, seasons, days of the week, months of the year, colors and telling time. We did an overall review of articles, nouns, adjectives and plural forms as well. Students are also working on reading comprehension skills. We will continue reviewing conjugation with Er and Ir verbs and soon we will start reviewing the past tense and the present progressive. To coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month, we will start our culture unit on Spanish speaking countries next week.
Spanish III
We are continuing with our review from levels 1 and 2 after our second test/quiz this week. We will be starting on indirect object pronouns and prepositions of place. We are starting our second vocabulary on travel and activities. This will prepare the students for their first oral presentation of the semester which will be on family travels and sightseeing vocabulary. At the same time we will continue to concentrate on sentence structure and reading comprehension. Also, to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, we will be studying some fun facts about Spanish speaking countries.
Spanish IV
Students have studied the specific uses of the verbs ser and estar (to be), saber and conocer (to know); they have studied various household chores and reflexive verbs in various verb tenses: present, preterite, imperfect, and present perfect tenses and can tell that they do, did, or have done various activities.
Senoras. McAndrew and Lazarre
Theology
VIA
In Via, we are wrapping up an introductory unit on goal setting, decision making, and unintentional injuries. The students were encouraged to develop measurable goals that they can monitor as they progress through the school year. As we complete this unit, we are also reading the Sunday Gospel each week and watching a recorded class Mass from the Regina Chapel. Students are encouraged to analyze the daily Gospels and apply the wisdom of the Gospels to their daily lives. Our first religion units will focus on God, the Trinity, and Creation. We will discuss topics like the attributes of God, the mystery of the Trinity, and the Creation story and what these ideas mean for us as followers of Christ. We are enjoying working with your students and are looking forward to a great year!
Theology 10
Overall we are off to a great start to the school year, the students have discussed
well on the topics we are covering. We just finished the creation stories in Genesis and the de-creation stories. The students have a journal theme each week that they are writing about. 2nd period was in charge of Mass on Sept 9 in the Regina Chapel
Theology 11
The juniors have continued learning about the Gift of Being Human. We analyzed the concepts of Subsidiarity and Solidarity. We also talked about the idea of each person's dignity. The students did a project where they created a collage representation of the best version of a specific person. For example: A Boss, Principal, Teacher, Student, Mother, Father and US president. They needed to include 10 characteristics of what would make this person the best version of themselves. We also continue watching the mass each week and going over the Gospel for Sunday. Our next unit will look at decision making, specifically the STOP sign method.
Theology 12
Seniors continue to read through, “Behold the Mystery - A Greater Understanding of the Catholic Mass.” They took a quiz last week and will spend another 3 weeks reading and discussing it. First period celebrated Mass with Fr. Witt earlier and the other two sections look forward to their chance to celebrate Mass later in October.
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
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReginaEducation/
Twitter: @gap_4