Regina Jr Sr High Newsletter
May 2023
From the Principal
We enter the last and busiest month of the school-year. Our spring concerts started last week with a wonderful Pops Concert. Congratulations and great job to our Band, Orchestra, and Choir students! Our championship seasons start soon for golf, track, and soccer. Good luck to those students competing in those events!
The Class of 2023 has two and a half weeks left of school. They will be busy finishing up their classes and taking AP exams these final few weeks. Their last day is May 17th and it is highlighted by our awards assembly and students vs. teachers in kickball. They finish off the day with Baccalaureate Mass at 7:30 at St. Wenceslaus Church. Graduation is the 21st at 2:00 in the Gym.
It has been a pleasure to see our seniors grow into the incredible young women and men they have become. While they will be missed, their contributions will have a lasting impact on Regina. Good luck to our seniors as you move on to greater challenges. I offer this prayer for our graduates.
Loving God,
We pray that you will give our graduates the support they need as they move beyond the walls of Regina. Please grant them the perseverance to rise above the many challenges they will face in the coming years. Let them use the skills they have learned at Regina to be your faithful servants. Bless them with the success they deserve as they do Your will. We ask this is Jesus's name. Amen.
This month's newsletter includes:
- Student Council Fund Raiser
- Bishop Barron on "Why is Your Religion the Right One?"
- Boosters Update
- 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/.
Regina Spirit Days
We will have Regina Spirit days throughout the year. The dates below will be Regina Spirit Days.
Students are allowed to wear Regina Activities, Club, or other Regina clothing on these days. Bottoms can be jeans or any dress code bottom. (No sweatpants, yoga pants, or athletic shorts.)
May 12, 26
Monthly Adoration
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054DAFA72CA75-eucharistic
InQuizition
11. This Old Testament personage had a talking donkey!
- Amos
- Balaam
- Jeremiah
- Shrekiah
- Elias
12. The "behemoth" mentioned in the Book of Job was a/an:
- Balrog of Morgoth
- brontosaurus
- hippopotamus
- whale
- elephant
Help Needed for Concessions
Student Council Fund Raiser
Click here to order:
https://pogo.undergroundshirts.com/collections/65-years-of-regina-apparel
Proceeds benefit the Regina High School Student Council, which funds activities for the Jr/Sr High all year long, such as Homecoming and Prom!
Questions? Contact Student Council president, Danny Gavin at danny.gavin@regina.org.
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).
Department Updates
English
English 7th Grade: Over the year we have read novels that have produced good classroom discussion over social issues with The Giver, learning about history in Fever 1793, breaking down prejudice in The Outsiders, and we are finishing learning about death and the meaning in having a fulfilling life with The Five People You Meet in Heaven. We will end the year with the short stories Flowers for Algernon, and The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street.
LA 7 Rouse: We have learned about different genres of literature; Fables, Science Fiction, Poetry, and next we will go into writing essays, and end with a final project where the students create their own definitions for made up words, according to the customary entry and classification for words found in your household dictionary.
Speech 7/8th: Coming off from Persuasive speeches, where we practice mixing our opinion with facts, we will enter the final unit which is based on Conversation skills. We will use those skills for the final which will involve debating over a moral dilemma.
ELA 8: In ELA 8, we will be finishing the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. We will be working as a class to create a book of infographics on the characters in the novel. Our final exam in English 8 will be our unit test over the novel. In LA 8, we are working with standards on informational reading from the book Before Columbus. We have just wrapped up our persuasive paper and will be starting our last unit on developing a mini research paper. Our final assessment in LA 8 will be over the use of commas in appositives, introductory phrases, interrupters, and items in a series. I have enjoyed working with the 8th graders this year! Don’t forget to visit the library this summer!
English 9: We are reading Lord of the Flies and after we finish, we will explore the elements of dystopian fiction, comparing this work to other more recent works. We will finish the year with an essay. Freshmen have been busy this year in English class. We started with learning literary elements and reading short stories, then into Fahrenheit 451. We finished off the first semester with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. After a brief poetry until, we dove into excerpts of The Odyssey. Throughout the year we covered grammar, mechanics, and usage, as well as focusing on the writing process. I have enjoyed my time with this group of students and believe they are well prepared for sophomore year.
LA 7 Barnes: LA 7 has done great work on many aspects of language this year. They have worked on determining plot elements in short story, video, and novella, which is culminating now in the creation of their very own science fiction stories. The 7th graders worked on many aspects of punctuation, focusing on the comma, period, exclamation point, and quotation marks. Each of these elements of punctuation should make an appearance in their current stories. The students should be demonstrating their knowledge of literary techniques in their writing as well. We have worked on fate, figurative language, sensory description, imagery, tone, setting, simile, metaphor, and many other literary devices this year. The students were introduced to the concept of symbolism, which will be expanded upon in upcoming years. To end our year, the students are dubiously looking forward to an introduction into writing 5-paragraph essays. I look forward to seeing how they adjust to creating convincing arguments utilizing evidence and reasoning.
English 10: The English 10 classes have reviewed and expanded upon their prior learning of proper writing practices, close reading practices, literary analysis, and research. Students have improved their understanding of literary devices, symbolism, and argumentation structure. The classes read the novel Night, by Elie Weisel, and the first half of Dracula, by Bram Stoker. They used the information provided within the novels to perform research and analysis assignments that opened their minds to the concept that there is much more to a book than just words on a page. We are currently working on an introduction to argumentative fallacies, which will be explored in greater depth later in their high school journey. To end the year our students will be investigating the realm of manifesto to determine why it is important to literature and to society as a whole.
English 11: The English 11 students have worked their way through history, beginning with the colonization of the Americas by Great Britain. They have investigated literature to include documents, letters, stories, histories, poems, and more in order to expand their knowledge of the country in which they live. The students have performed research on various topics throughout the year, which they have analyzed and provided written responses that demonstrate their understanding of the material. We have delved into the rough waters of descriptive writing, explanatory writing, explanatory writing, and narrative writing as we calmed the seas of learning. Currently, the students in English 11 are working toward the completion of their final essay of the year; an advanced version of “What I Want to be When I Grow Up” in which they research their (current) optimum employment position, and what it takes to get there. This assignment is designed to wake the students up to what the real world has waiting for them in order to help them to prepare for the transition at the end of senior year.
English 12: We just finished reading 1984. Throughout the book we explored modern parallels and discussed topics such as power, manipulation, technological security, to name a few. It proved to be an eye opening experience and I thoroughly enjoyed this unit with this great group of students. We have had the pleasure of surveying British Literature from the Anglo-Saxon period to modern times. The final three weeks of the year are devoted to dreaming of adventures with a ‘bucket list’ research paper. Students will choose three adventures they would like to undertake in the future and research them. Topics may include travel, learning a new language, an adventurous activity - the sky's the limit with this paper! We are inspired by Walter Mitty, a character from literature, to be present in life and always stay engaged. I’ll miss this group of wonderful seniors. They truly kept me engaged this year!
AP English Language and Composition: As we furiously prepare for the AP test, the students are realizing that they are more than ready to achieve success on this exam. The course culminates in a three hour and fifteen minute test that includes 45 multiple choice questions and three essays. The exam assesses the rhetorical situation, claims and evidence, reasoning and organization, and style. This year, we’ve woven some literature, into a majority of non-fiction, that, according to College Board, “cultivates the reading and writing skills that students need for college success and for intellectually responsible civic engagement. The reading and writing students do in the course deepens and expands their understanding of how written language functions rhetorically: to communicate writers’ intentions and elicit readers’ responses in particular situations.”
AP English Literature and Composition: Seniors in this course are prepping for the AP exam and juggling many end of the year responsibilities. The AP test consists of 45 multiple choice questions and three essays, which are a poetry analysis, a prose analysis, and a literary argument. The exam covers the fundamentals of characterization, setting, structure, narration, figurative language, and literary argumentation. The exam also relies on texts from a variety of time periods, as did our course of study, which included short fiction, poetry, novels, and drama. According to College Board, “Careful reading and critical analysis of such works provide rich opportunities for students to develop an appreciation or ways literature reflects and comments on a range of experiences, institutions, and social structures. Students examine the choices literary writers make and the techniques they utilize to achieve purposes and generate meaning.” I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with these fine seniors. One of our favorite units was our poetry bracket, which consisted of 32 poems and culminated in choosing a winner. We enjoyed a lot of poetry and had a lot of fun.
Health
Library
Mathematics
Algebra 2: We are finishing up our work on Transformations. We will be moving on to Exponents and Logarithms. An extra credit packet will be given soon, but students must be completing daily assignments on time in order to get extra credit. Statistics: We are starting the chi-squared distribution. We will cover t-distributions and linear regression before the end of the year. In addition, we’ll work on an exam that is likely to be similar to what students will need to take when they get placed for a math course at their college. AP Calculus AB: We are reviewing for the AP Exam, which is Monday, May 1st. Then, we’ll work on topics to give us a jump on Calc BC: Euler’s Method, Partial Fraction Decomposition, and Polar. AP Calculus BC: We are reviewing for the AP Exam, which is Monday, May 1st. Then, we’ll work on topics that are not covered in BC but are typically covered in Calc II in college: Volumes of Revolutions using Cylindrical Shells, etc.
Physical Education
Religion
Conlon, Green & Osweiler VIA - We have rotated through classes in order to cover vocations, sin & the redeemer and nutrition. This was done to assist Mrs. Green who stepped in to sub for the remainder of the semester and allow her to get caught up with the curriculum. Students continue to study the Sunday Gospel and reflect on what it means in our daily lives.
Welter VIA-In Mrs. Welter’s VIA we have finished our unit on Nutrition and the students did a wonderful job with their projects. An example is included. We are reading the book Soul Surfer and relating it to the growth of our own faith and how Jesus is our Redeemer. We will finish the year by focusing on Mary and Vocations. We continue to analyze the Sunday Gospel each week. I hope everyone has a great end to the school year!
Sprengelmeyer Via
In Mrs. Sprengelmeyer’s Via we have just finished our Nutrition Unit. The highlight of the unit was taste testing generic and brand named cookies and chips with our eyes closed to see if we could really detect the difference. (The kids can!) We are now working on a short unit on Jesus as Redeemer, which goes nicely with the Easter Season. In May we will work on units on vocations and The Blessed Virgin Mary!
Theology 9 - During the season of Lent students journaled daily on a prompt from the booklet Lent One Day at a Time For Catholic Teens. Each day there was a bible verse and reflection we went over and a question to answer applying it to our life. We finished the text Jesus Christ God’s Revelation to the World by talking about the Gospel of John. We will spend the last weeks covering Jesus’ mission and ministry.
Theology 11-In Theology 11, we will end our marriage unit with the students interviewing a married couple and learning about the couples vocation. We will then transition to learning about Holy Orders. This will include Deacon, Priest, and Bishop information and the roles each plays in our Church. We will also talk about our mother Mary during the month of May. We continue to analyze the Sunday Gospel each week. I hope everyone has a great end to the school year!
Theology 12 - Seniors continue their study of Catholic Social Teaching(CST). We explored the purpose and origin of CST by reading through Scripture passages as well as parts of the papal encyclicals, Rerum Novarum, Pacem en Terris, Caritas in Veritate, Laudato Si, and Fratelli Tuti. Currently, seniors are learning about each of the 7 Principles of Catholic Social Teaching. They will conclude this unit, and their high school theology class, with a project that looks at an issue in society and approaches through the lens of CST.
Theology 10- The Soph’s did a fantastic job on the Stations of Cross project- great visuals and reflections. We studied in depth the Gospel writers. The next units are the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. We will have a final project where they will rank in importance: people , places, documents and events in their own opinion of things we have studied this year. On finals day we will take a small assessment of the unit. The Soph’s will be in charge of the May Crowning Mass on May 10th. They have had a good year in Theology class.
Science
7th grade science - Mrs. Coffin
The 7th grade science students have been learning about types of forces, how to calculate force and speed, and about simple machines. All of our learning in the realm of physical science will culminate in the building of our class-sized Rube Goldberg machines. The goal for the machines: to close the classroom door (thank you ESS class for picking the goal!) Don’t be surprised to see multiple students crawling around on the floor, small items flying around, and marbles dashing everywhere. These things are to be expected and we engineer the machines. Parents, along with judges, will be invited in to see the running of the machine on the final testing day. To end our year, we will spend the days outside learning about how organisms interact with each other in the environment. It’s been a great year!
8th Grade Science - Mrs. Goldsmith
Students in 8th grade science are finishing up with Waves, Sound, and Light. We have done some fun demonstrations with a giant slinky (to see the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves) and a device that helps illustrate the dual nature of light (light acting as both a wave and a particle). This is all great information that students will use again in Earth & Space Science, Chemistry, and Physics! Our final units for the school year will cover the Universe, our Solar System, and Earth, including weather. Hopefully we will have nice weather for going outside to check out types of clouds or for students to look at the stars and moon at home at night. It has been a great year in science and I’m so glad to have had this time to work with the 8th grade students! They are a wonderful group of kids. :)
Earth & Space Science - Mrs. Coffin
The Earth Science students just finished a project that tied information about earthquakes and engineering together. The project as described by a student: Our first task for building our earthquake-resistant house was to learn about earthquakes, and research mitigation techniques. After we finalized which mitigation systems we wanted to incorporate in our house, we began drawing blueprints and planning what materials we needed to order. We had to use measurements and budgeting to decide what materials we could purchase with the amount of points we earned from a quiz. Before we began building, we measured and cut our materials, and put together our bracing designs. One problem we faced throughout the building process was our worry of not having enough time to finish. To combat this issue, we worked on the project before school, and during intercession. We started constructing the foundation in a grid-like pattern using popsicle sticks, and attached the walls of the first floor to it also. Next, we added our rubber erasers as weights, and a paper towel roll support beam to the first floor. We assembled the second floor, which was made of pipe cleaners, and the roof, securing everything with a hot glue gun. Our final building task was to enclose the walls with paper! Our building did survive the earthquake successfully with very little damage!
We will finish the year by studying Earth’s cycles and how humans are impacting those cycles. The hope and prayer is to help our young people prepare to take over the job of caring for our planet.
Biology - Mr. Evans
Students just recently finished the fungus kingdom where they learned about the diversity of fungi, functions of fungi, and how they are essential to the ecosystem. Additionally, students even got to dissect mushrooms in class! Students are now learning about the plant kingdom. More specifically, we are learning about classification of plants and how plants adapted to live on land. After we complete the plant kingdom, we will move on to our final unit, the animal kingdom. In this unit, we will cover Invertebrates, vertebrates, and animal behavior. Along the way, we will do some dissections and finish out the school year strong!
Chemistry - Mrs. Goldsmith
Chemistry kids are working with Solutions and specifically studying molarity, or concentration of solutions. We will work with Kool Aid solutions to practice dilutions and to visibly see the difference between various concentrations of solutions. From here we will move on to Acids and Bases, which will include a fantastic titration lab and will involve a competition for the title of Master Titrator, a tradition I’m passing along from my freshman year in college! After Acids and Bases, students will cover Oxidation and Reduction (Redox) reactions. That should take us to the end of the school year, which has been fantastic! Nice work, everyone!
Chemistry with Honors - Mrs. Goldsmith
Honors Chemistry students have worked throughout the school year on learning advanced and extra chemistry material including: advanced phase changes, intermolecular forces, distillation process, properties of ionic substances, advanced trends on the periodic table-electronegativity and electron affinity, drawing complex geometric structures of compounds, calculating composition of hydrates, common naming system of compounds, organic chemistry, behaviors of gases and gas laws, and advanced work with acids and bases. Any students who maintain at least a B in class and pass each Honors assessment at 80% earn the “with Honors” title to the course. These students did a wonderful job learning this information mostly independently; I’m very proud of all their hard work and dedication. :)
Anatomy & Physiology - Mr. Evans
Students just finished learning about the composition of blood and the different functions. We went into detail about the functions of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. We are now moving onto the cardiovascular system. Students will learn about the different components of the cardiovascular system and how they work together to support bodily functions. Additionally, we have a unique opportunity to visit the cadaver lab at Clarke University this month. At Clarke, we will also tour campus and enjoy lunch at the cafeteria! To finish out the year, we will be learning about absorption and secretion. More specifically, we will dive into the digestive system, respiratory system, and better understand how the body regulates its water, electrolyte, and acid-base balance!
AP Biology - Mrs. Reilly
Students in AP Biology are finishing up the year studying prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive barriers, the history of life on earth, and endosymbiotic theory. They will review labs 1-6 for the AP exam, as well as do a review of AP Bio labs 7-13. We will cover topics of phylogeny, plant kingdom basics, vertebrate and invertebrate facts. Finally, we will do diagnostic tests to prepare for the May 10 AP Biology exam.
Principles of Biomedical Science - Mr. Evans
The PBS students have been working diligently on unit 3 where they have learned about disease outbreak, epidemiological approaches, and agents of disease. Students have been working in treatment teams to diagnose and prognose patients, along with evaluating evidence individually. Moving forward, we look to complete unit three over outbreaks and emergencies. In addition to this, students will be preparing for the exam at the end of the semester!
Physics - Mrs. Goldsmith
Physics students are just finishing up their unit on Waves, Sound, and Light. We have had some great conversations about these topics and how they apply to various things in everyday life. It brings me such joy when students ask questions in class that lead to wonderful discussions about all kinds of fun and educational science topics--I love their enjoyment of learning more and finding out why! After this unit, we will finish up the year learning about electricity and electromagnetism. Students really like this unit because so much of our lives are dependent on electricity, so knowing how it works and how to prevent it from not working is compelling to students. This has been a wonderful year of learning for students and I’m so glad I’ve had this opportunity to work with them. Hopefully they will concur that we’ve had some fun while learning some great things along the way!
Chemistry Solutions Lab
Chemistry Solutions Lab
Chemistry Solutions Lab
Chemistry Solutions Lab
Chemistry Solutions Lab
Chemistry Solutions Lab
Social Studies
Osweiler Classes
Government: Students just finished Unit 5 on the judicial branch. They learned about the court system, Supreme Court cases, jury system, courtroom vocabulary, and their rights as citizens. The last unit will be focused on the political system and citizen involvement in the political system within the United States. This unit will include topics like political parties, the election system, the role of the media, interest groups, and their role in the political world. The semester final will cover this unit.
World History: The semester is coming to a close. Students started the semester by learning about the Scientific Revolution which sparked the Enligthenment. Then the Enlightenment started off our series on political revolutions. After that, we looked at the impact the Industrial Revolution had on our world then and now. We are finishing up with the impact the industrial revolution and imperialism have had on our world. Our last big units are about The Great War, the Interwar Period, World War 2, the Cold War, and finishing up with Globalization. The semester final will cover the Cold War and Globalization.
AP World: We are in the final stretch for the AP Exam which is on Thursday, May 11th. The two weeks leading up to the test are major review sessions on Units 1-7 since 8 and 9 should still be fresh in their minds. Students will also be taking parts of a mock exam to get them better prepared for the timing constraints of the AP exam. After the exam, students will create an ABC Dr. Suess book covering a decade or region throughout world history. The project will be due on their finals test day and will present three of their letters to the class.
Wallace Classes:
AP US History: We are busy finishing up all of our review before our AP exam on May 5th! Each day, we will be reviewing a time period from this past year and also will be taking a final exam on May 1st. I have been proud of their hard-work so far this year! We are almost there!
7th Grade Global Studies: In 7th grade Global Studies, we have continued with our study of Africa. Currently, the 7th graders are studying the famine of the 1980s in Ethiopia and the impact of the government policies and decisions during the famine. They will be writing a DBQ essay at the conclusion of the unit related to the famine and then we will end our year with our United Nations simulation!
Kahler 8th History: We are finishing the year with our Civil War unit. The 8th graders will do DBQ’s on Gettysburg, Sherman’s March and Reconstruction. They did a nice job of creating their own Jeopardy games! Our final project will be ranking; people, places, events, and documents from explorers to 1875 in their opinion of importance in US History. We will watch Westward and Civil War videos from the History Channel - Story of US. I have really enjoyed teaching the 8th grade class this year, they worked very hard in class this year!
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