Regina Jr Sr High Newsletter
December 2020
From the Principal
We have made it to December with no disruption to in-person learning. The total number of individuals (staff or students) testing positive in the Junior Senior High School is under six. None of the contacts to those cases have resulted in further positive cases. Regina continues to demonstrate an ability to offer a safe and highly productive learning environment. Thank you to everyone for doing what is needed to keep everyone safe and in-person learning a reality.
This month's newsletter has the following:
- Department Updates
- Winter Sports Protocols
- A letter from Mrs. Zoulek on careers
experiences as well.
Advent Family Prayer (xavier.edu)
God of Love,
Your son, Jesus, is your greatest gift to us.
He is a sign of your love.
Help us walk in that love during the weeks of Advent,
As we wait and prepare for his coming.
We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior.
Have A Blessed Advent and Merry Christmas,
Glenn Plummer
Upcoming Events
12/1: JV & V Girls & Boys Basketball at home vs. Tipton
12/2:
12/3: Varsity Wrestling at home
12/4: JV & V Girls & Boys Basketball at home vs. Wilton
12/5: V Wrestling at Pekin Tournament
12/7:
12/8: JV & V Girls & Boys Basketball at Mid-Prairie
12/9:
12/10: V Wrestling at Mid-Prairie
12/11: JV & V Girls & Boys Basketball at home vs. Camanche
12/12: V Wrestling at South Tama Tournament, F/S Boys Basketball @ Durant
12/14: JH Girls Basketball vs. Mid-Prairie (7-away, 8-home), JH Wrestling at HLV
12/15: JH Wrestling at Mt. Vernon, JV & V Girls & Boys Basketball at Durant
12/16:
12/17: JH Girls Basketball vs. West Liberty (7-away, 8-home), V Wrestling at Vinton-Shellsburg
12/18: JV & V Girls & Boys Basketball at Northeast
12/19: V Wrestling Tournament at Regina, JV & V Girls & Boys Basketball at North Cedar
12/21: No School
12/22: No School, JV & V Girls & Boys Basketball at home vs. Bellevue
Rosary Every Wednesday
Winter Sports Protocols
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to modify many events, programs, and activities at Regina. With our winter sports season approaching we want to inform you of the necessary changes that will be taking place to start our winter sports season. These changes will hopefully ensure the safety of our students, coaches, and community members. As with everything during this time, these changes may be modified based on a variety of circumstances.
Face coverings are mandated by the River Valley Conference for all spectators, coaches, and players sitting on the bench.
School-issued tickets will be required to attend all Regina events. This applies to away teams as well. Each student athlete in grades 7-12 participating in basketball or wrestling will be given 2 tickets.
Areas will be blocked off and social distancing is the responsibility of the spectators.
No fans will be allowed for games in the elementary gym.
Junior high games/meets will take place in the high school gym unless there is a conflict with scheduled high school games.
The concession stand will be open.
We all understand that this is not an ideal situation and pray for the day we can all gather for games, concerts, and religious celebrations. Thank you for your understanding.
Bryce Smeins, Jr Sr High School Activities Director
Glenn Plummer, Jr Sr High School Principal
Iowa Seeking to Meet the Demand of Workforce Needs While Raising Iowans' Prosperity
One of my favorite movies is “Robots.” In this animated movie, young robot Rodney Copperbottom has dreams of being an inventor. He moves to a city renowned for innovation, thanks to Bigwell Industries that seeks out robots to invent things that help their lives to be better. Even through some roadblocks, Rodney is inspired by Mr. Bigwell to “find a need, fill a need.” He soon becomes overrun with robots seeking his services and he finds a way to be innovative and make all of his dreams come true.
In the state of Iowa currently, approximately 58% of Iowans, ages 25-64, have training beyond high school, according to Future Ready Iowa. This training could come in the form of a certificate program, registered apprenticeship, or a two or four year degree. The goal set by Future Ready Iowa is to achieve 70% of Iowans having training beyond high school by the year 2025. By the numbers, that would be a little under 140,000 Iowans, both traditional and non-traditional students seeking education beyond high school.
Why is Iowa seeking this goal? Future Ready Iowa reports our state is in a workforce crisis. By the year 2025, Iowa will need at least 68% of our workforce to be trained and educated to meet the demand of upcoming career development expected in the state. Their goal is to accelerate the number of Iowans who earn postsecondary credentials “so our communities continue to prosper in a competitive, technology-driven economy.” One could see, however, in order for Iowans to match the growing career’s needed credentials, there must be an incentive or interest to seek those specific occupational educational and training skills. One of the ways they plan to do this is through the Last Dollar Scholarship.
The Last Dollar Scholarship seeks to bridge the gap between needed job skills and the Iowans seeking to gain the education necessary for these competitive jobs. They’ve created a list of high-demand jobs that expect to see growth and/or have a current need. This scholarship aims to help students pay tuition for these needed credentials, up to an associates degree (typically a two-year program). There are 46 job types, under four occupation areas: advanced manufacturing, construction and engineering, healthcare and biosciences, and information technology. (For a full list, see www.futurereadyiowa.gov)
What does this mean for students getting ready to graduate high school?
It means there are many options for desirable and needed jobs.
It reduces financial barriers to post secondary education options.
It encourages all students, regardless of academic, socioeconomic or cultural background to seek a degree program worthy of improving a student’s quality of life over the course of one’s lifetime.
There are many in-demand jobs for when students are ready to enter the workforce.
Most, if not all of these jobs, have above average entry level salaries.
The likelihood of these careers being an in-demand skill has a longevity level to make it someone’s life-long career option, or simply a stepping stone to more advanced training and skills.
Students trying to answer the ever-present “what do I want to be when I grow up” question, should look to these occupations first. They might find careers that not only feed their interest, but also meet a needed job in Iowa’s economy. For more information regarding the Future Ready Iowa initiative, go to www.FutureReadyIowa.gov. They encourage every Iowan to “find a need, fill a need.”
Written by Lynne Zoulek, Regina Jr/Sr High School Counselor
November 29, 2020
Chromebooks
Also, please remind your students to charge their Chromebook every night.
Department Updates
Visual Art
Business, Technology, Media Center
Library News
The Library Catalog is currently unavailable, as we consider a switch to providers, however students can still check out books, and we still have access to library records, and are able to help students find the books they need through other means. Any student who wants to request a book can use the form at https://tinyurl.com/rhsrequest
Computer Applications
Last week, we had keyboarding races. After looking at the progress reports in Typing Club (our keyboarding app) I was happy to find that on average, speed increased from 21 wpm to 35 wpm. That is awesome. Carter Slager won the prize for the most time spent practicing, most lessons passed, and highest wpm. There was a 3-way tie for second place speed in Typing Club, between Howie O’Rourke, Trajan Plummer and Andrew Greve. When we got to the races, Evan Schemmel took the lead, topping out with 1,000 points to win the prize. His wpm was 43, followed by Howie and Carter at 41.
Personal Finance
This month students are continuing toward achieving basic financial literacy knowledge that is needed to be a productive and successful (financially) adult in today’s society. We are starting this month with an Insurance Unit. This unit covers the 7 basic types of insurance needed (life, health, auto, disability, identity theft, homeowner’s, renters). The test for this unit will be on Thursday, December 3rd . We will then move over and talk about Money and Relationships. In this unit we identify how our money relates to our values and attitudes. We also discuss how important financial matters with household members can reduce conflict once married. We end the unit discussing the value of communication and how it pertains to your money. This test will be on December 9th. Then prior to Christmas Break we will dive into Careers and Taxes. This unit looks at self assessments, goal setting, struggles of entry level jobs, best practices, income and taxes. This unit concludes on December 18th.
Economics
The students are coming out of Thanksgiving break starting a new chapter. The students will spend the next two weeks looking at Inflation and how it affects their daily life, purchasing power, investments and even pay. The test for this unit will be Thursday, December 10th. We will then spend the next week starting our next unit which covers Fiscal and monetary policy. This is a great discussion especially coming out of the election process and beginning a new year.
This week we will be starting a unit using Google Sheets, with a final project using sports statistics. Most work should be completed in class unless absent.
Following the spreadsheet unit, we will start a coding unit, and participate in the "Hour of Code" with other students throughout the school.
English Language Arts
The 9th-grade freshmen English class is finishing up Farhenheit 451. We've enjoyed the dystopian science fiction novel very much. To get in the holiday spirit we will finish 2020 by reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
The 11th grade AP English Language and Composition class is focusing on essay writing and supporting claims with evidence. We will continue to work toward our goal of preparing for the May exam by completing a practice exam in class. We will finish up the semester by reading The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald.
Seniors. When you walk the halls of the elementary school, you get to see all sorts of examples of student work. Now is your 'virtual' opportunity to see what the Senior English class and AP Literature have done in English. The following links will let you see what they have accomplished. Judge for yourself, but I must add that (good, bad, or indifferent) I have never had, in 42 years, a group of seniors who worked so conscientiously on these units. I am sure they had less fun than I did, but nonetheless they have been a real joy to work with. Such effort!
Hawk Tales per. 6> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e5hr4vhQYpB_LQCBo-_PLQNt8Vq3yhXvu8lKFCD6Ghg/edit?usp=sharing
Hawk Tales per. 7> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y3PSZYD3-AuCy9c6Nt4XNxTGpuzEFo1D1VfaHr_6okQ/edit?usp=sharing
Sonnets> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X71egNgxP4QC2O22yDVPpSaDIepJ2InbcH5nykbJv8s/edit?usp=sharing
Villanells> https://docs.google.com/document/d/18bwVNnfguMWthznc4GHa7NBLiSdQnthsmRw5mP3HU1U/edit?usp=sharing
Sestinas> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eCP7Cl95bRE39DQQZYBHD1rQ-vlIokYRwV2FbAHYqjI/edit?usp=sharing
Family & Consumer Science
FACS 1 6th period
There may only be 4 boys in this class physically, but it definitely feels like there are a dozen of them at times. I think I learn something new from them everyday. Hopefully they are doing the same. They are beginning to sew their pillows. The goal is to be done by Christmas, and I'm pretty sure that will happen. We will also be doing Laundry and Ironing as soon as we finish the pillows. Both of these will have an assignment in which a parent signature is required, so if your child is starting to do laundry or iron without being asked, you now know why. As the semester comes to an end, we will hopefully get to enjoy the Cooking Unit.
FACS 1 8th period
Coming off of a class full of quarantining, I'm sure the one student that was in person for 14 days was happy to have everyone back in person. That's a lot of one on one time. :) We finished up the Laundry Unit and the Ironing Unit - both have assignments that are due this week and both require a parent signature. We started their pillows this week and will be done by Christmas. I'm actually going to push them to be done by Christmas so they can take them home over break. When we get back from break we should be ready for the Cooking Unit - which is always everyone's favorite.
Culinary Arts 1
In the last couple of weeks we have been busy with our Cheese Unit and Pie unit, and in between took a day off to bake filled cupcakes and cookies. Be sure to ask your kids what kind of pie they had and what cookies or cupcakes they made. I was hoping that some of this cooking would rub off on their own Thanksgivings but when I asked the classes who helped with Thanksgiving, only a couple said they helped. Note to self: make it an assignment to have them cook something or clean up at Thanksgiving. :) They did have a class Thanksgiving dinner - complete with Homemade Chicken Nuggets, mashed potatoes and lots of desserts.
December brings on an individual presentation project in which they are responsible for cooking something for the class. There is a rubric of all the requirements on Google classroom and I went over it Monday and Tuesday with the students. Everyone seemed like they had an idea of what they wanted to make, so that's good! Some of them chose recipes from home, so if they are asking you about a recipe, that is probably why. It's worth 70 points so it is a pretty big project. I'm sure December will go fast, so I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!
Learning Center
Junior High
If your student is struggling with late assignments, It will be pretty important to work hard and get caught up before the holidays are upon us. Please be aware that i am willing to work with any of my students after school hours if needed.
Math
Geometry
Geometry is starting to shape up, we just completed our 3rd unit and are moving into our 4th unit congruent triangles. This unit involves proofs and will take us up to Christmas break.
Topics for our unit
3.7 Equations of lines in coordinate plane
3.8 Slope of parallel and Perpendicular lines
4.1 Congruent figures
4.2 Triangles congruence by SSS and SAS
4.3 Triangle congruence by ASA and AAS
Algebra 2: We are finishing up factoring and solving equations and will be moving on to Completing the Square, Quadratic Formula, and Imaginary Numbers. These are new concepts for students and will require a lot of hard work.
Precalculus
Our calculations for December in Precalculus we will be finishing our unit on exponential functions next week with the test planned for the week of December 7th. Followed by the start of our work on matrices which we will finish after Christmas break.
A new section of honors work has been put on google classroom. Students will need the green textbook to complete this work I’ll be adding to it every two weeks. This work focuses on materials going into stats and calculus that would be helpful to anyone looking to take either of those classes in the future. If you have questions feel free to email me.
Topics for December
3.4: Solving Logarithmic Equations and Exponential
4.1 Operations of Matrices
4.2 Determinants and Multiplicative Inverses
AP Calculus AB: We are working on Related Rates (which is a lengthy and difficult section) and will finish up Unit 4 with Linear Approximations and L'Hospital's Rule.
AP Calculus BC: We are finishing up our Unit 6-8 topics (Euler's Method, Logistic Regression, and Arc Length) and will be moving into Parametric and Polar Equations.
High School Calculus: We just took a quiz on Power Rule, Product Rule, and Quotient Rule. We'll review those topics some more (as they are the foundation for the rest of the course) and then move on to the Chain Rule.
Statistics: We just finished Chapter 3 (Probability) and will be starting Chapter 4 (Distributions of Random Variables). The first topic in Chapter 4 is the Normal distribution, which will be used heavily throughout the rest of the course.
Math Club
Junior High Math Club meets Tuesday and Friday mornings at 7:30 am in Mrs. Hill's room (609). We're working on Math Counts curriculum, as well as preparing for Math League and American Scholastic Mathematics Association contests, both of which occur monthly.
High Math Club meets Wednesday mornings at 7:30 am in Mrs. Hill's room (609). We're preparing for Math League and American Scholastic Mathematics Association contests, both of which occur monthly, as well as the AMC 10 and AMC 12 exams given in February.
We'd love to have new members join us. Please email Mrs. Hill (beth.hill@icregina.com) with any questions or to obtain the Classroom Code to join us online.
Music
P.E.
School Counselor
Upcoming events/promotions through the Student Services Office:
- Nov. 30th - December 2nd Sophomore and Junior Kirkwood dual enrollment highlights/college & career planning discussions
- December 8th: Juniors doing Mock Interviews Online
- December Date TBD: 7th grade STEM Career Virtual Field trip
- December--registering Sophomores and Juniors to take the PSAT
- January 18th: ACT Prep seminar by ZAPS, onsite at Regina
- January 26th: PSAT test date for Sophomores and Juniors
A note from Kirkwood for our Sophomore and Junior students:
Are you interested in taking Kirkwood course next year? If you’re interested in specific opportunities or just want to learn more, please complete go to this link and complete this form: www.kirkwood.edu/interestinventory. After you complete the form, you will be contacted by Hailey Hebl to help answer questions for you. It’s never too early to get started! You can also email Hailey directly if you have questions, hailey.hebl@kirkwood.edu.
Science
7th grade science - Mrs. Coffin
We are going to spend December finishing the Human Body systems! Then it's on to genetics...a great way to find out WHY our bodies are like they are! We are going to plant Brassica rapa and watch as it grows - attempting to identify the characteristics needed to identify the parent plants. Watch for details on the unit: Who's your daddy?
8th Grade Science - Mrs. Goldsmith
Science 8 students are finishing up the life science portion of the year with ecosystems and biomes. From there we will switch to the physical sciences and start with waves, sound, and light.
Earth & Space Science (9th) - Mrs. Coffin
We are mucking around in Earth's deepest time, learning about how our planet formed. We should be finished before Christmas. We will take a brief break to review material covered this semester, to prepare for finals. Then it's on to learning about how this dynamic planet works. We will cover plate tectonics, volcanoes, and earthquakes!
Biology - Mr. LaKose
Biology students have wrapped up conversations about the cell cycle (including cancer and genetic disorders), mitosis and meiosis and are now in the thick of genetic inheritance. We are working through simple dominant vs. recessive inheritance patterns to start, and will be building on that foundation to discuss other inheritance patterns (co-dominance, incomplete dominance, X-linked traits, multiple alleles, etc.).
Chemistry - Mrs. Goldsmith
Students are wrapping up our measurements and calculations chapter. Significant figures, metric conversions, and dimensional analysis were the topics we covered. Next up will be The Mole (not the animal, skin growth, or national dish of Mexico, but Avogadro's number).
Physics - Mr. Staab
Physics has been filled with friction over the past few weeks as we look at friction in both 1 dimension and 2 dimensions. The test on this section will fall in the week of December 7th. After finishing friction our next stop will be projectile motion.
Anatomy & Physiology - Mr. LaKose
We are winding up our conversation of the skeletal system, including working through all ~206 bones. We will begin joints and movements soon, then moving onto the muscular system. Our semester will wrap up with the lab practicum over the musculature of the fetal pig.
AP Biology - Mr. LaKose
Students are wrapping up Unit 3 prior to finishing Unit 4 at the end of semester 1. Cellular Respiration has been completed and we’ll be completing a lab concerning factors that influence photosynthesis before our Unit 3 test.
Principles of Biomedical Science - Mr. LaKose
Students just wrapped up the Anna Garcia case, including submitting their final autopsy reports and closing their cases. Just when we think we’re done and ready to move on, we get word that there has been another death for our forensic team to decipher, oh no!
Social Studies
7th Grade Contemporary Global Studies: As we finish up with our study of Central & South America, the students have been working on a mini-Document Based Question essay (DBQ) over just how wealthy is the country of Brazil? The students are examining the wealth of Brazil on three scales; global, regional, and local. They examined and analyzed documents related to GDP, GDP per capita, monthly wages of Brazilians, and the living conditions in the favelas. Prior to Thanksgiving break, the 7th graders started to write their mini-DBQ essays over this question and will finish them up after they return from break. Next, we will travel to the Middle East and examine the crisis in Syria.
8th Grade U.S. History: We have been studying moving toward independence of the Colonies. We looked at Paul Revere's engraving of the Boston Massacre and the viewpoints of the Colonist and British. We researched the Acts placed on the Colonists by England. Each student researched a fort, from Fort Necessity to a modern military base. We finished up our Biography II reading. We took a virtual tour of Mt Vernon, home of George Washington and had to locate certain items on the plantation grounds.
World History: The Roman empire has fallen to invasions, political infighting, and discontent of the people. The Catholic Church is still going strong and we will be discussing the impact the fall is going to have on Europe, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean Sea. December will focus on the Early Middle Ages (feudalism, kings, Byzantine Empire, early Russia) and the Church’s impact on Western Society. Students also had the chance for bonus points by disguising Gobble the Turkey as a person, item, or concept that we have discussed so far in class and write a persuasive essay. Good news all of Gobble’s disguises worked and he has been spared. Pictures are below of some of the top disguises.
Government: The rest of the semester will focus on the judicial branch. Students will learn the difference between civil and criminal court cases. We will look into the jury system by watching 12 Angry Men and comparing/contrasting the movie to present-day juries. Students will also become defense or prosecuting lawyers in the case of SpongeBob Squarepants murder trial. Students will also research and study landmark cases of the Supreme Court system and how the Supreme Court system works. Along the way, students will learn key terms used in the court system and their rights in the court process as a defendant and a prosecutor.
AP Modern World History: Students are smack dab in the time period of 1450-1750. Columbus has sailed the ocean blue. England, Spain, and Portugal are expanding their empires. This time period focuses on commercial trade and the impact that trade had on the world. We will discuss the impact of silver, fur, and other agricultural foods on Europe, Africa, and Asia. Students will research the impact and consequences of the Atlantic slave trade on the Americas but also in African society. Also during this time, we see a major impact of Christianity on Europe as well as where the Europeans settled and conquered, specifically the impact of the Protestant Reformation. Also in the realm of religion, we will look at how other places reacted to Christianity and the other major religions and their impact on their areas like Islam and Hinduism. Students will look at the major scientific revolutions and research Enlightenment thinkers and their impact on society. This will take us to the end of the semester.
AP US History: We have continued with a brisk pace in AP US History and are now in Period 4 which covers from 1800-1848. During our study of Period 4, the students wrote essays over the main question, "How Jeffersonian was Jefferson?", participated in a Monroe Doctrine simulation with secret diplomacy, and just presented Market Revolution inventions through a Shark Tank activity. We will be finishing up Period 4 prior to Thanksgiving break and the students will then be testing over Period 4 on Thursday, December 3rd. We will then start Period 5 and will then finish up Period 5 by the time of semester finals in January of 2021.
Spanish
Spanish I
In the Spanish I class, Students are learning how to talk about their classes
and daily schedules; they ask and tell time and tell at what time they have classes.
They can say what supplies they have for classes; they can say what activities (los
quehaceres) they do and how often they do things. They are learning the verbs tener,
estar, and Ir.
*** Tentative Unit 2 Test is next week.
Spanish IV
In Spanish IV class, students are learning how to express a point of view or
opinion about Human Rights, the Environment / the community and possible solutions
using verbs in the Conditional tense, Present and Perfect Subjunctive Mood with
Expressions, Ud. Uds. and Nosotros Commands.
*** Tentative Unit 2 Test next week.
Vera Lazarre
Español 2
As we start the month of December, we will be learning the progressive tense and some
irregular verbs in the past tense.
Students will be working on written project about their favorite and less favorite foods,
drinks and desserts for all 3 meals of the day. Later on we will focus on the direct and
indirect object pronouns. We will close our present unit with a test the week of Dec. 7.
Students will work on a study guide for this test.
Español 3
In Spanish 3 we continue with the present and past tense of reflexive verbs including
irregulars. We are also reviewing places in the community. To end the vocabulary unit
students will be designing their own city with stores and places found in a community.
We will have a unit test before the Christmas break. Students will be provided with a
study guide.
Before the Christmas break, we will try to get into the imperfect tense.
Sra. McAndrew
Theology
VIA: In Welter’s VIA, we have finished up our unit on God, The Trinity, and Creation. We will start doing activities relating to the Advent Season, along with Human Sin. Some topics we will cover include Adam and Eve, Original sin, The Ten Commandments and Reconciliation.
In Conlon's Via, we have finished Unit 7 on Human Sin, which covered Original Sin & the 10 Commandments. We have continued with our Word of the Week & Scripture Power Verses to memorize as well as bi-weekly check ins to see how well we are doing in school, in life and with friends. We are moving on to Unit 8 - The Redeemer. We will also be covering Advent and the Liturgical Calendar. A group of seniors introduced us to their Christmas Basket Family and we are all excited to do what we can!
Theology 10: We had a fantastic month in Theology, kids worked hard on assignments and had great discussions! We finished up the Virtus Soph requirement for the Diocese, the focus was on making good choices and how to respond to situations. They had different scenarios to give advice on. We continue to have reflection questions on the weekly Gospel. We have completed the first two Divinity Quizzes, that focus on basic Theological knowledge
Theology 11: In Religion 11, we have completed Chapter 5 which focuses on conscience and the SEER method of decision making. We will then take some time to look at resume building, and the Workplace Learning Connection will do virtual mock interviews. This aligns with our second semester vocations unit, but thought it would be beneficial to get it done during first semester. After this unit, we will continue with Reconciliation and the Ten Commandments.
Theology 12: Seniors completed Chapter 1- The Sacramental Nature of the Church.. We are moving into Chapter 2 - What Happens in the Sacraments to finish before Christmas break. Seniors completed the recording of the Christmas Basket Prayer Service and did a phenomenal job. They are visiting their Religion/VIA classes in order to introduce their Christmas Basket Family to more members of our community and they continue to work on various fundraising efforts.
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