"Striving and Achieving": Modern African-American Culture

What do you value most in this life?
Money?
Family?
Clothing?
Music?
Community Service?

The 8th grade is dicovering what is important to them, and more interestingly, whether that is connected to race, age, or socio-economic status.

Well-known activist Al Sharpton certainly has an opinion, revealed in an interview with the New York Times.

Here's the article.

What do YOU think?

Comprehension Questions
1. What criticism did Al Sharpton have for the Democratic Party in the recent election?
2. According to Sharpton, what is and is not true "black culture"?
3. What happened to the black female cited in the article who was the first in her family to go to college? How does Sharpton feel about this?
4. What are Sharpton's concerns for the future of his daughters?
5. What did Sharpton notice at the rally for H. Carl McCall?

Part II

Groups: If you were born in January-March you are Group 1. If you were born in April-June, you are Group 2. If you were born in July-September, you are Group 3. Lastly, if you were born in October-December, you're Group 4.

Group 1-Civil Rights and Sports
Group 2-Music and Politics
Group 3-Art and Literature
Group 4-Entertainment and Religion

Each group will have two themes (above) related to achievements in African-American culture, such as: civil rights, sports, music, entertainment, art, and literature. Using Encarta and the New York Times, groups must research their topic. Then groups create a sketch for their section of a class mural celebrating the qualities that Sharpton used to define "black culture," namely striving and achieving. Some issues for groups to consider as they sketch the images that they would like to use for their section of the mural include:
--What images will best represent our topic thematically?
--What images (events, people, etc) will best represent the achievements of African-Americans in this area?
--What images will be the most visually striking?
--How can we use our images to tell the story of this theme (e.g., creating a visual timeline or using text as well as images)?

Rubric
10 points--Smaller, rough draft (due Wednesday, March 5)
10 points--C.U.P.S. + Neatly completed + interesting shape for mural + no white space
5 points--1+ photo from magazine
5 points--1+ picture from the Internet
5 points--1+ application of water color paint
5 points--1+ application of crayons, pastels, markers, or colored pencils
10 points--explanation/description for each of the above, being sure to
connect them to your themes.

Final Mural piece due: Friday, March 7th at the end of class.

Today's Monarch

7th graders Nicole, Aar-Yana, Rebekah, and Christine ham it up at the Peace Learning Center at Eagle Creek Park.


From Mr. Heneghan’s class...
• The 8th graders had a swell time visiting our high school, Bishop Chatard on Tuesday. We participated in classical conditioning experiments in a senior-level psychology class, shadowed independently for part of the day, toured Chatard’s new Student Center, and were treated to a scrumptious lunch.
• 6th and 7th graders began learning about Zora Neale Hurtson, a major figure during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920’s and ‘30’s.
• 8th graders on focusing on improving their writing across the curriculum, meaning they want their writing to be well-planned and well thought out in ALL classes.

From Mrs. Bryant’s class...
• Sixth grade students will have a test over bacteria and fungi on Friday. Students should review their class notes and text.
• Seventh grade students created dose response curves for their radish seeds lab, which are being returned in today’s take home folder. Ask your son or daughter what their unknown substance was and how it affected the germination of their radish seeds.
• Eighth grade students are studying Newton’s laws of motion and gravity.
• Phillip Bates, Christian Williams, and Payton Fowlkes will represent St. Joan of Arc at the Archdiocesan Science Fair this Saturday from 11am until 1pm at the CYO Center on Stevens Street.

Learning About the Harlem Renaissance

Among the performers at the SummerStage salute to Zora Neale Hurston on Tuesday were Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, who opened the event by reading some of Hurston's folk tales.


During Black History Month, it is common to discuss the horrors of slavery and the struggle for Civil Rights, but people of color have offered our nation a rich literary history too. Read about the Harlem Renaissance in an article from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20020816friday.html

When taking Cornell notes, be sure to complete the notes section before filling any questions into the Question column.

Part II-More Harlem Renaissance figures
Learn about more black artists and writers who enriched American culture during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and '30s.
Use Encarta, the Library or Congress, the New York Times, and Wikipedia(I have located specific links for you, which are stored in the "Reading" drive at SJA under "Black History Links") to find out more about:
Bessie Smith
Langston Hughes
William Henry Johnson

Some questions you'll want to know the answers to:
1. How did this artist become involved in the Harlem Renaissance?
2. What was this artist's most famous work?
3. What is thought to be this artist's contribution to the world and to black culture?
4. (UPDATED)Each student should prepare a 5 slide PowerPoint presentation.
-Slide 1(10 points): photo plus date of birth/death,
place of birth/death, artistic genre, and a list of 10 of their most
important/best/your favorite works.
-Slide 2(10 points): a Stoplight plan of an essay on their life and
achievements.
-Slide 3 (10 points): An example of their work, plus another photo (label both).
-Slide 4 (10 points): A 200-300 word essay on their life and achievements.
-Slide 5 (10 points): Another example of their work, plus a 5-10 sentence
statement of how YOU feel about this artist and their creations.
5. What is your opinion of this artist? Do you like their works? Why or why not?

The Monarch

In Mrs. Groves’s class...

Mrs. Groves will be in Honduras next week on a mission trip with Hearts in Education Teacher Outreach (HETO). All the middles school students have written letters to the students she will be teaching in Honduras. They also included a picture of themselves.Hopefully the Honduran students will continue to correspond with us after her trip.

While she is away, Mrs. Branham will be covering her classes. The students will be working on an economic unit involving reading paychecks and credit card bills, finding interest and finance charges, writing checks and balancing a checkbook.

In Mr. Carlstedt’s class...

• All students are continuing with Bloom’s Taxonomy and their notes.
• The sixth grade is in ancient Rome and Greece with assessment next week.
• The seventh grade is discovering the rich history of the Far East.
• The eighth grade will be delving further into the causes of the Civil War.

A Service Opportunity for 8th graders!

(Below is a note from an employee at Parkview Cooperative Preschool)

Do any of your students need to earn service hours? Would they be interested in volunteering at a fundraiser for Parkview Cooperative Preschool?

We are a parent-run preschool at 4550 Central Avenue and each spring we host the "Bunny Hop" as our annual fundraiser. Bunny Hop consists of a silent auction for parents and games for young children. In the past, 8th graders from St. Thomas volunteered at the event, but this year we are looking beyond St. Thomas. Most of our 8th grade volunteers are Parkview alums. There may be some at your school too?

It is a really fun event and a great volunteer opportunity for anyone interested in working with children. Volunteers run the games under my supervision and we provide lunch to students who work the entire event (Saturday March 8, 10 am -2 pm).

Please let me know if you have any questions or if your students would be interested.

Thank you,

Marianne Scott Lusk
926-9025

In Mrs. Bryant’s class...

Ask sixth grade students what tasty “bacteria” treat they enjoyed this week, as they learned that not all bacteria are bad, in fact only about 1% of all bacteria are classified as pathogenic, or disease causing. The students’ test over bacteria, protists and fungi, in chapter 12 of their textbook, will be Friday.
Seventh and eighth grade students continue to explore how the concentration or dose of a chemical is what often determines its toxicity. They are currently germinating radish seeds using different concentrations of unknown liquids.
Please feel free to call me (home 841-3952) or e-mail me with questions about progress report scores.
Thank you for sending to school, and please continue to send to school, empty peanut butter jars or any other plastic jars with screw top lids.

In Mr. Heneghan’s class...

See my eclassroom for all the cool writing our students are doing. We are currently working on writing across the curriculum. For example, we have working on using all the great planning techniques we’ve learned in my classes and utilizing them in science and social studies writing too.
8th graders will be going on a fieldtrip-shadowing adventure at our high school, Bishop Chatard, next Tuesday. Lunch and transportation will be provided.
Good luck to the 6th and 7th graders who will be attending the Peace Learning Center at Eagle Creek Park tomorrow.

This Week's Student Scrawling: A Typical Wednesday

Directions: Imagine it's an ordinary Wednesday. School empties out at 3:15 as usual. Bumping into your buddy on the way down the hall, you start gabbing about something you heard at lunch. Something about how to make a mean shrimp quesadilla with guacamole. Your friend reminds you about the wicked score she set on Guitar Hero last night (That's something you swear you'll top tonight!) As you part ways, you pull out your assignment notebook and start planning which homework you're going to do first. Here's what's on tap for you tonight:

-Mr. Carlstedt has a Bloom's assignment over Ch. 10 due tomorrow.
-Mr. Heneghan has assigned vocab unit 6 due for Friday.
-In math, Mrs. Groves has given pgs 256-257 the odds, due tomorrow.
-You have a science test over Electricity (Ch. 11) tomorrow.
-Mrs. Hasbrook will give a Spanish quiz next Tuesday.
-Finally, as with every night, you have 30 minutes of AR reading.

You walk home, go to NYO, or are picked up by a parent. What happens next?

Be sure to include:
1. The homework you do, don't do, and in what order. Explain WHY.
2. HOW and WHERE you do your homework, e.g. write out the definitions, reread the chapter, in your bedroom, at the kitchen table.
3. How long you'll spend doing each part of the homework, and the total, e.g. 45 minutes for math, and two hours total?
4. What do you do besides homework, e.g. dinner, watch American Idol, play video games, chat with family, exercise, and for how long?

Rubric
10 pts-250-300 words
10 pts-C.U.P.S.
10 pts-Cover the above 4 pts
10 pts- 5 transition words, 2 metaphors (minimum)

Due: Friday by 5pm.
(STOPLIGHT plan must be turned in before submission will be accepted)

This Week's Monarch

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Jr. High Religion students have been introduced to the Criterion, the Catholic Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Each student will receive their own copy to study, read, and share with their family. This past week we had the opportunity to search for articles that reflect on the life of Jesus during this special time of the church year called Lent. The students were also assigned to share an article with their parents, grandparents, or caregiver and discuss why they were interested in a poem about Lent, how working at a clinic reflects on their own personal life with Jesus, or talking about the Sacrament of Matrimony. The article about the clinic and the volunteers—doctors & lay people—trying to help the needy, poor, and sick was the most discussed.

Ms. Bobbie Lincoln spent time with the middle school students and shared how we can be strong Christians together: by studying, sharing the Word, and praying together. By standing together we will not be divided. Ms. Bobbie will be returning to Africa in late spring to help minister to the infants and children in a small village. The middle school made blankets for the infants and children of this village.

Mr. Brown, a father of one of our students, will be coming and speaking to our middle school students about being a Minister, Husband, Father, Teacher, Coach, and Friend and still knowing the importance of having Jesus in his life. Mr. Brown is a teacher and coach at Perry Meridian High School.

Sr. Demetria and Sr. Loretto from the Missions Office of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis will be with students on 2/28/08 and talk about their journey in the Mission fields of Africa and Liberia and more. Slides and other materials will be shown to the students to help them understand the universal work that is being done in the world today.

All of this is being shown to help the students realize that Jesus is not just here at SJA, but also around the world. We are made in His image and likeness.

In Mrs. Bryant’s class...

Middle school students explored the copper industry in the United States today using the internet. A few students were able to identify their unknown mineral through a series of tests they performed in Monday’s lab. Mineral quizzes and their worksheets are being returned today in their Thursday folder. Your sixth grade student should be able to tell you why a Valentine’s heart is an easy reminder of how to calculate density,

Seventh and eighth grade students are exploring Chemicals, the Environment and You, a lesson plan from NIH. As one experiment, they will be examining how caffeine affects their heart rate. Students will be given a cola to drink in class for this experiment. Please let me know if you would prefer that your son or daughter observe, rather than participate in this experiment.

In Mr. Carlstedt’s class...

Students are continuing to create and answer questions using Bloom’s Taxonomy. Each section will be a different area. For instance: Section 1 would be Knowledge, Section 2 would be Comprehension and up the ladder as they move forward. I have already heard numerous sound and insightful questions from the students and am very encouraged with the results.

In Mrs. Hasbrook’s class...

The Spanish students have been busy preparing for and taking their chapter test, making Valentines, and writing their pen pal letters. 8th graders have already begun the new chapter on school supplies and clothing and the 6th and 7th graders are soon to follow. We will be writing, performing, and videotaping a dialogue this chapter of a scene in a bookstore or a clothing store. One student will be the sales person and the other will be the customer. Overall the students are doing a good job. They need to remember to bring their Spanish prayer and Spanish notebook to class!

In Mr. Heneghan’s class...


• As always, check out my eClassroom for all kinds of student work, book recommendations, tonight’s homework, pictures from school events, and more: sja-eclassroom-msla.blogspot.com.
• We have written a lot about Lent and how we will commit ourselves more deeply to Christ during this season. This is a great conversation starter for families.
• English vocab test over Unit 5 in grades 6-8 will be on Tuesday. Be on the lookout for study materials over the long Presidents’ Day weekend.
• Each student should read for AT LEAST 30 minutes every night. If you don’t see them reading daily, they probably aren’t. Please encourage them to do this every night. From a parent that I’ve quoted before: “For every hour of TV/Computer/Video games at night, there should be an hour of reading.” Great advice!

This Week's Web Essay: Helping Others

In your previous essay on Lent, many of you outlined how you were going to BOTH grow your personal relationship with God AND help out others in our community. Here are some of the things you had to "say":

I am not going to argue with my brother or sister at all during Lent.

One more thing I want to give up is being mean to others.

I will volunteer more at church because my church gives some of the money that they earn to poor families so that they can get food and clothes.

I would give all of the money that I have to the Salvation Army so they can give the money to the other organizations as well.

In order to give back to my community I will do the best I can to raise and donate money.

I will help people even more than I usually do, and I will pray some more so I can have a better relationship with God.

For Lent this year I plan on giving up junk food.

I am going to pray every night before I go to bed, and when I wake up every morning.

These are all wonderful examples of Lenten self-denial (fasting), prayer, and almsgiving. HOWEVER, they are quite vague and difficult to measure. If you say, "I'm going to pray more" or, "I want to give to the poor", it is not as concrete as saying, "I'm going to pray for ten minutes before I go to bed every night". "I will bring two sacks of clothes to Goodwill this Friday" is also much clearer.

This week's assignment is two-fold. First, describe how well you've been able to put your general goals into action after one week. Next, turn your goals into something much more concrete and measureable.

Rubric:
10 pts--200-250 words + C.U.P.S.
10 pts--A reflection on your progress so far
10 pts--A more concrete plan of action for the remainder of Lent
Due: Friday, February 15, 5pm.

7th Quiz: "Tiger" and "Golden Girls"

Directions: Answer each question in a complete sentence in a Word document. Edit and revise before submitting it in this post's Comments section. Number each of your responses.

1.What does Tiger's letter to Coach Goodwin show about his character?

2. What was Sarah Tueting's dream in college? Why did she nearly give up on this dream?

3. Why did sportswriters complain about covering the finals? Why did they "walk out gushing"?

4. Who was responsible for pushing Tiger to achieve so much in the world of golf?

5. How may the victory of the U.S. women's ice hockey team affect the dreams of other female athletes?

6th Quiz: "Water" and "Talent"

Directions: Answer each question in a complete sentence in a Word document. Edit and revise before submitting it in this post's Comments section. Number each of your responses.

1. Who wrote "Water" and what is unique about her?

2. Explain what Annie Dillard means when she says, "There's no such thing as talent."

3. Why do we "normal" people want to believe, for example, that Rembrandt is just naturally talented, and NOT the product of education and hard work?

4. What does Annie try to teach Helen as a young girl?

5. What event helps Helen recognize the meaning of "water"?

Today's Monarch

The 6th and 8th graders don't know what to make of their weird prizes in Mr. Heneghan's Mystery Box.

In Mrs. Groves’s class...

In sixth grade students have been covering fractions and decimals. They learned how they are connected, and how a fraction like 3/8 is the same value as 0.375. They will proceed to computation with fractions.

Seventh graders have been studying the relationship among fractions, decimals, and percents. They now can convert one to another and compare and order them. They will begin exploring applications with fractions.

Eighth graders are about to complete a unit on percent application. They have learned various methods of solving percentage problems. They know how to find sale prices, compute tax and tip, and determine percent of mark up or discount. They can find the percent increase or decrease and compute simple interest. This is one of the most important units they study, as these concepts are life skills that are needed by every adult.

Up-coming event! Save the date!
Mark you calendars for the evening of Tuesday, March 11th. All middle school students are invited to attend the Indiana Pacers vs. Seattle Sonics game at Conseco Fieldhouse. This is part of our Sports Connection Program with the Actuarial Foundation. A big thank you to Mr. Morris, who was able to get St. Joan of Arc FREE tickets for the game. Details will be forthcoming.

In Mrs. Bryant’s class...

Sixth grade students are exploring minerals and rocks this week. Students will be given an unknown mineral to identify by testing its physical properties such as density, streak, and hardness in Friday’s lab.

Volcanoes worldwide, their past and recent eruptions, and how these eruptions have affected the climate and people near the site is the topic seventh grade students are exploring this week.

Thank you for sending in paper towel tubes. Eighth grade students will use these to learn about the conservation of energy, particularly potential and kinetic energy, as they make roller coasters in class.

In Mr. Heneghan’s class...

• Check out this week’s web essay. The topic? How St. Joan of Arc students will deepen their sense of prayer, choose a way in which they will fast—it doesn’t necessarily have to involve food—and almsgiving.
• My eClassroom also has a slideshow of 6th and 8th grade recipients from my “Mystery Box”. Students who met AR goals chose either a coupon for a free pizza at Pizza Hut or a pull from the box.
• MANNERS: We are placing extra emphasis on manners here at school. Increasingly, we are noticing many of our middle school students failing to say “thank you”, “excuse me”, or “good morning”. Please continue to model these simple, yet all important behaviors at home.

PAPAL MESSAGE FOR LENT 2008

"Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters.In the Lenten period, the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in this process of interior renewal: these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving."

"According to the teaching of the Gospel, we are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbour".

"In the Gospel, Jesus explicitly admonishes the one who possesses and uses earthly riches only for self."

With Lent starting with Ash Wednesday, the Pope reminds of how we must put extra emphasis on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Reflect on how you will address each of these holy acts during the ncxt forty days.

5 pts--C.U.P.S. + 200-250 words
5 pts-Address how you will pray, fast, and give of yourself
5 pts-Readability, Sincerity, Creativity

Submit this into the Comments section on this post only by 5pm on Friday, Februrary 8th.