EIGHTH GRADE Mandarin I
The goal of first year Mandarin Chinese is to teach students essential daily conversation skills, expand vocabulary skills, practice rhythms to improve tonality and accent, introduce writing strokes and stroke order, and to learn beginning characters. Students will also learn to read basic characters. We also explore Chinese culture and history.
Spanish I
Spanish I provides students with the tools they need to communicate effectively. The students develop skills in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, writing (including the grammatical and structural aspects of the language), and critical thinking. These skills are coordinated with an introduction to cultural awareness.
German I
German I provides students with the tools they need to communicate effectively. The students develop skills in the areas of listening speaking, reading, writing (including the grammatical and structural aspects of the language), and critical thinking. These skills are coordinated with an introduction to cultural awareness.
Catholic Christianity
This course is designed to pick up from the Seventh Grade Hebrew Scriptures course.
In Eighth Grade,
students study the life and teachings of Jesus with an eye to examining their own lives. We focus on Christian moral decision-making, values-based living, and ways to reach out to others through service. As a capstone project, each student researches and develops his or her own service project.
Studio Art
This is a hands-on studio art experience where students explore various two-dimensional and three-dimensional media as they respond to level-appropriate essential questions. Students are introduced to powerful design concepts, vocabulary, effective art-making techniques, and knowledge of an art-historical timeline. Art projects are challenging, open-ended and involve choice. On Fridays,
10
students have the exciting experience of navigating through art stations. Each year during Art Week, students work with artists-in-residence and visit local art galleries. All Middle School art students have the opportunity of sharing their artwork with the community in quarterly art exhibitions. Overall the Middle School studio class inspires St. Mary’s art students to create and to enjoy the experience of gaining feedback from their teacher, their cohort and the larger community.
Physical Education
Physical Education allows students to develop positive enjoyment of a variety of physical skills and activities. Students are introduced to physical fitness activities as a lifetime goal, and there is additional emphasis on health and wellness.
Creative Computing 2
This course is a continuation of the computational thinking and problem-solving skills introduced in Creative Computing. We use the Pencil Code online programming environment, learning CoffeeScript, HTML, and CSS. Projects include coding a chatbot, creating games, and integrating computational thinking and coding into other classes.
X-Bin
Beginning in Sixth Grade, Middle School students have a class each day that’s known as an X-Bin. X-Bins are elective courses that meet daily (or every other day) for one mod. These courses, which are homework-free, give students the opportunity to explore, be creative, and try new things. Some X-Bin courses are offered every mod, while others are offered less frequently, and students can select a different course each mod. Examples of X-Bin courses include Band, Orchestra, Strength and Agility, First Aid and CPR, Sports Skills Clinics (such as basketball and volleyball), Leadership, and Painting.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
