The weekend is welcome....

We're at the end of a good week, but I think that all of us were ready for the weekend. There are definitely some cold/flu "bugs" around, making some of us feel less than pleasant. Hope you all get plenty of rest this weekend.

Today we made "Thank You" cards for Fr. Mike and Fr. Alex, who came to present(Sept. 12th) to the Jr. High about their missionary work as priests in the Amazon region of Brazil. I had asked the kids to make the cards, and only one student actually produced...thank you Nikki! Today I gave them some more time in Religion class to get the job done, and I received seven. I'm waiting for two now. You know who you are. :)
We finished up our invitations to friends/neighbors to join Christianity. I told the kids to make sure they express in their invitation, "what's in it" for the friends.
We also read through and discussed the "Abuse is not Okay" booklets. It can be uncomfortable to cover some abuse topics, but it is necessary for the kids to be reminded of how not to treat others, and how to protect themselves.

In Math 7, we worked through some more conversions using the Metric System. The kids only had about ten minutes to continue on their assignments, because we used a bit more time for Religion, and I did several examples of conversion problems on the chalkboard as a class. We will continue on the assignment Monday. There is no homework, but I would like the students to "think Metric" this weekend.

In Science 8, we discussed the variable that was responsible for the number of swings/minute in our lab yesterday. The students knew that it was the length that mattered the most. They also knew that if a pendulum clock was "running behind" constantly, we would need to shorten the length of the pendulum to make it keep time more accurately. Then, we watched a movie. It was a good day for a movie. Thank you,Mr. Movies! I love to laugh with the eighth graders. Those kids are hilarious!

In Science 6/7, we read about why leaves change colors in the Fall, and the physiology that allows this to happen. We read about various pigments that are revealed, as the chlorophyll breaks down in the leaves. We did a short lab, involving leaf chromotography. We will see what pigments are drawn out of our leaf samples on Monday. The kids seemed to have fun crushing up their leaves(caveman style) with rocks and bowls, instead of the pestle and mortar that most "equipped" scientists would use. Dichot Keys are due on Monday, along with two attached sheets of family/classmates/friends' answers to the key.

Math 8, students worked on adding Integers. We worked out three warm-up problems on the board, and discussed how positive/negative integers combine. I always compare it to money(being "in the hole" or paying somebody back,) and they seem to get that concept. They completed 1-28 on p. 20.

Last hour, when the band kids left, the rest of us made apple pie bars. They turned out scrumptious! Those kids know how to make homeade pie crust! These bars should freeze well for upcoming church events! The Jr. High has never smelled better!

It's still Friday, and so this annoucement is still on time.....
PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE "ALL SCHOOL LITURGY" ON OCTOBER 1ST, @ 11:00!!!!!
STUDENTS COULD HELP OUT WITH SINGING, COLLECTING, OFFERTORY, READING, or INTENTIONS!!! PLEASE LET US KNOW IF THEY WILL BE THERE!!!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!!!