Upcoming Events!

Here's a look at what's happening for 8th grade in the near future.....

--St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 17th
-- Spring Break begins Saturday, March 28th-Sunday, March 5th. School resumes on Monday, April 6th.
-- Friday, April 17th is SJA Bingo Night at 6:30pm!
-- Wednesday, April 22nd is Earth Day cleanup!!
-- Spring ISTEP begins April 27th
--Field Trip to Cristo Rey and DOW Chemicals is on May, 6th
--May Crowning is Friday, May 8th
--"Keep Indianapolis Beautiful"in partnership with Eli Lilly for their Lilly Day of Service. We will cleanup around the school grounds, plant flowers, etc. which is on Wednesday, May 20th
--Light of the Leadership Mass is Thursday, May 21st at 9am
--Cultural Arts Day at 6pm
--8th grade graduation is on Thursday, May 28th (Dinner at 5:30pm & Ceremony at 7pm)
--Last Day of School is Friday, May 29th!!!!!!!!!!

2009 Newsbowl Online Current Events League Update!

The 6th grade Social Studies is participating in the 2009 Newsbowl Online Current Events League. The students are in teams and they answer national and international current event questions to compete with other 6th grade students around the nation. You can track their progress at: www.newsbowl.com
The competitions are held at the end of each month.

Congratulations to Shani Ayers, Hadley Branham, and Andrea Burnett-Sircy for ranking 59th in the nation for the month of February. Also, congratulations to Mary Cate Pachciarz, Clark Hutchings, and Samantha Carroll for ranking 71st in the nation for the month of February. The Newsbowl League recognizes the top 100 teams each month in the country. Great job!:)

Congratulations Ben Osborn!

Ben will be the SJA representative at the state level of the National Geographic Geography Bee on Friday, April 3rd at IUPUI. Ben won the SJA National Geographic Bee competition and then took a written test to qualify for the state level. Hooray!

Slam-in-the-Schools (Mayhem Poets) Field Trip

Slam-in-the Schools Field Trip ( February 4th, 2009) -

Students in grades 5th-8th, will be viewing a special poetry performance by the Mayhem Poets on February 4th at Butler's Clowes Memorial Hall.

Who are the Mayhem Poets?
Performance poetry is an accessible, appealing art form that can motivate students to foster an appreciation for both classic and contemporary poetic/theatrical expression.
Utilizing hip-hop rhythms and dynamic theatrical techniques, the Mayhem Poets have developed powerful performances and workshops to to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to craft and perform original poetry.

6th grade- Newsbowl 2009

Newsbowl 2009-

I am very excited that 6th grade will be participating in a monthly "News Bowl Online Current Events League." The league is a student-centered learning activity that promotes lifelong learning. The students will be placed in teams and will be competing against other schools around the country on their knowledge of current events! Each team will be given 50 rigorous questions on the computer and work together to solve the questions. So, please have your child reading the newspaper or watching the evening news to keep up to date with the events happening around the world. Thanks so much, Miss Tollefson:)

3rd Grading Period

Hey All!
I just wanted to give you an update on the topics that grades 6th-8th are studying in Social Studies. The 6th & 7th graders research reports are due this Friday, January 30th.

6th grade- Ch.7 Mexico Today

7th grade- Ch.15 Southeast Asia Today

8th grade- Ch.9 Launching a New Republic (1789-1800)

Update on 6th-8th Curriculum

The topics in Social Studies that middle school is currently focusing on:


6th- Latin America

7th- South Asia & Southeast Asia

8th- Post American Revolution