Middle School Classes

6th - 8th Grade

MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSES

MIDDLE SCHOOL THEOLOGY - YEAR 3

Tutors: Anne Shank, Angie Rapelje

Middle School Theology is a three-year rotating course that studies Catholic Apologetics in the first semester and the teachings from the Catechism in the second semester.

For the 2019-2020 school year, students will be reading through Amy Welborn's Prove It! God book. In addition to the study of the the apologetics on God, students will be preparing a project on their favorite saint in anticipation of All Saints Day.

Second semester will procede with a course on the Catechism using the New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism 2 as well as the Lego Catechism of the Seven Sacraments.

The teachers will also be presenting short lessons on the virtues as well as saint feast days.

Class Website: https://soicoop.wixsite.com/mstheology/

Prerequisites: none

Book List:

Prove It! God by Amy Welborn -$9.95
Baltimore Catechism 2 (copywrite 1999 or 2011 vs. original 1969-1962)
LEGO Catechism of the Seven Sacraments*:

Holy Heros - $29.95 ($5 off now!) + shipping = $36.26

Amazon.com - $34.94

* Only one (1) LEGO Catechism is needed per family.

Other materials needed: 3-ring binder, bible, and pen/pencil

COST: Buy your own books; $5 for handouts/materials in class

MIDDLE SCHOOL LIFE SCIENCE

Tutors: Nicki Herold, Cindy Carroll, Theresa Johnson

Middle School Science for 2019-2020 will use the Catholic Heritage Curriculum’s “Behold and See 6” student text and workbook. Which “provides students with an in-depth, conceptual understanding of physical science, ecology, and astronomy while communicating the richness and order of God’s creation and reflecting on the proper use of scientific knowledge for the glory of God.” This series is easily comprehensible for middle school students while remaining content rich. It is designed to be used 6th grade year as far as it’s ‘difficulty level’. We also plan to do many labs, a scientific research paper, and a ‘science fair style’ project.

Students should be capable of coming to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings and well as completing at-home assignments in a timely manner. This will be similar to the 2018-19 class in that students should expect to spend time daily working on science. Expect 45 min on average a day 4 days a week, roughly. Middle School is a “flipped classroom” approach where students do the majority of their work at home, then come to class where we review, clear up confusion, perform labs, etc. Parents should still be able to be fairly hands-off, but do need to ensure their students have time set aside in their daily schedule. This will also set them up to succeed in high school. Test will be sent home so parents can decide if they are open/closed book and timed/untimed based on the grade and/or ability of their student. Projects and reports will also be done as ‘at home’ work.

From the CHC Website:

Behold and See 6 Textbook features an engaging, conversational style; a lavishly-illustrated, full-color interior; and hands-on experiments that actually work. Straight-forward explanations help students to master concepts as simply and easily as possible, while the hands-on approach allows students to actually do science instead of just reading about it. Behold and See 6 succeeds in teaching conceptually advanced material in a way that grabs students' interest.

Behold and See 6 focuses on physical science, ecology, and astronomy:

Physical science, chemistry and physics; in Unit 1, students study and experiment with matter and energy, electricity and magnetism, levers and pulleys, and similar topics.
In Unit 2, students tour the biomes of the world, meeting creatures as amusing as the shovel-snouted lizard and as sinister as the strangler fig. Along the way, students learn about interdependence, food chains, climates, and the remarkable “equipment” God has given His creatures to help them survive.
In the third and final unit, students discover the wonders of astronomy, using the skills learned in Units 1 and 2 to explore the night sky, solar system, galaxies, and the universe.

Behold and See 6 Workbook: The accompanying Student Workbook provides student-friendly exercises, research assignments, Science Notebook assignments, experiments, star-gazing activities, extension activities, weblinks, and a complete answer key.

Book List:
-Behold and See 6 Student Text (at least 1 per family)
-Behold and See 6 Workbook (one per student)
https://www.chcweb.com/catalog/ByGradeLevel/SixthGrade/BeholdandSee6/product_info.html

Optional, recommended:
-Everything You Need to Ace SCIENCE in one big fat notebook (Available for $9.49 at Costco)
(This can be used through all years of middle school science)

Supply List:
- Binder
- Filler Paper in binder
- Tabbed Binder Dividers (min 3)
- Folder (👆🏻or dividers with pockets)
- Pencils/Pens
- Colored Pencils
- Highlighters
- Post-it/Sticky Tabs 3/4"+ wide
- Optional: Graph Paper

Class Website: Behold and See 6

COST: $20 lab fee

MIDDLE SCHOOL ART

Tutors: Jeselyn Basler, Renu Joseph

This year we will focus on learning the principles and elements of art and design through several different mediums. We will do some drawing, painting and sculpture. We will also incorporate art history through our lessons. We will learn about several different art periods and artists.

COST: $75

MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY

Tutors: Joelle Engle, Sarah DeMott, Andrea Cook

In this class, we will be studying Medieval History using Connecting with History.
Connecting with History is a Catholic, chronological, literature based history curriculum
published by RC History.

We will be using the RC History, Connecting with History program as a Co-op. Each family participating in the program is required to purchase the Year 2 syllabus (licensing requirement).

Class Materials:

Light to the Nations textbook (by Catholic Textbook Project) $69.95
57 stories of Saints (by Anne Eileen Heffernan) $17.95
Famous Men of the Middle Ages (by John H. Haaren & A. B. Poland) $ 16.95
A Graphic Life of Jesus Christ (by Rev. Albert Joseph Mary Shannon) $9.95
Famous Men of Rome (by John H. Haaren & A. B. Poland) $16.95
For the literature portion of the class, we will be reading from various other selections but those can be checked out at your local library.

More Info from the teachers can be found in this Word doc letter:

COST: purchase the materials listed above on your own; $15 supply fee