Knights in the Classroom

Here is an update of what the Knights students are learning in each of their core academic classes:

Algebra Connections
Students in Mr. Clonan's classes started off the year with a review of topics from last year - estimation, decimals, and fractions. By the end of the first nine-weeks, students in Algebra Connections will be ready to discuss percents and how they are related to decimals and fractions. Other upcoming units include ratios, proportions, and Algebra. Aside from learning various topics throughout the first grading period, Knights students were given the chance to take part in the Stock Market Game. For this project, students were told to choose a company of their choice in which they would invest $10,000 (hypothetically!). Students are continuing to watch their companies in the Stock Market throughout the first nine-weeks. The student in each class who earns the most profit by the end of the quarter will win a prize from Mr. Clonan! Stay tuned...

Social Studies
In our Social Studies classes, the Knights are well on their journey towards learning about ancient civilizations and world geography. Our first stop was the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia, which left us the gift of written law. Currently, we are taking a look at one of history's most fascinating civilizations; Ancient Egypt. In addition to ancient civilizations, we are hard at work with our European Countries and Capitals, preparing for our European Geography Test at the end of the 9 Weeks. Future stops on our journey will include the ancient civilizations of India and China, as well as the geography of the Middle East and Asia.

Language Arts
The Knights are off to a strong start in Mrs. Gaetano’s Language Arts class. We began the year with a project called “The Story of Me” in which the students told their life stories using the elements of literature such as character, setting, conflict, and symbol. Next, we laid the foundation for the rest of the year by learning the elements of plot and other literary terms that we will apply to all of our reading throughout the year. Currently, we are working with fictional short stories, focusing on comprehension, plot analysis, and application of literary terms. We’ve also been working on independent reading with the novels Surviving the Applewhites and Tangerine as well as self-selected library novels. With all of this reading, along with vocabulary, journaling, and performance tasks, it’s been a very busy year so far!

English
Mrs. Domske's English students are off to a terrific start. Students began the year with an "All About Me from A-Z" self-reflection poem. Next, they sharpened their quality of writing by studying sentences. Just in time for Halloween, students read the suspenseful short story, "Night Burial," and then demonstrated their creativity by writing their own conclusion for this mysterious cliffhanger. Students wrapped up the nine-weeks with an in-depth look at the writing process.

Science
In Science, Knights students just explored the organization of life from the cell to the ecosystem, with an emphasis on cellular organelles. With the help of Mrs. Barbarino, the unit culminated in a research project on Organ Systems utilizing many aspects of the library resources. All Knights students have opened a NoodleBib account to assist with their preparation of precise research citations. Finally, each expert group shared their findings with their class using self-created illustrations, PowerPoint, and ActiveExpression resources to enhance their presentations. Currently students are pursuing studies of cellular transport and energy acquisition.