Current Happenings...

Here's a bit of WHAT'S UP in middle school English and Bible! :)

7th English: We just finished a riveting grammar unit.  (Sarcasm?  I think not!) We are putting our grammar skills to practice by writing in response to various prompts.  We are in the middle of a poetry unit as well!  The students have taken notes on various forms of poetry and poetic devices.  We will be reading and writing much poetry in the next few weeks.  The students should also be memorizing their speech meet piece.  As always, we will continue with vocabulary lessons as well.

7th Bible: Our Unit 3 test on Job and Ecclesiastes is Tuesday November 22nd.  The students have done a great job with this unit, and we have learned so much!  They worked hard to memorize Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 ESV, and they will also display this knowledge on their test. If you ask your student for his notes and study guide, you will see the wonderful themes and information we have discussed.  We will begin Unit 4 on Proverbs when we return from Thanksgiving.

8th English: We are mastering the rules of MLA Format (writing formal research papers) along with beginning a poetry unit.  I love reading, analyzing, memorizing, and writing poetry with these students.  The eighth graders will be learning many poetic devices and forms of poetry along with getting familiar with beautiful classic poems that have withstood the test of time.  We will be creating poetry portfolios as well during this unit.  Vocabulary and grammar will continue, par usual.

8th Bible: We are getting pretty deep in Bible class these days.  Our current unit is more theological and philosophical.  The students memorizing a passage in Philippians, and we are looking at God's word, praying together, and devoting time to growing our faith through accountability, Scripture reading, and more.  Last week, each student devised a specific plan to enhance Spiritual growth.  Our next unit focuses on church history and is more "factual."  Right now we are enjoying focusing our hearts on Jesus and God's glorious Word alone.  I'm blessed to be around this young cloud of witnesses.

Up and Running!

I know that RenWeb is keeping you up to date on assignments, but here is another snippet of what is happening in my classes...

7th Grade English: We are working on grammar.  We have mostly been reviewing grammar but have learned a few new concepts.  We shall see how well the work has sunken in after this Tuesday's assessment.  We just finished a novel and have already written two papers: a personal essay and a literary critique of sorts, both in the five paragraph essay format to reinforce supporting a three-point-thesis with specific evidences.  Our next literature unit (starting Monday) is on myths, legends, and folktales.   We have finished two vocabulary units and will continue working on vocab as well during this quarter.

7th Grade Bible: We finished the first unit, an overview of the Old Testament. Now we are on to Unit Two: The Nine Jewish Feasts.  Please see the handout and information given regarding the project that coincides with this unit.  It is so awesome to see how Christ is the fulfillment of each festival and feast!

8th Grade English: We finished our first literary work, A Midsummer Night's Dream.  We had so much fun with this drama; I think the students have fallen in love with Shakespeare.  They really understood the beautiful, and often silly, Shakespearean language.  We have an essay AND the first two vocabulary units under our belts, and we will complete another paper and two more vocab units before the quarter ends.  Our next literature unit  (starting Monday) is on Corrie TenBoom's The Hiding Place, The Diary of Anne Frank, and poetry from the Holocaust.  This will lead us into our Washington DC Trip where we will be visiting the Holocaust museum.  Additionally, the students will be writing research papers on one aspect of the Holocaust.  Of course we will also have continual grammar lessons throughout our literature units.  See RenWeb for assignments and tests/quiz dates.

8th Grade Bible:  We finished the first unit, The Early Church in the New Testament.  The class test average was a 91%, which is very high!  I joked that I would try to make the next assessment much more difficult.  We are currently working on the second unit in our curriculum: Themes of the New Testament.  As we look at the persecuted church, our hearts are filled with gratitude that we can openly talk about our Savior who loves us so much!  We have been having wonderfully deep conversations about theology and more complicated themes presented in Scripture.  Pray for our class through these topics as my only desire is to point them to Jesus and to a hunger for the Word of God.

I must confess...I took them out for recess...

Genesis 15:5

Today in 7th grade, our Bible class lesson was about God's promises to Abraham and how this everlasting covenant is equally for us as well.  I was inspired to take the students outside for some reason...

Genesis 15:5 -6:  He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

After some discussion and Scripture reading, the students worked on writing down all the promises God had made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  It was so beautiful outside today, and I am thankful that we could enjoy our class among God's creation.

Meet the Eighth Grade!

The eighth grade class at Trinity Christian School is unbelievably awesome!  These incredible individuals are doing a wonderful job showing leadership in the middle school.  We teachers thank God for the fine example they are setting for the younger grades.  

What a blessing you all are to us, eighth grade!  Keep up the great work in serving the Lord amongst one another, through your academics, and in your extra curricular activities.  You bless us all with your positive attitudes and sweet spirits.  Blessings upon your last year of middle school, class of 2021! We are going to have an amazing year together as Jesus guides us!

Twenty angel faces: 

Welcome Back!

Dear Amazing Students,

Welcome back to school!  It is going to be a great year in the TCS Middle School!  We can't wait to see you all tomorrow!

Lots of Love,
Mrs. Agate

Empty Chairs and Empty Tables...

As I sit in my classroom grading final exams in a room full of empty desks, I find myself pausing to reflect on what just happened over the last ten months.  I am filled with gratitude for the wonderful students God has blessed Trinity with over the last years.  I am eternally thankful for the support and encouragement from parents.  I praise the Lord for all of his provisions throughout the school year.  THANK YOU for being a part of it.  THANK YOU for your continued generosity and thoughtfulness.  I appreciate you all so very much.

Students, thank you for giving it your all.  We got through all the curriculum (and then some!), we learned a ton, we had some fun and made some great memories, but I am most interested in the spiritual growth that took place this year.  My prayer is that while the flames of knowledge were certainly fanned, even more so may your hearts continually be set on fire for Christ.  There is a classic reading list on my website, and you need to be reading this summer; but will you please read God's Word the most?  

So here is your summer work:
1. Read God's Word and talk to Him daily.
2. Lovingly SERVE the people you live with, and spend quality time with your family.  (Step away from the screen!)
3. Classify some sentences.  (Please contact me for summer grammar work!  I made packets for those who need extra help!)
4. Read AND write.  (Read one novel at least, and try to write once a week at least!  I would be happy to send writing assignments out for those who are interested.  Contact me for specific writing help and novel suggestions.)
5. Hang out with your friends often, and have fun!

In a nutshell: Read, pray, serve, study, enjoy! :)

I love you crazy kids,
Mrs. Agate

Bible Bowl!

Tomorrow, Tuesday June 7th, is our Fifth Annual Bible Bowl!  At the end of every unit in Bible class, we play Bible trivia.  This year we have played seven rounds in each class.  I recorded the individual points all year, and the students with the highest points get to compete in the Bible Bowl!  Mrs. Miller has the names of the 6th grade competitors, and I would like to congratulate the middle school teams.
7th Grade: Zachary Bray, Samuel Dutton, and Lucie Scandrett
8th Grade: Dean Merritt, Jacob Pan, and Aliza Weaver

Parents are welcome to come and watch this fun competition.  It will take place in 8th period and will only take around 40 minutes (2:05-2:45).

Friends, Fellowship, Food, Fun, Foosball...

Thank you to all the drivers and chaperones and to Mr. Jensema who organized the fun field trip for the middle school today!  

This little time together before final exams was just perfect!

Reminders for Students!

Dear students,

Some of you have been forgetting your planners at home and losing track of important events.  Here is a list of items for my classes that you should be keeping track of.  Some are due dates, and some are dates that include finishing goals.

7th Bible:
*May 19th: Written Testimony Due
*June 3rd: Bible Final Exam

7th English:
*May 20th: Finish Novel
*May 25th: Finish Literary Critique in MLA Format
*May 31st: Finish artisitic component of project
*June 1st: Novel Presentations are Due (paper, project, speech)
*June 7th: English Final Exam

8th Bible:
*June 6th: Bible Final Exam

8th English:
*May 18th: Vocabulary Test
*May 27th: Written Speech Due in MLA Format
*June 1st: Oratory Presentation
*June 8th: Final English Exam

Events:
*May 17th: Choir Concert, 7PM
*May 20th: Kennywood Day!
*May 24th: Middle School Awards Banquet, 8:30AM
*May 24th: Band Concert, 7PM
*May 27th: 8th Grade Lock-In, 7:30PM- Saturday, 7:30AM
*June 2nd: Middle School Field Trip to Games N' At
*June 8th: Half-day / Last day of school!

I'm praying that all will finish STRONG as this year comes to a close!

Love,
Mrs. Agate

It was a wonderful celebration!

The seventh graders were able to bless the kindergarteners with donuts, juice boxes, and their story books today!  The students did a great job working with these little ones.

Not only did the middle schoolers create stories complete with characters, descriptive settings, rising action, conflict, falling action, resolution, and more, they also showed the love of Jesus to the sweet kindergarteners through their patience, gentleness, and thoughtfulness.

The laminated cover and "about the author" page were extra special touches!

The seventh graders loved their thank you notes from the kindergarteners!

The Home Stretch! :)

Can you believe that it is May already?  I find myself reviewing all the things my students have learned this year, anticipating the materials we have yet to cover, and looking for areas where they can use some extra reinforcement!  This next month of school is going to fly by!

Here is what is on the agenda in my classes as we close out the year:

English 7: 
*Booksellers Day!  The students will be reading one more novel of their choosing (approved by me).  They will have to "sell" their novel to their classmates in an exciting book report.  They will also be writing critiques on the novels.
*The last grammar unit!  We have one more unit in grammar to cover, and it is a review of all we learned this year.
*The last vocabulary unit!  We have one more vocabulary unit left!

English 8:
*Persuasive Logic Speeches!  Students will be writing speeches in support of or against a provided topic.  Students will not be able to use any of the fallacies they learned in logic to convince the audience (along with Mr. Jensema and myself) to agree with their speech.
*Last writing unit: firming the foundation!
*We will be covering two more vocabulary units!
*Grammar overview!  We will be reviewing all we have learning in grammar to prepare for high school.


Bible 7:
*One unit left on Biblical Literary Forms in God's word!

Bible 8:
*We just finished our last unit!
*The students will present their church reports next week.
*Now we will be doing a Bible study together to complete our middle school years and spiritually prepare for what God has in store for these upcoming high schoolers!

Please enjoy this photo of an impromptu Bible skit showing how the Jewish sect, the Zealots, reacted to the pressures of Hellenism in Ancient Greece.  (Maybe you had to be there...)

A citizen of Greece (Annika) in 230BC takes cover as the Jewish Zealots (Lucie, Haley, and Mekka) revolt against her Hellenistic pressures! 

7th Grade Story Book Project

The seventh graders had a wonderful time interviewing their kindergarten buddies for the Story Book Project.  I thought I would share some of the cuteness via the photos below.  Some of the students were absent, and I regret that I didn't get everyone included in the photos.

In all my years of doing this project, I have the highest hopes for this seventh grade class.  They have come a long way in their writing in just one year, and I have already loved some of the first drafts I have seen.  This class is so creative and gifted!  I have no doubt that they will present wonderful works of literature to the sweeties in kindergarten.  Please see the handout for the individual check-in dates and requirements for this project.  

Current Happenings...

Here is the briefest glimpse of what is currently happening in April aside from a week of standardized testing (April 18-22).  ALSO-- This is the last month to discuss novels with a teacher for the Classics Reading Challenge.

7th Bible

• Unit 7 - "The Silent Years"
• Memory Verse = Malachi 3:16-18 ESV

7th English

• The Hobbit (classic novel)
• Vocab Unit 9&10
• Writing topic sentences and transitions
• Short story project for kindergartener (see rubric and handout)

8th Bible

• Modern Church History Unit (last unit of the year)
• Church Project (see rubric and handout)
• Memory Verse = Ephesians 4:11-13 ESV

8th English

• Flowers for Algernon (literary classic short story) personal essay
• Lord of the Flies (classic novel)
• Rhetoric Speech Project (writing)
• Analogies Unit J (vocabulary and higher level thinking skills)
• Final unit in grammar; overview for 9th grade

Quick Classroom Update...

7th Bible: We are in Unit 6: Prayer.  We are looking to God's word and what His people have modeled for us in terms of prayer throughout generations.  We are also doing daily devotions as a two-week assignment.  Memory work includes The Prayer of Saint Francis and Colossians 3:16-17.

7th English: We are in Unit 7 of our Literature Texts studying myths, legends, folktales, and fables.  Every day we do 20 minutes of writing and/or grammar and 20 minutes of literature. I am truly enjoying this class due to their awesome work ethic and amazing attitudes.  The current grammar concepts include complex sentence classifications, subordinating conjunctions, and sentence mechanics in writing.  Classical Greek and Latin roots in vocabulary also continues.

ALL ENGLISH CLASSES: Please note the general change in middle school in terms of the time we have to devote to our subject areas and the grades received in each category.  In K-6th grades, they have separate classes and grading marks for reading, spelling, and English/grammar.  In 7-12, one English class includes grammar, writing, literature, and vocabulary-- all in one class for a single grade.  This is why we switch gears so much at this level in this class. This is also why a student who struggles in grammar but may have excellent reading comprehension or high level thinking skills can succeed.  I ask that you look at RenWeb or contact me to see what specific area(s) your student can work on.  Also, please take advantage of after-school tutoring sessions every Monday until 4PM.  We do grammar and writing reinforcement, and all are welcome!  I usually only have 3-6 students and would like to see more jump on this opportunity.  It's free! :)  Obviously, my students can come to me ANY time (before school, after school, lunch, study hall, etc.) and don't have to wait for our designated Mondays.

8th Bible: We continue to move through church history and are currently studying The Reformation and the Counter-Reformation.  The current memory passage is Romans 1:16-17.  We are enjoying learning about what God's word says about church and also about the individual congregations and denominations represented right within our own classroom!

8th English: We just finished our MLA research papers.  Please look at your student's writing rubric which explains each individual element of the paper.  The students were given rubrics and checklists ahead of time, so there are no surprises.  Next Monday we begin a short story unit (which happens to include my favorite, Flowers of Algernon) before we get into our next novel, Lord of the Flies.  Grammar and vocabulary will of course continue.  For now, we will finish up our classic novels and present those on March 8th. The current grammar concepts include dangling modifiers, appositives, and complements.  The current vocabulary unit is lesson 7&8 and includes a continued discussion of Greek and Latin roots.

Third Quarter Begins Now!

Here is what is currently happening at the beginning of this quarter....

7th English: We are finishing up our current novel, Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez.  The students are enjoying this non-fiction work on how a Mexican immigrant was able to achieve success in America to the glory of God.  Vocabulary Unit 6 is also underway, and the students continue to impress me with their understanding and implementation of vocab.  Grammar lessons are continuing with classifications and sentence mechanics.  Please remember that there is free tutoring after school every Monday for grammar assistance! For writing, our next assignment is a business letter.  The students will learn how to properly compose a professional format of writing, and we will be sending our letters to various businesses of our choice.

7th Bible: We're on Unit 5: Prophets.  As God's nation grew, so did the need for leadership.  We are still in desperate need of spiritual leadership today.  We have enjoyed talking about the leaders we look up to and what God's word says in this regard.  Additionally, what is the message that God wants us to speak into the lives of His people today?  We have found that our message is not too far off from the messages of the prophets of old: Repent, a Messiah awaits to forgive you and give you a new life!

8th English: MLA Format writing is under way!  The students have been learning how to write MLA style papers, and the objective is to master the skill of research, format, citation, and more.  The students will also be doing a Classic Novel Project (starting this Monday) where groups of three will be assigned specific novels.  More details to come on this exciting assignment!  Greek and Latin Vocabulary Roots Unit 6 is also in process, and grammar ever continues.  

8th Bible: Our study of church history continues as we strive to hear our own, personal calling as God's children and our place in His church.  We have enjoyed discussing the essentials of faith and works, prayer, worship, and leadership in the body.  We are in Unit 4.3: Church History, The Reformation and Effects.  We just finished Unit test 4.2. which covered what was happening with God's people from 700-1400AD.  

Welcome Back from Christmas Break!

I pray that you all had a lovely Christmas break with friends and family!

I was overwhelmed by the Christmas gifts given to me by my wonderful students!  I am still in the process of sending thank you notes.  But, in the meantime-- WOW, thank you all so much for your generosity!  Thank you especially to Jill Gunniers and Michelle Sapp who came in and served the 8th graders with a fabulous Christmas party.  How adorable were those snow globes that they made?! And walking tacos and desserts?!  The fun 8th grade festivities made me not want to go to the teachers' luncheon which took place at the same time!  (Shhh!) I couldn't ask for better room moms!

If you're in 8th grade, you will be receiving your Poetry Portfolio back in the next two days.  I was completely blown away by the depth of the writing.  The original poetry from this group of thirteen and fourteen year olds was absolutely beautiful.  I was even moved to tears upon reading several of the poems.  The artwork was such a beautiful compliment to the writing as well.  AWESOME JOB, students! For each student, I filled in a comprehensive rubric showing how points were earned.  They were given a blank copy of this rubric months ahead of time, so there should be no surprises.

I pray that the middle schoolers are geared up for midterms!  We will have a couple days of excellent review before we begin the exam process.  Please note that each midterm will be taken in a regular, 42 minute class period.  This should actually ease some of the worry that these are not gigantic tests!  We teachers just want to make sure that you have learned AND retained the most important and necessary information from 7th and 8th grade so far.

Here's to a brand new year AND the second half of the school year!

Blessings!
Mrs. Agate