Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe that the school year is almost half over!  I am really proud of the students and all they have accomplished so far!  Here is what is on the agenda for when we return from break and head into the third quarter.

TWO WEEK COLLABORATIVE UNIT:  We are so excited to be diving into our theme: 2018 MEDIEVAL Unit! All classes will revolve around this theme, and we will be closing the unit by making a Medieval Fair for our elementary friends.  Stay tuned for more details AND how you can help us out with this exciting unit!

7th Bible: We will be studying Proverbs and learning more about how our amazing Lord gives us wisdom.  Students will be memorizing two passages (of their choosing) from the Book of Proverbs.  After our Proverbs Unit, we will complete a unit on an overview of the prophets.  This inspirational unit is often a favorite among the students.

7th English:  It's time to read The Hobbit and other writings by Tolkien, CS Lewis, and George MacDonald!  Students will be completing Hobbit Projects and doing oral presentations along with the projects.  We are moving on in our vocabulary and grammar curriculum as well. Additionally, students will be learning how to write business letters and "professional" resumes.  Students will be sending their letters to the businesses of their choice.  It's extra fun when they hear back from these companies!

8th Bible: Church history continues on!  I love our next unit where we get to discuss Constantine, Augustine, and more exciting and influential people in history.  It is amazing how God uses us, His vessels, to move His kingdom.  May we continue to do His work by being His hands and feet.

8th English:  We are tackling Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream!  (This might be my favorite thing I do all year.)  The students will be writing literary analysis essays to defend their chosen theme for this Shakespearean drama.  In addition to this literature and writing unit, we will be continuing with grammar and vocabulary lessons.

I love my students! + A little update!

Is this year flying by, or what?  Thank you for continuing to share your teenagers with me and entrusting them to my care (at least for English and Bible classes).  They bring me joy every day!  Here is a very brief update on what your treasures are up to in the classroom.

ENGLISH 7: We just finished a grammar AND a vocabulary Unit.  We will continue with "a sprinkling of grammar" throughout our current poetry unit.  For our poetry unit, we will be reading and writing poems, and we will be writing a research paper on a famous poet.  Your student will have learned fifteen different types of poems and twenty literary elements by the end of the unit.  Pretty cool!

BIBLE 7: We are in the middle of Unit 3, The Writings.  We are currently learning about Job.  I love getting to talk to the students about how God is completely in control of all things! Next up in Unit 3 is Ecclesiastes where we see how meaningless life is without the Lord.  Our current memory work is The Apostles Creed.

ENGLISH 8: We just finished a grammar AND a vocabulary Unit.  We finished our unit on research writing.  We finished our Holocaust Literature Unit.  Now we are on to a poetry unit.  Not only will we be learning the intricacies of poetry, we will also be making poetry portfolios for this unit, and you will LOVE the end product!

BIBLE 8: We're nearing the end of Unit 2 and discussing early church history.  Students will have to write papers on a person who heavily influenced the early church.  Currently, we are discussing the qualifications for church leadership, and I have been so encouraged by the students' responses!  They strongly agree that what Paul expressed to Timothy and Titus is still current for our churches today.  (Of COURSE God's Word is perfect and living and active and always relevant!)  I love that I get to dig into the details of God's Word every day with these amazing kids!  Our current memory work is The Apostles Creed.

Great times in DC. :)

Great start!

We have had an awesome start to our year!  Here is a brief update on English and Bible classes.

7th English

• We just finished a Literature Unit on myths, legends, folktales, and fables.  We read eleven short stories over this unit, and the students did a wonderful job understanding the deeper meanings and lessons in each.  Additionally, students wrote three essays displaying their knowledge of various stories and their themes.  Within this unit, we also worked on note-taking skills and organization. 
• The seventh graders also completed the first two lessons in vocabulary (Greek and Latin Classical Roots).  Students worked on understanding how words work in a sentence and how they can differ the part of speech of the word as well as use the root to understand other derivatives.
• Currently, we are in a grammar review unit, covering all the parts of speech and implementing our grammar knowledge into writing.  Additionally, on Friday, the students will be receiving The Giver, an award-winning novel by Lois Lowry that we will read as a class.

7th Bible

• We just completed our first unit which consisted of an overview of the Old Testament.  
• We are beginning a new unit on the Jewish feasts and festivities.  It's so exciting to see how Jesus fulfilled all the Jewish holidays.

8th English

• We have completed two units already and are in our third.  The first unit was a literature unit with some writing assessment as well.  This literature unit was on short stories.  The students read a variety of stories from many backgrounds and genres.  Their reading comprehension and high level thinking skills were tested during this unit.  
• The other unit we completed was our first vocabulary unit.  Students did an excellent job understanding Greek and Latin roots and how the English language was derived from this foundation.  There were spelling, definitions, parts of speech, and analogies portions of this unit.
• Our current English unit is on grammar and writing.  The students are undergoing an extensive grammar review before we move on to new material.
• This week we also begin the novel The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.  I am looking forward to reading this together, especially before we visit The Holocaust Museum in five weeks!  Students will also be completing Holocaust research papers in MLA Format, and students will present the information to the seventh grade class.  More details on this will be given to the students on Friday.

8th Bible

• We are in the middle of an overview of the New Testament.  This week was devoted to student presentations on the Gospels and the Epistles.  The students have done an excellent job presenting!
• We are memorizing the Beatitudes and talking about this rich Scripture as well.

8th graders perform skits to better understand and remember the meaning of the parables Jesus taught about The Kingdom of God

Homeroom Flag!

These two awesome students worked really hard during their study hall to finish painting our flag!  Thanks, Robert and T!

The avocados have also decided on a homeroom motto: "WE'RE HARDCORE!"

First "Falcon Fray" Battle Day!

The middle school teachers set up an afternoon of homeroom bonding and competition today.  It was great to get to know one another better, and we actually got a lot accomplished!  We started in the auditorium after lunch where The Falcon Fray was explained to all.  The students heard about how their service outside of school, extra curricular activities, academic excellence, and such can be applied to homeroom points!  Today the homerooms also decided on their team names and colors, made their team banners, and competed in several team games to earn points for the homerooms.  The day ended in ice cream treats and popsicles (DOUBLE for the winners), and a fun time was had by all.  We loved cheering one another on while competing in different contests.  The students can look forward to other Falcon Fray Battle Days the end of each quarter.

The students decided on the follow homeroom team names:

Agate's Avocados

Jensema's Jaws

Roberts' Rebels

We have an AWESOME middle school.  The students have done a wonderful job over the last three days.   I feel extremely blessed. :)

Relay race, obstacle course, balloon toss, water balloon fight, gummy worm-in-pudding eating contest, and more! :)

GO, AGATE'S AVOCADOS!

WELCOME TO MIDDLE SCHOOL!

I am SUPER PUMPED for this year!  It is going to be an amazing year for 7th and 8th graders!  We have incredible things planned for you, and we can't wait to welcome you all tomorrow morning!

A few things:
1. You will have until Friday to get school supplies in order. Fear not.
2. We will work out any scheduling glitches by tomorrow.  Fear not.
3. It is not too late to sign up for band and/or choir if you missed orientation or changed your mind. Fear not.
4. You will get your planners tomorrow morning. Fear not.
5. We have AN AMAZINGLY AWESOME year of school ahead of us where we will grow academically, socially, and spiritually.  Fear not.

*Get some sleep!
*God Bless You!
*Go, Falcons!

SEE YAS IN THE MORNING!

AGATE'S ALPACAS WIN!

Congratulations to the world's greatest homeroom for winning the 2017 Falcon Fray!  Here are some of the Alpacas showing off our championship title belt!

So Proud!

Congratulations to all seven eighth graders who stood up and gave amazing speeches for potential spots on Student Council!  It was SUCH a close race!  We teachers had NO idea who would "win." All of these students should be so proud.  I know that I am!

Trinity is blessed to have such incredibly awesome students as a part of the participating student body!  It was an honor to hear each of them speak, and I'm sad that only two could move on to STUCO.  Special congratulations to Haley Hart and SJ Worsham, the official representatives! I have no doubt that they will serve their class well next year!

#classof2021

SJ, Wyatt, Haley, Samuel, Sarah, Derek, and Destyni
ARE ALL SUPER AWESOME! :) 

Sometimes ya gotta have FUN! :)

I admit it: our middle schoolers have been having fun in school.  Whether it is making a puzzle game out of learning the fruit of the Spirit and our spiritual gifts, or going outside to complete our English writing prompts, or having a celebratory feast after reading Lord of the Flies, or doing a dance routine to shake off the nerves after a difficult test, the middle schoolers know how to make learning FUN!  I am so thankful for this group of students.  They are learning a ton, and they are enjoying it (I pray!)!  

It's almost May! WHAT?!

I can't believe it's almost May!  I am so pleased to report that we are ahead in Bible and right on track in English in both 7th and 8th grades!  The big focus in this last quarter is in WRITING!  Students will have a bit more homework in English in this last quarter, and I will be encouraging them to manage their time wisely.

In Bible, we only have one unit left in each class, and we will be memorizing more Scripture and deeply studying God's Word together.  The emphasis on these last units, for both 7th and 8th grades, is really on strengthening our walks with Jesus and showing His love to others through our actions, attitudes, AND words.  I am looking forward to a very special time together.

For 7th grade English, each student is currently completing his/her story for his/her kindergarten buddy. (Books must be completed by May 4th.) I can't wait to present these to the kindergarteners on May 9th! Also this quarter, each student will be writing a literary critique on a novel of their choosing and completing a coinciding project.  The students will also be learning more MLA formatting.  Additionally, they will strengthen their skills of using transitions and bettering their sentence mechanics through various writings and exercises.  We also have one more short story unit to cover in literature!

For 8th grade English, students are currently writing an analysis on their recently completed novel and presenting a coinciding project.  Additionally, they will be writing speeches in MLA Format and delivering them professionally in a debate-like forum.  We also have a short story unit yet to look forward to, including writing a literary critique essay comparing and contrasting authors' writing styles.  We will end the year also with an overview of grammar, including taking the 9th grade grammar assessment.

REMINDERS:
*The Classics Reading Challenge should be completed by May 4th!
*The Middle School Awards Assembly is Thursday, May 25th at 8:25AM!
*You can still get Work-a-Thon sponsors!  Please do! :)

The End of an Era

I pronounce the third quarter as an "era" as it is the LONGEST quarter.  So, yes, it is the end of an era in the middle school.

The students have been doing AMAZINGLY well during this quarter.  We have written several papers, taken tests on Bible, Greek and Latin roots for vocabulary, done grammar units, read novels, shared writing prompts, and SO much more!  I am very proud of these students and am looking forward to the final push of the year: the fourth quarter.  It's my favorite quarter!  We have a ton to be excited about.  

Here is a small snapshot of what is on the agenda for my classes in the fourth quarter (after we kick-start it with a week of achievement tests)!

7th Bible

*Intertestamental Period Unit

*Peacemakers Unit

*Citizenship in Christ Unit

8th Bible

*Cults Unit

*Modern Church Unit

*Church Reports

*Worldview Review Unit

7th English

*Grammar: Perfecting Pronouns and Tenses

*Analogies Unit 

*Vocabulary Units 11&12

*Novel Critique Project

*Short Story Unit and Project

8th English

*Lord of the Flies Unit and Project

*Literary Analysis Paper

*Mastery of the MLA Research Paper

*Greek and Latin Roots Vocab Units 11&12

*Grammar Overview Unit

*Short Story Unit and Paper

Today the eighth grade Biblical Worldview students worked with the second graders in their Bible class.  See my Facebook post on Trinity's page for more photos!   https://www.facebook.com/trinitychristian.net/

THE VOCAB CHAMPS

Our middle school vocabulary curriculum is challenging!  The seventh and eighth graders work hard to learn vocabulary from Greek and Latin roots.  Congrats to these special students for being consistent with their vocabulary assignments, for acing vocabulary tests, for winning vocabulary games, and for doing their best!  These four recently received awards in English class for outstanding achievement in vocabulary.

Keith, Chris, Lucie, and Sarah: Vocab Champions of the World

Third Quarter in Mrs. Agate's Class...

Here are the third quarter happenings to provide a VERY general gist of third quarter material.  Ask your student for the specifics of each curriculum item as we go along!  I pray that your student is continuing to enjoy all that middle school has to offer! :)


7th English
*Almost finished with The Hobbit!
*Writing business letters
*Non-fiction literature and writing unit, including Breaking Through
*Mini-research paper
*Vocabulary units 7-10
*Grammar lessons 20-29

7th Bible
* Prophets Unit
*Prayer Unit

8th English
*Short story unit, including Flowers for Algernon
*Writing: Literary Critique; Formal Response Paper; Thematic Essay
*Classic novel mini book "club"
*Grammar lessons 40-49
*Vocabulary units 9&10

8th Biblical Worldview
*Units 4.2&4.3
*Church History: from Constantine to the Enlightenment (including the rise of Roman Catholicism, Islam, The Reformation, etc.)
*Current applications

Spencer did an excellent job with his prophet report!

Ballads...

I love when I ask my students to try a simple form of poetry (or any writing for that matter), and they really GO for it.  A recent example is when I asked eighth graders to write ballads for a homework assignment.  After explaining the form of the poetry, they realized that writing ballads is much like writing songs, and to my surprise (and delight), two students came in the next day with instruments in hand, ready to share their original ballads.  Several other students experimented with using the same complex form and rhyme scheme as Robert Service's famous ballad, The Cremation of Sam McGee, which we had read and learned about in class the day before.  It's moments like this that I can't believe I get to partake in the creativity of these students who continue to do their best by going above and beyond the requirements.  Keep up the great work, everyone!  What a blessing!

Kyra with her ukelele and Destyni with her djembe.

THANK YOU!!!

Dearest Parents,

Thank you so much for the Christmas gifts!  I am a little late with my thank you notes!  I am very thankful for all of you and for your encouragement.  I greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity and have already enjoyed hot chocolate, mugs, Panera giftcard, and Amazon giftcard!  With the Amazon gift card, I purchased the game, "Pandemic" for our class to play after the debates on Thursday.

I am very blessed by all of you.

In Christ,
Katie Agate