Message to Lourdes Families (May 26)

I have spent the evening reading the letters written by the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students that were put together in a binder entitled “Thank You for the Memories”.  What a special gift!  Your letters were so thoughtful and genuine.  I will treasure them always.

I also spent time reading and looking at the messages you gave to Mrs. Blaum, who put them together into a beautiful creation!  (I think she is a master at scrapbooking.)  What a touching and humbling present.  I read through my tears many, many times.  Thank you for your wonderful memories and wishes.  Lourdes Catholic School will always have a special place in my heart.

8th Grade Info (May 23-26)

On Tuesday, May 24 the 8th graders will enjoy the day at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL.  The bus leaves the Lourdes parking lot at 7:00 a.m., so please be there around 6:45 a.m. so we can leave on schedule.  We plan to be back between 9:30-10:00 p.m.  Please check the weather so you can dress appropriately for the day.  You may bring PG-13 movies to watch on the bus trip.  Remember to bring money for lunch/dinner ($20-$25).  We will not be stopping on the way home, so buy food at the park or bring food/drink to eat on the bus.

Graduation is at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25.  Please be in the Parish Center (lunchroom) at 5:30 p.m.  Each 8th grader will receive a special ribbon to wear during the graduation mass.

Last school mass of the year will be at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, May 26, in the church.  All are welcome to join us.

8th Grade Math (May 16-20)

The 8th grade students have done a tremendous job this past week mastering important algebra topics such as horizontal multiplication (FOIL) and factoring.  We will continue to work on factoring this week, and spend some time on an End-of-Year Test. I am planning to let each student choose whether this grade will be entered as an assignment grade or a test grade.   We will also take a final quiz on the algebra topics that we have covered during the last 2 weeks.

Monday:  Perfect Square Trinomials
Do worksheet.

Tuesday:  Factoring Trinomials where a > 1.
We will work on this worksheet together in class.

Wednesday:  End-of-Year Test
No assignment.

Thursday:  Finish End-of-Year Test
No assignment.

Friday:  Algebra Quiz
No assignment.

7th Grade Math (May 16-20)

7th graders will continue to present their health and fitness presentations this week.  The ones we saw on Friday we very interesting.  Hopefully, we can continue to learn from each other.  The ones that turn out the best are ones that the students had a true interest in researching, and they became knowledgeable on the subject due to the research they conducted.

This week’s math topics include permutations and combinations.  These are new concepts for the 7th graders, but I am confident in their ability to master these probability topics.  We will also work on finding the volume of pyramids and cones.

Monday:  Finish presenting health topics.
No assignment.

Tuesday:  Permutations
Do worksheet.

Wednesday:  Combinations
Do worksheet.

Thursday:  Volume of a Pyramid
Do p. 549 (11,12) and p. 551 (4-7)

Friday:  Volume of a Cone
Do p. 573-575 (7-11, 14-16)

6th Grade Math (May 16-20)

I enjoyed seeing the 6th grader’s travel posters!  They found some interesting math facts about their destinations.  The Great Barrier Reef, the Eiffel Tower, The Great Wall of China, and the Great Pyramids were very popular choices.

This week in 6th grade math, we continue to work with integers.  Now that the 6th graders are clear about what an integer is (the whole numbers and their opposites), we will begin to add and subtract integers.  We will spend a day on line graphs, another on making circle graphs using the graphing calculator, and then we will move on to scientific notation.

Monday:  Adding Integers
Do p. 534-535 (1-20)

Tuesday:  Subtracting Integers
Do p. 535-536 (26-42, 45-60)

Wednesday:  Line Graphs
Do p. 548-549 (1-7)

Thursday:  Circle Graphs on the graphing calculator
No assignment.

Friday:  Scientific Notation
Do p. 549-550 (9-25)

8th Grade Info (May 9-13)

Monday, May 9, 8th graders spend the day at the JA offices in Davenport.  Each student receives a life situation, and they must plan a budget, buy stocks, and pay bills.  We are there from 9:45-1:45.  Students may wear free dress.  Bring a sack lunch; a drink will be provided.

Rosary in the church at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10.

On Friday, May 13, all students may wear blue free dress as we “Get Going for Gordon”  All classes will participate in a walk-a-thon to raise money to help with Mrs. Gordon’s medical expenses.  Students will walk during their recess time.  All are invited to bring a water bottle.  It’s time to contact aunts/uncles, grandparents  to sponsor your walk.  Either a  flat donation or an amount per lap may be requested.

“Get Together for Gordon” takes place in the Lourdes gym from 11:30-1:30 on Sunday, May 15.  A picnic-style lunch will be provided for a free will donation.  Also available:  “Goodies for Gordon” (8th grade bake sale), “Gardens for Gordon” (plant sale), and “Greeting Cards for Gordon” (handmade cards by Cheryl Blaum).  Please join us and support our wonderful Science teacher, Mrs. Gordon.

8th Grade Math (May 9-13)

8th graders will be working on Algebra for the remainder of the year.  I am hoping that a three week introduction to some of the key Algebra concepts will give the students a boost when they work with these topics next year.  We will do a lot of in-class practice.  Some days, there will be homework assigned for practice.

Monday:  Finance Park; no math today

Tuesday:  Multiplying and Dividing Monomials; We will also review simplifying expressions and solving equations.

Wednesday:  Multiplying Binomials (Vertical)
Worksheet

Thursday:  Multiplying Binomials (Horizontal, also known as FOIL-First, Outside, Inside, Last)
Worksheet

Friday:  More Work with FOIL
Continuue work on the worksheet.

Next week, we will work on factoring.

7th Grade Math (May 9-13)

7th grade math students will begin the week learning how to find area of a trapezoid.  They will spend a day on the Review & Assessment, then spend a couple days on the Unit 7 Test.  Plan to present your “Health and Fitness Projects” on Friday.

Monday:  Area of a Trapezoid
Do p. 519-520 (10-19, 21-29)

Tuesday:  Review & Assessment
Do p. 524-525 (1-29)

Wednesday:  Unit 7 Test
Work on “Health and Fitness Project”.  Teach us something new about a health-related topic.  Be sure to cite your sources.

Thursday:  Finish Unit 7 Test
Complete project and be ready to present.

Friday:  Present “Health and Fitness Project”
No assignment.

6th Grade Math (May 9-13)

This week, in 6th grade math, is a test and project week.  Since Vocation Day is scheduled for Monday, the students will work on the Unit 7 Test on Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Thursday and Friday, the 6th graders will be presenting their “Wonders of the World” projects.  That means this will be a week without homework.  This would be the perfect time to complete any late or missing work.

Monday:  Vocation Day; no math class

Tuesday:  Unit 7 Test
No assignment; work on “Wonders of the World” project.

Wednesday:  Finish Unit 7 Test
Finish “Wonders of the World” project and be ready to present.

Thursday:  “Wonders of the World” project presentations.
No assignment.

Friday:  Finish presenting projects.
If time remains, we will use laptops to play “The Maze Game” and “Tessellations”.

8th Grade Info (May 2-6)

On Tuesday, May 3, there will be a short assembly about AHS summer camps.

Rosary during the month of May: Tuesday, May 3 at 8:45 a.m. in the church.

Sports pictures on Wednesday, May 4 at 7:25 a.m.

Friday, May 6 is April Scrip NUT Day.  Check the e-mail to see if you are eligible.

Remember to turn in your permission slip for Finance Park, which happens on Monday, May 9.  You may wear free dress.  Bring a lunch.  Drinks are provided.

I was extremely proud of the planning and execution of our first fund-raising event for Mrs. Gordon.  The 3-on-3 tournament, “Get Your Game on for Gordon” was very successful.  We had 23 teams involved in the tournament.  Players had fun, and we exceeded our fund-raising goal of $500.  Congratulations to Austin, Jordan, and Zack who were in charge of this event.  Thanks to all the 8th grade families who donated snacks and drinks for concessions.  Thanks to Papa Johns for a nice discount on the pizza we sold and to Advantage Advertising for providing the t-shirts that the champions receive.

Please put these upcoming events on your calendar:  “Get Together for Gordon” is on May 15 from 11:30-1:30 in the gym.  A picnic-type lunch is provided for a free will donation.  Also available that day:  “Goodies for Gordon” (bake sale), “Gardens for Gordon” (plant sale), and “Greeting Cards for Gordon” (homemade cards by Cheryl Blaum).  Join us in supporting Mrs. Gordon’s medical treatment.

Mrs. Gordon receiving blankets from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students.

The "Average Joe's" compete against the "Chicago Cubs" in our 3-on-3 tournament.

The "Wranglers" compete against "SKillz That Killz" during the tournament.