What's going on in 8th grade?!

January 10, 2011

2012-01-10T10:16:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! We are back in school now. The 8th graders took their HSPT (High School Placement Test) on Saturday, January 7th. Most students think they did well, so the practice tests must have paid off! Thanks Mr. K!

The 8th grade is really busy this week. A "hands" art project is turning out really well! In science we have to think of some futuristic inventions for the ExploraVision contest. For Social Studies, a webquest about the history and culture of Canada is due on January 25th! Bye-bye free time!

On another note, the boys' basketball teams are doing very well this year! The A team's (division 3) record is 2-2! The B team's (division 5) record is 3-1! Keep up the good work Broncos!

On January 25th the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades are going to Mercy San Francisco to see their dance performance "Sublime". This has been a very good performance in the past, so I have a feeling we will not be disappointed.

It has been a great first week! Although it was very hard to come back to school after 3 weeks of relaxation, it hasn't been too hard. Life goes on!

P.S. Cioppino is on February 25th! Save the date!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-12-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

Who's ready for a 2 week break? I know I am! Christmas is just around the corner, and the classroom spirit is through the roof! We can hardly wait for Christmas!

On Tuesday, you all watched the school do our second annual Christmas play. It was magnificent! For all of you who weren't there, the students acted out the Nativity story. Everyone was surprised to see the Three Kings' camels beat-box so the kings could rap their song! It was a fun time for all.

That sums up the major events! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving Break!

2011-11-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say that the 8th graders are sad about leaving, and that they would much rather stay and do math and grammar papers, but it would be a massive lie! The students can't wait for their vacation filled with turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie, ham, gravy and all the other goodies! Mixed with an extra day of relaxation, Thanksgiving this year will be good.

Today there were auditions for the Christmas program to be held on Tuesday, December 13th. Why so early? This year, the three kings are getting a blast from the 21st century, as they will be 3 rappers, and their camels will be there beat-boxers! The 3 kings will be Kevin Hughes as Balthasar, Maopeli Ali as Gaspar, and Luca Trumbull as Melchior! The 3 beat-boxing camels will be Nicholas Lobre, and 2 7th graders! This year's performance will be fun!

On Thursday the 17th, the 8th grade went to Archbishop Riordan High School (ARHS) for their performance of Dracula. To say it was amazing would be an understatement. The actors who played Dracula and van Helsing pulled a perfect accent the entire time! There were many different special effects, such as a gun, that "shot" smoke and made a loud bang, and water that squirted up when van Helsing stabbed Dracula. It is definitely worthy of 5 stars.

Over the past 2 weeks STM has been collecting canned goods to give to the SF food bank. The 8th grade came in with bagfuls of cans! Thank you parents for allowing your children to raid your pantry! Right by the office there is a huge barrel, and thanks to the generosity of you and your children, it is completely full!

With good news, there is always bad news. The 8th grade girls' volleyball A-team made it to the championship game last Wednesday. Sadly, the girls were defeated, and Good Sheperd took the 1st-place title. Congratulations to Good Sheperd for their first ever championship win! Maybe one day their trophy case will look (half) as good as ours! Congratulations to the 8th grade girls! They fought hard!

Have a great vacation! Happy Thanksgiving! Only 109 more school days to go!

November 4, 2011

2011-11-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Tons of great news this week! Our Halloween parade/party was a blast! There were many scary, funny, and original costumes. Four of our students even won a prize! The Best Group category was won by Mario Giusto as Mario, Austin Grotkin as Luigi, Peter Kolotrones as Wario, and Luca Trumbull as Princess Peach! All of these characters are from the same video game, Super Mario Brothers. There was much laughter as Mario, Luigi, and Wario came to school in onesies, inflatable bellies, and fake mustaches. Princess Peach came to school in a dress, a wig, and makeup, which included eyeshadow, foundation, and lip-stick.

Yesterday the 5th, 7th, 8th grades went to Mercy San Francisco's presentation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. There was an interesting twist in Mercy's performance though. Instead of the normal The Tempest, Mercy made this one Star Trek themed. Prospero lived on a remote planet instead of an island, and he brought down a spaceship instead of wrecking a ship. Many of the costumes were also different. Sadly, the mixture of Star Trek and Shakespeare didn't work out for some people. The whole play was too complicated and the Old English didn't help. I give this play one star.

On the bright side, the girls volleyball A team made the playoffs! Congratulations girls!

Its been a fun first quarter! One more to go before your children are done being evaluated for high schools! Only 120 more school days to go!

October 12, 2011

2011-10-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

It's been busy in the 8th grade class. We are almost ready to order our "class of '12" sweatshirts. Just a few more order papers need to be turned in.

Coming home in the Wednesday Envelope today are many important things-- one of which is the guidlines for what to bring for next week's week-long bake sale. The 8th grade has been assigned boxed juices. To make sure the amounts are staggered over the week, your child has been assigned one specific day.

The class has been busy preparing for Halloween. Today we put up the first Halloween classroom decorations. Thoughts of costume groups have also been spreading. The class' last STM Halloween will be a blast.

Last Monday, October 5th, Olive the Storyteller came in for her first storytelling lesson. Our students were told to learn five folktales, legends, fables, etc. Olive will be coming back next Monday. All of this is in preparation for the students' performances in front of the K-2nd grade students.

We've been busy lately but the year is progressing! October is almost over! Only 136 more days of school!

September 28, 2011

2011-09-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Last week was a very busy week. The IOWA test of basic skills consumed the week's mornings. The 8th grade students took test concerning vocabulary, capitalization, reading comprehension, grammar usage and expression, reference materials, maps and diagrams, math computation, problem solving and data interpretation. Luckily for us, that was the last IOWA test the students will have to take. We hate that state.

Yesterday the class chose the sweatshirt design for the fronts of the "Class of '12" sweatshirts! There was a group of 6 designs to choose from, 1 of which actually including the students' signatures as opposed to their printed names. Although all the other designs looked promising, 1 design won by a landslide.

Yesterday, the students also were visited by the admissions staff from Saint Ignatius College Prep. The presentation was a short explanation of what Saint Ignatius is about, what they look for in a student, what kind of activities thy have, and just basic information about the school. Alumni from STM that are currently attending SI were there to share their opinions about the school. 1 of which was Victoria Trumbull, sister of Luca.

Along with yesterday's activities, the school celebrated pirate day. Every class from K-3rd was told to make a flag for a flag contest, and every class from 4-8 was told to decorate their doors. The teachers were also competing against each other in a costume contest. 3rd grade won the flag contest, Mrs. Beach won the costume contest, and the class of 2012 won the door contest! Congratulations!

Monday, September 12 2011

2011-09-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

Last week the eight grade class took a trip to the Asian Art Museum to go see the Bali Exhibit. The Bali Exhibit had many different artifacts ranging from Balinese weapons to shrines and dresses. At the end of the trip, the class got together to watch a shadow puppet performance.

This Saturday, September 10th, the boys had their first soccer game of the season. The boys played Holy Name School, but sadly our boys lost by a staggering 4 points, with the final score being 5-1.

On Friday, September 9th, we had a prayer service in honor of those who were affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The prayer service was beautifully set up. Thanks to everyone who helped set up the prayer service and to the 7th grade who hosted it.

We were excited to begin our dance and music programs last week. Congratulations to our music teacher, formerly known as Ms. Gallardo, who got married during the summer and is now Mrs. Navarro! Congratulations!

The 2011-2012 year is progressing! Keep reading the blog for more information on what the 8th graders are up to!
(Only 167 more days of school to go!)

School is back!

2011-08-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome back class of 2012! So far we have hit the ground running. We are excited about our new Algebra teacher, Mr. Kavanaghwho will be working with the 7th and 8th graders. The first full week of school has been busy so far. The students have been assigned their first web quest about pirates. Along with that, a handful of students are deciding upon which sweatshirt designs should be put up for evaluation by the rest of the class!

Today Mrs. Spiegel had a meeting with Olive, the Storyteller. Olive has agreed to teach us storytelling! The class of 2012 had its first ever pep rally on Friday that was spearheaded by the student council. We had a blast! Next week the class will be taking a field trip to the Asian Art Museum to go see the Bali exhibit.

We have a busy year ahead of us! The class of 2012 is going to have fun! As of today, we only have 9 more months (175 school days) to go!

New Year Greetings

2011-01-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! It's hard to believe that the school year is nearly half over. The 8th graders are proudly wearing their 2011 sweatshirts and are preparing for high school entrance exams. Graduation pictures will be taken shortly and second quarter is coming to a close. It's like a race to the finish--June 3rd.

Eighth Grade News

2010-10-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

The eighth grade students have chosen the artwork for their "2011" sweatshirt. The sweatshirts will be ordered next week. The students are also looking forward to visits from Mercy High School/San Francisco, Serra High School and Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep. However, the real excitement is about the upcoming field trip to the Pumpkin Patch with the first graders. We hope that the beautiful weather will continue.

May 27, 2010

2010-05-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Graduation is right around the corner and a lot of fun things have been happening in school. Tuesday was field day. Although it was soggy outside, we had a great time playing games inside the building. Today is Spirit Day. It's soggy outside, so this afternoon's activities are a mystery. Tomorrow will be "graduation day." Each class will move up to the next grade. Eighth grade will go to kindergarten. We are all looking forward to a three-day weekend knowing that when we return, we will be practicing for graduation on Friday.

2010-04-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, April 13th, the eighth grade partnered with the first grade and went to watch a puppet show at the Italian Theater in San Francisco. There we enjoyed live puppet battles. After, we went to West Portal Park, ate freshly-made Round Table Pizza, and played games in the playground.
Last Thursday, April 22nd, we had a free-dress day in celebration of our new principal, Mrs. Fitzpatrick! Let us give her a warm welcome to this new endeavor.
On Monday, the eighth graders and kindergarteners had an extra free-dress day and cupcakes, due to their extraordinary participation in Cioppino 2010.
Every Friday, a guest speaker comes to speak about drug and alcohol prevention. Project CHOICE informs us about proper and improper use of alcohol and drugs.
We have been working diligently on our roller coaster projects in Science class. The Deadline is Monday, May 1st. We are all brainstorming ideas to make our roller coasters eye-catching with their own uniqueness and creativity.
That's all for this week's blog. Check in next time!

2010-03-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

This week has been a very exciting week for the eighth grade students. Last Friday, they received their acceptance letters from the Bay Area High Schools. This week, they are making their decisions as to the school they will eventually attend.

The students are also working on a new webquest. They are enjoying finding information about "Wee People" i.e. gremlins, trolls etc. The project will be due the week after Easter break.

Report cards will be sent home on Wednesday. Watch for them!

Happy Easter to all.

March 19, 2010

2010-03-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, the Girls B Team played an exciting game against Mission Dolores and won with the final score of 35 to 14. The Girls A Team played a nerve-racking game against OLG and won by a single shot in overtime. The final score was 37 to 35.
On Monday, the student body had free-dress for Spring Picture Day! All were dressed nicely, and the picture previews will be sent home for purchase shortly.
Yesterday, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day in true Irish fashion. Asia Flores, Gabriela Villalta, and Emma Fox created a fabulous poster that was displayed while we enjoyed the school's Irish jigs and St. Patrick's Day songs. The whole student body gathered to celebrate a beautiful day filled with tons of St. Patrick's Day spirit.
The Girls A Team will be playing today against West Portal at St Brendan's gym ( 5 PM). The Girls B Team will be playing at STM at 7:30 PM.
We are anxiously awaiting our high school acceptance letters which are scheduled to arrive on Friday, March 19th.
This fun week is soon coming to an end. Check in for more blogs soon!

2010-03-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

This week the eighth grade students enjoyed the Skylab presentation in the STM gym. Entering the huge dome was a challenge, but the program was worth it.
The girls are excited about the opening of their basketball season. They will be wearing their new uniforms at the first games that will be played on Friday night, March 5th in the St. Thomas More Gym. The games will be at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Another exciting Science project is underway. Eighth graders are preparing to build their own roller coasters. They will enter their completed projects into a contest that will be judged on Physics Day at Great America.

2010-02-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

Mailings of notification to applicants applying to Catholic Bay Area Schools will be on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

Congratulations to the boys' A and B basketball teams for winning their CYO championship games.

Last Friday MOCFA visited the eighth graders and showed them how to make baskets. It was fun for all of them.

First Post

2010-02-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

Welcome to STM's eighth grade blog. Keep up to date on events and things that happen in our classroom!