Ultimate Upper Elementary!

­­­­­­­­­­Fantastic Third Grade
 
By Tess Hefty
Sports Editor
 
            The third graders have been working very hard this quarter! In religion, the students worked hard to learn the Mysteries of the Rosary, and then, to top it off, the third graders led the Living Rosary for the whole school on October 14. In math this quarter, the students in third grade learned how to round, estimate, add, and subtract. The hardest thing for the students so far has been working with big numbers in the hundred-thousands. In social studies, the students learned about the three different communities including urban, rural, and suburban. There are many tricks and tips to learning vocabulary, and the third graders have just about done them all! They played games, used vocabulary books, and printed flash cards to help them learn those words. Science is always fun in third grade, and this quarter, they have been investigating weather, the three types of rocks, and different types of soil. The third graders also enjoyed reading Hellen Keller this quarter. Early next quarter they will travel to St. Mary’s Seminary as part of their service project, where they will celebrate Mass and tour the campus, and meet some of the seminarians. 
            Wow! Looks like these students have really been busy! It’s been a great first quarter, and we can’t wait to see what comes up next!
 
­­­­­­­­Hit the Ground Running
 
By Andrew Thampoe
Senior Editor
 
            The beginning of the 2016-2017 school year has begun and fourth graders are continuing their careers as students at St John Paul II.
They’ve “hit the ground running” as they have used their prior knowledge to start the new school year!
            As the fourth graders returned to school, it was fitting to have projects that involve their summer vacation. In social studies, which is taught by Ms. Condara, the students made brochures about their recent or past travels. They included the five themes of geography. In religion, the students went over the Ten Commandments, and they were elaborating on the Exodus story. They also reviewed parts of the Bible.
            Science with Mrs. Ziegel included experiments with salt dissolution, pendulum construction, the scientific method, and the annual planet projects. The salt dissolution experiment involved different water temperatures and how fast a set amount of salt could dissolve in the water. The students also constructed pendulums and used different lengths of string to see how many times the pendulum could swing back and forth. In math, they learned about place value, decimals, and fractions. They also learned how to add and subtract decimals as well. In the fall, the students are going on a field trip to the Houston Zoo!
            In language with Mrs. Riley, the students worked on the four types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative. They went over subjects, predicates, and complete thoughts as well as using IXL to practice and reinforce the skills they have learned. In reading, they are reading Scholastic News which they receive every week and their Journey’s book. They are also completing a reading log every week to journal the amount of reading that they accomplish.
            All in all, the students are adapting to fourth grade very well!
 














Fourth graders take part in a science lab about airplane flight.

A New Chapter
                   
By Laura Merlina
News Editor
           
            The fifth grade students have been on the move ever since school started. They’ve had an excellent start to a very busy year. The industrious scholars have been working on the geography of the United States, place values and decimals, covenants, and much more. 
            All students who attend St.JPII are very lucky to receive a Catholic education, and the fifth graders are definitely no exception! In theology class, they have been learning about the Beatitudes and covenants to strengthen their relationship with God and to better understand how God cares for us. In social studies, they have been strengthening their geography skills by reviewing and working on the State Cube Project. In this project, they were working non-stop to create a paper cube, each side having information about the state they had been assigned. In math class, they have accomplished a lot. They have been working on decimals and place value. To give it a fun twist, the math teacher, Mrs. Philips, has been playing games with them to enhance their skills. For language arts class, they have been practicing their language skills by reviewing the basic punctuation and capitalization skills, before diving into more advanced skills. During science class, they have been occupied experiencing new labs which are helping them learn about the scientific method and strengthening their teamwork skills. In literature class, they have been learning new vocabulary every two weeks and reading the books of their liking. So far, the fifth graders have just been getting into the swing of things, and by the looks of it, it will be a great year!