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St. Ursula School - Eighth Grade

Mrs. Mary Heyl  

Last updated 7/25/11

Some useful links:

The link below has review material for the Algebra textbook

Your child's grades are available at RVSGradebook

Note: Photo slideshow software is not compatible with some versions of Adobe Flash Player. If you experience trouble with the slideshow not running, upgrading to Adobe Flash 10.2, which was released early February 2011, will correct the problem.

 

School Supplies list 2011-12

 

Please visit Math & Science website for more supplies for the Math & Science (4th, 5th & 8th grade) classes.

 

 

 

C:\Users\EIghth grade\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\1BTMMYB1\MC900434615[1].wmf

  

 

 

 

 

 

   Happy New Year!

   The holiday season was so busy for the students and I wanted to

   share some of the things we did to prepare for the holiday.

 

    You may have noticed the Nativity silhouette in the school windows facing the church.  The middle

    school students traced and cut out the shapes and arranged them in the window as a Christmas

    card for the Parish.

 

 

    Student Council also conducted a gingerbread decorating contest. 

  Each class was given a cut out of a gingerbread person and was asked to

  decorate and display their creations.  As you can see, the gingerbread

  people covered a wide range of themes from an angel to a math student to

  the evil Mr. Grinch.  Students were given a ticket to vote for their favorite

  gingerbread character.  The winning design was Calculator Claus by the sixth

  grade.  The Grinch came in a very close second.  Both classes will

 receive a basket of indoor recess games for their winning entries. To view the
contest entries, click on the photo below.
 

 

        St. Ursula will be hosting the next forensic tournament on January 22. 

   I will be staying after school every day to prepare the students. Forensic

   members who plan to compete should sign up with me for a practice time. 

   I will also be available at recess for those who cannot stay after school.

 

 

  

        Eighth grade students are preparing for the Science Olympiad. 

    Before Christmas we began making bottle rockets and building small

    trebuchets.  We also began discussing the scientific method and the

    meaning of variables and controls.  In the next weeks, students will test

    their trebuchets, using data they collect to make graphs that will allow

    them to predict what counterweight to use to make a projectile hit a target.

If the weather cooperates, they will also launch their rockets and collect data to design their bottle rocket

entry for the Olympiad.
 

   The fifth grade is going to work on the topic of weather.  In conjunction with that,

   they will be researching the topic of global warming and climate change.  We plan to
   make a movie to share what we learn.

 

 

 

 
 

 

     The fourth grade started to build their houses which they will wire for lighting. 

    Their creations are almost ready for lights.  They should be ready for you to see

     at parent conferences.
 

 


 

 

 

   So much is happening in Mrs. Heyl’s Room ….
   Eighth grade has decided to compete in the Science Olympiad

   this year. They are currently working on bottle rockets and will

   soon begin working on a variety of projects including building

   towers, trebuchets, and electric “buggys”. If there is anyone

 (parent or former student) who is interested in helping us prepare, please contact Mrs. Heyl at the

 school. More information about Science Olympiad can be found at http://soinc.org/


Math students in both Algebra and the fifth grade should be sure to take their Simple Solutions book home every night. If we should have a snow day, they should continue to do a lesson each day so we do not fall behind due to inclement weather. They do not have to do a lesson on Fridays. If they need help to complete the assignments, video lessons can be found at Khanacademy.org. Eighth grade should scroll through Algebra topics and fifth grade should look in the developmental math area.

Fourth grade students are working on designing and building four room houses which they will wire and light.


 

   Fifth grade math students

   enjoyed making Gallon Man.

   They collected empty milk

   cartons from the lunch room

   and used them to make their

   models. Hands and feet were

   the number of cartons to

  make a pint, legs and arms

  equal quarts and the torso

  equals a gallon.

 

 

 

C:\Users\EIghth grade\Desktop\back_to_school_4.jpg  for Mrs. Heyl

 

Can you believe it is time to head back?  Me either!  I hope you had a good summer and are ready to get started.

 

The supplies you need for my classes are minimal:

 

All students in grades 4 - 8 will need to have a flash drive - new addition to the supply list as of 8/18/10

 

Algebra:

           ●  PENCILS!,

           ●  lined notebook paper

           ●  graph paper

           ●  I will teach the students how to use a graphing calculator.  The book uses the TI 83. We will use it more during the second half of the year, if you want to wait to purchase one. (I no longer have enough of my own to share, unfortunately.)

 

Fifth grade math:

           ●  PENCILS!

           ●  Notebook paper

           ●  calculator

 

All my Science classes:

           ●  notebook paper

           ●  folder

 

 

St. Ursula School - Eighth Grade Class of 2010

 

   St. Ursula School congratulates the

 Class of 2010 and wishes them the

 best and the brightest future.

 Graduation is June 7th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Republished from the Spring Newsletter:

 

Dear St. Ursula Family and Friends,
     As Sarah graduates from St. Ursula this June, we wanted to take the opportunity to share some thoughts as we reflect on our time here. Over the last 12 years we have been a part of the St. Ursula family. The experience our daughters Elizabeth and Sarah have had as a result of these grade school years have been invaluable. They have grown and developed in these halls and under the guidance and genuine caring eyes of a wonderful faculty, principal, Sister Joanita and loving school families.
Where has the time gone? You don’t believe people when they say how quickly these years pass. As we begin to look at colleges with a “high school junior to be” this summer, we now have an appreciation. Mrs. Hofbauer was our orientation to St. Ursula, and could there be any better way to introduce someone to this school? That was only the beginning of the wonderful journey. Whether it was memorizing the letter people script, learning multiplication tables, struggling through phonics, or being involved in the musicals beginning in third grade, they gained an understanding of the importance of perseverance as a way to gain confidence and presence.
     Combine those experiences with the faith based education our children have had the privilege to receive. At St. Ursula’s, heartwarming Christmas plays and concerts are performed with the birth of Jesus front and center as the focus with no requirement to reference a “Sparkle Season”. Our daughters learned the importance of serving be it student council, student aides, altar serving or cantering at mass as a way to give back their gifts to the Lord. Building on gifts, another important facet of their experience is an appreciation for good sportsmanship through the work of a number of devoted volunteer coaches across a number of sports where everyone participated to be sure the kids had a team!
But they aren’t the only ones who have gained. As parents, we have reaped a wonderful gift. Some of our best friendships have been forged at St. Ursula during fund raising and sporting events. We have learned in spades the greater your involvement, the larger the payback. Being involved in your child’s school is so rewarding. Not only does the school win-- but our children learn a valuable lesson about the need to step up and serve. They need to understand that hard work is a part of life and sometimes things go the way you want and sometimes they don’t go as planned. Consider the important life lesson they have taken from the flood at St Ursula in 2007-2008, that resulted in gaining an appreciation of how to adjust when you encounter some bumps in the road and you forge ahead to a creative Plan B, which may perhaps be even better than the original expectation. They have been given a wonderful holistic faith based education that they will be with them for their lives. It is a truly solid foundation to continue to build on.
     We will truly miss all of you and want to thank the many parents, faculty and staff we come to know and developed close friendships partnering to build a great school for our children. It has been very encouraging to see so many people involved and supportive of their children’s education. It helps to form very well rounded students as they gain an appreciation not only for academics, but the value of their faith, the arts and sports. It also makes for a great deal of fun at these events. We will truly miss all of you and wish the school and all the families nothing but success.

God bless you all,
Gary & Jane Ann Regan

 

Editor’s Note: If I titled this letter, it would be More Than the Three Rs at St. Ursula. It’s not just Reading, Writing and Arithmetic but lessons in Religion, Responsibility, and Resilience that have proven to be equally important parts of a solid education base. Jane Ann & Gary have been perfect examples of people passionate for the cause, taking leadership roles and doing the hard work at St. Ursula School to get the job done. Gary served on Long Range Planning, Fund Raising, Finance and Budgeting and coaching on sports teams. Jane Ann has clocked countless volunteer hours and served as the Chair for many years on the school’s annual Pot O’ Gold Dinner Auction. Her perseverance in the early years of this event has made it the success it is today. Many parents have decided to walk in their footsteps because of their efforts. Thanks a bunch, Gary and Jane Ann!
 

 

January Update
Here is the news from Mrs. Heyl’s room …
     Third grade has been working hard making inventions! They started by exploring textures and then developed a game using those textures. The games were very interesting and the class had a lot of fun playing them! The students are now developing some very creative ways to solve problems in their daily lives from forgetting their homework to cleaning up messes on the floor. We may have an Edison in our midst! Only time will tell!
     The Fourth Grade has been doing a lot of different things. We have Lego robots that are waiting to be programmed. Because of a generous donation, I now have a computer that will support the software and so they will make their robots move this week.
     They are also using the Voyage of the Mimi series to explore the ocean and marine life. They made topographic maps and are now working on research that will culminate in building a model of the ocean floor. (I also have made time in the Science schedule for them to regularly visit the library once a week.)
     Fifth grade has just finished making electric quiz boards and magnetic trains. They just finished making some changes to the “sails” on the train cars and will race them this week. There are some pretty interesting devices! Be sure to stop by and see their creations at parent conferences.
     Eight grade is working on research papers in Science. They have each chosen a topic that interests them and are using the internet gather their information. The topics range from global warming and climate change to the use of steroids by athletes.

 

Science is fun!

   

     The eighth grade students work
   with the students from third grade

   as they dissect owl pellets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

The 8th Grade Class of 2009
The 8th grade recently received the sacrament of Confirmation and they created banners in remembrance of the event. The banners were in the church for a few weeks and are now on display in the school cafeteria.

Middle School Project

Middle School Project continues as students research and design projects to coincide with Pittsburgh’s 250th birthday. Did you know Pittsburgh was the birthplace of Silly Putty, Zippo Lighters and the Ferris Wheel? Look for these and many more exciting stories coming to life in the halls of our middle school!

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St. Ursula School    Enter to Grow    Exit to Serve