Something special happens when 6th graders are set down in the Art room with paint and music. They let their creative juices flow. In this case it was the beginning of painting their Dulcimers. A joint project between Art and Music the 6th grade students put together the base of their Dulcimers in Art class and then while music is playing they decorate them with paint and brush in hand. Once decorated the neck and strings are attached to the base and the students learn how to play their Dulcimers. But before the Dulcimer is completed they are put on display in the Atrium for all to see.

 

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There has been a lot of commotion in the Atrium this week.
8th grade students, as part of their study of physics, have been dropping eggs off the landing and into homemade egg catchers. The theory is that if you make your egg catchers properly the egg will not crack when dropped into the catcher. See how successful the students were.

The month of December is always quite hectic. The students and the faculty are all anticipating the start of winter break. But before break there is much excitement among the students as they prepare for the Winter Band and Choral Concert. Sit back and enjoy and enjoy the sounds of the Middle School Band and Chorus.

 

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The girls were standing at the top of the atrium watching the first snow fall of the season. They were so taken by its beauty that they grabbed one of the school cameras and starting snapping pictures.

If you were standing in the Atrium last week you would have seen students dropping something from the second floor. That something were parachuting firemen. The parachutes were made from plastic bags and the firemen, well they were of the toy size. While some students stood hanging over the railing on the second floor and dropping the ‘chutes, other students were standing below on the 1st floor counting the number of seconds it took for the parachute and its attached fireman to drop. All of this was done as the students in Mrs. Robert’s class were learning about terminal velocity.

The noise from the music room sounded rather strange at first. The 8th grade class was learning about the elements of blues music in context with African and European styles. These elements included swing, rhythm, 12 bar blues, chord progression, blues scale and improvisation. The students were divided into 3 groups and created a blues piece based on these elements. Listen and watch what the students created.

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Every Blue Friday we do intramurals! The Middle School is divided into four teams and we play each other in a variety of games. Some of the games we have played are four goal soccer and ultimate Frisbee. It’s BIG fun! Sit back and relax, and enjoy the show!!Intramurals

The first few days of school are always exciting. New students to the Middle School arrive the night before registration. Six graders spend part of the afternoon in “band camp” and then along with the remaining new students to 7th and 8th grade they get their locker assignments. Finding your locker and learning how to open it takes some of the pressure off of those students who are new. It also gives the new students a chance to meet many of the middle school teachers on an informal basis.

On registration day the building is buzzing. School photos are taken, sport forms are completed and class schedules are distributed. After all the paper work was done the students were treated to a pizza picnic in the courtyard outside of the building.

Between Sept. 13 and Nov 1st, bring in your new or old coats in usable condition, and you’ll get a free Applebee’s dessert card.

Drop off the coats at the Roxborough Applebee’s at 8601 Henry Ave. Ask for Jason Smith when dropping off coats.

- Tom Monzo

Relay for Life is a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. You join a team of people to take turns walking around a track for 24 hours. Cancer survivors take the first lap. It’s a fun event filled with food and inspirational people. The web site has information about how to join or form a team and upcoming Relay for Life events as well as stories, publicity, and information on the research the events help fund.