What's Up at St. Mark's?
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[For we are all baptized by one Spirit into one body…Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. I Corinthians 12:13,27
Pastor started our school year by talking to us about all our different body parts. He said that when any body part is separated from the body, it can't function. Then Pastor reminded us that if we are separated from Jesus, we can't grow as Christians. We each received a little cross to stick to a desk or locker so that we will remember that we are "connected to Christ."
When Preschoolers visited for an hour on Thursday and Friday last week they listened to a story and decorated calendar pages with stickers for their parents.
Kindergarten worked on the letter L by making lemonade from scratch and tasted it with and without sugar. They decorated the letter L with thumbprint ladybugs.
First Grade has been talking about "porcupine" (mean) and "teddy bear" (kind) words so that the students can learn to get along with each other. The class really likes having desks for the first time in their grade school careers! They made Creation booklets after discussing Creation in religion.
Second Grade has been working hard on following a routine and behaving appropriately. The class made up their own rules and talked about why rules are important. After studying the Creation, the students went outside and took pictures of the parts of God's creation. Then they recorded themselves reading the words from Genesis about the days of creation, added their pictures and made a pod cast.
Third Grade is learning about deserts. They were amazed at how many animals lived there. Jared Phillips found out about a special kind of pig that makes his home in the desert. Kelsey Cowan read about a bird that makes its "boot" nest in the Saguaro cactus. Emily Brown learned about people that lived there. They use the cactus for food. They can make jams, syrup, candies, and wine from the Saguaro fruit. The class will continue their studies next week. There is so much more to learn.
Fourth Grade enjoyed watching Mrs. Zobel try to remember their names during their first social studies class last Wednesday. They even moved around the room to see if she could remember the names when they weren't in their seats. (She did!) They have worked with cardinal and intermediate directions and are practicing drawing maps of the continents to remember their locations.
Mrs. Koester would like to encourage all 5th-8th grade students to join the choir.
Sixth Grade was really surprised last Friday when their social studies teacher pulled out a hammer and began smashing clay flowerpots! They pretended to be archaeologists and worked in groups to reassemble the pots. It's not easy to do! In English, the students began with a pre-test. They visited the computer lab and began their keyboarding work. In art they designed a cover for a book that they will make for their art projects.
Seventh Grade is starting with southern Africa in their geography books since the World Cup was held in South Africa this past summer. They are learning what's expected of them when they receive their map packets each chapter.
Eighth Grade started the year with the annual field trip to Cahokia Mounds last Monday. Since the history book begins with ancient Native Americans, studying the natives who populated Cahokia long ago is very important.
Christmas card order forms will be going home on Thursday, August 26. Watch for them or contact a St. Mark's student if you would like to place an order.