Snow At Last!
The 6th graders have anxiously been awaiting the arrival of snow! After a long wait, they finally got to spend recess and phy. ed. time on the snow hills. There are many more pictures on the photo page. Click here for short sledding videos:
Tuesday Jan 24: http://youtu.be/DC2bO0lAq2c
Wednesday Jan 25: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-36JrasOX98
Wednesday Jan 25: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z9Enb-AIWY
Tuesday Jan 24: http://youtu.be/DC2bO0lAq2c
Wednesday Jan 25: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-36JrasOX98
Wednesday Jan 25: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z9Enb-AIWY
In the Beginning...
Now that the new semester has started, tne 6th graders have moved on to some new material in writer's workshop. This month we will be developing our craft of beginning a piece of writing. Our first step was to work in groups and look at the beginnings of several different works of fiction. The groups had to try to figure out what method the author used to get his/her story started. Each group made a poster with title, the first line and the author's technique. After a few more lessons on beginning techniques, the 6th graders will start to develop their own abilities to create stories with awesome beginnings.
The Earth's Surface
The 6th graders have begun a new unit is science class. In continuing with our Earth Science curriculum, we have started to learn about the earth's surface. Today we explored the concept of topography by created our own land area with a mountain, a hilly section, and plains. Students then found the elevation of the different areas and the relief. While the dough was a little sticky, they still enjoyed modeling the earth's surface.
A Funeral for Then and So
The 6th graders attended a funeral today for two very overused words: then and so. The students followed in processions to the burial spot in the woods behind the school. There, they dug a hole and placed the two pinecones with the words then and sowritten on them into the hole. Students had a chance to place some dirt over the beloved words. After the burial was complete the euology for these words began. Many students had some good words to say about their word friends. After the eulogy the 6th graders sang a solemn version of "This Little Light of Mine." Many tears were shed! The 6th graders will no longer be able to use these words in their writing without special permission!
Bird Beak Buffet
The 6th graders spent some time today in the science building at Saint John's University. Sarah Gainey led the students through a hands on lab in which they had to figure out which tool worked best for securing different bird food sources. After picking out the tool, they had to match the tool to a beak from one of seven different birds. More photos on the photo page.
Toys for Tots
The 6th graders did an awesome job of raising money for Toys for Totsl With the profits from the Floats for Friday sale, the class was able to purchase many toys. Students went shopping at Target, Walmart, ToysRUs, Shopko and Barnes and Noble to pick out presents that they themselves would enjoy receiving. The 6th graders carried their toys across campus to The Great Hall drop off for Toys for Tots. They were treated by the university to cocoa and candy canes for their efforts. Great job 6th graders! More pictures on photo page.
6th Graders Look for Signs of Animals in the Winter
Led by Sarah Gainey from the Saint John's Arboretum, the 6th graders explored the woods looking for signs that animals are around in the winter. The 6th graders reported finding animals tracks, deer beds, nests stuffed with leaves, holes with food inside, open acorns, the smell of skunk, birds singing, scratch marks on trees, and many more. The exploration is part of their biomimcry unit. It was a chilly day, but all enjoyed the fresh air!
Knowledge Bowl Wins Again!
The 6th graders had another successful knowledge bowl tournament. With all 5 members present, the 6th graders took first at the Rocori Knowledge Bowl Meet. Congratulations to Jack, Drew, Andy, Caleb and Maura. What a great way to end the middle school knowledge bowl season.
6th Grade Basketball Players Find Great Success
The 6th graders have been finding great success with their basketball team. Mixed with the seventh graders, the team recently won a game against Royalton last week. This weekend, they participated in an Osaksis tournament. The team took second. Congratulations to our basketball players!
6th Graders Win Knowledge Bowl Tournament
It just took three of the 6th graders from the Knowledge Bowl team to take first place at the Sauk Rapids Knowledge Bowl Tournament. Throughout the meet Maura, Caleb and Jack had no idea how well they were doing. They were totally surprised to find out they had taken top honors at the meet. Congratulations!.
Mill City Museum
The 6th graders had a wonderful visit to the Mill City Museum. Students enjoyed some time exploring the exhibits, went to the top of the building on the Flour Tower elevator, participated in a baking lab and viewed the film "Minneapolis in 19 minutes Flat." The baking lab had the 6th graders bake chocolate chip with 5 different kinds of flour. Each group had to figure out a way to market their cookie. The highlight was tasting the 5 different cookies. It was a great field trip day! More photos on the photo page.
6th Graders Perform at St. Raphael Hall
The SJP 6th graders took sometime today to visit the retirement home for many of the St. John's retired priests and monks. They performed three different reader's theatre productions. The retired priests were also treated to piano, guitar, flute, violin and song. The 6th graders performed as part of their 6th grade retreat on the value of serving others. More photos on the photo page.
6th Graders Collect Pine Cones for Arboretum Project
The 6th graders spent some time outdoors today collecting pine cones for the St. John's Arboretum. The Arboretum plans to replant some of the pine trees lost during the summer storms. They want to use the cones from the trees already found at St. John's so they asked the 6th graders to help collect cones for them. The class had fun running and shouting through the woods as they collected many pine cones. More photos on the photo page.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman--A visit to the graveyard--November 8 2011
The 6th graders had a beautiful morning for their walk to the cemetery on campus. This was in conjunction with our reading of The Graveyard Book. In the book, the protagonist, Bod, learns to read by doing rubbings from tombstones. Students enjoyed walking quietly through the graveyard looking at all the different tombstones. They were saddened to see the many graves of young children who lived only days. They also got to experience doing some rubbings from tombstones. Check out more photos on the photo page.
Halloween Arboretum Trip
The 6th graders spent the afternoon of Halloween at the arboretum for an orienteering field trip. Students learned to use a compass to find various markers around the arboretum. After the field trip, the 6th graders finally got to enjoy their pie! It was delicious. Thanks to the many parent volunteers who made this day possible! We had 12 volunteers throughout the day. More photos on the photo page.
Halloween Fun!
We had a wonderful Halloween day at school today. We started our morning by baking four beautiful pumpkin pies. With the help of
Nate's, mom, Nathan's mom, Ethan's mom and Hope's mom students learned to roll a pie crust and mix the filling for pumpkin pie. We wore our costumes and carved pumpkins. At lunch, students participated in a costume contest. Upper school teachers picked favorite costumes. Mr. Alonzi took the students trick or treating through the school. Eight different stops were on their path! Our Halloween afternoon was spent at the arboretum learning orienteering. Thanks for all of the parents who made this day possible!
Nate's, mom, Nathan's mom, Ethan's mom and Hope's mom students learned to roll a pie crust and mix the filling for pumpkin pie. We wore our costumes and carved pumpkins. At lunch, students participated in a costume contest. Upper school teachers picked favorite costumes. Mr. Alonzi took the students trick or treating through the school. Eight different stops were on their path! Our Halloween afternoon was spent at the arboretum learning orienteering. Thanks for all of the parents who made this day possible!
Chapel Walk Prayer Service
"And let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God." With those words the 6th graders began a beautiful prayer service celebrating the wonder of God's creation in fall. The class read a reader's theatre adaptation of the creation story. Several students shared their fall poems and prayers written last week in the woods. We prayed prayers of petition for our world. After a closing song, we enjoyed some delcious peanut butter and jelly Johnny bread. It was a beautiful day for a fall walk to the chapel. The woods were filled with the colors of autumn. More pictures on the photo page.
Collegeville Colors--6th Graders Teach Dichotomous Tree Key to Visitors
On Sunday, October 2, the 6th graders had an important role to play at Collegeville Colors. Student volunteers taught Collegeville Color visitors how to use a dichotomous tree key to identify trees found in the St. John's arboretum. Students enjoyed sharing their great knowledge about trees and visitors were amazed at all they knew. It was a beautiful afternoon to be in St. John's woods.
Celebrate Fall Day
The 6th graders celebrated the beauty of fall by doing several fall activities. First we made apple crisp. Students sliced the apples, added sugar and cinnamon, and mixed the gooey dough mixture. While the apple crisp was baking we went outside to our special spots. We stayed there for over a half hour creating a fall poem or a fall psalm of praise. The students were so proud of their writing. They couldn't wait to share it with their friends. Everyone was so unique. Great fall writing! After that we headed down Old Collegeville Road to the Lake Wobegon Bike Trail. We pedaled into St. Joe and had lunch. When we arrived back at school we treated ourselves to our apple crisp. It was delicious. We headed outside once again to collect leaves for our fall poem page.
We worked on recopying our poems to end our "Celebrate Fall" Day. More photos on the photo page.
We worked on recopying our poems to end our "Celebrate Fall" Day. More photos on the photo page.
6th Graders Participate in Fall Sports--Cross Country and Boys Soccer
6th Grade Camping Trip A Big Success!
The former Dakota Village site.
The 6th graders enjoyed their two day field trip to the Mille Lacs area. While they were on their trip, they visited the Mille Lacs Indian Museum where they were able to learn about the Ojibwe culture. They also made dream catchers. Their next stop was at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park were they met with naturalist, Erin. She taught them about the sport of geocaching and took them on a nature walk through the woods. Finally the 6th graders arrived at their ultimate destination, the camping spot. After setting up their tents, they had a relaxing evening of playing which included, of course, singing around the camping and eating s'mores. The next morning the 6th graders packed up their tents and headed for the historic Landmark Trail at Kathio. There they enjoyed reading about the Dakotah village which archaeologists have discovered once occupied this spot. As 6th grader Jack Rogers explained, "It's like our history book is coming alive." Climbing the fire tower was the last event of the morning. While many had to conquer their fear of heights, many climbed the tower more than once. Our final stop, the DQ in Onamia for lunch. It was an wonderful two days of learning, bonding, and having fun. Many, many more photos on the photo page.
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU!
Our Trip Volunteers
Our 6th grade camping trip could not have happened without the gift of time donated by the following parents:
1. Jeff, Caleb's dad
2. Gina, Nate's mom
3. Kristin, Mayuri's mom
4. Jordan, Gabriel's dad
5. Mike, Andy's dad
6. Vicki, Cianna's mom
They were a tremendous help. They built the fires, helped with tents, hulled water, prepared the food, talked to the campers, supervised play aress, carried supplies etc., etc. Thank you. Thank you.
Also, special thanks to all who provided food for the camping trip and Lori, our volunteer coordinator for making sure we had everything we needed.
1. Jeff, Caleb's dad
2. Gina, Nate's mom
3. Kristin, Mayuri's mom
4. Jordan, Gabriel's dad
5. Mike, Andy's dad
6. Vicki, Cianna's mom
They were a tremendous help. They built the fires, helped with tents, hulled water, prepared the food, talked to the campers, supervised play aress, carried supplies etc., etc. Thank you. Thank you.
Also, special thanks to all who provided food for the camping trip and Lori, our volunteer coordinator for making sure we had everything we needed.
A Tour of the Church
The 6th graders visited the St. John's Abbey Church. Brother Jon Hanson explained to students the meaning and thought behind the building. Students learned about the bell tower, baptismal area, the inside of the church and the beautiful glass window.
Identifying Trees at the Saint John's Arboretum
It was a picture perfect morning to be at the Saint John's Arboretum. Sarah Gainey led the 6th graders on another wonderful experience We learned how to identify trees using a dichotomous tree key. After learning how to use the key, the 6th graders went off in pairs to discover the names of 14 different trees at the arboretum. Many groups successfully names all 14 trees. It was exciting to see how easy it was to make decisions about the trees by following the key. Students learned to identify opposite or parallel branches, lobed leaves, simple leaves, compound leaves, toothed or smooth edges and many more identifying factors. We will continue to practice, and they will be ready for the tree test next week! Thank you Sarah! More photos on the photo page.
From Soup to Table
The 6th graders were thrilled with their soup making activity in school today. They enjoyed washing and cutting the vegetables. They were also pleasantly surprised by how great the soup tasted. More pictures on the photo page.
From Garden to Soup
The 6th graders spent some time today in the SJP garden picking vegetables. They were able to find tomatoes, carrots, basil and much more. Tomorrow students will be joined by parent volunteers ho will work with them to create Vegetable Soup. What a delicious lunch we will have tomorrow! More pictures available on photo page.
A Friday Field Trip
On Friday, September 2, the 6th graders spent the afternoon investigating the three biome areas of Minnesota. Students took soil temperature, checked for moisture, recorded the wind, sun coverage, and investigated animal life in the prairie, deciduous forest and coniferous forest areas all found in the St. John's arboretum. Students will use their data to learn more about Minnesota's original three biome areas. More photos on the photo page.
Floats On Friday!
The 6th graders had a wonderful time selling root beer floats and dreamsicle floats to help raise money for Toys for Tots. Thanks to the 6th grade families for providing the ice cream, pop, cups, straws and even wax paper needed to pull this event off. This involved pre-dishing all of the ice cream on the night before the sale. Students used their lunch period to help sell the floats. We are off to a great start raising money. We sold out of floats so we'll have to dish more next time. The 6th graders plan another sale date on September 15, 2011. Photos on the photo page.
Our First Visit with Sarah
The 6th graders had their first visit today with Sarah Gainey of the St. John's Arboretum. She came into the classroom to get to know students and to introduce the 3 Minnesota biomes which they will be exploring during Thursday's field trip to the Arboretum. Ben, Annie and Imani were chosen to dress up as the prairie, decidious forest and coniferous forest. Students really enjoyed getting to know Sarah! Watch for Thursday's field trip photos.
A Walk to the Chapel
The 6th graders couldn't have had a nicer day for our first chapel walk. After learning a little about the chapel in theology, students headed for their first hike through the woods. Unlike last year, Mrs. Anderson remembered the card for her camera, the knives for the peanut butter and hand sanitizer. Thanks to a tremendous group of parent volunteers, the Johnny bread, peanut butter and jelly was quickly distributed. Students enjoyed playing by the water. No one fell in!! More photos on the photo page.
A Great Day at the Beach!
The 6th graders had an awesome day at Lake Sagatagan today. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Everyone seemed to really play together quite well. There's more pictures on the photo page.
Camping Trip Planned for 6th Graders in September!
The 6th graders are going camping on Thursday, September 22, 2011. We will leave school in the morning on Thursday and return home by dismissal on Friday. We are camping at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park near Onamia, Minnesota. We will be doing the following:
1. Visiting the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post on Thursday morning.
2. Eating lunch at the Dairy Queen.
3. Going to Kathio State Park for Geocaching and Camping!
4. Sleeping in tents and Eating s'mores around a campfire!
5. Climbing the firetower in the state park.
6. Hiking on a trail to visit the site of a former Dakotah village!
7. Havinig a great time!
PARENTS WILL BE NECESSARY FOR THIS TRIP TO HAPPEN. WE WILL NEED SEVERAL PARENTS TO CHAPERONE AND PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION. FAMILIES WILL ALSO BE ASKED TO PROVIDE THE FOOD FOR THE TRIP. MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW!
1. Visiting the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post on Thursday morning.
2. Eating lunch at the Dairy Queen.
3. Going to Kathio State Park for Geocaching and Camping!
4. Sleeping in tents and Eating s'mores around a campfire!
5. Climbing the firetower in the state park.
6. Hiking on a trail to visit the site of a former Dakotah village!
7. Havinig a great time!
PARENTS WILL BE NECESSARY FOR THIS TRIP TO HAPPEN. WE WILL NEED SEVERAL PARENTS TO CHAPERONE AND PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION. FAMILIES WILL ALSO BE ASKED TO PROVIDE THE FOOD FOR THE TRIP. MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW!
2010-2011 Academic School Year
A Spring Time Walk to the Chapel
The 6th graders took a walk to the chapel today. On the way to the chapel, they walked in small groups. The groups had to keep a story going with each person telling just one word at a time. Some pretty crazy stories were created! After arriving at the chapel, they quickly gobbled their lunches. With full stomaches, they were ready to have some more fun. They retold their story creations from the trip out and then played the knot game. It was a lot of fun watching them figure out how to untangle their knot of hands. For the last activity of the day, students were told to take as much toilet paper as they would need for a two day camping trip. Without know it, they would have to tell something about themselves for each square they grabbed. Of course, most thought they needed a lot of TP so we had to change the rules a little. Students had fun sharing things about themselves. More pictures on the photo page.
6th Graders Make Ukranian Eggs
Art teacher, Patrick Dwyer, led the 6th graders through the process of making Ukranian eggs. They used dye and wax to make special egg designs. These eggs, different from the quickly dyed eggs of today, may take days to create. The eggs are works of art and may last a very long time. The 6th graders enjoyed working with these different materials. More photos on photo page.
Maple Syrup Time!
It was a chilly morning, but the 6th graders walked out to the Sugar Shack to learn about the maple syrup making process. Students were able to identify maple trees and help tap a tree. The sap wasn't running so we couldn't help with sap collection. Afterwards, the 6th graders got to try some maple syrup on ice cream. More pictures on the picture page.
Discovery Day Fun!
The 6th graders were joined by 5 students today checking out what it is like to go to school at St. John's Prep School. The visiting students and the current 6th graders enjoyed Dr. Jean Lavigne, our guest speaker from St. John's University. She taught the students about plate tectonics and then they got to experience plate tectonics with orange frosting, graham crackers, and fruit roll ups. It was an exciting day in 6th grade. Check out more photos on the photo page and read some blog entries on our "What's New in 6th Grade Today?" page.
6th Graders Study World Geography
During the past several weeks, the 6th graders have been learning about our Earth's rivers, seas, mountain ranges, deserts and rainforests. Students did research to locate and find some basic facts about either rivers, seas, or mountain ranges, deserts and rain forests. In small groups, they shared their facts with others and plotted these features on a world map. Each group also made a glossary for their terms. They are finishing their maps up this week. To go along with this study, Dr. Jean Lavigne from St. John's University explained to the students why the deserts and rainforests of our planet are located where they are. She'll be sharing information about plate tectonics, mountain formation, and volcanoes in the upcoming weeks. Each student created a website about a particular desert or rainforest. Links to these student made websites are found on the Student Presentation page.
A Day at Powder Ridge
Even thought the temperature was extremely cold and the wind was blowing, 6th graders really enjoyed their day at Powder Ridge. With everyone well dressed for the weather, most skiers/snowboarders were outside for most of the day! For many it was a first time to try skiing or snowboarding! More pictures on the photo page.
Science Museum Fun!
6th graders had a wonderful time exploring the Science Museum of Minnesota on Tuesday. Students had time to spend in most exhibits. They watched Hubble at the Omni theatre. It was a great day to explore! More pictures on the photo page.
6th Graders
The 6th Graders performed their Reader's Theatre scripts today for St. Joe Lab School and St. Boniface School in Cold Spring. The 6th graders were divided into three groups. Each group performed three or four stories for 6 different audiences. More pictures on the photo page.
Earlier in the day we cooked lunch for ourselves. The menu: spaghetti, meatballs, fruit, bread and chocolate chip cookies. It was a delicious meal! More pictures on the photo page.
Earlier in the day we cooked lunch for ourselves. The menu: spaghetti, meatballs, fruit, bread and chocolate chip cookies. It was a delicious meal! More pictures on the photo page.
