St. John Fisher School Technology Center

January

 Don’t forget our Catholic Schools Week Open House on Sunday, January 25^th after 10:00 mass.

 

Preschool:  Using the KidPix program, students will create winter scenes.  They will also continue practicing using the mouse and navigating through Starfall “Learning to Read” activities.

 

3^rd Grade: On Mondays, students will be completing activities on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., including a time line, “I Have a Dream” sentence and picture in KidPix.  On Wednesdays, students will continue with the Typing Instructor Deluxe Program. Lessons will include using the Right and Left Shift Keys and Number Keys.  I’m pleased with the students’ keyboarding progress. Most are steadily improving accuracy and increasing speed, while keeping their two hands on the keyboard.  For extra practice, encourage your child to type in Microsoft Word, starting in “Home Base Position”. 

 

4^th Grade: Students will be introduced to the Free Rice website at www.freerice.com, sponsored by the World Food Program.  For each correct answer, students can donate 10 grains of rice to a hungry person in need.  Students are eager to “fill their bowls” and race one another to see who has the most grains at the end of the period. 

 

6th Grade: Students will continue using computer time looking for science project ideas and developing their plans in Microsoft Word and Excel. Students will continue with their world culture studies, by researching traditions, significance of customs and playing games relating to the Chinese New Year. 

 

7^th and 8^th: The junior high is working on the holocaust project.  They made memorial tiles for children of the holocaust, which you probably saw at Open House on display in the junior high hallway.  They have written a journal, entry, conducted some research, and will be starting a research paper on the holocaust topic their choice.  We will go through the entire process of writing a five-paragraph essay with a thesis statement and proper citations and bibliography.  This project will culminate with a visit from a Holocaust survivor.  Parents will be welcome to attend; more information will be coming closer to the date.

 

February

 

Preschool: Students will get to view two short computer programs in the media lab, complements of United Streaming.  One will complement the students’ study of penguins and the other is “Animal ABCs”.  Students will also be working with different Sesame Street activities, designed to introduce the keyboard.

 

Kindergarten:  We have so many great events to celebrate this month, President’s Day, Valentine’s Day and 100^th Day of School.  We will create some great pictures using our Kid Pix software to help in that celebration. Students will also get to view two short computer programs in the media lab, complements of United Streaming.

 

1^st Grade:  The first graders will start the month doing a Scavenger Hunt using the Little Explorers Online Encyclopedia about some of our Presidents and discuss some interesting facts.  We will continue with creating Valentine Cards for that special someone.

 

2^nd Grade:  After completing a spectacular writing paper on Microsoft Word about a “Snowy Day” for Open House, our 2^nd Graders will continue learning some of the easier functions of Microsoft Word.  They will type a story about Clifford, the Big Red Dog.  Draw a picture using Kid Pix about their Big Red Dog and insert that picture into their story.  We are so exciting that our wee folks are capable of doing such awesome tasks.

 

3^rd Grade: Students will be making predictions and designing a Groundhog Day poster in Microsoft Word. Also, they will be researching and playing games related to dental health, as February is Dental Health Month.  I will also be introducing the students to Microsoft Publisher in order to make a Valentine’s Day card, using a basic template.  Finally, students will be researching contributions from great African-Americans to celebrate Black History Month using the Enchanted Learning website.

 

4^th Grade:  Students will be typing their Haikus in Microsoft Word, which will be entered in a contest sponsored by www.HaikuFest.com. Students will also be challenged to create a Valentine’s Day card from “scratch”, incorporating design, clipart and text. In honor of Black History Month, students will research contributions from great African-Americans using a variety of approved websites.

 

5th Grade:  Students will choose a President and research interesting facts and significant accomplishments about that President.  They will summarize by typing up a short paper on Microsoft Word.  Most of our computer class time this month will be dedicated to the research and development of their Science Project.  We will cover Microsoft Excel this month and create a graph for their project with the results of their experiments.

 

6^th Grade: Students will continue designing Lenten Calendars in Microsoft Publisher.  Ask to see your son or daughter’s calendar and make sure that he/she is keeping up with their Lenten promises.  What a great way to communicate the importance of Lent!  Students are also busy with their science fair projects.  We will take time to learn how to enter data and graph using Microsoft Excel.  

 

7^th and 8^th: Junior high will also be participating in the Stock Market Game.  Student groups will be formed, and each group will begin with $100,000, and build their own portfolios, learning a few things about finance and economic along the way.  This should be interesting with the current market situation!

 

Students are really working hard!  You can be proud!

 

 

 

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