Elissa Kuhr
Eighth grade is an exciting year academically, spiritually, and socially. It is a year of preparation for many special events including Confirmation, high school entrance exams, and graduation. Religion classes are challenging and thought provoking. The first quarter concludes the Confirmation preparation begun in the seventh grade. Students learn about the sacrament while learning about themselves as Christians growing in faith. They study the history of the Catholic Church and explore world religions and cultural differences. Eighth graders also study local and global current events and explore how these events may test our faith.
American history is the focus for Social Studies. Our journey begins with the Native Americans and extends to the study of World War I. During the first semester, students work on a group project to create a historical magazine based on a former President of the United States. The magazine includes a biography, advertisements, a cover story, and other articles related to the time period. During the second semester we study the Civil War and Reconstruction. The students create a presentation that tracks the life of a soldier and his family throughout the Civil War. In the fourth quarter, students write a Social Studies term paper. The students choose an historical topic of personal interest but must comply with strict deadlines for outlines, rough drafts, note cards, bibliographies, and the final product.