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grade 4
Taught by: Mrs. Huffy
The 4 th Grade Language Arts curriculum focuses on creating confident Writers!!! Students analyze and create poems, complete a book report each quarter, learn about grammar, and participate in challenging spelling and vocabulary units. In religion students dive into the Beattitudes, the Ten Commandments, and research and write about a Saint. In Social Studies students will cover Illinois history, Presidents, States & Capitals, with some Mystery Fun Fridays mixed in. In Math class, students will master multiplication, division, fractions and much more! Science is a fun hands on curriculum covering a variety of topics in earth and physical science. Students will also participate in STEM and cross curricular activities throughout the year.
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grade 5
Taught by: Mrs. Porch
Grade 5: Religion, Reading, English, Vocabulary
Grade 6-8: Religion
Degrees: Bachelor of Science in Education from St. Joseph’s College, Rensselaer, IL
Masters of Arts Teaching and Leadership from St. Xavier University, Chicago, IL
I joined the Montini Catholic School team in 2017. I have 12 years of experience teaching in Catholic schools. I have over 20 years of experience working in Religious Education and Faith Formation programs. As Psalm 105 tells us to do, so shall I, “Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord, rejoice!” What a wonderful blessing it is to be a part of the Montini school family, I truly rejoice for this opportunity!
The 5th grade Reading, Language Arts, and Vocabulary curriculum focuses on developing into master essay and story writers. Many novel units are used to help create an understanding of theme, plot, characters, and setting. Vocabulary development is vital in 5th grade to help synthesize the information being presented in all content areas. Daily spelling, grammar skills, and editing are taught. In 5th grade Religion the emphasis is on the parts and importance of the Mass, sacraments, and cultivating a personal prayer life.
In 6th grade Religion a large focus is placed on understanding the Old Testament. The Old Testament books are memorized, studied, and prayed with. The Israelites journey is studied in great detail. The 6th grade is responsible for the Jesse Tree presentation each Advent season. The curriculum builds through the prophets, and culminates with the fulfilment through Jesus Christ in the Gospels.
In 7th grade Religion the emphasis is on cultivating a personal and deep relationship with Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The study of parables, miracles, and sacraments helps to develop a rich understanding of who Jesus is. Daily Bible study, deep prayer reflections, and partnering with 3rd grade for Mass are all part of the expectations.
In 8th grade Religion the main themes are Church History. The adventure begins with the Acts of the Apostles and works toward where we are today. All four pillars of the Catechism are presented, and the main emphasis is on developing a strong moral character. Many service projects are presented to and guided by the 8th grade, including our Faith Family groups.
Taught by: Mrs. Malmgren
Read more about the 5th grade curriculum here! -
grade 6
Taught by: Mrs. EgertB.S. from U of I in Environmental Sciences & my M.A.T. (Masters of Arts in Teaching) from Webster University in St. Louis.
I have been teaching at Montini since 2006 and have two daughters who go to school here! Along with being a 6th grade homeroom teacher, I teach middle school science and engineering.At Montini, we believe middle school science should be a hands-on learning experience for students. Our students participate in at least 3 lab days a week. 6th grade science focuses on students observing, questioning, and testing like scientists. There is a heavy emphasis for 6th graders on learning how to use proper measurement techniques, following and creating a lab procedure, collecting data, and analyzing the data in graphs or in written expression. This curriculum will help students have a better understanding of their world and create the building blocks for their future science classes. For more detailed information, check out my website at egertscience.com.This year we have added an engineering class for 6th-8th graders. 6th graders have this class 3 days a week, while 7th & 8th graders have it 4 days a week. This year's focus is to expose students to an engineering curriculum that emphasizes problem solving skills and team building challenges. Students will use math, science, and imagination to examine the world around them. Students will be using the Engineering Design Process to complete projects, which involves asking questions, understanding and following criteria and constraints, brainstorming ideas, designing solutions, building models & products, testing, redesigning, and modifying. Come visit our classroom to check out our current projects and our project board. It is amazing what these students have accomplished!!!
Read more about the 6th grade curriculum here! -
grade 7
Taught By: Mrs. Springer
Bio coming soon!
Click here for Mrs. Springer's Summer Reading List -
grade 8
Taught By: Mr. Semcken
B.S. in History and a minor in Sociology and Political Science from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Upon graduating in the December of 2014 I substitute taught while I transferred my teaching license to Illinois. After completing that I joined the Montini family during the 2016-2017 school year and this was my first full time teaching opportunity.
I currently teach 4 th through 8 th grade Social Studies focusing on various topics. In 4 th grade, we focus on Illinois history and the big milestone this year is the states and capitals test. Then 5 th grade is an introduction to U.S. History, we start our studies with the Native Americans and then travel through time up to the Civil War. In 6 th grade, we travel outside the U.S. and farther back in time, with the study of ancient civilizations. We will start our studies with early humans then move into Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Greece, and finish up with Rome. After we have studied each civilization, we conclude our studies with an art project specific to each civilizations culture. During 7 th grade, we study World Geography, we will focus on various landforms and how they have contributed to the formation of the society around the world. Then to wrap up 7 th grade the students will be required to create a dream vacation. In 8 th grade, the students will again have U.S. History but will dive deeper into the concepts first introduced in 5 th grade and will conclude the year with the Constitution test. Finally, with grades 6-8 once a week we will take a break from studying the past and focus on current events. I show the students a segment called CNN 10, it is a ten-minute news segment made for students. New episodes come out daily and each one covers different topics and after we watch the students have an assignment to find a current event article in the newspaper, magazine, or online and write up an analysis of it to share with the class. The students love this because it allows them to see what is going on in the world and many times connect what we have learned in history to daily life.
This past school year 2017-2018, we started a tradition of a Legacy and made it our focus for the 8 th graders. We challenged them to become the leaders of the school and show the younger students what it means to be a positive role model. Some of the things they did were; be the leaders of their faith families, create and host whole school assemblies, and a number of service projects. The class of 2018 took this to heart and left a wonderful legacy of faith, hard work, kindness, leadership, and joy, they definitely set the bar high for 8 th grade classes to come. I am excited to see what this year’s 8 th graders will accomplish and what legacy they will leave behind for others to follow!