Middle School

Middle School consists of Grades 6, 7, and 8.  Three teachers teach the core subjects:  Mrs. Katy Bachelot, Mrs. Kimberly Pierce, and Mrs. Catherine Lampka.

Mrs. Katy Bachelot, Sixth Homeroom Teacher

  • B.A., McNeese State University (Social Studies; Minor in English)
  • M.S. McNeese State University (Instructional Technology)
  • Certified Social Studies

Philosophy:  I believe that I can inspire and empower my students to be life-long learners, problem solvers and good stewards.

Teaches 6th Religion, Literature, Science, English, 6th/7th History

6th English:

  • Parts of speech
  • communication·       
  • Sequence of events·       
  • Dramatic activities using verbal and nonverbal communication·       
  • Basic sight vocabulary
  • Classify words that share a common meaning
  •  Synonyms and antonyms
  • Capitalization
  • Punctuation
  • Writing Process
  • Handwriting

6th Reading:

  • Seek out and enjoy printed books of a varied interest
  • Set a purpose for reading
  • Structure of the Earth, Tectonic Plates, Geological Features
  • Atmosphere & Hydrosphere
  • Fossils
  • Natural Disasters
  • Earth, Sun, & Solar System
  • Oceans & Water Cycle
  • Soil & Rock Composition and Formation
  • History of the Earth

 6th Religion:

  • Recognizes the revelation of God
  • Recognizes creation as a sign of God’s power
    ·          

6th Social Studies

  • Develop historical thinking skills
  • Researching historical sources
  • Constructing narratives and interpretations
  • Use historical thinking skills to develop an understanding of major historical periods, issues, and trends in world history
  • Evaluate major historical periods in ancient world history
  • Recognize the importance of historical periods to examine ideals, beliefs, and   institutions, conflicts and resolutions, science and technology to determine how the world came to be what it is
  • Understand how to use resources to gather and analyze information
  • Understand how geography and economics affect history
  • Evaluate various ancient empires and cultures around the world

6th grade Math

  • Operations with decimals and fractions
  • Estimation of decimals and fractions
  • Order of Operations
  • Measures of Central Tendency
  • Interpreting Data and Making Graphs
  • Solving Equations
  • Proportions and Percents
  • Geometry and Measurement
  • Probability

Special Projects and Activities During The Year

  • Boulevard Heights 
  • Baby Blankets for Gabriel’s Angels 
  • Pet food to Animal Shelter 

Engaged learners will experience and learn about… Religion- Old Testament and Scripture, Science- Life/ Biology and Botany, Math- Connected Mathematics by Prentice Hall, Social Studies- World Cultures, Geography, Economics, Government, and History Language Arts- Novel studies, plays, and speeches.

  • Religion – Seder Meal Celebration 
  • Social Studies- History Fair 
  • Science- Lab Experiments in Science lab, 
  • Science Fair and Winston Science Competition 
  • Math- Gingerbread House Geometry 
  • Reading- Book Club 

Mrs. Kimberly Pierce, Seventh Homeroom Teacher

  • BS, Interdisciplinary Studies, University of North Texas (Specialization in Reading; Minor in Mathematics)
  • Certifications: ESL; Elementary Self-Contained; Elementary Reading

Teaches 7th Religion, Science, 7th/8th Literature, 7th/8th English

7th Religion

  • Focus on Jesus
  • Prayer – daily scripture reading, meditation, journal
  • Service – monthly letters to senior citizens, Boulevard Heights, Catholic Charities, Respect Life program
  • Family Living
  • Liturgy – weekly Mass, monthly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

7th Science

  • Biology- cells, genetics, animals, human body
  • Labs – owl pellet and frog dissections, microscope study, technology
  • Science Fair Projects
  • Health

7th English

  • Grammar – usage, capitalization, punctuation
  • Composition – process of writing, business letters, compositions ( narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive), weekly journals
  • Vocabulary – correct usage, synonyms, antonyms, connotation, root words

7th Literature

  • Novels – one every three weeks and summer reading text
  • Oral Tradition –Greek mythology
  • Short Stories – setting, character, plot
  • Nonfiction – autobiography, biography, essay
  • Poetry
  • Drama
  • Literary Terminology
  • Critical and Creative Writing
  • Sustained Silent Reading - daily
  • Accelerated Reading
  • Library - weekly
    • 

7th History

  • Texas
  • Journal writing and reflections
  • Projects 

7th Math

  • Operations with fractions and decimals
  • Integers
  • Fraction, decimal, percent relationships
  • Ratios, rates, and proportions
  • Exponents
  • Geometry and Measurement
  • Patterns and rules
  • Graphing in a coordinate plane
  • Displaying and analyzing data
  • Probability
  • Equations and Inequalities

Mrs. Catherine Lampka, 8th Homeroom Teacher

  • Certified Mid-level Math and Science 
  • Bachelor of Science, UTA 
  • 4 years teaching experience 

Teaches 6th/7th/8th Math, 8th Science, 8th Religion 

8th grade Math – 2 courses are offered

Pre-Algebra (provides a strong foundation for those who will take Algebra I as a freshman)

  • Algebraic Expressions and Integers
  • Solving one-step and two-step equations and inequalities
  • Measurement conversions
  • Prime factorization
  • Powers of products and quotients
  • Ratios, proportions, and percents
  • Simple and compound interest
  • Linear functions and graphing
  • Solving systems of linear equations
  • Spatial thinking
  • Area and volume
  • Pythagorean Theorem
  • Data Analysis and probability

 Algebra I (taught as a high school level Algebra I course)

  • Variables, function patterns, and graphs
  • Add, subtract, multiply and divide rational numbers
  • Solving two-step and multi-step equations and inequalities
  • Pythagorean Theorem
  • Absolute value equations and inequalities
  • Direct and inverse variations
  • Linear equations and their graphs
  • Systems of equations and inequalities
  • Exponents and exponential functions
  • Polynomials and factoring
  • Quadratic equations and functions
  • Radical expressions and equations
  • Rational expressions and functions

8th Science – Physical Science

  • Energy and motion
  • Work and simple machines
  • Atomic structure and chemical bonds
  • Chemical reactions
  • Waves, light, and sound
  • Electricity and magnetism
  • Participation in Regional Science Fair 
    • 

8th  Religion

  • Focus on Church history
  • Mystery of the Church
  • Marks of the Church
  • Witness of the Church
  • Service projects with Holy Family Catholic Church, Catholic Charities Assessment Center, West Aid
  • Daily prayer and meditation, weekly mass, monthly adoration

 

Mrs. Linda Gangolf

  • BA degree from Mid-America Christian University, Oklahoma City
  • Master level coursework in History and Theology from Texas Wesleyan University and Anderson University in Indiana
  • 10 year teaching at Holy Family Catholic School 

8th Grade American History

Curriculum Highlights 

American History is taught in a topic driven format, rather than a textbook driven format.  Therefore, we skip around in our textbook rather than going from cover to cover.  Our curriculum can be highlighted under some of the following topics:

 August: Earliest Americans: Migration and Trade and Early European Influences

September: Voting in America: Procedures, Elections, Political Cartoons

October: Documents That Affected America, i.e. English Bill of Rights, Magna Carta

November: Colonial America, Native Americans, Part 1 of the Revolutionary War

December: Revolutionary War (Part 2); American Holidays

January: How Government Works: the Constitution

February: Who’s Who in Less Famous People in American History

March: Wars and Battles: Spanish American, Civil War, WWI and II, Vietnam

April: Expansionism: Moving West and Beyond and Religion in America

May: Modern Politics, current issues, current leaders and Heroes in America