Happy April!
Upper school students at The Summit had a busy weekend. On Saturday morning, many excelled in the Spanish competition. Saturday afternoon, three upper school students competed at Zenith in rock climbing. And then on Sunday afternoon, six upper school students were recognized for their essays at the annual SMBA Law Day contest. Anna W. (7th grade) took home the first place prize, Luke S. (8th grade) took home second, and Garret D. (8th grade) won third place. I was so proud of these students for their diligence in this project. Their essays are on display at The Library Center on Campbell Avenue until May 1st, along with the 2nd-5th grade poster contest.
In sixth grade, students have just completed their journal entries for the Oregon Trail. First, the class studied Westward Expansion and the presidency of James K. Polk. Students looked into the Mexican Revolution, the Oregon Treaty, and the Mexican-American War. To round out the study of “manifest destiny,” students spent time exploring the game “Oregon Trail.” Then the class read a journal of a woman who traveled the trail in 1853. Supporting their learning of the trail, students completed fictional journal entries, supporting their stories with historical sources. For the remainder of this week, sixth grade will be examining the sectional crisis and the years leading up to the Civil War.
Last week proved busy for the seventh and eighth grade classes, with the MSU field trip, the backyard cleanup, and the 8th grade class job shadowing. Students are now wrapping up their presentations on 19th century immigration. From here, the classes will examine the Jacksonian Era, including the Indian Removal Act, the southeastern tribes, the growing cotton empire, and the reform movements of the 1830s and 40s.
High school students have a guest speaker on Tuesday, providing them insight into Springfield’s role in the Great War. They are also working on a 2-3 minute presentation on a topic from the 1920s or 1930s, ranging from prohibition, the dust bowl, the stock market crash, to FDR’s New Deal. From here, the class will move on to learn about World War II and America on the home-front.
