Middle School Notes

Happy Friday!

Common Sense Media is an excellent website with tons of resources for parents and teachers alike. Recently, I found a great video full of tips on how to handle text messaging and your teen. You may access the video by clicking here.

We have been working on some exciting changes at Trinity, including our upcoming building project which will completely renovate our middle and upper school library space, and add a new lower school building complete with a new lower school library. We have also been looking at some curriculum changes, and these begin with some in the science department which will affect our current eighth grade class. Following is a memo to parents from Mrs. Sarah Tyus, the chairman of the science department here at Trinity:

The Science Department has decided to make some changes in the course selections starting in the 9th grade in order to better serve our students. All 9th graders will be taking biology or honors biology starting next year (2010-2011). This will allow students who are very strong in science and math to continue on to honors chemistry in 10th grade, and then AP chemistry and AP biology in 11th and 12th grade if they choose, without having to double up on their sciences in the 11th grade. Students who are weaker in math will take physical science in 10th grade and chemistry or honors chemistry in the 11th grade.

Physical science lays the foundation for chemistry and physics, but when taken in the 9th grade, the students tend to forget much of what they have learned by the time they need it in the 11th grade. by offering physical science and chemistry back to back in 10th and 11th grade, we feel that the students will achieve greater success.

Please consult the course description guide (handbook) online to help decide what is best for your child. There are some prerequisites and grade requirements for some of the classes.

Here are our tests for next week:

6th Grade: None

7th Grade:

Tuesday - Science (big quiz)

Wednesday - Economics, Math 7

Friday - Pre-Algebra

8th Grade:

Monday - Algebra I

Have a great weekend!