The ropes courses were some of the sixth graders' favorites at Camp Allen.

FESTAval
 
By Gabriela Marin
Editor in Chief JPII Times
 
            “Always do your personal best, and nobody can take that away from you,” said Ms. Festa as her parting words to her sixth graders. Since the beginning to the end of the year, Ms. Festa has noticed changes in her students (besides the obvious growth spurts). “Some students gained more maturity due to the responsibility of being a middle schooler,” Ms. Festa said. She hopes she prepared her students in every way possible for seventh grade by teaching important life skills like following directions, being honest, and being organized. All in all, Ms. Festa is proud of her students’ successes.
            Though it is almost the end of the year, it doesn’t mean that class is over just yet. In language, sixth graders were finishing up their curriculum and studying the basic mechanics of grammar. In literature, they were finishing their vocabulary workbooks. They were also working on their letters to Newbery authors (which they will eventually present). They also had one final project, finishing up their Camp Allen Discovery Journal. These sixth graders are ready to go on to seventh grade!
 
Erupting into Seventh Grade
 
By Catherine Cohen
Layout/ Design Editor
 
            In the last quarter of the year, the sixth grade science students researched volcanos and built a model volcano. They learned about fossils and geologic time. The labs they performed were modeling igneous rocks and a Modified Mercalli Scale lab. “At the end of the year we really hit the scientific method hard!’’ said Mrs. Bouffard.  She teaches them the scientific method at the end of the year so when they start seventh grade life science they already know what they are doing.  The sixth graders are ready to erupt into seventh grade.
 
Roll the Dice!
 
By Briana Arevalo
Technology Editor
 
            The students in Mrs. Kushner’s sixth grade math class have been busy, but are still having fun! For multi-step problems, they wrote out the formulas, plugged them in with the concepts, simplified, and then solved. With algebraic problems, the students really worked on keeping it neat and organized while simplifying with order of operations. They even checked it while staying neat and felt very successful with their results. The students also worked with dice and spinners. “They loved predicting the outcomes and then graphing the real results after,” Mrs. Kushner said. Lastly, the students got into groups to work on assignments on investigating three dimensional solids, and then they used the results to solve problems about volume. Math at JPII really adds up!
 
Busy (Mc)Bees
 
By Jade Pinnock
Features Editor
 
           
            For the last quarter of the school year, Mrs. McBee’s sixth grade social studies and theology classes were working to learn.
            In social studies, the students learned about many new countries. They learned about all the countries of South America and Western Europe. The students also learned about the concepts of the economy and how countries make money, what they do with it, and how it affects other people.
            In theology, they learned about the Ten Plagues of Egypt. They learned that they wouldn’t have had the Plagues if the Egyptians had followed God’s directions. They also learned the judges weren’t perfect, but He used them to guide and save His people. For Lent the sixth graders enacted the Stations of the Cross, a performance which they prepared for by forming groups and creating their own interpretations. Mrs. McBee’s class was always busy!
 









Visiting historical sites around Texas was part of the seventh grade trip.

Dissecting Science
 
By Amanda Trevino
Photo Editor
 
            The seventh grade students were really working this quarter on many science labs. They completed the earthworm lab with real earthworms, the great fossil find lab, and the last three days the students got to dissect real frogs!. Super Arthropod was the only major project that the students did this quarter. In science class the students learned about arthropods, amphibians, chordates, vertebrates, and animal characteristics. On the Texas Trip, the science portions of the trip included the Texas State Aquarium, the dolphin watch, and the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History. Mrs. Palmer’s absolute favorite lab was the regenerating planarian. 
 
Yummy Science

By Ambrose Reilly
Technology Editor
           
           
            In the fourth quarter, Mrs. Lowe’s eighth grade IPC class learned about types of reactions, balancing equations, naming compounds, writing formulas, solutions, and acids and bases. They also worked on labs about acids and bases and properties of solutions. In order to learn about their subjects, the students made fudge and ice cream. The students also completed a career project in which they related their future careers to science. Mrs. Lowe taught her students through labs, notes, and she has tutored at lunch. She also said her students were still working on studying and listening skills. Other than that, the eighth graders have done a great job throughout the whole year!
 
Poets of Seventh Grade
 
By Kelli Hermes
News Editor
 
            In Mrs. Trevino’s seventh grade language and literature classes, the students have been rapping up things, getting ready for the end of the year. In language, the students reviewed for their final exams. In literature, the classes were filled with either reading The Hobbit by JR Tolkien or Epic by Conor Kostick. The students also had a challenging task to complete, reciting a stanza of the famous poem Annabelle Lee by Edgar Allen Poe.
            During the past quarter, the seventh graders enjoyed the Texas Trip including going to Corpus Christi. Some of the more memorable parts of the trip were the aquarium, the dolphin boat, and being in a hotel together. The students had to complete a writing assignment imagining life aboard the U.S.S. Lexington and being one of the thousands of crew members when the ship was attacked. “I would say the students’ favorite part of the trip would have been staying in a hotel room with their friends for the first time!” Mrs. Trevino said. The seventh graders had an amazing last quarter of the year. 
 
"Leave It In the Hands of the Lord"
 
By Haley Wilson
Editor in Chief The Spirit
 
            Seventh grade theology finished off the year strong with a unit on death and the Ten Commandments; they also learned the story on why and how they received their name. Eighth grade students completed all the units on Church history starting with medieval times until today. Neither eighth grade nor seventh grade had any projects this quarter, because they were too busy with tests and reviews. They also spent a lot of time praising God during their classes by singing. They realized how God is in their life everywhere.
            Mrs. Hartfiel gave the eighth grade students advice to help them as they move on to high school. She wants them to always be thankful for their parents, teachers, priests, and anyone else who has made them who they are today. They need to know who they are as a child of God, so they can overcome any temptations that they might come across. Before giving in to any temptation, they also need to think about their future. She said that staying strong in their moral lives will help them. Mrs. Hartfiel told the students to let their personalities bloom, but she cautioned them that their strengths can become weaknesses. Her final advice was “Trust and pray, go do your best today, then leave it in the hands of the Lord.”
 
The Final Frontier 
 
By Madeline Greely
Senior Editor
 
            Mrs. Berrie’s seventh and eighth grade classes have been finishing the year up with a bang. From finishing up learning about all the Presidents in eighth grade U.S. History, to finishing World War II in seventh grade where they watched a movie about it, the students worked hard. Both seventh and eighth graders have been busily studying for finals. To prepare them, Mrs. Berrie gave them a packet to work on and told them to find all of their old tests that they had saved for this. Mrs. Berrie also said that, “We are studying all the information from the second half since Christmas. Study hard!”
            All and all Mrs. Berrie’s students have had a pretty good year. “They have really improved on following directions and have shown me higher level thinking skills.” Good job Mrs. Berrie’s students, and good luck in finals!                      
 











JPII eighth graders participate in placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns during the trip to Washington, D.C.

Formula One Racers
 
By Ambrose Reilly
Technology Editor
 
            All the way throughout the year Mrs. Horstman’s seventh and eighth grade, students have done a great job in algebra and pre-algebra. In the fourth quarter, the eighth graders have learned about quadratic equations, quadratic formula, midpoint, distance, simplifying radicals, and working with radicals. The seventh graders in pre-algebra have been learning about geometry.  These subjects will help the students later in life when they choose their career such as architecture or physics. Mrs. Horstman said one thing her students could improve on was showing their work. Every week the students worked on five Simple Solutions lessons that kept reinforcing concepts and previously learned lessons. The seventh and eighth graders have done great the whole year! Good job!
 
Very Fast Readers
 
By Christian McStravick
Sports Editor
 
            “Some of the eighth graders are ready for high school, and some will have a wakeup call,” said Mrs. Drewes. Mrs. Drewes and her students worked hard these last nine weeks. In language, they have finished their Vocabulary Workshop books, and have reviewed simple verb tenses and sentence diagraming. In literature, they read the book Night and have been studying Shakespeare. They also read the play Hamlet, and from what Mrs. Drewes said, they have been very focused on this topic. The book Night is about a survivor of the Holocaust (Elie Wiesel), and he tells his story about the horrible things he went through. Mrs. Drewes said that the eighth graders really understood it more when they were at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. “Since the first quarter, the eighth graders are much faster readers, and are reading much more complicated books,” said Mrs. Drewes. They have had such a successful year! Good job, eighth graders!