Seventh-graders ace National Latin Exam
Latin? Seventh graders? You bet! Seventh graders at Lake Washington School District choice school Stella Schola take a year-long course in Latin ... and they love it! Student John Hornick, who calls himself "Johnus Hornickus" in class, comments, "It's so cool when I discover Latin roots in all kinds of words that I see around! For example, the word 'perambulate' comes from the word 'ambulare,' meaning to walk in Latin, so I can figure that word out!"
Students in Mrs. Tennis' seventh grade learn how to conjugate verbs, translate stories from Latin to English and have even created a class book to share with small children.
Recently, Stella Schola seventh graders participated in the rigorous National Latin Exam. Sixty percent of the class earned a certificate of merit, and three students scored in the ninetieth percentile, earning them a purple ribbon and a certificate of outstanding achievement in Latin! Carpe diem!
Sixth graders explore the microscopic world
"Eewww! What's that little wiggly thing?" asks sixth grader, Rhys Jones. He is looking at a drop of pond water for the first time and is amazed. "Mrs. Rustin, Mrs. Rustin, come over here, you've gotta see this!" exlaims another student from across the room as she peers intently into the eyepiece of an electronic microscope.
Six graders at Stella Schola Middle School are exploring the structure of cells through the use of microscopes. After having spent several months learning about the body systems (which included disecting muscles and creating comic strips to illustrate the digestive system), students are now delving into the microscopic world as they look at the world from a new point of view.
Teacher Sarah Rustin says, "It's so exciting to see the wonder on their faces when they get their first look at an amoeba or a paramecium!" What's next? Marine biology!
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