Our Pre-K little songbirds are the Pre-School Karaoke Champs. They love holding the microphones and performing for anyone who is lucky enough to see and hear them sing and dance. They are now preparing for "P" week. They are going to have a Pajama party!

The 4-year old class has been busy meeting some new friends in our Animal Alphabet Zoo. They take turns spending some time in their day with a new animal friend—most important, they are trying to remember each animal friend’s name and what letter it begins with. What a great way to learn and have fun too.

The 3-year old class has been very busy this month discussing the unit on "Ourselves." They have made "All About Me" books and self-portraits which are on display.

Enrichment/CARES:
The CARES kids had a great time holding a New Year’s Eve party to kick off the last few weeks of "winter" crafts. They made mittens, ice skates, snowflakes, and a big giant snowman. Please come and visit.

First Grade:
First Grade has accomplished many things in the first semester. They completed three readers and have started on the fourth. They are learning about nouns and sentence structure and improving their writing skills each day. In Math they have learned terms such as congruent and symmetry and learned about different shapes and sizes. They have also been learning interesting facts about the United States through the travels of our classroom mascot, Mr. Bear. who has visited New Jersey, Chicago, and Arizona; they are anxiously awaiting to hear about his latest adventure.

Second Grade:
Mrs. Eilbacher gave birth to a beautiful new daughter, Brynn Elizabeth, on January 18^th. Congratulations, Mrs. Eilbacher on this happy event. Meanwhile, in second grade Mrs. Maureen Phillips is currently substituting for Mrs. Jen Eilbacher. While playing familiar games like bingo, tic-tac-toe and basketball adapted to their studies, the second grade almost had "fun" preparing for exams. When the tests were finally over, they wound down by making English muffin pizzas. Following a specific set of instructions, they made mouths water and stomachs growl as delicious smells of sauce and melted cheese wafted through the halls. Now they’re getting ready to settle down for the second half of the year which will involve in large part preparing for First Holy Communions.

Third Grade:
Third grade happily welcomes a new student, Matthew Carroll, to our class. They are enjoying getting to know him and we all wish Matthew great success at OLHC. What a great way to begin our celebration of Catholic Schools Week!

Fourth Grade:
Fourth grade has been having a lot of fun. Each week they work on a "brain teaser" dealing with some type of math problem. They have also begun using erasable pens to do their work. After talking about Dr. King, they took a pledge to keep peace in their school and in their homes. In English, our focus is on nouns and verbs.

Fifth Grade:
Fifth grade worked hard on the integration of reading, writing, listening, and speaking while reading the Newbery Award winning novel "The Island of the Blue Dolphin." Throughout the story the students were intrigued to discover how Karana, the main character, struggled to survive on the island by herself for eighteen years. Karana had to resolve conflicts to find food and shelter, to protect herself from wild animals and to devise solutions to care for herself during natural disasters. As the children progressed through the story, they developed a fondness for Karana, they empathized with her during her difficult challenges and shared in her happiness. The students also enjoyed watching the video together and comparing and contrasting the novel with the movie. Fifth grade Challenge Math has completed all operations with fractions. They will be exploring probability through a series of experiments with dice, coins, M & M’s, and playing cards. In statistics, they will use USA Today to explore mean, median, mode, and range using the Weather Page.

Sixth Grade:
Sixth grade is studying Africa and they are immersed in the culture and changing countries of this continent. They are also beginning to prepare in earnest for receiving the sacrament of Confirmation in May. They have completed the DARE Program with Officer John Matz. This program has dealt with many subjects that the students will have to handle in the future. Officer Matz has also forged a strong relationship with the students as a police role model. In ILA, sixth grade will be doing two Shakespearean plays this quarter, The Tempest and Twelfth Night. They also will be entering the Intelligencer Record contest by writing a story about an everyday hero at our school.

Seventh Grade:
Seventh grade is studying the human body during the third quarter. They will identify the organ systems and how they work together to keep us alive. They are also looking forward to Officer Matz’s return in February to follow up on the DARE program completed last year. Officer Matz will be with them for five weeks for 10 classes. Mrs. Pelosi’s math class will be compiling a photography manual; look for the display in the hall. In Challenge Math, they will be starting geometry. Students are working on Alphabet books which they will share with our kindergarten buddies. In ILA, seventh grade will be doing two Shakespearean plays this quarter, Macbeth and Midsummer Night’s Dream. They, too, will be entering the Intelligencer Record newspaper contest by writing an editorial for the purpose of presenting opinions about news.

Eighth Grade:
Eighth grade will be starting two Shakespearean plays this quarter, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. They will be concentrating on writing skills by entering a contest for the Intelligencer Record newspaper and writing an editorial for the purpose of presenting opinions about news. They are also planning the eighth grade class trip to New York to see the Broadway musical "Annie Get Your Gun" and a visit to the United Nations. In Challenge Math, students are researching famous mathematicians in history. Students will display their efforts using a time line, mural, or collage. Check out the Mactutor History of Mathematics website to find the famous mathematician of the day.