By Kandice Kimmel, Latin & History, 5th-8th Grade

Project-based learning involves students designing, developing, and constructing hands-on solutions to a problem. Can you think of a better way to end a study of the Thirteen Colonies than having your students build a Colonial village? The fifth grade students researched daily life of Colonial Americans and the occupations that were needed for survival during Colonial times. Daily life looked much different without indoor plumbing or electricity, not to mention restaurants, entertainment, Amazon Prime, Door Dash, or grocery pick ups!

The fifth grade students researched, built (yes, built! They each constructed their part of the village from the ground up with the help of our extremely talented Mrs. Denise), stocked their station with items from the time period, and shared their knowledge with all of our the preschool, Kindergarten, and lower school students. Every stop in the village provided a presentation, demonstration, and an interactive activity for the younger students to role play and learn by doing. This years Colonial Village included an apothecary, candle making shop, cobbler, general store, farm with farm house and kitchen, and a blacksmith shop.

By Kandice Kimmel, Latin & History, 5-8th Grade

Project based learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex questions, problems or challenges.

To wrap up our world geography unit, our fifth and sixth grade students hosted an International Fair. They were each assigned a country to research, and designed a display, brought an international dish to sample, and presented for all of the students and teachers at St. James Day School. I am so incredibly proud of each and every one of these students!

By Kandice Kimmel, Latin & History, 5-8th Grade

In middle school we build study hall and elective classes into our students’ weekly schedule. The convenience of study hall allows students time at school to complete projects, ease the homework burden, as well as one on one time with their teachers if they are struggling to understand concepts or have questions.

Elective classes allow our middle school students to explore their interest, develop new skills, and broaden their perspectives beyond the core academic curriculum. The elective classes for the fall semester are science club, robotics, yearbook, book club, film study, and a life skills/cooking class.

Kandice Kimmel

What is the importance of learning Latin roots?

Since about two thirds of English words are derived from Latin, studying Latin provides invaluable insights into English vocabulary, the structure and meaning of English words, especially the longer and more complicated ones.

Many times, words are not so simply figured out. By studying Latin roots that dominate the English language, it is likely a student could identify at least one part of a word to make an educated guess at its meaning.

Not only will this help our Latin students in school across the board (science and legal fields are known for their use of Latin terminology), but knowing Latin roots will also help our students on major standardized tests like the PSAT, ACT, SAT, and even the LSAT and GRE.

This past week all middle school Latin students were assigned a Latin root, and researched multiple derivatives and their definitions and created a derivative tree! The posters will be displayed in the commons and judged this week. Fifth graders took this challenge on with tenacity and I am extremely proud of their results! Winners will be announced on Friday.