Middle School: January 6 - 9, 2026
Hello, Middle School Families,
Welcome back! I hope that everyone had a wonderful and restful winter break!
Our inaugural block for the spring semester is The Short Story. Throughout the block, we will be exploring the elements of a short story. The first week, students explored the concept of plot. We reviewed Freytag’s pyramid (the arc of a story) and learned about the different types of conflicts, such as man v. nature, society, man, fate/supernatural.
This block deviates from creating a traditional main lesson book. Instead, the students are compiling a Creative Writing binder. For the students who were Middle School last year, they are expanding on their writing binder from the Wish, Wonder, and Surprise block. In each class, we read and analyze a new short story. This week, discussions focus around the element we’re focusing on, such as conflict and story arc. The students also spend time writing. They are given a photo as a prompt, and from this, have 25 minutes to write a story. From these stories, students will choose one or two to elaborate on and develop into a full short story. Woven throughout these activities, students are reviewing spelling, punctuation, and grammar concepts.
The Eighth graders are hard at work on their Eighth grade project. While the bulk of this project is done independently of school time, students meet every Wednesday to check-in and share about their progress. The project also has a research paper component, and this week, the students brought in their computers to start working on the outline for their paper.
The Auction is arriving, and as mentioned in the parent chat, it is time to compile ideas for the Middle School Auction project! If you have an idea, please email me. From here, a list of all ideas will be created for parents to vote on. We also need a parent to lead/assist with the auction project for our class. Please let me know if you are interested.
P.S. A few of the pictures this week are from right before break - our Chemistry block and our silly sock exchange!
Announcements & Reminders:
Please join us for our MLK Day of Service on Monday, January 19th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. You are also welcome to sign up to donate food items or drop off new socks and/or underwear during carpool any day until the 16th. Please see the Main Messenger or contact Ki Holly or Ki Kim for more information.
January 14: 8th Grade Trip Parent Meeting
January 19: MLK Jr. Day of Service (No school)
January 31: Community Work Day
February 7: Early Childhood & Grade Curriculum meeting at 11 am & All School Meeting (Spring) at 12:30 pm
Thank you for the honor of teaching your children,
Ki Lesley
