Catholic school eighth-graders get ready for the move to high school with special projects, events

By Jean Parietti

Eighth-graders at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Seattle have spent all school year working on the Juan Diego Graduation Project, an individual in-depth study of a social issue.

Each student thoroughly researched an issue, dedicated at least 15 hours of service to it, reflected on the experience and made a presentation in the spring. Now the students are posting the websites they have designed to showcase their efforts (https://sites.google.com/a/guadalupe-school.org/juan-diego-graduation-project).

“I can’t begin to tell you how thorough and insightful the presentations are,” said teacher JC Santos. “Every year, I think, ‘Wow, an eighth-grader did this!’”

The last year of Catholic school before high school is a special one, and eighth-graders in schools throughout the archdiocese have been involved in special projects and events all year. Here is a look at some of them:

Serving othersFrom food and clothing drives to standing on a freeway overpass with “happy thought” posters to inspire motorists, eighth-graders at Holy Rosary School in Tacoma helped the community in a variety of ways this year. Teacher Mark Bohlman said other projects included making sack lunches for the food bank at St. Leo Parish, serving lunch at the Tacoma Rescue Mission and cleaning up streets around the school.

Helping those overseas has been the mission of eighth-graders at two Seattle schools. At Assumption-St. Bridget School, students are leading an effort to raise $1,300 for Catholic high school scholarships in Bolivia, granted through the VICO Educational Foundation founded by ASB alum Casey Benadof, said Principal Kathi Hand. At St. Anne School, students raised $1,500, collected more than 200 backpacks and gathered used school supplies for Dreams for Orphans, a nonprofit founded by a St. Anne community member to support an orphanage in Ghana, said Joe Cotton, the school’s stewardship coordinator.

Faith connectionTwo schools featured faith-focused projects during Holy Week. The annual Passion play on Palm Sunday is a signature project at St. Joseph School in Seattle, with every eighth-grader participating in the cast or chorus. Their preparation for the dramatic musical presentation includes writing reflections on the Passion and Resurrection. At Our Lady Star of the Sea School in Bremerton, students created “illuminated manuscripts” as part of their eighth-grade religion and Latin classes, copying prayers in Latin and illustrating them.

A year-end retreat for students and parents is a highlight for eighth-graders at St. Thomas More School in Lynnwood. Parents serve as discussion group leaders, sharing their faith experiences as they help their children explore the anxiety about moving on to high school. Students discuss “how their faith will continue to be a source of strength and what changes they want to make for themselves,” said teacher Marcia Golloway.

Careers to familyEighth-grade “exit projects” have been a fixture for several years at Queen of Angels School in Port Angeles, said teacher Jean Hays. Students research a career field of interest, spend a school day doing a job shadow, write a research paper and make a presentation to a juried panel for evaluation.

At St. Monica School on Mercer Island, the eighth-grade robotics team participated in the recent Catholic Schools Robotics Extravaganza. The students began working with robots last fall as part of an enrichment class, and gave up lunch periods to perfect their robots for the event.

Each eighth-grader at Assumption School in Bellingham just wrapped up a year-long project to write a biography of a grandparent. Each student conducted interviews, gathered documents and photos, then wrote and designed a 50-page book. Students have grown closer to their grandparents and “I’ve had parents coming in tears to say that they’ve learned things about their parents that they never knew,” said teacher Betsy Gottschalk.

May 9, 2013