This week, the fifth grade had many opportunities to celebrate the Pascal Mystery in ways unique and special to HCA. Keep reading to learn about how we observed each day of Holy Week!
On Tuesday, fifth and sixth graders joined the nursery and Pre-K students in their annual Easter egg hunt. Fun was had by all, and our older students really stepped up as helpers for their younger friends.
On Wednesday, the class acted out the Passion of Christ as they reenacted Jesus' final few days on Earth. Later, they wrote Easter poems from the perspective of the apostles, which they later recorded. Please make sure to click on the 'Easter Poems' presentation below to enjoy their hard work!
Sean M., as Jesus, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane while his disciples await his return.
Jesus is betrayed by his followers and sentenced to death by Pilate.
Jesus is crucified at Calvary while his followers look on.
Jesus dies on the cross; the class pauses at this time to reflect in prayer.
Each student's written work is featured, along with a video of their poetry reading.
On Thursday, our Holy Week celebrations culminated in a Jewish seder, where the entire middle school community gathered together to learn about this sacred meal during Passover.
Middle school students gather in the MPR to take part in a traditional Jewish seder,
which is held at the start of Passover.
A traditional seder plate: shank bone (zeroa), egg (beitzah), bitter herbs (maror), vegetable (karpas),
and a sweet paste called haroset.
Many students were selected to read special parts of the seder, which featured readings
from Exodus in the Old Testament.
Garrett D. held a special role, being the youngest person at the seder, he asked the Four Questions to begin the maggid, or storytelling of the Exodus from Egypt by the Jewish people.
The seder plate that each student tried: Maror– Bitter herbs (horseradish) symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery that the Hebrews endured in Egypt; Charoset– A sweet, brown mixture (apples and cinnamon) representing the mortar and brick used by the Hebrew slaves to build the storehouses or pyramids ofEgypt. Karpas– A vegetable (celery and parsley) other than bitter herbs representing hope and renewal, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder.
It was a busy, spirited week that ended with the perfect weather to start off the holiday break.
On Tuesday, we celebrated a new tradition, Las Posadas. A holiday custom in parts of Latin America, Las Posadas represents the journey of Joseph and Mary on their way to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus. Mrs. Kathol, Señora Vintimilla, and our fifth graders worked together to bring this exciting custom to our school. They began with a traditional Spanish carol, "My Burrito Sabanero," (video below) which they performed for their families, followed by churros that they made with Ms. Kathol that morning. As we wrapped up our morning, all students were surprised with piñatas in the gym. Our older students really stepped up to make this a memorable occasion for our younger students, with our fifth graders taking on a special role.
This Tuesday, our HCA students met their new family members and spent the morning getting to know each other and creating "About Me" banners to display in our cafeteria. They look forward to a year full of memories together!
Happy New Year! I hope all of our families enjoyed a restful, but joyful holiday season. I am so happy to be back at HCA. The fifth grade and I have spent the past few days getting to know each other. On Thursday, the students shared what they are most looking forward to in 2019! They also stated their goals as readers and writers in the new year. We will keep these up for the next few weeks to refer back to as we continue to "dust off" and polish our language arts skills. In Social Studies, we discussed the importance of being aware of current events on a local, national and global level. Fifth grade watched today's student video for CNN 10 and reviewed the 5W's ("& an 'H!") that make up a strong news story. They will spend the next week choosing an appropriate, newsworthy article -- on a topic of their choice -- to write and present a summary and reflection on for their first Current Events report. I'm proud of both the fifth and six...
