High School News – December 2022
This month high school enjoyed spirit week, decorations, a visit from Manchester Mounted Patrol, new units, and the beginning of a new trimester.
Chemistry students are finally finished laying the groundwork for the ‘real’ study of atoms and molecules. In the last few weeks students were introduced to the mole–which is a specific amount of an element, molecule, or formula unit. They’ve been doing a lot of math as they put together their understanding of the periodic table and how atoms combine. Biology students finished their study of biological energy (basically photosynthesis and cellular respiration) this month. These two processes are what keep almost everything that is living alive and are a beautiful picture of how intricate and complementary God has created all things to work together to sustain life. In January students will be focusing on genetics, hereditary studies, and evolution-all from a Biblical worldview.
In Ethics, students continued to walk through what it means to live an ethical life. They studyed the Greek word Charakter, which means an imprint or image. The idea is that for the life of the Christian, our character should be the image or imprint of God. This very much carries the idea that for us, character and ethics are revealed in who we are, and we should be the image of our Creator as stated in Genesis 1 and other parts of Scripture. However, that is not the only Greek word translated as character in the New Testament. The other word is Dokime. It is best translated as an approval through testing. This carries the ideas that our character is not just who we are, but also lived out in what we do. Our character or Dokime is lived out through our actions, and our goal is to reach Christlikeness. When combined we see the greater picture of our Ethics class. Ethics summed up is the striving to be good, and to do good. This standard of being and doing is not measured by us, it is compared to the righteousness of Christ. Students then explored this by digging deep into Jesus’ introduction to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, the Beatitudes. New Testament Theology students worked through exploring and discovering their spiritual gifts and how to put them into practice. They took a survey to help point them in a direction to see where and how they may be gifted. While this survey is not meant to be a hard, yes or no to a particular gift, it is a good jumping off point to start the discussion. Each student took the survey and then discussed some of their findings in class. They then asked their parents what characteristics or gifts they may see in their student; they used that to help determine where the survey may have been correct for them, and where it missed the mark. Much of the trimester will be spent then defining their gifts, watching for strengths and weaknesses often associated with that gift, and even helping them begin to put those into practice with their local churches.
Last month, Sra. Rodriguez shared with the high school Spanish class that it is her deep hope that they all joyfully explore and embrace the diversity God has created among languages and peoples. They spent time discussing what that all means. That same evening, a fascinating article landed in her inbox about how language affects our sense of time and space. What perfect timing God has! Students spent a week and a half this month reading the article together. It was a lot of fun watching the students grapple with the different ways that language affects our perceptions of the world! Since, they have transitioned to their annual unit on holiday commercials. Similar to March Madness with basketball, students will watch and explore eight authentic commercials from the Spanish-speaking world and choose their favorites, narrowing it down to one winning commercial. This is always a fun unit which allows them authentic language exposure, but also allows them a glimpse into culture in different parts of the world.
Way to go high school. Have a wonderful holiday break and we will see you in January!
