Department Updates
School Counseling Department
As 8th grade students enter the middle of the school year , they will participate in steps and activities to prepare for the transition to high school . Neighboring technical and vocational high school programs including Cheney Tech , Prince Tech , and Suffield AgriScience visited JFK in late October to meet with interested 8th grade students . Later in this school year , 8th grade students will make a trip to Enfield High School to get more information about the schedule , graduation credit requirements , course options , and building layout .
In addition to visiting EHS , 8th grade students will also work with their counselors later this year to select courses for their freshman year of high school . As part of this process , JFK counselors spend time in 8th grade classes , and in individual meetings with students , to review Enfield High ’ s graduation credit requirements as well as course recommendations and selections for 9th grade . If they have questions , students and parents are encouraged to speak with their counselor when the course selection process takes place , in the second half of the year if they have questions about courses .
English Language Arts ( ELA )
Sixth grade English students have been working in collaborative book club groups over the past two weeks . In reading workshop , they have been studying point of view , tracking character traits to determine complicated characters , identifying the four different types of conflicts characters face in novels , tracking the parts of plot , and following motifs that repeat in novels to help develop the theme . Readers have been recording all this information in their interactive reading journals . There are many reading accomplishments to celebrate in Grade 6 classrooms !
JFK 7th Grade English classes have been gearing up for the upcoming field trip to Hartford Stage to see A Christmas Carol by introducing students to theatrical elements , continuing their analysis of theme and setting , and building background for the setting of the play , Victorian England . Planned activities include giving students the opportunity to act out various parts of the play in class , allowing them to experience the dramatic arts themselves ! After the field trip on November 30th , students will then transition into the Writing about Reading unit , where they will choose a favorite novel and compose companion books / essays that will analyze various elements of literature . The interplay of reading , writing , and reallife literary performance makes learning both meaningful and unforgettable !
Grade 8 English students are deep in their historical fiction unit where they are identifying significant quotes and analyzing them using a double entry journal model . The literary elements , reading strategies , and note taking skills that students are learning while reading a whole class novel will then be transferred to book clubs where they will be exposed to a variety of historical time periods and conflicts . This is also the unit that provides opportunities for building background knowledge through research , making connections with learning in social studies classes , and gaining a personalized view of historic events with a focus on character .
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