St. Theresa School Oakland, California

Welcome to Ms. Piojo's homepage. This page consists of 7th grade information as well as middle school math and PE information. For math and PE information please scroll past the dashed line. Also I am the co-moderator along with Ms. Leroe-Munoz of the Student Council Team.

Welcome to 7th Grade! This is a brand new year and it is going to be a great one. Room 7 holds 29 special students and 8 different teachers. I'm Ms. Piojo and as your homeroom teacher, I am the keeper of the 7th grade room and all the students and teachers in it. We are all getting to know each other and getting used to new routines and procedures. The new schedules were given at the beginning of the school year and is written on the front board on a daily basis. Please be on your toes because those special days we have mass or early dismissal our schedule changes a bit or perhaps we will have a visitor to our room or a visit to somewhere else.

Your teachers are here to work as a team to make your 7th grade year a good one. In addition to being the 7th grade homeroom teacher, I teach all of 7th grade in PE and the Standard Math class for 7th grade. Ms. Bevilacqua teaches first period Language Arts. Mrs. Holden teaches the Accelerated Math class and gets all the students for Science where they learn about life science. Ms. Dobie teaches the Social Studies third period when she teaches about the Roman Empire. Mr. Lommen, who comes to us from Holy Names High School, makes special appearances every Monday, Wednesday and Friday just to teach 7th grade religion about the life of Jesus. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Senora Robinson who also comes from Holy Names teaches Spanish, followed by PE and then the students wrap up with either Mr. George in Chorale or Mrs. Fox in band. Mrs. Plageman is around Monday through Wednesday to help out the middle school students and teachers.

Some consistent reminders include staying clean and healthy by washing hands, not sharing food and sneezing into your arm. Again if your child is sick, please keep them home to get them better. If your child misses school due to illness, late to school, appointments or other reasons please remember to write a note. If it is a medical appointment, please bring in the medical excuse form or have them fax it to us at (510) 547-3253.

Please remember to check Lost and Found. Continue bringing in those Box Tops so 7th Grade can win a prize!

This looks to be an exciting year in 7th grade. I'm looking to be a great part of it and you should too! This is quite an important year for our 7th graders but with good effort and cooperation on your part it is going to be a great one. Here we go 7th grade - let's embark on your journey to success.

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Math is a wonderful subject filled with numbers and operations and various applications to real life. This is why this is one of my favorite subjects. I'm Ms. Piojo and I will be teaching the 8th grade Standard class, 7th grade Standard class and the 6th grade Advanced math class. My goal for you is to learn proper math methods, become comfortable in math and its concepts and learn a variety of learning tools to help you master math and other subjects.

PE is also a wonderful subject for we get to play, move and have fun. Remember that the PE uniform consists of a St. Theresa logo red shirt and blue shorts from Bancroft. Any school approved sweatshirt is okay to wear with your uniform. If it is cold, you are allowed to wear blue sweatpants with the St. Theresa logo only. Please make sure to wear these colors for this counts as part of your grade.

I look forward to the year.

Sincerely,
Ms. Piojo

Student Projects

Select a NewsletterOctober 13, 2009June 1, 2009September 9, 2009November 1, 2009December 1, 2009January 4, 2010

June 1, 2009

In the home stretch

Hello 7th grade community!

We are in the home stretch of the school year and we are all a buzz. I hope that we all finish strong at the end of the 2009-2010. Thank you all for your hard work, energy and enthusiasm for the year. Thanks for making second year as the 7th grade homeroom teacher a memorable one.

As we wind down, 7th grade still has much going on. We will be cleaning up to get ready for next year. This means that any books and supplies are to be turned back in for use for next year. Any equipment such as desks and chairs will be cleaned off. From the handbook, "Students in all grades are personally responsible for maintaining the integrity of school textbooks and school materials." Families may be charged for lost or damaged books or equipment.

As for end of the year academics, both math classes will be taking their end-of-the-year tests to determine their math placement for next year: standard or advanced 8th grade math consisting mostly of algebra. Math placement is determined by the test, overall math grades, conduct grades, homework and a few other factors. Students will find out math placement over the summer. In language arts and social studies, the students are finishing up their Isearch's. Let us all stay focused on our academics to finish the year with great grades. These grades will then be combined with the 2 previous trimesters to come up with an overall grade for the class.

End of the year activities are plenty. Thanks to all that helped make the 7th and 8th grade picnic a great one on June 2. With the 8th graders going, the 7th grade parents are preparing to host the 8th grade year end events such as the 7th and 8th grade picnic and the receptions after the 8th grade mass on Friday, June 4 and the Graduation on Saturday, June 5. Thank you to all parents for your help with these events.

Please remember to update your PE uniforms for more stringent rules and regulations concerning PE uniforms will be implemented next year. I suggest having 2-4 uniforms.

Thanks again to you all for making this a great year! I will see you next year in the same capacity as your 6th-8th math teacher and PE teacher, 7th grade homeroom teacher and Student Council team moderator. Many blessings over the summer!

Sincerely,
Ms. Lourdes Piojo

Student Links
Find the Pair Game	Find the pair game. Note the score you got on the first try. You will need this for the Getting to Know You Survey.
Super Speller	Great typing game. Best if played on browser other than Firefox.
8th Standard Online Algebra Book	Click on online book button. The student username is ststudentone and the password is student1. The entire book is available.
St. Theresa Service Learning	The website for all the information concerning Service Learning for 6th-8th graders.
Good tips to dealing with math anxiety
Getting to Know You	Survey of Ms. Piojo's classes' interests
ACOE	The Alameda County Office of Education has these great resources that I use occasionally in class.
Measurement Project	Input measurement data here

2010-2011 School Year
7th Grade Homeroom list with all subjects listed:

These items only need to be brought the beginning of the year.
NO NAME NEEDED: (These will be shared so nothing fancy)
2 large glue sticks
1 roll of scotch tape (with a dispenser)
3 packages of college ruled binder paper (200 sheets)
1-2 packs of graph paper
two 24 count boxes of #2 pencils (please sharpen if possible)
1 box of 12 red ballpoint pens
1 box of 24 black or blue ballpoint pens
2 black Sharpies ( 1 fine point, 1 extra fine point)
1 large package/box of hand wipes/baby wipes
2 boxes of tissues

Please replace these items as needed throughout the year. These will be used in all your classes.LABEL WITH NAME:
box or pouch to hold loose items like pens, pencils, etc
12 inch ruler - metric and standard units
1-2 large soft pink (or other color) eraser
1 pair of pointed scissors
1 pencil sharpener with container to hold shavings
1 pkg. broad markers - one set of 8-10 colors
1 pkg. thin markers (no more than 16 count)
1 box colored pencils (no more than 16 count)
1 box of 24 crayons
Protractor
Texas Instrument 30 (TI30 XS) series calculator (approximately $15)
1 pocket Dictionary
1 accordion file with at least 9 sections
6-9 two pocket folders
3 Composition books with sewn binding for math, science and PE/homeroom (these MUST be composition notebooks)
notebooks for the following: social studies, religion
(a flash drive for student computer work would be great if they have one, to transfer work from school to home computers)

Ms. Bevilacqua's Supplies
*Mead Five Star Notebook, 5 Subject, 200 Sheet, 11"x8-1/2' (Please make sure you get this specific brand - the dividers should have pockets)
*Post-it Notes - sizes 3X3 and 2X3 *** if you cannot find these specific sizes, it is okay, I would just like your child to have two different sizes, as close to these as you can find.
*Post-it Flags - size 1 x 1.7 inch (The plastic are the best.)
*Post-it Flags – size 1 X 1.3/4 inch (The plastic are the best.) These often come in a four pack
*Glue sticks (I strongly recommend buying an eight or twelve pack for the year and keeping the extras at home. It is cheaper this was and we go through quiet a few.)
*Highlighters - at least four different colors
*Blue or Black Pens – I don't allow the students to write in pencil. (Please make sure the pens are non-click pens. Click pens will be confiscated, as they are very distracting.) [These were listed in the shared items]
*Silent Reading Book – The students are required to have one at all times. Magazines and newspapers are not a substitute.
*Three packs of 3 X 5 cards.
*Invisible scotch tape (any brand is fine) – I recommend buying a three pack
*(optional) a small stapler and staples to keep at desk