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6th graders built origami grasshoppers of different sizes to demonstrate Newton's Second Law of Motion.

Eighth grade completed a digital breakout to learn about lab safety in science class.  Breakout EDU is learning game platform that brings the challenges of an escape room experience to the classroom.  Students need to work collaboratively to solve clues and answer questions in sequence to unlock the breakout boxes.  

8th graders are engaging with students from A Coruña, Spain. They are using SeeSaw as a platform to send videos and messages about interesting things happening in our school, city, and country!

Middle school and junior high students made Christmas cards and sewed travel tissue covers for the Villa residents.  The students had the opportunity to distribute them during the community service concert they shared during the holidays.

This episode captures the Christmas spirit and traditions of Ancillae!

When you think of students in the STEM Lab what do you picture? Open laptops, robotics, students with VR Headsets? This week all devices were put aside as a 7^th and 8^th grade student-run chess competition took place.

Several years ago, our current Commissioner of Technology, Danny, designed chess pieces to represent the Ancillae community and printed them on our 3D printer.  Pieces included a teacher (king of course), Handmaid building, gator mascot, cross, apple, and student pawns. 

This year, seventh grade students initiated the idea of a chess tournament for 7^th and 8^th graders. They designed a bracket similar to sporting events and sent out a sign-up sheet. To their delight, the sign-up sheet was filled within several minutes. This led to a second sign-up sheet that was also filled within hours. The chess craze had begun!  Boys, girls, beginners, and seasoned players all gathered to enjoy the game. 

In a time where many parents are concerned about the increase in device use at school and at home, we are reminded that the best learning environments are a balance between traditional learning experiences and emerging technologies. The game of chess exposes students to the same computational thinking as coding or robotics. It is the exposure to both mediums that gives our students at Ancillae-Assumpta Academy such a well-rounded learning experience; an experience that includes student voice, initiative, and responsibility.

After discussing stereotypes and assumptions, students created Just Because poems to explore and express stereotypes about their own identities.

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Eighth graders created pumpkins with paper strips naming all the things they are thankful for this Thanksgiving.  

Ancillae's media team has been hard at work this fall getting together the first Gator Life episode of the year.  The students demonstrate ownership of community engagement through this student news program. Take a look!

Each year our fifth graders take the Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children.  School counselor, Amy Hubley, met with parents to review their child's personality type, what it means, and how we use this data here at school. We appreciate the opportunity to work closely with families to help our students gain a better understanding of the ways they learn and the best ways for them to study.

Fifth grade students benefit from Mindfulness classes presented by the Center of Mindfulness and Wellness.  This week they focus on Mindful Breathing and use a stretch tool to visualize the air filling their lungs.

This self-paced Robotics Curriculum uses the Lego Mindstorm EV3 robot kits. Students learn how to code the robot to move and make decisions. Based on the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy program, students will discover through failure and multiple attempts to engage their robots in Sumo Wrestling and perform a simulated Search and Rescue Mission. 

Students in our 6th-8th grades recently received certificates of failure in Advisory class!  This session helped students see that it was okay to actually fail and that by "failing forward" they can use each failure as a step on the journey of learning.

One of the important skills practiced during the Science Fair process in junior high is understanding and presenting data.  Students learn to carefully record observations while performing their experiments to ensure good data.  Keeping track of results is critical to preparing relevant and meaningful graphs.  Students receive training in Excel during math classes to convert data into charts and graphs that demonstrate their experiment findings.