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Mrs. Jane Lidgus » Welcome to Junior High Religion

Welcome to Junior High Religion

My name is Jane Lidgus. I teach religion in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and have an 8th grade homeroom.
I have been teaching at St. Juliana for many years (52) and am also an alum (as are my three siblings and my daughter). 

Please subscribe to my blog. I post weekly with any tests or quizzes or any other junior high news. I will also post at other times with any important announcements or reminders.
 
Homeroom 15 Specials:
Monday: Gym
Tuesday: Gym and Health
Wednesday: Art
Thursday: Music and Spanish
Friday:STEAM
 
Please feel free to email me at any time if there are questions or concerns.
 
I'm looking forward to a great year.
 
 
 

Posts

Favor from 8th grade parents

Good morning. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
 
I will be taking the 8th graders to St. Ben's nursing home on Wednesday, December 17th. The 8th graders and I will be walking over to the nursing home and they will bring their own gifts for the residents. I need probably 3 drivers who would be able to come to school and pick up the gifts that the 6th and 7th graders have made. If you are able to do this, I'd need you to come to school about 1:30. The kids would load your cars with the gifts and then you would drive over to St. Ben's. You can take your own child and a friend with you in the car. The gifts would be unloaded at St. Ben's and you would be done. I would also invite you to stay to see your great 8th graders deliver their gifts to the residents. SO--I think we will probably need 3, maybe 4, drivers? There will be close to 100 gifts that will need to be delivered (8th are bringing their own with them when we walk over). Please let me know if you would be able to help with this. 
Thank you so much.

fleece fabric

You're probably tired of my posts about the nursing home project but I know that many of the kids still want to do the fleece throws for their project. Hobby Lobby has fleece fabric on sale. You could purchase two pieces of fleece (one for top and one for bottom) and it would be the same as if you purchased a "kit". The lady at Hobby Lobby told me that each piece should be one and a half yard. The fleece does NOT have to be a Christmas pattern.
Thanks so much.

Week of November 17

Thank you to the many 7th graders who volunteered to help with the Saint Vincent DePaul food drive at all of the Masses this past weekend. They did a great job.
 
Thanks in advance to all of the 7th and 8th graders who will be volunteering for the Mothers' Club Cookie Walk and Craft Fair this coming weekend. There will be at least 40 of our students volunteering their time.
 
We will be shopping at Target tomorrow with the Student Council to buy gifts for the parish sharing program.
 
Just a reminder that the students need their materials for whatever craft project that they are doing for the nursing home project on Wednesday,  December 3rd. They do not need to bring their socks for their resident until they are ready to put their package together.
 
6th Religion: We are watching a DVD about Joseph in the Old Testament and starting a short chapter about Advent.
 
7th Religion: Chapter about Advent
 
8th Religion: We are starting to watch the Chosen series.
 
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families. One of the things that I am most thankful for is for your wonderful sons and daughters that you send to SJS. They are the best.
Safe travels if you will be traveling.

8th Graders and their Parents

Have you ever thought about becoming a 

Eucharistic Minister or a Lector at the Sunday liturgies?

St. Juliana Parish would like to invite you to be more actively involved at mass.  Anyone that has been confirmed is eligible to be trained.  You can train now and be ready to serve when you attend a catholic high school. You can ask a parent to train with you.             Or bring a friend.  

Training will take place on Sunday, November 30th following the 11:00 am mass. 

Registration is not required.  If you have questions, 

contact Marie Dombai at [email protected]. 

Week of November 12

Student Council is collecting money this week to support the parish Christmas sharing project. We will shop with the Student Council members next Wednesday after school to buy gifts for the poor. We will also share some of the money that we collect with the Parish Missionary Spirit Team (who sponsors the sharing program ) so that they can also purchase gifts. I have requested that each member or my homeroom contribute at least $1.00 for this. Those who have already contributed have been very generous. Thank you for that.
 
Thanks in advance to many of our 7th graders who have volunteered to help with the parish food drive at one of the Masses this weekend.
 
I will be asking our 7th and 8th graders to volunteer the following weekend to help with the Cookie walk and the Craft Fair. The people in charge have asked for this help--they need a lot of helpers---and I have assured them that our students will step up just because "that's who we are". Thank you for your generous sons and daughters. They are the best.
 
6th Religion--test on Thursday
7th and 8th Religion--test on Friday

Image from Hobby Lobby
Here is an image of available no sew throws from Hobby Lobby. In don't know how long they will be on sale but just thought I'd let you know.

Nursing Home Project

I have sent home a letter with all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders with information about our Christmas nursing home project. They need to return the bottom portion of the letter (with your signature) to me by Wednesday. 
Many of the students want to make a fleece throw for their project for the nursing home. In the past, they have been able to get the fleece throw kit for a very reduced price at Joanne Fabric stores. As you probably know, Joanne Fabrics closed last year. It was reported that Michael's had taken over. I checked Michael's website and they do have the fleece kits but they are 24.00 each and I really don't want anyone to spend that much money. I am going to check with Michael's sometime in the next week to see if they plan to reduce the price over Black Friday week. I checked the Hobby Lobby website and they have the kits for 10.50 BUT it says "Out of stock online". BUT they are available in the stores  (guessing that they don't want their warehouses full). I will check with Hobby Lobby also to see how long they will have them for this price and if y chance they would get reduced around Thanksgiving.. 
Thanks and have a great week.

Week of October 20

Thank you to our 7th graders who volunteered to help at the Mother/Son event on Saturday.
 
It was great to see so many of you yesterday at the Confirmation Acceptance Mass and at parent teacher conferences last week.
 
Good luck to our academic team. Ms. Arianas, Mrs. Marshall and I are taking the team to a competition at Notre Dame tomorrow after school.
 
I think it will be a fairly quiet week this week.
 
6th Religion: continuing our study of the Bible.
7th and 8th Religion: continuing in our text and probably a test at the end of the week.
 
Have a great week.

October 17

Good morning.
It was great to see so many of you at conferences yesterday.
 
Thank you in advance to the 25 7th graders who are volunteering their time on Saturday to help with the Mother/Son event in the gym. 
 
I will see the 7th graders and their families at the 11:00 Mass on Sunday where the Confirmation candidates will be welcomed into the program.

Have a great weekend.
 

Week of October 14

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and beautiful weather.
 
Homeroom 15 parents: Just a reminder to sign up for conferences this week.
 
7th Graders: I am sending home a letter today with information about Confirmation. Please ask your child for it because many times things in backpacks never get out of the backpack (if they even got in there!!!!!). I'm looking forward to seeing you on Sunday at the 11:00 Mass for the Confirmation Acceptance Mass.
 
6th Graders: Bibles for the 6th graders have arrived. Bishop John will have a short ceremony to bless the Bibles some day when he is available. Each child will have their own Bible to use for the 3 years of middle school. I keep them in my classroom but the kids are welcome to bring them home at any time.
 
Have a great week.

Confirmation Acceptance

The Confirmation acceptance for the 7th graders who will be confirmed in May will take place on Sunday, October 19th at the 11:00 Mass. Most of your children have not decided on a sponsor yet (we haven't even talked about it) and that is perfectly fine. I understand that occasionally there might be a family obligation or something that would prevent you from attending this Mass. If that is the case, please send me an email to let me know.
Thanks so much.

Week of September 29

I hope everyone had a good weekend. It was fun to see so many of you at Brooks on Saturday for Homecoming.
 
October is one of the months that we honor Mary. I will be asking all of my students to bring a rosary if they have one so that we can say a decade each day before class begins. We will be doing an all school rosary at two different times this month.
 
The high school prep class starts today after school. Students will be dismissed at 5:15.
 
I will be starting new chapters in each of my religion classes this week.
 
I will be ordering Bibles for my 6th graders this week. Each child will have their own Bible and we will use them in school for their junior high years. At the end of 8th grade they will take them home. Once the Bibles are here for the 6th graders we will have a ceremony in the chapel and Bishop John will bless the Bibles. The Bibles are kept in my classroom but the students are welcome to take them home whenever they choose.
 
Have a great week.
 

Band Information

Dear St Juliana Families

I am excited to introduce a new, unique general/instrumental music Band program this year at St. Julian! Our fourth through eighth grade students can continue to sing, move, dance, and perform, while also beginning their journey on band instruments. Students will explore foundational skills on wind or percussion instruments, preparing them for full ensemble playing.

Interested students will have the opportunity to take the next step by performing in a Concert Band ensemble, choosing from instruments such as flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, or percussion. There will be a $40 payment due at the start of every month starting October that can be charged to your FACT account. The students will have a total of 25 lessons this year. Lessons will take place every Friday during school, so I will be taking students out of a class for a 30 minute lesson. On days where there is no school or a half day, there will be no lessons. The Sign Up and Instrument Rental Websites are at the bottom of this email!

This comprehensive program draws from established Orff, Gordon Music Learning Theory, and Kodály music education philosophies. It is a full-fledged accredited instrumental music curriculum that uses band instruments as a vehicle to deliver core musical skills. Research has shown that learning to play wind and percussion instruments enhances academic achievement, coordination, and critical thinking—I am thrilled to see St. Juliana students with instruments in hand!

We will be working with Quinlan & Fabish to provide each student with a well-suited instrument for use in class, which can be rented out through the link at the bottom of this email. During Band lessons, our focus is on cultivating a love of music while developing independence, creativity, and teamwork. Students will gain technical skills on their chosen instrument, learn a wide range of repertoire, and receive differentiated instruction so that every child can succeed. Singing, rhythm reading, movement, and composition will continue to play an essential role in building well-rounded musical thinkers. The learning that takes place in the Band lessons will directly impact the creative problem-solving and collaboration skills you see in the classroom.

We have two concerts scheduled for this year—One already scheduled for December 16th—and we can’t wait to share our music with you on stage. Please feel free to reach out at any time if you have questions about this exciting new program. Your support and enthusiasm are essential to helping me launch this new chapter at St. Julliana, and I am looking forward to a wonderful year in Band!

Band Signup Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-483kWzJ_gpYtTT_7saZtR_tM5VAMmBoKWyeQ_RwH2ANd0A/viewform?usp=header

Band Rental Link: Quinlan Rental Website (Type in Saint Juliana School)

Week of September 22

Good morning. I hope everyone had a good weekend.
 
There will be chapter 2 tests in all of my religion classes this week. I announced the tests to the students last week.
6th and 8th: test on Tuesday
7th: test on Wednesday
 
There will be a high school fair on Tuesday, September 30th, from 8:30-9:30 AM in the school hall. 7th and 8th graders will be attending this. Parents are welcome.
 
If your 8th grader is taking the high school prep class, please make sure that they have the book required by the first class, which is next Monday (September 29th).
 
Have a great week.
 

Week of September 8

The year has started off to a great start. 
 
I usually post weekly with updates. If something comes up I will post at that time.
 
School pictures are on Thursday this week. Graduation pictures for the 8th graders will be taken later in the year.
 
All students must have head phones in school.
 
I-Ready diagnostic tests will be taken on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
 
6th Religion: Chapter 1 test on Thursday.
 
7th Religion: Chapter 1 test on Thursday.
 
8th Religion: Chapter 1 test probably at the end of the week.
 
Please don't ever hesitate to email me with any questions or concerns.
Have a great week.