Mr. Hergott's page

Welcome back to school for the 2010 – 2011 year!  I hope all students had a restful summer break.  Welcome to all of our new students joining us this year at St. Thomas!

I am looking forward to a great year with our middle school students. Our new eighth grade students are the “senior” class at our school and now look to be the student leaders. 

One of my new responsibilities this year is the Religion curriculum for the middle school grades.  In Religion, we will continue our faith formation and come to a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith. Our text in Sixth Grade is We Believe, focusing on the foundations of our Catholic faith in the Old Testament. In Seventh Grade, our text, We Live Our Faith volume I, focuses on our role as disciples of Jesus.  Our Eighth Grade text, We Live Our Faith volume II, focuses on our role in the Church today.  There are a number of resources associated with these textbooks online at Sadlier Religion | We Believe |.  We will use daily prayer and Scripture to augment our studies.

Sixth grade Social Studies will be focusing on world civilizations.  We will be studying the economics, geography, civics, and history of ancient cultures such as ancient Rome, Greece, China, and Egypt.  We will study how these cultures developed, their contributions to the modern world, and how they fell.

In Seventh Grade History, the students will be learning about American History from the earliest Americans up to the Civil War and Reconstruction.  Through September and October, we will be learning about the earliest Americans, the explorers who came to America, and the English settlements. In Seventh Grade Geography, students will learn the basis of the study of Geography and compare different cultures throughout the modern world. We will look at events happening throughout the world have worldwide effects and understand the interdependence between nations.

In Eighth Grade History, we will be studying the growth of America and our expanding role in world politics.  Through September and October, we will study how the West was developed and the growth of industry and inventions in America. In Geography, we will continue our world journey, beginning with Europe.

On September 2, we will be having our Opening Mass for the school year. We hope parents and other relatives/friends will be able to join us.  The 8^th grade will be having a retreat on Monday, September 20. Last year was a wonderful experience for all the students and we are looking forward to another great retreat day.  We look forward to our day at the Big E on September 29. We will also be planning events/days with area Catholic High Schools allowing the 8^th grade students some exposure to what their future holds.

Thanks for visiting my classroom news! Be sure to check the website often for news and updates. Have a great school year, everyone! God bless you!