Inside the Classroom: September Academics Recap
Each month, we highlight the engaging lessons and dynamic classroom experiences shaping our Ritamen. Through hands-on activities and academic exploration, these moments capture how our Ritamen are challenged and inspired in the classroom. This month’s recap features activities from our World Language, Fine Art, Social Science, Science, and Theology departments.
Hispanic Heritage Month
Our Spanish classes have been working on projects to learn more about famous figures highlighted during Hispanic Heritage Month. Mr. Bogucki's Spanish 1 students created pennants showcasing famous people. Mr. Godinez's Heritage Speaker Spanish students created a video with students saying who is a famous person or hero in their life. Mrs. Earley's Spanish 3 Honors students conducted research on famous Hispanic figures and their achievements and created QR-code profiles with their research to serve as an interactive mural. Mrs. Earley's students in all her classes scanned their classmates’ QR codes as a way to learn more about these individuals and completed worksheets to discuss in class. The Spanish Club concluded the celebration with Hispanic Heritage Kahoot trivia.
3D Art
Mrs. Arteaga’s 3D Art students created 3D name sculptures that required them to apply line, shape, color, form, and spatial design while arranging their work to be viewed from multiple angles.
AP Government & Politics
Mr. Kellam’s ‘98 AP Government & Politics students held a mock Constitutional Convention in the VLC, taking on the roles of various Founding Fathers and debating the issues that ultimately shaped the U.S. Constitution.
Chemistry
Mrs. Viz’s Chemistry students competed in a weeklong STEM Olympics, using hands-on challenges to explore structural stability, kinetic and potential energy, graphing, prediction, buoyancy, and other science concepts. The overall champions were Joseph Andrade ‘29, Drew Battistella ‘29, David Zapala ‘29, and Charlie Perek ‘29, who earned three first-place finishes and one third-place finish.
Honors Theology II
As part of their study of the creation story in Genesis, Mr. Linden’s Honors Theology II students first read and discussed Genesis 1:1–21, created a storyboard, and then drew their own image representing the creation story as a whole. Students then used AI to develop their original drawings into more detailed final images based on their own interpretation of the text.
Honors World Religions
Our longtime St. Rita friend and tutor Surav Singh joined our Honors World Religions seniors to share his Sikh faith and give students a firsthand look at Sikh beliefs and practices. Mr. Singh discussed the major teachings of the 500-year-old tradition and shared several important Sikh symbols and teachings. It was a great opportunity for our senior Ritamen to encounter another faith tradition directly and deepen their understanding of the beliefs, practices, and experiences of people from different religious and cultural backgrounds.
Technology
Mr. Tellez’s Technology students enjoyed hands-on learning by using block coding to bring their projects to life. Students declared variables, configured loop iterations, and utilized if-else statements alongside an orientation sensor. This allowed students to program complex directional logic to successfully navigate around the classroom.
