Junior High News

Three embedded courses are now a part of the junior high curriculum.  WORK PLACE READINESS is a required semester-long course taught by Mrs. Mennenga.  In this course students will complete a career education unit in which occupations that match their interests, values and aptitudes are identified.  Next, students will complete a four year academic plan tied to a career pathway.  Parents will have a chance to approve this plan.  Financial literacy skills will be another important unit completed in this course.


Seventh grade students will be enrolled in a semester-long course named SKILL BUILDING.  Students will apply the skills and knowledge of conflict resolution as well as understand the importance of emotional intelligence and the use of adequate interpersonal communication, decision-making, coping, and self awareness.  Throughout the course three important standards of the American School Counselors Association will be addressed:  1.  The learner will acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and interpersonal skill to help understand and respect self and others. 2.  The learner will make decisions, set goals, and take appropriate actions to achieve goals.  3.  The learner will understand safety and survival skills.


STUDY SKILLS is another semester-long course that both 7th and 8th graders can elect to take.  Mrs. Soma is the teacher of this academic skill building curriculum and it too incorporates lessons related to three academic standards from ASCA:  1.  Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge and skills tht contribute to effective learning in school and across the life span.  2.  Students will complete school with the academic preparation essential to choos from a wide range of substantial post-secondary options, including college.  3.  Students will understand the relationship of academics to the world of work and to life at home and in the community.


Specific objective covered in Study Skills can be acquired by contacting Mrs. Soma or Mr. Johnson..  Mrs. Soma's extension is 343 and Mr. Johnson's is 254 at 641-444-4300.


Second semester, seventh graders will be taught a weekly unit on anti-bullying by Mr. Johnson.  This unit was presented to all grades 7-12 during the fall semester of the 2009-10 school year.  So this course will be new to this year's seventh graders.  Research throughout the nation, as well as locally obtained data (NTAEA Building Tomorrow and Iowa Youth Surveys), has clearly identified bullying as one of the greatest social problems confronting school children.  Belmond-Klemme educators all take most seriously the need to do what we can to address this problem.  We have data that shows what we do in the classrooms to confront bullying is helpful, and thus this unit to begin in Janurary of 2011 will strive to keep this as an ongoing effort.