A Message from Director of Middle School, Ilse Norris:

Dear Middle School families,

The Middle School Back-to-School night last Thursday was a huge success! As I stated in my opening remarks, this is one of my favorite nights of the year because we get to partner with you, the parents, and showcase the best of the best: our outstanding faculty! Parents were able to experience first-hand all the wonderful teaching and learning that is going on in Visitation Middle School. Escorted by our WEB Leaders, they had the opportunity to visit their daughter’s classrooms where the Middle School team shared about the rich curriculum and exciting projects in store for the year. The evening ended with a round-robin in the Heart, showcasing all the specialists. It was an informative, exciting and rewarding evening! 

On Friday morning, I had the good fortune of subbing in Ms. Rawson-Haeg’s room for 8th grade geography. The lesson was about “map categories and definitions." The title hinted at a topic that could potentially be dry and boring. Not in Ms. Rawson-Haeg’s class! Students were divided into small groups and given a bag with about 25 laminated mini-maps. They were asked to organize these maps into 4-6 columns, grouping them visually according to similarities. Students were then asked to brainstorm and give each category a name. Only then was I allowed to give each group another baggie with words and definitions. Students had to match one definition to the top of each category first and then match the words themselves, one per category. This sometimes required them to revise their work, move images around, create a new category, or get rid of one. The students were engaged, collaborated with one another, and mastered the vocabulary and definitions by the end of the hour. The best part of all: thanks to the high intention and careful planning and preparation of Ms. Rawson-Haeg, the students didn’t miss a beat! Masterful teaching at its best!  

As many of you know, we have a new after-school Robotics Club for Middle School students. FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) students learn to think and build like engineers. Teams design, build, and code robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. A big thank you to the Koehn and Backstrom parents for offering time and talent to coach the team! On Saturday morning, I attended the Kick-off event at the University of Minnesota, Coffman Union. I have to admit that I felt a bit like a fish out of water: robotics isn’t necessarily my forte. I attended a couple of break-out sessions and came away with about four pages of notes and the realization that I don’t speak “code." The most exciting moment of the morning was the big reveal, the Powerplay presented by Raytheon Technologies Game Animation. If you have a student who is wild about robotics, learn more here. 

I want to end by sharing my favorite moment of gratitude with you. Last Thursday, during Middle School lunch, we learned of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. After checking a few sources and realizing this wasn’t a hoax, I had the overwhelming urge to do something as a Middle School Community. I gathered all 110 students around me in the dining room and broke the sad news of the beloved monarch’s passing, sharing that ”we cannot always do big things, but we can do little things with great love.” As we started praying the Direction of Intention together, you could hear a pin drop. The students got it. I am grateful for this place called Visitation, where it is ok to “live” our faith, authentically, in real-time.

Next week, Visitation will celebrate Homecoming Week! This is an exciting, spirit-filled week. All students will receive a Homecoming T-shirt early in the week. On Thursday, Sept. 22, we will have an out-of-uniform day -- Middle School students should wear their new Homecoming T-shirts on Thursday. We will attend the all-school pep rally in the morning. I encourage all Middle School students and their families to attend Homecoming Sports Night! See details here. 

It is a privilege to partner with you and work with your daughter in this excellent school!

Gratefully,

Ilse Norris
Director of Middle School