A seventh grader arrives at school at 7:15 and eats a breakfast of
cereal and juice with her friends and teachers. The muffled sound of
basketballs rhythmically echoes from the gym as other students burn
off some early morning energy. The seventh grader has a test in
Science today, though, so she checks in with her teacher to get a few
questions answered. At 7:45 students begin to gather in the
assembly area to pray, listen to announcements, and begin another
day of learning.

After announcements, our seventh grade student joins her nine other
classmates in their learning group, which has other seventh graders,
but also two sixth graders and a three eighth graders. Everyone in this
small class has a comparable knowledge base, so their first hour

Math teacher does not have to backtrack for just a few students to the

detriment of the rest of the class. Everyone is at the same point. Our

student hands in her homework as soon as she walks in the door,

takes her seat, prays with the rest of her class, and listens as the

teacher starts the day’s lesson.

After Math, the student moves to History. After History, instead of moving to a different classroom, the student takes a book out of her backpack, removes her bookmark and begins to read. If she were to take a break from her book and look around, she would see all of her classmates, as well as her teacher, engrossed in their own books. After a half-hour of DEAR (Drop Everything And Read), it is off to one more class, Language Arts, before lunch time.

During lunch, our student sits down with her Language Arts teacher to proofread a paper due next week before heading out to the gym to play with her friends before Religion, Science, and Literature classes in the afternoon. When 3:30 rolls around, she eagerly greets an entomologist who volunteers at DLS and teaches “A Bugs Life” Renaissance class. Students study exotic beetles the teacher has brought before heading outside to catch some bugs of their own. Maybe she will be a scientist, too.

At 4:30 she gathers with the rest of the school in the assembly area and prays to end the formal school day. Our seventh grade student stays for after school tutoring with high school volunteers where she gets help with Math. Basketball practice is from 5:30-6:30. After her guardian picks her up, she goes home, eats dinner, relaxes with her family, and finishes up her homework before going to bed for some much needed rest. Tomorrow will be another full day at De La Salle!