Middle School Newsbite: November 24th, 2025

Posted Date: 11/24/25 (05:11 PM)

The Power & Poetics of Storytelling

In 8th grade ELA, students focused on “The Power and Poetics of Storytelling” during their first unit this school year. During this unit, we read a novel-in-verse, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Students analyzed poetry, storytelling, descriptive details, and narrative arcs through our reading of the novel. Additionally, students had the opportunity to practice writing poetry and become storytellers themselves. For a culminating project, the students each wrote a series of poems about a time in their lives that was important to them. They had to use different types of poems, descriptive details, and had to make sure their poems told a story. Along with their poems, they also had to write a cover letter that provided an analysis of their poems and the decisions they made while writing.

At the Board of Education meeting on Monday, November 24th, a few of these students will be reading their poems to showcase their hard work throughout this unit.

Lego Robotics

A group of middle schoolers, known as the "ROBOcircuits," are actively engaged in the 2025-2026 FIRST LEGO League (FLL) "UNEARTHED" season, tackling challenges that blend the excitement of archaeology with the rigors of STEM education.

The team has been working hard for weeks, meeting regularly to analyze the "UNEARTHED" challenge mat and strategize how their custom-built, autonomous LEGO robot can successfully navigate the various missions, such as retrieving delicate artifacts, mapping a dig site, and rebuilding ancient structures. "Every artifact we uncover holds a story," explained team captain Sean, emphasizing the historical context that drives their technical efforts. The students are constantly refining their robot's design and programming using a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime kit, aiming for precision to score maximum points in the robot game competition.

Beyond the robotics field, the ROBOcircuits are also deep in the research phase for the "Innovation Project," one of the four equally weighted components of the FLL competition. The project challenges them to identify a real-world problem faced by archaeologists and propose a creative solution. Ben and Henry explain that the team is drawing inspiration from historical innovations and deep research. "We are currently exploring 3D hologram resources and APP building to develop lightweight, artifact "reconstruction" technologies that archeologists can bring with them to their sites," according to Grant.

Utilizing critical thinking and teamwork throughout the process, they developed and presented a prototype of their solution at the competition on November 23 in Hillsborough. South Hunterdon placed middle of the pack in the Robot game coming in 15th place out of 34 teams competing.

The team members are demonstrating not only strong engineering and coding skills but also the FLL Core Values of Gracious Professionalism and collaboration, as they prepare for the upcoming regional tournaments. The ROBOcircuits are unearthing new findings about themselves and their collective abilities, all while having fun discovering the connections between the past and the future.

What's Coming Up?

November 26 Early Dismissal
November 27-28 School Closed: Happy Thanksgiving!

Click HERE to see the High School Newsbite
Click HERE to see the Elementary School Newsbite