Although St. Joseph School students continue to participate in their classes remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in Grades 6 through 8 recently attended a field trip sponsored by Discovery Education and EA Sports.  The field trip was a virtual activity; however, it brought the study of the Measures of Central Tendency otherwise known as Mean, Median, and Mode to life.

 The lesson, planned and organized by St. Joseph School Math Instructor Jeffrey Grupposo, began with the students viewing the Madden NFL Football by the Numbers Virtual Field Trip.  The field trip took place at EA Sports Tiburon Studio in Orlando, FL, where some of the greatest minds in video game development hone their skills, analyze data, and create visually stunning gridiron action.  Following the tour, Mr. Grupposo utilized a simple Discovery Education sports combine activity and adapted it to his students. A sports combine is a combination of certain conditioning drills to determine speed, strength, and skill level.  The St. Joseph School Sports Combine event developed by Mr. Grupposo included the broad jump, vertical jump, 40-foot dash (in case students had space restrictions at home), shuttle run, and push-ups (in place of the 225-lb. bench press).

 The students were given the opportunity to complete each drill three times to achieve their personal best and were required to log their results on a data sheet after each attempt.  They then submitted their top measurements through Google Forms. Using the compiled data, Mr. Grupposo designed and taught a lesson on how to use basic formulas in Google Sheets to calculate Mean, Median, Mode.  Finally, students created a bar graph to compare their individual results to the median from each category. Following April vacation, Mr. Grupposo plans to have the students utilize the data they collected to create radar charts comparing the median.

Mr. Grupposo joined the St. Joseph School Faculty in 2018 following 13 years at Bellingham Memorial Middle School, including 8 years teaching Honors Pre-Algebra.  He is currently instructing 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Math at St. Joseph School where the students enjoy his fun, hands-on lessons.  Some of their favorite lessons include a Bungee Lab focusing on linear equations, learning about integers through card games, and using shadows to reinforce lessons on ratios and proportions.  In addition, Mr. Grupposo teaches 8th Grade Science where he helps students develop a strong grasp of the many mathematical concepts and formulas associated with the Chemistry and Physics curriculum.  Mr. Grupposo has also been instrumental in utilizing the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing administered at St. Joseph School to help identify students that may need more assistance, regardless of achievement level. “I want to make sure all students are growing, even if they are meeting the expectations of the standards,” he stated.  He then utilizes Khan Academy, an online learning resource, to customize assignments to his students’ strengths and weaknesses.

 Although Mr. Grupposo originally set out to be a writer, his love of math drew him towards marketing and advertising. However, his coaching career taught him that his true calling is working with young people.  He has over 20 years total coaching experience, including 10 years coaching basketball at the Jr. High/High School level in Bellingham.  He just completed his 2nd year as an Intramural Basketball Coach for students in Grades 2 – 4 at St. Joseph School and will be rolling out the school’s new Cross-Country running program this coming fall. 

 “Becoming a teacher was easily one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Mr. Grupposo loves telling his friends and family.  “I especially love teaching at SJS because the students want to be challenged and they take a genuine leadership role in their school and community.”

 Mr. Grupposo resides in Webster with his wife Caron and dog Scruffy.  Their children attend St. Joseph School; Sara is in the 8th Grade and Ryan is in the 4th Grade.   In his free time, Mr. Grupposo is an avid runner and proud finisher of the Boston, Chicago, and Kona, HI marathons.

 To read more news about the students, faculty, and staff at St. Joseph School check-out the school’s Facebook page or visit www.sjs-webster.com.

St. Joseph School is proud to have been featured in the Webster Times.