List of 10 items.

• American History I

  Students will explore American history from the period of Reconstruction to modern times. Through the analysis of primary source materials, including political documents, newspaper articles and cartoons, speeches, and photographs, students will come to better understand the major political, economic, social, and militaristic themes which run through American History.  In the course of the year, students will continue to sharpen their analytical, critical thinking and reading skills, and their writing, in order to better prepare for high school.

• Art 7

  In this course, students continue to learn and explore the Elements of Art as a means of art-making. However, they also begin to learn about the Principles of Design - core terminology that helps artists create strong compositions. Seventh graders use these terms as they explore more complex materials, such as watercolor and charcoal. They look at artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Georgia O'Keeffe, and M.C. Escher. These students begin to collaborate more as well, working on artwork and illustrations in groups as well as across subject matters. For example, Illustrations in art class become the muse for storytelling and creative writing in English class. All in all, this year in art is meant to build upon the knowledge learned in sixth grade, as well as expand upon the student's skills and creativity through hands-on art-making and interpretation.

• Latin 7 or Spanish 7

  Latin 7
  This course aims to develop basic skills to understand, speak, read and write the Latin language within the appropriate cultural framework. Students are exposed to the vocabulary and the structure of Latin, begin to learn about the people who spoke the language, and are introduced to specific cultural and literary highlights. Student-centered activities, conversational situations, reading and writing in authentic contexts, and audio/visual materials, all facilitate the necessary interaction leading to some measure of language proficiency. At the end of the course, students should be able to correctly analyze Latin and English sentences, understand and translate simple texts; they will also have been exposed to an overall cultural view of the Latin-speaking world. 
  
  Spanish 7
  This course aims to develop the communicative skills of a language: speaking, reading, writing, and listening within a cultural framework. Students are exposed to the vocabulary and the grammatical structure of the Spanish language as well as the awareness and appreciation of the culture of different Spanish-speaking countries. Student-centered activities, conversational situations, reading and writing in authentic contexts, and audio/visual materials all facilitate the necessary interaction leading to basic language proficiency. At the end of the course, students should be able to communicate on a basic level in Spanish and have an understanding of the cultures of the Hispanic-speaking world.

• Literature 7

  The goal of Literature 7 is to build off the skills established in Literature 6 and to strengthen students’ abilities to analyze ideas, synthesize information, think critically, and communicate effectively. Using the summer reading, required course texts, and selected outside sources, students will discuss and analyze a variety of topics, including but not limited to facing personal challenges, social justice, the nature of morality, and the role of the individual in society. Students will hone their reading skills by annotating texts that span genres, formats, and reading levels. In conjunction with Writing 7, this course will help students write creatively, critically, and analytically in response to literature. Consistent instruction in style and craft, grammar and vocabulary reinforce students’ ability to produce competent and structured essays that analyze, argue, synthesize, and compare/contrast. 

• Mathematics 7

  This course is designed to enable students to become confident, competent problem solvers. Students will learn to apply mathematics in a variety of contexts, and communicate their understanding of the math content both in written and oral form.  The course will help provide a solid foundation for further study in mathematics by strengthening students’ computational, procedural, and problem-solving skills. The four main areas of emphasis in Grade 7 are proportional relationships and applying those relationships to solve problems, operations with rational numbers, expressions, and linear equations, scale drawings and informal geometric constructions, and drawing inferences about populations based on samples.

• Music 7

  Concert Band 
  This group is made up of intermediate-level musicians who are fine-tuning their musical skills. Students will learn to read more advanced elements of music such as rhythm, pitch, dynamics, articulation, and tempo. Students will learn to play and understand large ensemble skills and literacy.
  
  Concert Orchestra 
  In this group, students will learn to develop an appreciation of music, build skills for efficient practicing, follow a conductor, and increase music literacy - including music reading, recognizing articulations, and musical styles, and understanding musical terms. Emphasis will be placed on exposing each student to a variety of performing experiences and music. This group plays an intermediate-level repertoire.
  
  Harp Ensemble
  Students in the Harp Ensemble learn to play the harp through exploration of musical literature, technical studies, and the experience of playing as a team. Harp Ensemble provides an outlet for creativity, personal expression, and artistic drive. It also offers students lessons in discipline, structure, cooperation, leadership, and rehearsal/performance etiquette. A variety of styles of music are covered, including classical and pop, with an emphasis on Celtic folk music.
  
  Chorus
  This group is an afterschool music ensemble for students interested in singing! All students are welcome and you do not need any prior chorus or singing experience to participate in our chorus. However, this is an after-school commitment so it is expected that students commit to coming to every rehearsal and recognize the additional practice time that is needed for this performing group. We sing a variety of different genres including classical and liturgical as well as pop, musical theater, and Disney songs! The Chorus runs from September until June and will perform in both the Winter and Spring concerts as well as potentially other performance opportunities.

• Physical Education

• Religion 7

  Students will explore the New Testament and develop their understanding of Jesus Christ.  Building upon knowledge of the Old Testament from 6th grade, students will learn about the social, historical, and cultural background of Jesus as His apostles knew Him when He walked the earth. Through reading the four Gospels and supplemental material, students will learn Jesus’ teachings and deepen their understanding of his identity as the Son of God. They will research and discuss ways that the messages of the New Testament are relevant to their lives in today’s world.

• Science 7

  This course aims to introduce students to the world of coding while also focusing on the 7th-grade science curriculum. The course covers multiple different computer languages, allowing students to learn the skills necessary to create applications and games in block, python, and HTML (websites). Curriculum from Amazon’s future engineering program, microbit, and more make the course a fully rounded introduction to computer science. The class uses a project-based curriculum to supplement the seventh-grade science curriculum, allowing students to use microbits to create circuits and code websites that explain animal body systems.

• Writing 7

  This course will introduce students to the conventions of standard written English, the writing process as a whole, and different types of writing. This will occur through various activities designed to target these skills such as free-writing, formal written assignments, and on-demand, in-class writing. The course will operate in conjunction with the 7th-grade literature course and will use prompts and excerpts from literature books as a context to demonstrate writing skills. The course will be divided into units based on the type of writing being studied and will increase in complexity as the year progresses. Students will be expected to keep a portfolio of their writing for review at the end of each quarter.