ACADEMICS

Religion

Topics include Life of Jesus Christ, the Creed, the Sacraments, the Mass, prayer, Mary the Mother of God, the Rosary, the Saints, peace and justice, and reverence for life. The class will frequently use the Bible as a reference.

Language Arts

Language Arts class includes writing, grammar and literature. The program is designed to make literature interesting and thought provoking, and to make writing imaginative and personal. Students will continue to add to their basic knowledge of the parts of speech as well as becoming more independent and focused on using them correctly in written work. They will also learn new grammatical terms and practice correct usage. Students will gain more experience writing in different styles as well as exploring creative writing. In literature the students will read a variety of short stories, dramas, poetry, classic and modern novels. They will gain a better understanding of point of view, theme, plot, conflict and climax in a story.

Mathematics

Grade Seven Mathematics is an unleveled, rigorous Pre-Algebra course. Students begin investigating positive and negative integers and are quickly solving equations and inequalities involving integers, decimals, and rational numbers. Ratios, proportions, and percents are further explored. Students graph points, equations, and inequalities in the coordinate plane and explore slope and the y-intercept. Geometry includes area and volume formulas.

Geography

The students will be provided with a background of World Geography that will assist them in reading and creating maps. They will be introduced to various cultures through a historical view and a present day perspective. They will be aware of how the Earth is constantly changing and how to predict future changes. Various global issues will be addresses throughout the year both collectively and independently.

Science

Throughout the year, students will be learning about Physical Science and how it is applied to their everyday lives. Topics include forces, motion, matter, and energy. The classroom will be constantly active using mini-labs, projects, and cooperative learning to enhance a hands-on approach to learning about the scientific method and the above mentioned topics. To complement this style, there will also be various activities revolving around concrete learning including note taking, vocabulary, and study guides. There will be discussion on theory, chapter content, and review. Critical thinking situations will be presented to allow students the opportunity to devise their own strategies to solve everyday, real-life problems.

Spanish

Curriculum, based on national and state guidelines, includes instruction in communication skills and introduces Hispanic culture. Students build upon basic vocabulary and grammar, with emphasis on verb conjugation and sentence structure, to expand their conversational and writing skills. We constantly make comparisons between Spanish and the English language and discuss cultural differences and similarities. We look for connections between Spanish and other academic areas. We seek opportunities to use our knowledge of Spanish in the greater community.