In this yearlong course, students sing in a large ensemble throughout the year and learn about vocal technique, performance etiquette, and the fundamentals of note reading.  The course emphasizes singing in harmony of up to two parts and students will have an opportunity to use their instrumental talents to accompany the ensemble.  No prior experience in music is necessary.

In this yearlong course, students learn and practice the fundamentals of singing in a vocal ensemble. Students will learn songs from a variety of musical genres and styles from around the world. Students will have the opportunity to sing in a group as well as for optional, auditioned solos. Chorus members will be exposed to music reading and rhythm basics, as well as learn repertoire by ear. Performing opportunities include a required evening concert at the end of the school year, as well as various assemblies and other events.

All students in this yearlong course play an instrument of their choice. Students must already know how to play the instrument in the fall; they receive further instrumental and band instruction throughout the year. The group studies a varied repertoire in blues, rock and jazz idioms, performing several times throughout the year.

In this yearlong course, students explore the stories of people who have lived in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. These stories take the form of novels, short stories, poems and anecdotes. Students learn to use literary terms and techniques and study genre, style and grammar. Students keep writer's journals and collaborate with classmates as they learn to craft and revise polished pieces of writing.  We spend time in the winter reading and writing poetry and learning about poetic techniques.  Throughout the year, students choose and read books independently, sharing their responses with their classmates.

This year, students will examine living things and their environment. Our studies begin with an introduction to basic skills (observations, writing, interpreting data, classifying and more!) of science, learning how to solve problems and understanding the scientific method. We will also partner with NASA and the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens for the Growing Beyond Earth program. This space farming project is a classroom-based citizen science at its best! In the second trimester, we explore the human body, including the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and reproductive systems. Lastly, students will study taxonomy and the animal kingdom. By the end of the year, I hope to give students a broad overview of the ecological and life sciences, combined with many hands-on experimental and real-world experiences.

In this course, students deepen their understanding of core mathematical concepts, hone their skills and develop strong habits for success. Students master arithmetic operations with integers and fractions and apply the concepts to beginning algebraic operations. Investigation into prime factorization, GCD and LCM leads to a solid foundation in the structure of our number system. Students acquire the ability to interpret and find approaches to word problems. We place emphasis on proportional reasoning, operations with exponents, scientific notation and graphing. The course also covers fundamental geometric concepts, area and volume and the Pythagorean Theorem.

In this yearlong class, students will explore the basics of music, note reading, and rhythm. Students will be exposed to and discuss a variety of musical genres and styles from around the world. Depending on level and interest, students may learn repertoire to perform as a group, or engage in music composition projects and/or music production.

Students in the 7th grade take a yearlong physical education course. In addition, 7th grade students may participate in athletics. In physical education, students learn the principles of fitness and receive guidance in making healthy choices in their lives. Each yearlong course emphasizes the spirit of play, cooperation and the need for work and practice. Through physical education, students increase their individual levels of physical fitness, build self-esteem, explore the idea of lifelong sports and further their cognitive and social development.  Activities include soccer, floor hockey, badminton, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, basketball, softball and the students’ invented games.

Spanish 7/8 is designed to help students acquire the language and develop the skills needed to grow their proficiency in the Spanish language. Throughout, the emphasis will be on meaningful communication and building on students’ reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, while implicitly developing grammar and vocabulary.  Students work on their pronunciation and improve communication in the target language through interactive techniques that promote an active class participation and a positive community atmosphere in the classroom. The course uses “realia” as a way to promote full immersion in Spanish, and the repetition of key vocabulary builds the foundation for more complex structures in the future. The course helps students to improve their listening and comprehension skills through educational videos that promote students' appreciation of the Hispanic cultures.

In the fall trimester, students begin to reflect on the year's essential question "Who are other people and where do they live?" by learning about Latin America. This course connects geography and anthropology to help students understand how the ecosystem and geography of the land directly relate to the culture of a people. Students also explore the richness of cultures different from our own. In the winter and spring trimesters, students continue to reflect on the year's essential question by learning about the geography and cultures of Asia and Africa. The course continues to emphasize the connections between land and people as well as the rich diversity of cultures. The year culminates in a magazine project.