In this final year of Middle School, Class VII girls have the opportunity to travel to France and Spain for a weeklong study tour designed to enrich their understanding of French and Spanish language and culture, as well as to explore the enduring Roman presence in these countries.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Class VII language arts invites students to stretch and challenge themselves by continuing to read and write extensively. Students continue to develop their ability to write clear, well-developed five paragraph analytical essays while they receive instruction in elements of fiction, along with vocabulary and grammar. Students are challenged to become independent thinkers and readers as they experience various literary genres. Representative titles may include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, and selected short stories and poetry.
MATHEMATICS
This course emphasizes concept development, problem solving, application, and communication. Students are encouraged to think independently and to become confident and positive problem solvers. The following topics are covered in the course: data analysis, patterns in geometry, algebraic equations and inequalities, expressions with exponents, coordinate geometry, functions, rational numbers, proportion, percent, and probability. Throughout the course, competency in the basic arithmetical skills is refined.
SOCIAL STUDIES: REACHING FOR RIGHTS, MEETING RESPONSIBILITIES
This course concentrates on United States history in terms of the development of rights and responsibilities. How the American people strove for rights, developed and ratified rights, and extended those rights to others, while accepting ensuing responsibilities, is the central theme of the course. This course is inclusive in its scope, actively stimulating the students to examine the experiences of individual Americans, including those not originally part of the lawmaking process. The experience of immigrants, African Americans, and women in the United States is investigated through primary source documents, memoirs, and historical narratives. Students are encouraged to examine the nation in comparison with others and to explore its past in order to come to a better understanding of its future. In preparation for their Study Tour to France and Spain, Class VII learns how Père Gailhac, founder of the RSHM, strove for the rights of the marginalized in Béziers.
SCIENCE
In Class VII, life processes and living things are studied in an integrated fashion with the physical processes that affect all ecosystems. The course includes units on human anatomy and physiology, the diversity of living things, the properties of water, marine and fresh water ecosystems, and plants. Students work individually and in small groups to investigate and solve problems to promote scientific skill development. Time is also spent on whole group discussions and scientific note taking. Science learning is enhanced through computer technology.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Religious studies in Class VII centers around Jesus Christ as revealed in the Gospels, art, and traditions of the church. The students examine the New Testament and how the church carries on the mission of Jesus, sharing his good news with people everywhere, celebrating the sacraments and working to defend truth, life, justice, love, and peace in the world. Students also examine areas of moral development and decision making and learn skills necessary for coping with challenges. Ideas, feelings, and questions are shared and discussed. Students participate in chapel services and School celebrations of the Eucharist. Every other year, students, teachers, and parents work together to prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Students also study the history of the RSHM and the Marymount Schools.
WORLD LANGUAGES
Class VII students continue their study of a world language.
FRENCH
Continuing their foreign language sequence, this course is designed to develop students’ communicative competency and proficiency in each of the four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Students learn to provide and request basic information, express feelings and emotions and exchange opinions using the French language. Writing is further emphasized at this level, as students create their own skits and are introduced to more complex written exercises. Dramatizations, small group work, and oral presentations are incorporated to encourage a spontaneous and more personal use of the language. At this level, most of the classroom interactions are conducted in French in order to increase use of the target language in meaningful situations. Additionally the use of authentic video and audio material and interactive websites expands the students experience of the language.
SPANISH
In this course, students complete the study of the present tense and imperative forms of the major verb groups and of irregular verbs. Students use simple vocabulary and expressions to describe people, ideas, and situations. The curriculum emphasizes the four linguistic skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students continue to work on sentence structure, and some class activities include writing short essays, keeping journals, writing and performing dialogues, oral presentations, and asking and answering questions. At this level, most interactions are conducted in Spanish. Cultural information that relates to Spanish-speaking countries around the world is included. Additionally the use of authentic video and audio material and interactive websites expands the students experience of the language.
LATIN
In this course, students’ knowledge of Latin vocabulary, grammar, and culture is continues to be expanded through the stories in the Cambridge Latin Series, Unit I. As one of the aims of the course is to increase the understanding of the words and structures of language, much attention is paid to the influence of Latin on the vocabularies of English and the Romance languages. The course also offers exposure to Roman history and geography as well as other aspects of the civilization in which Latin flourished.
ART
In Class VII art, the students are provided with experiences that encourage self-expression and individual growth through a variety of media and subject matters. Topics in social studies as well as a study of French and Spanish architecture will inspire various projects.
MUSIC
Students broaden their choral singing skills in vocal pitch, quality, diction, rhythm and two and three-part harmony. Students continue to study music notation and theory. Students examine both sacred and secular works and have opportunities for both individual and group singing through various activities including chapel services, liturgies, and special events.
DRAMA AND SPEECH
The primary focus of the course is to enable students to communicate with purpose and confidence and to appreciate the oral dimensions of literary works and dramatic presentations. The class gives students the opportunity to develop their public speaking and performance skills, training them to speak with confidence, authority, and ease in front of an audience. Through poetry, fables, monologues, Shakespeare, and original compositions, students practice the creative skill of the spoken word. The class focuses both on individual presentations and collaborative projects, including voice poems and book talks, and culminates in a production of scenes from A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Team sports are continued with the gradual introduction of advanced skills. The concepts of offensive and defensive strategies enable interested students to play on the Class VII/VIII teams in soccer, field hockey, volleyball, basketball, softball, and track and field. An individual dance/fitness class, held in the Commons in the Middle School building, focuses on various styles of dance, choreographed routines set to music, and individual physical fitness and coordination.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
This course is designed to give students the information necessary to make informed and healthy decisions in a variety of areas. The year begins with a special emphasis on leadership training to help Class VII assume responsibility as leaders in the Middle School. Social health issues including friendships, cliques, peer pressure, and stereotypes are addressed. Other topics are revisited in a more comprehensive manner. These include nutrition and body image, drug and alcohol awareness, stress management, first aid, communicable diseases, and growth and human development.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
The concepts of information management are reinforced this year. Students gain a thorough understanding of information gathering and analysis by becoming critical and informed media users. They also learn introductory programming skills using Scratch, an animation tool from MIT.