Seventh grade is a time when children begin to need more independence, but still need adult guidance, acceptance, and supervision.
Philosophy
The seventh grade is an opportune time to simultaneously challenge and nurture the students we serve. The transition from sixth to seventh grade often means giving less advice and direct instruction, and in contrast, encouraging the student to self-advocate, explore their own issues, and find solutions for overcoming obstacles.
The faculty strives to balance steady academic challenge and growth with the need for students to take risks, engage in their communities (academic, social, and environment), and feel confident in their abilities to solve problems and to succeed when things don’t come easily or naturally.
Developmental Themes for Seventh Graders
During the seventh grade year, students explore themes broadly characterized as an understanding of self in the larger context. They begin to think about themselves as a part of communities, and we encourage exploration of their role in these various communities.
Students move from themes of awareness in the first trimester to a global understanding of their learning, social, and physical communities.
- Throughout the first trimester, students focus on two primary questions: Who am I? How do I define community?”
- The second trimester themes involve understanding others and relationships with others.
- During the third trimester students ask, What is my role? How can I effect change? and How do I give feedback to others?
Service learning projects, advisory meetings, field trips, after-school activities, the seventh grade retreat, and classroom experiences all give students opportunities to explore these themes.
Academics in Grade 7
In seventh grade, students receive letter grades in their academic courses for the first time. Grades and trimester reports in Middle School help students understand their own learning styles, which allows them to set goals for their academic progress. The overall grade in a course reflects a student’s performance on assessment measures, but also reflects his or her ability to manage time effectively, complete homework in a timely manner, collaborate with others, and participate in the daily activities of the classroom. As a result, there is typically room for reflection, self-awareness, and growth as seventh grade students learn the underlying skills of becoming an effective student.
We encourage parents to explore letter grades with their children beyond the grade itself and look at the process, or components, through which the grade was calculated. There is no grading curve in middle school. This means that students will be able to identify a direct correlation between their work habits and performance and their resulting grade.
Managing Homework
Within the context of our block schedule, students meet with two or three of their academic classes each day. In seventh grade, students can expect to have 25 minutes of homework in each of these classes, spending approximately 75 minutes each dayon homework. We realize some students complete the homework more quickly, while others may take longer to complete their work. Depending on music placement, students have 2–3 hours of quiet study time each week depending on music placement. All seventh grade teachers are available during this time to meet with and assist students.
To help in the management of homework and other commitments, all Middle School students are issued and are required to use the Middle School Planner. All assignments should be recorded by the student for each class. Late assignments will be listed in the back of the planner. Students should bring the planner to all classes and take it home each evening. Homework assignments also are listed on course web pages.
If a student is spending a particularly long time on his or her homework, parents can assist by determining what the obstacle may be. It may be helpful to consult with the advisor in this case to ask the following questions:
- Is the student using his quiet study time effectively?
- Does she need to meet with a specific teacher for clarification on a regular basis? Is he reading the assignment directions accurately?
- Is she stuck on one problem and needs encouragement to call a friend or teacher for help?
Homework as a process is multifaceted. Parents can assist by checking in with their child on a regular basis, limiting extraneous distractions for students while they are working, and arranging a consistent location for students to complete their work each evening. In seventh grade, it becomes important to monitor a student’s use of technology as well; the urge to do non-homework related tasks on the laptops can be an obstacle for students.
Laptop Computers
Seventh grade is the first year students will be issued a laptop computer. Most of the work that students complete at home on the laptops will include word processing, presentation production, audio recording, or information diagramming, none of which require a connection to the Internet. There are times when students will be asked to conduct research on their laptops, participate in an online class discussion, or retrieve information from a website. These activities do involve the use of the Internet. Most of the research assignments will involve the use of library databases and can be accessed from the SPA library web page.
Seventh grade tends to be a year when students’ awareness of their peers is heightened. They find that their laptop is a wonderful resource for social interaction using programs like AOL Instant Messaging and other chats. This can be a powerful distraction for many students when completing homework on the Internet. We recommend that when your child is doing homework involving the use of the Internet, that it be done in an area where the screen is visible to an adult.
Students are required to back up all work to their flash drive or to the network. Laptop computers should be brought to school everyday. Laptops needing repair should be turned in immediately so the student can obtain a loaner laptop.
Seventh Grade Retreat
In the second trimester, our seventh grade students travel north to Ely, Minnesota, where they stay for five days and four nights at Camp Widjiwagan.
SPA has a long-standing relationship (over 30 years!) with Widji, and the majority of our students identify Widji as the highlight of their middle school years. Students go to Widji either one of two weeks and are involved in related curricular activities at school during the opposite week.
The retreat has many curricular connections to science. Students also work with students in their class who they may not know well and are encouraged to stretch themselves in some way. While at Widji, students participate in snowshoeing, cross country skiing, lessons about the ecosystem and animal adaptations, and team-building activities.
In 2008–09, Widji will occur during the weeks of January 26 and February 2. A parent meeting to provide further details about this trip will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 2, at SPA.
Parent-Teacher Communication
The faculty works in a close partnership with parents to provide the best possible education for our students. We invite parents to contact us whenever we can be of help.
In seventh grade, students continue the practice of reflection and work review. A quick check-in with the teacher may help alleviate concerns and questions you have as parents. Often, if parents hear something from students that doesn’t seem quite right, seeking clarification or more information from the teacher or advisor will go a long way towards avoiding misunderstandings and building school-parent effective relationships.
Likewise, it is critical that students begin to feel comfortable with, or at least start the practice of, seeking out their teachers for guidance and support during quiet study, or before and after school. Students may be less willing to have you contact the teacher and may wish to “take care of things” themselves. Continue to encourage your student to do so, but contact the teacher by e-mail if you find that he or she is unable to take care of things independently.
As in other grades, teachers may send home academic progress reports to note special congratulations, unsatisfactory work, or a sudden change in habit or performance over the course of the trimester. Copies of these reports go to the advisor and to the grade-level team leader, who confer with students. Beginning in seventh grade, many teachers will also send home grade reports at the conclusion of a unit, such as in math or science.
Grade reports show the breakdown of a student’s current grade, including points earned on homework assignments, tests, quizzes, and other projects. This provides an opportunity for discussion at home about the student’s standing in a given class and potential areas for improvement. Students are asked to bring the grade sheets home to parents, and a parent signature is required.
There are three opportunities for formal conferences throughout the year on days when there is no school for middle school students.
- Advisor/advisee/parent conferences—First week of school.
- Parent/teacher conference—October
- Parent/teacher conference—April.
These formal conferences are on the master calendar, and we encourage parents to make note of these dates in advance to avoid scheduling conflicts.
We also have time for parents and students to meet with the student’s advisor just prior to winter break. This is an informal opportunity for parents to review student learning plans generated after the first-trimester reports.