Religion:

The Middle School SPXS Religion Program educates the students to learn the Catholic Faith and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.  Students are encouraged to grow spiritually, academically and socially.  They attain the foundation to lead a life of faith, service and integrity. All Middle School students follow the Liturgical calendar and enter into the prayer life of the Catholic Church. Holy Days of Obligation and other special saint days are celebrated on a monthly basis as a school community at St. Pius X Church.  On a daily basis,  students pray in the chapel before each Religion class. Formal prayers are learned and are prayed during the school year.  Students in grades 6-8 are required to complete thirty hours of community service each school year. All students learn the virtues, and are encouraged to practice them on a daily basis.

Students use the textbook published by Sadlier, We Live Our Faith As Disciples of Jesus.  This program centers on Jesus’ life, his teachings, and the sacraments he instituted.  It presents Jesus’ call to each person to become his disciple and the ways in which his teachings, his sacraments, and his Church nourish people for discipleship.  Grade seven students focus on the New Testament, the Creed and Divine Revelation, Jesus in the Gospels.  Through Church teaching they learn about Sacraments and Liturgy, Catholic social doctrine and vocations.

Mathematics:

The Pre-Algebra course, based on the diocesan and state standards, is a transition from the arithmetic of elementary school to the algebra of high school, or a transition from the concrete to the abstract study of mathematics.  It builds the foundation necessary for success in the study of Algebra I, emphasizing conceptual understanding and computational fluency.  This course encourages higher-level thinking skills and will assist students in developing skills and processes to be applied using a variety of techniques to solve problems.

Curriculum:  Integers; expressions & equations; inequalities; rational numbers; ratio, proportions & percent; data analysis & statistics; 2-dimensional geometry & measurement; 3-dimensional geometry; probability; patterns, relations & functions; polynomials.

Language Arts and Literature:

The seventh grade Language Arts/Literature curriculum continues to integrate the language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. These areas concentrate on vocabulary study, grammar usage and understanding the importance of clarity of written content and forms a comprehensive literacy program. The literacy program also includes reading  novels, short stories, poetry, plays, nonfiction text and a variety of genres, which aide in the instruction of writing and reading.

The seventh grade Literature curriculum incorporates the Prentice Hall textbook to introduce students to authors such as: Mark Twain, O. Henry, Edgar Allen Poe, Maya Angelou, Charles Dickens, Anne Frank, Ray Bradbury, and John Steinbeck. Students are encouraged to choose from a wide selection of trade books and authors which interest them, hopefully, inspiring a lifetime of reading enjoyment.

Writing is an integral component of our daily middle school curriculum. Students utilize the writing process (planning, drafting, editing, revising and publishing) throughout the day. They explore various writing styles and modes. There are opportunities to develop their writing skills in all subjects, as well as using our tech lab for research, report writing and creative writing. Students are encouraged to participate in outside writing workshops and annual writing contests.
 
 

Science:

In seventh and eighth grade, the curriculum is rotated each year to study both physical and life sciences.  In physical science, students will learn about chemical building blocks, the periodic table and force/motion.  In life science, they build upon the study of heredity and DNA.  Students continue to participate in exploring the science lab and work in group settings.  Students engage in  lab projects such as extracting DNA from strawberries and cooperatively building structures with uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows.  It is an imperative skill for students to be able to work cooperatively and respectfully together, as scientists must be able to communicate ideas and learn from peers in order to be successful.

Social Studies:

Students will begin their study of American History with a review of 15th and 16th Century European exploration of North America; in particular, the earliest settlements, political, economic and social development of the English Colonies in the 17th and 18th Centuries, including ideas and events which led to the American Revolution and the formation of a national government and the U.S. Constitution. Students will study the basic framework and concepts of American democracy and government. They will examine westward expansion, the creation of political parties, economic and social change which led to the Civil War and Reconstruction.The America, History of Our Nation’s Beginnings through 1877 textbook and  a variety of other resources (field trips, articles, historical fiction, plays and educational videos), will be used to enrich student’s experience and understanding of the development of our nation.

Students will continue to work on and develop in the following areas: note taking, research, peer collaboration, strategies to gain understanding from nonfiction material, and creating oral, written and visual presentations. They will learn the importance of and differences between primary and secondary sources, and how they assist with the understanding of our nation’s history.

Spanish:

Vocabulary: friends, likes and dislikes; classroom objects and furniture; foods and beverages; places and question words; celebrations including holidays and birthdays; household items, rooms and furniture; clothing including shopping and colors; vacations and travel; television and movies

Structure: subject pronouns and present tense of AR, ER, IR verbs and stem changing verbs; present tense of common irregular verbs including IR, TENER, PODER; preterito of AR, ER, IR verbs; a personal; possessive adjectives; comparisons; demonstrative adjectives; use of ACABAR DE and GUSTAR

Spanish speakingCulture: Compare and contrast schools, meals and foods, homes, clothing and shopping, sports and leisure activities