Mr. P. Bienvenu
Gr7@stpaulschool.ca
Dear Grade 7 Parents,
It is a pleasure to be teaching your son or daughter this year in Grade 7 at St. Paul School. I look forward to working together with you to ensure that your child is able to reach his or her full potential. Grade 7 is a wonderful year of growth, and I am excited about helping your children grow and develop spiritually, academically and emotionally.
It is my hope and expectation that this Grade 7 class will become leaders and role models for the rest of the students in the school. In our Religious Education, Social Studies and Language Arts classes we will be discussing leadership and what it means to share our talents and our time for the good of the community.
This year we will be working hard to focus on critical thinking and comprehension skills and strategies.
Students will be asked to make connections to what they already know and have experienced and to what they are learning in other subjects.
The following outline will go over the subjects and topics we will be studying in Grade 7 this year.
Students will be placed in pairs to lead our morning prayer each day. Students are asked when leading morning prayer to have an intention to share aloud. Students will be encouraged to share their thoughts and to interpret and reflect on scripture passages. This year’s theme Live the Joy of The Gospel will be actively discussed and reflected upon. The texts used in class are Christ Our Life and Confirmed in the Spirit.
Throughout the year, students will be preparing to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. As part of that preparation, students will be asked to spend several hours a month serving their community. Students will have opportunities to serve at the school, but are encouraged to also share their time and talents in the wider community. Beginning in January, our religious education program will focus intensely on this preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation.
Term 1 –What Do I Believe?: Examination of the foundations of Christian faith and the life, Passion, death and Resurrection of Christ; Comparison of the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds; Prayer in our lives; Examination of the Beatitudes; Mary and the saints as models for modern discipleship
Term 2 –Finding My Place: Examination of the Early Church; Personal profession of faith; Examination of the sacraments; Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation; Reflection on the Cardinal Virtues and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Vocation and the role of Chastity; Dignity of Human Life
Term 3 –Living as a Christian Witness: Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation; Identification and reflection on the sacramentals, symbols and rituals of Confirmation; The role of compassion and forgiveness in daily life; Service and Evangelization

We will be using the Math Makes Sense 7 textbook in class this year. At the beginning of each class students will review the previous lesson, and begin exploring a new concept on their own or in small groups. The interactive Smart Board will be used to reinforce concepts in class.
At the end of each class students will be assigned practice questions to complete for homework.
Students will also be given a Math Makes Sense CD that contains additional practice questions and extensions.
Assessment will be both formative (ongoing) and summative (at the end of a unit). Short quizzes, homework questions, reflections, word problems, and unit problems will all be part of assessment. A unit test will complete each unit.
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Term 1 – Unit 1: Patterns and Relations; Unit 2: Integers; Unit 3: Fractions, Decimals and Percents;
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Term 2 – Unit 3: Fractions, Decimals and Percents; Unit 4: Circles and Area; Unit 5: Operations and
Fractions
 Term 3 – Unit 6: Equations; Unit 7: Data Analysis; Unit 8:Geometry; Additional Topics and Review
Beginning in October, and carrying on throughout the year, students will be asked to read independently for at least 30 minutes each day. Students will keep a log of their reading and will be asked to record reflections on their reading, create short responses to questions posed by the teacher and record new vocabulary words.
Students will participate in literature circles and at least one novel study during the course of the year.
Students will work to develop their vocabulary, their understanding of grammar, sense of style and audience in their writing. Students will be asked to write well-developed paragraphs, essays, short stories, poems and more.
The bulk of our study will focus on the Nelson Literacy program texts, which provide a number of different short stories, non-fiction text, letters, poems and short plays. The texts are very visually engaging and students will be given an opportunity to respond to them in a variety of ways. Students will engage not just with written text, but with alternative media sources such as pictures, video, websites and songs.
Assessment will include: individual work, group work, reading response questions, projects, oral and written participation, presentations, written paragraphs and essays, quizzes, and tests.

We will be using the textbook Ancient Worlds this year as our main Social Studies resource. Throughout the year students will be asked to draw connections between their own lives and the lives of others, particularly those who have been part of past civilizations. Additionally we will discuss the concept of citizenship, will explore the Canadian Charter of Rights and will discuss the implied rights and responsibilities of being a citizen of the world. Students will also be asked to design and assess a realistic plan to address a real-world community or global issue.
Students will be asked to research information from a variety of sources, and will present their research to their classmates orally. Assessment will be focussed around homework questions and reading responses, in class participation in discussions, short quizzes, projects, oral presentations and longer written responses.
Students will also be given unit tests to complete each unit.
Unit One: Connecting to the Past
Unit Two: Introduction to Civilization
Unit Three: Exploring Ancient Civilizations
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Students will study a variety of ancient civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China,
Greece, Rome) and will compare and contrast the ways in which these societies developed.
Social roles and culture, governance and law, economy and technology and the environment.
 Students will draw connections between these civilizations, and modern cultures.
Unit Four: World Connections
Students will be studying from the BC Science 7 text. Students will design and conduct experiments to test their hypotheses multiple times throughout the year. We will use graphic organizers, tables and models to organize and communicate our thoughts. The content is broken down into three main organizers, Biology,
Chemistry and Earth Science.
Assessment will include: experiment reports, homework questions, projects, oral and written participation, as well as short quizzes. Unit tests will follow each unit.
Biology
Unit 1: Organisms and their Environment; Unit 2: Cycles in Ecosystems; Unit 3: Ecosystems and
People
Chemistry
Unit 1: Characteristics and Properties of Matter; Unit 2:Classifying Matter; Unit 3: Exploring
Solutions and Mixtures
Earth Science
Unit 1:The Earth’s Composition; Unit 2: Earth’s Moving Crust; Unit 3: Earth’s Changing Surfaces

Throughout the year we will be creating images using a variety of materials, technology and processes.
Students will be asked to incorporate visual art into their projects, assignments and in class responses. We will look at a variety of art forms and will analyse visual arts styles from a variety of social, historical and cultural contexts.
In addition to the visual art that students will incorporate into their subject based assignments, we will spend a portion of each week engaged in an “art study” period. Students will be asked to look at a particular facet of the visual arts and will use that time to respond critically and creatively. Students will be asked to use the knowledge gained in the “art study” period to create their own works. Students will follow directions from the teacher to create art in a variety of styles and forms.
Students will use this class to gain knowledge and develop strategies to help them stay healthy and grow and develop into mature adolescents. They will set goals and create plans to help them achieve those goals.
They will discuss and classify different job types and identify skills that are transferable to a range of situations (time management, problem solving, etc.). Students will identify and analyse factors that influence personal health decisions and will describe strategies for attaining and maintaining physical, emotional and social health during puberty and adolescence. Students will also work to identify characteristics of healthy relationships and describe a variety of influences (both positive and negative) on relationships. Students will identify and demonstrate behaviours that can prevent stereotyping, discrimination and bullying and will discuss factors that might influence substance misuse. Students will also work to identify strategies for being safe in a variety of situations.
There are various field trips and special events proposed for this year. Each field trip is linked to a prescribed learning outcome for the Grade 7 curriculum. Some of the events will take place outside of the classroom, while others will be in-class workshops. Your support with these trips is greatly appreciated.
Initial List of Proposed Special Events:
Term 1
PE Outdoor Education: (Camp Elphinstone)
Spirit day (Optional Saturday Event)
Term 2
PE: Whistler Ski Trip (March)
Science: Matter Mania, Chemistry (In Class)
Religion: Vocations trip to Westminster Abbey (TBA)
Term 3
Science – Dig It, Earth Science (In Class)
Grade 7 Farewell
Possible Geology fieldtrip

Please review your son or daughter’s agenda each night, as this is the primary method by which student homework expectations will be communicated. Students in Grade 7 will have approximately an hour of nightly homework. Math and Language Arts practice will be assigned almost every night, while other subjects will be assigned only some nights. It is expected that homework be completed thoroughly and neatly. If it is incomplete, a valid reason is acceptable and students may “catch up” during the day at school.
All major assignments are expected to be handed in on time. Homework is a vital part of a child’s education because it teaches independent work habits and responsibility. The reasons that homework is assigned nightly are as follows:
 It allows students to practice what they have learned in class;
 It lets students investigate on their own by learning how to find answers to questions;
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Students are given the opportunity to delve deeply into new material;
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It allows for opportunities for students to learn how to schedule their time.
I am excited to work collaboratively this year to foster and promote spiritual and academic growth for our
Grade 7 students. It is a wonderful year full of new learning opportunities. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns or suggestions you may have. I can be reached via email at gr7@stpaulschool.ca
, and
I am happy to schedule a meeting before or after school to discuss any concerns, suggestions or comments that you may have.
God bless you and your family,
Mr. Bienvenu