My name is Natasha Flitz, and I am the 7th Grade homeroom teacher, as well as the 7th and 8th grade Math and Science teacher. I received my Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Western Washington University, and it was there that I discovered teaching math and science was my passion. My main goal as a teacher is to make every child feel that they have a place in my classroom. They will be welcomed and loved every day. My second focus is to inspire students to ask why and become active participants in discovery and solution making.
Spiritual
7th graders are at a stage where they are curious about moral choices in life, both their own and those of other people. They are also concerned with making moral choices guided by their faith.
Social/Emotional
Students at this age are conscious of opposite gender, but mostly stay close to their own sex. They are interested in cultivating relationships with friends; desire to be accepted by others.
Physical
This age group varies widely in their growth and development. They are adjusting to puberty and their own and others’ related changes. Life for a seventh grader is becoming more complicated because of new and varied experiences, expectations, and rapid physical changes.
Specialists
- Art
- Music
- Health
- Physical Education
Leadership Opportunities
- Student Council (Executive Council and Class Reps)
- Student-led Mass
- Safety Patrol
- Liturgical Choir
- School-wide mission project: Water for South Sudan
Learning Experiences
- Beginning and end-of-year retreats
- Various field trips
On-campus After-school Activities
- Art
- Cross-country
- Basketball
- Volleyball
- Coding
- Spanish
- Robotics
- Dungeons and Dragons
Part of our focus is to develop a missionary spirit within our students. Therefore, the middle schoolers participate in service projects that relate to Catholic Social Teaching. The school, led by our Middle School Student Council, joins together in a special service project that varies dependent on the needs of our global and local community every school year.
Religion:
• Primary Resources: Alive in Christ and Catholic Youth Bible
• Texts:
• Faith First: Jesus in the New Testament
• Faith First: Church and Sacraments
• Catholic Youth Bible
• Areas of Study:
• Six Tasks of Catechesis
• Prayer and Worship
• Scripture and Tradition
• Service Projects
• Liturgical Participation
Literature and Vocab:
• Primary Resources: Prentice-Hall Literature short stories & plays; Novel-study: A Long Walk to Water, Call of the Wild, “Romeo and Juliet”; various nonfiction stories & articles • Units of Study: Fiction, Nonfiction, short story, plays
Language Arts (Writing and Grammar):
• Primary Resources: Write Source
• Units of Study (Writing): Descriptive, Narrative (Memoir), Research, Argument, How-to, Speeches
• Units of Study (Grammar): Figures of Speech, Sentences, Punctuation, Parts of Speech
Math:
• Primary Resources:
• 5th: Text - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Math Expressions Grade 5 (Common Core)
• 5th/6th Compressed: Text – Big Ideas Learning, Big Ideas Math Green (Common Core)
• 6th/7th Compressed: Text – Big Ideas Learning, Big Ideas Math Advanced 1 (Common Core)
• Prealgebra: Text – Big Ideas Learning, Big Ideas Math Advanced 2 (Common Core)
• Algebra: Text – Holt McDougal, Algebra 1 (Common Core)
• Geometry: Text – Holt McDougal, Geometry (Common Core)
• Secondary Resources:
• IXL Online – Math teachers correlate the use of IXL to their specific curriculum.
Social Studies:
• Texts:
• Prentice Hall: Medieval Times to Today
• Gibbs and Smith: The Washington Journey
• Areas of Study:
• World History from Fall of Rome through the Renaissance
• Washington State History
• Current events
• Research Projects
• Learning Fair
Science:
• Primary Resource: Text – Prentice Hall: Science Explorer
• Area of Study:
• Earth Science:
• The theory of plate tectonics
• The causes and effects of earthquakes and volcanoes
• Life Science:
• Identify organisms based on existing classification systems
• Bacteria
• Protists
• Fungi
• Plants
• Animals
Assessment:
A progress report and report card are issued three times during the year at the middle and end of each quarter respectively to inform parents of their child’s progress. In addition, weekly grades are available on SchoolSpeak Parents Portal.
Technology:
Our seventh graders are 1:1 with technology and each student has their own Google Chromebook. Throughout each school week, they use it to conduct research, practice note-taking skills, and create presentations that allow them to combine their writing and oral presentation skills with a creative technology component. We reinforce digital citizenship through student collaboration on projects, and they use the Google Classroom to allow for effective communication on mini projects and class assignments.
Enrichment: Students attend weekly enrichment classes for library, music, PE, and Art.
