My name is Mr. Scanlan, and I am the 7th Grade homeroom teacher and the 7th and 8th-grade Math and Science teacher. St. Frances Cabrini will be my first year teaching at a Catholic School, but I am not new to Catholic education. I earned my Undergraduate in Secondary Education from Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, WA, and a State of Washington Education Certificate, with an Endorsement in Biology. I am also pursuing my Master of Education (MED) at St. Martin’s University. I believe strongly in the benefits of Catholic education, as all three of my children attend(ed) Catholic Schools. I chose to teach at St. Frances Cabrini because of its emphasis on academic excellence; Catholic values; and providing a supportive, safe environment for students to learn and excel.
My passion for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) began early while serving in the U.S. Air Force for 20+ years on active duty, where I received a CCAF Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Degree in Fire Science. With a lot of real-world science and math experience, I am excited to teach your students critical thinking skills and make each student feel as if they have a place to grow and learn. I want to encourage curiosity in my classroom, invite students to ask why, and emphasize how problem-solving can be fun!
I am looking forward to the 2023-24 school year—it will be fantastic. Knights Unite!
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 the 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
Part of our focus is to develop a missionary spirit within our students. Therefore, 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 the 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 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.
