Leadership
The Leadership and Community Outreach elective will give students the opportunity to learn and practice leadership here at PS7 and within the Oak Park community. Students will plan and organize extra-curricular school events and community service projects. Students will also be given the opportunity to run and possibly be elected to serve in student government positions. Train to lead and be empowered to serve. The course is designed to empower students to be leaders in their campus and community. We will engage in various projects throughout the trimester in which students will be able to have hands-on experience and learn about the qualities that are necessary to be leaders in their communities. Skills that will be addressed are Teamwork, Project Completion, Public Speaking, Commitment, and Character Development amongst others.
Community Service
The community service elective will give the students an opportunity to work with each other, as well as with others. Students will develop skills to work with each other. Team building skills are needed in order for them to work outside of a school setting. Students will have the opportunity to volunteer at the Sacramento Food Bank and think of ways to donate books to students in Nepal. My goal is to inform and guide students at PS7 how and where to volunteer their time and give back to their community and to students in other countries.
Art Partnership with 40 Acres Art Gallery
Watercolor: Students partnered with a visiting artist to create watercolors while being inspired by the music of Beethoven. These finished masterpieces were displayed at the Sacramento Community Center during the Sacramento Symphony’s Beethoven performance. Afterwards pieces were displayed in the 40 Acres gallery alongside those of professional artists and Sac High students.
Quilting: Students learning the history of quilt-making from various members of Northern California quilting guilds who came from as far as Oakland to pass their knowledge on to the next generation. The class created a quilt that was displayed at 40 Acres during its last exhibit. The quilt is currently hanging in the PS7 office.
Introduction to Art
In art students will experiment with various art mediums such as paint, pastels, chalk, pencil, and possibly photography. We will also study various famous artists such as Picaso, Diego, Da Vinci, etc.
Art Partnership with the Crocker Art Museum
In this two-part class, students will make a work of art to put in the Crocker Museum’s grand reopening show and also give the field-house walls a “make-over”. For the Crocker event, students will use museum blueprints as a background for a self-portrait collage, reflecting on their own Life’s Blueprint. Students will have two to three field lessons to the Crocker Art Museum. During the second half of the trimester, students will plan and paint a mural reflecting on PS7’s college-bound culture.
Music Program
History of Music: Students will study different musical genres from the 1300s to present day and engage with different forms of music in different ways.
Music Theory: Students learned the basics of music including reading music, rhythm, melody, and information about various instruments and types of music.
Band: Students participated as non-performing members of Sac High’s marching band learning how to work as a team in addition to how to play their individual instruments.
Spanish
The purpose of this course will be to give students an introduction to the language of Spanish. Students will learn basic communication skills and expand their vocabulary in Spanish. Students will also study the influence of Latin and the Spanish language on English, and also investigate the affects of Hispanic culture on our society today.
Hip-Hop
Hip-Hop is a constantly changing PERFORMANCE art. In this class you will learn the “trade secrets” of being a Hip-Hop artist. During this trimester we will start with the art of writing Hip-Hop lyrics by studying and mimicking the styles of the pioneers, the true-school, and today’s hottest artists. We cannot create something new if we don’t recognize the pioneers. During second half of the trimester we will complete the package by learning to create our own style, giving us the ability to create completely original work. Please note: A large a portion of your grade in this class is will be based on WEEKLY and MONTHLY PERFORMANCES, as well as END OF THE UNIT PERFORMANCES in front of larger audiences.
Sports Program
Strength-training: The basic principles of strength training involve a manipulation of the number of repetitions (reps), sets, tempo, exercises and force to cause desired changes in strength, endurance, size or shape by overloading of a group of muscles. The specific combinations of reps, sets, exercises, resistance and force depend on the purpose of the individual performing the exercise: sets with fewer reps can be performed using more force, but have a reduced impact on endurance.
Intra-mural sports: Students participated in a variety of sports all focused on building teamwork, sportsmanship, and emphasizing a healthy lifestyle.
Softball: Students worked with the Sac High softball coach afterschool and on the weekends. In the Spring of 2010 this became PS7’s first team to compete against other middle schools.
Soccer: Students will participate in soccer in a manner that will emphasize the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship along with a “work hard, play hard” attitude.
Basketball: The purpose of this elective is to gain a better understanding and respect of the game of basketball while developing fundamental skills necessary for all aspiring basketball players. This course will consist of studying the game using articles, player bios, film, small research projects, etc. When facilities are available, we will conduct fundamental drills which include, passing, shooting, dribbling, and defense in hope that each student will master these basic skills for any future basketball endeavor. An additional goal for this Camp is for the students to recognize the correlation between basketball and life. Life lessons will be apart of each session of the Camp. I believe valuable attributes will be gained by the gentlemen in this course including; humility, integrity, sportsmanship, and the determination to do their best in all things. Expectations from the students for this elective will directly reflect the expectations of P.E.
Flag football: Students will have fun and be active while engaging in non-contact (flag) football. They will practice working as a team and sportsmanship. Students will be divided into different teams each week and classes will consist of 10-15 minutes of drills followed by approximately 30 minutes of game play.
Mentoring
S.T.O.M.P. is a program created for PS7 Elementary students and led by PS7 Middle students. As a part of S.T.O.M.P., mentors will travel to pS7 two times a week to meet with a mentee in 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade. As a part of the program, students will lead a 10-15 minute check-in with their mentee about school and home life, and then tutor the elementary school student in ELA (reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar) for 30 minutes. Mentors and mentees may also be invited to participate in out-of-school activities, in order to get to know each other better and form strong relationships. Students in grades 6-8 with a GPA of 3.0 or higher (or a strong recommendation from your ELA teacher) are welcomed and encouraged to join. Please see Ms. Garrity for more information.
African-American History
The African American culture course is designed to educate young women on the progression of Black culture and its affect on the modern world. We will discuss and experience cultural elements such as music, dance, literature, beauty, and food and their evolution through the last 400 years.
Poetry and Spoken Word
Spoken word is an interactive process by which the reader absorbs a printed poem and then uses their creative input to bring the poem to life for an audience. Students will develop careful reading, understanding and insight of classic and contemporary poems and then demonstrate that knowledge by performing the poem with theatrical flair. In the final project, students are encouraged to write and perform their own dramatic poem. Students may select from a list of poems as well.
Theater and Drama
Students will have the opportunity to participate in theatre (movement) exercises to increase their self awareness. Sample activities include silent vignettes, cardio kickboxing, and vocal performance.
Literature and Film
Creative Writing
Students in this course will get a chance to unleash their creative side. Writers will get a chance to express themselves through journal free-writing, poetry, and short stories. Students will work toward developing a unique writing voice, while at the same time improving their writing ability. Creative writing will provide students with a therapeutic outlet in which they can communicate their feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and emotions in a safe environment that encourages honesty, introspection, sharing, listening, trust, non-judgment, mindfulness and creative expression.
Business and Communication
The purpose of this course is for students to identify and understand the concept and idea of mass communication and strategic marketing. Students will come up with and name a fictitious product, business or service. They will then do research and find evidence to identify a target group, audience or demographic that would be interested in their product, business or service. Students will then design a slogan, logo and ad campaign to capture the attention of the target demographic. They will do this by producing commercials, print ads, posters and flyers.
Game Theory
In this elective we will learn to play and win games like Dominoes, Chess, and Gin Rummy. These games require a lot of strategy and a little bit of luck to win. We will learn the rules, the best strategies, and we will hold a competition before we write a “how-to” essay that describes how to use the best strategies you’ve learned and developed in class.
