Middle school is often a difficult transition for children and preteens. By the Seventh Grade, children are able to settle into the new routine of changing classes and teenage angst. This familiarity with routine and independence allows them to focus more on the academic challenges associated with their new grade. At OLG, Your child’s Seventh Grade year is packed with information that will influence the rest of their high school career. It includes important concepts that teach them independence in their academics, as well as the foundational items for language arts and math.
From Mr. Santos, your Homeroom Teacher
“Welcome to 7th Grade! This is where it all started for me in 2005 at OLG: back in the 7th Grade. To start the year, we’ll have some discussions about what it means to be a 7th grader, the adventures of growing up and the need for your leadership in our school community. As the year progresses, you’ll have opportunities to learn what it means to lead in your own way and how to sharpen and deepen those skills. That way, as Eight Grade leaders of our school community, you’ll be prepared to make a lasting legacy on Our Lady of Guadalupe, West Seattle, and even beyond!”
Service Project
Part of every grade’s experience at OLG is a class collaborative service project. OLG has developed relationships with a variety of community organizations to share two mutual interests – service and learning. For seventh graders, we learn about missionary discipleship and our call to serve the poor. Poverty, especially urban poverty, is a complex matter that is not only a humanitarian issue in the city of Seattle, but also a very political one. Our service of making lunches for clients of the Matt Talbot Center entails learning about several components of poverty: homelessness, addiction, rehabilitation, discrimination and much more. Beyond making sack lunches, our students will become educated about the greater issue about WHY and for WHOM they are providing nourishment. It truly is an impactful experience.
The Haggerty Leadership Award
Throughout the year, we love to see our seventh graders showing leadership in faith, academics, service and co-curricular activities. In our community, we have a very special recognition at the end of the seventh grade year, called The Haggerty Award, named after Joseph Haggerty, a former Principal of OLG. Students can apply for the award in the spring, by writing a leadership essay, and the student who has demonstrated the most consistent leadership skills in the above areas will have their name engraved on a plaque and receive a scholarship from the school for their Eight Grade year at OLG. It is our way of recognizing outstanding leadership from our Seventh Grade class.
That’s a wrap, sports fans. Again, I’m looking forward to teaching your child as they embark on this journey (inescapable cliche). If you (parent or student) need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out in person or via email: jcsantos@guadalupe-school.org.
