The Ethel Walker School
Curriculum: Grade 7
Rooted in building communities of belonging, students work to understand identity and stereotypes through introspection and perspective. Students explore the many ways identity is formed by reflecting on their own identities, assumptions, stereotypes, and prejudices.
7th Grade Wellness Seminar meets twice a week for a semester. This seminar is a discussion-based class where students focus on emotional well-being and social emotional learning with a particular emphasis on relationship skills. With identity as their primary focus during this period of development, students are in search of solid and meaningful relationships. Each class with a brief meditation and a check-in. Students are given writing or discussion prompts to help begin conversations related to their developing social awareness and the skills involved in forming and maintaining healthy relationships.
Middle School Orchestra
Open to Grades 6-8
This ensemble is for Middle School students who are interested in preparing and performing orchestral music. The Middle School Orchestra performs at Middle School concerts. This experience will prepare the musician for the Upper School Orchestra. All musicians at any level are welcome.
Meets outside of a class block
Middle School Ceramics
Open to grades 7-8
This ceramics class will provide an introduction of sculpture techniques, the science of glazing, and wheel skills, and students will be encouraged to experiment at all times. In addition to developing technique, students will design their own multi-part construction based on exploration of pottery around the world. Each student will be expected to produce work that portrays her creative powers and technical abilities.
Offered Fall 2025
Middle School Visual Art
Open to grades 7-8
Students will review and apply the elements of art and principles of design as they relate to both two dimensional and three dimensional works while developing individual work habits and creative problem solving. Students are asked to create, write, assess and reflect on their work, the work of their peers and works from history.
Offered Spring 2026
Middle School Digital Arts
Open to grades 7-8
In this course students will dive into the exciting world of digital art by exploring Adobe Photoshop and Canva. They will create engaging photo manipulation projects while learning essential principles of art and design. Students will also be introduced to digital painting in Photoshop, developing foundational skills in composition, color theory, and creativity.
Offered Fall 2025
Middle School Photography
Open to grades 7-8
This course is designed as an introduction to photography using iPhones or equivalent and manipulating digital images in creative projects. The course includes basic photography principles, photography challenges, portraiture, macro photography, collage making, photomosaics, agamographs, stop motion, and movie production using the still image.
Offered Spring 2026
Middle School Music & Choristers
Open to grades 7-8
MS Music includes singing and choral activities, rhythm training, music theory, musical theater/theater exercises, sight singing, and audition preparation. There is an emphasis on listening and skill development, as well as music appreciation.
The full Middle School music meeting is called Choristers. All Middle School students participate in this choral group, which performs in the Holiday and Spring Concerts, as well as all-School Chapels.
Offered Spring 2026
Middle School Dance
Open to grades 7-8
The Middle School Dance program concentrates on the development of technical skills, and the appreciation of the art form.
Offered Fall 2025
This course is for students who have completed Foundations of Mathematics or an equivalent course. Topics include further exploration of decimals, factors, fractions, integers, exponents, ratios, proportions, and percents, as well as graphing on the coordinate plane, linear equations, algebraic expressions, and solving algebraic equations and inequalities. Prerequisite: Foundations of Math or Department Placement.
This course serves as an introduction to the study of another language. Students will master the foundations of Latin grammar, including the core grammatical concept of inflection. Through short readings, students will become comfortable interacting with Latin prose. Collaboration is a core component of the class, and students will also learn about how best to work together in large and small groups. Special attention will also be given to the context of the ancient world. Students will learn about Roman families, houses and urban and rural domestic life. They will also explore Roman religion and mythology, including the Olympians and the myths that shape many of the stories we tell today.
Have you ever wondered how chemicals interact in the body, how ecosystems are affected by local interactions with people and industry, or how Connecticut was formed? We will explore questions like these in STEAM 7. STEAM is an integration of science, technology, engineering, art, and math. This class allows our students to practice the science and engineering skills that professionals use every day, engage in hands-on exploration, and design projects as they explore the natural world. Students in STEAM 7 will use real-world phenomena such as the effects of energy drinks, the Farmington River, rock formations, and Talcott Mountain to focus on the topics of the properties of matter, dynamic interactions within an ecosystem, and geologic changes in the Earth. This course builds upon the inquiry mindset developed in STEAM 6 to build competency in developing, using, and revising models to describe more abstract phenomena and design systems. Beyond just following procedures for experiments, students will build skills in planning and carrying out investigations that use multiple variables and provide evidence to support explanations or solutions.
Voce Felice
Open to Grades 6-12
This course provides students with an opportunity to learn and improve vocal technique and to experience a repertoire of various styles. Enrollment in Choir is not required. Voce Felice, a fine vocal ensemble, is formed from members of this class. Individual singers have the opportunity to perform as soloists at the end of the school year concert. All singers are welcome.
Meets outside of a class block
Gospel Choir
Open to Grades 7-12
The Gospel Choir is a lively vocal ensemble that incorporates musical styles from the spiritual, blues, and gospel genres. This ensemble demands a willingness to participate in the appropriate style that this music commands. All singers are welcome.
Meets outside of a class block
Private lessons are offered for many instruments. Numerous recitals and assemblies involve the music program, and public performance opportunities continue to expand the musical experience here on campus.
Financial Commitment: Private lessons are billed through the Business Office. The Music Instruction Agreement must be signed by a parent/guardian and returned before lessons can begin. Please contact the Business Office for additional details.
This course focuses on allowing our students to see how our world looks today. With the purpose of allowing our students to understand the way that geography impacts our lives, students will undertake a unit on reading and understanding maps as well as a unit on important geography terms, including the study of geography itself, climate, and vegetation. They will then study various regions, focusing on themes of geography, including themes of place, location, and the movement of people and ideas.
At the 7th grade level, students maintain their momentum and build new skills by continuing an exploration of the various genres of literature. We read a challenging collection of texts that may include: Cast Away; Howl’s Moving Castle; Poetry Speaks Who I Am; Romeo and Juliet; Good Master, Sweet Ladies; and The Outsiders. Other texts, including individual poems, myths, fairy tales, short stories, and essays, are carefully selected to be appropriate to the age and developmental level of seventh grade students. Teachers strive to help students truly love to read. Students will learn to present their work to an audience — aloud and in writing. Students continue to enhance their composition skills through a study of analytical writing, with an emphasis on the process of writing, not just the final product. Language mechanics, also taught in English 7, concentrates on understanding the passive voice, parallel structure, audience engagement, and logical flow. Students will read beyond the curriculum in this course. They will also have many opportunities for creative writing in a wide variety of genres.
Calling Future
New Girls!
Our Priority application Deadline
is January 15
Our application deadline is coming up soon — submit yours now. We can’t wait to learn more about you!
