The Ethel Walker School
Curriculum
8th Grade Seminar: Finance
Grade 8
The Finance seminar introduces students to the fundamentals of how a market economy operates. They learn about the stock market and participate in “The Stock Market Game.” Students also learn about personal investing and building a portfolio.
8th Grade Seminar: Speak Out!
Grade 8
Speak Out: Prepping for Upper School seminar allows 8th grade students the opportunity to work together as they become comfortable and confident with using their voice through public speaking. Throughout the trimester, students engage in intentional games to experiment with persuasive language, crowd engagement, peer support, and learning how to balance anxiety with energy. Members of the Upper School faculty and staff join students in class as guest stars to help build community. Guest stars partake in conversations with students regarding leadership opportunities, equity and inclusion on campus, Upper School public speaking classes, and college counseling. The goal for the 8th grade in this seminar is to prepare students to present their 8th grade speeches and help students gain a sense of independence through the power of their voices.
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.
Walker’s History is an introductory course about the history of The Ethel Walker School. It gives students an in-depth look at the origins of the campus and surrounding area, including Ms. Ethel Walker herself. Collaborating with archivists, students will be able to comb through the archives, looking at photographs, mementos, letters, etc. Each student will then create their own scrapbook that shows the history of their lives that they would like to share; thereby getting hands-on experience in creating a history of themselves.
6th Grade Seminar: Study Skills
Grade 6
The 6th Grade Study Skills Seminar meets twice a week for a semester. Students focus on study skills and executive function strategies, such as sustained attention, task initiation, working memory, planning, and organization. Students work on skills-building activities from the SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum developed by the Research Institute for Learning and Development.
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
6th Grade Art Rotation – Foundations in Art
Required for Grade 6
This course explores the fundamentals of the visual and performing arts. Students gain experience in fine arts, dance, music, and digital arts. Coursework is designed to help each student develop their own identity through art, as well as self-confidence and independence. The curriculum connects with the Middle School program of study whenever possible and provides a well-rounded artistic basis for 7th and 8th grade and Upper School-level visual and performing arts courses.
Have you ever wondered how your body systems are affected by participating in sports, how the honey bee populations are affecting our food supply, or why we get storms in New England? We will explore questions like these in STEAM 6. STEAM is an integration of science, technology, engineering, art and math. This course 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 6 will use real-world phenomena such as athletic concussions, Lyme disease, honey bee populations, animal habitats, and destructive weather to deeply explore the topics of human body systems, reproduction and growth, energy transfer and weather, and climates and human impacts. Students will learn how to develop scientific and engineering questions that can be investigated within the scope of the classroom, outdoor environment, and museums and other public facilities with available resources. They will also learn how to frame a hypothesis based on observations and scientific principles, specify relationships between variables, clarify arguments, and begin to make models that lead into basic experimentation.
This is an Honors level class that prepares students for the rigors of high school math. A full range of topics will be covered including all topics of elementary Algebra plus systems of equations and inequalities, polynomials and factoring and quadratic functions and equations. This course challenges students to continue to develop their mathematical fluency while going more in depth with Algebraic concepts. After successful completion of this course, students advance to Geometry or Honors Geometry.
This course begins the formal study of Algebra. Topics include algebraic properties and notations, real numbers, inequalities, number lines, variables, equation-solving and a thorough examination of linear functions and their graphs. Algebraic language, reasoning and tools are the focus of this course while students improve mathematical literacy and continue to strengthen their mathematical study skills.
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.
Basic computational skills are reviewed, and problem solving, patterns, estimating, and mental math skills are emphasized. Topics introduced include decimals, fractions, exponents, scientific notation, ratios, rates, proportions, percents, measurement, graphing in the coordinate plane, and an introduction to variables and solving algebraic equations.
This course is designed for students who have previously studied French. In Middle School French, learners will continue to expand their vocabulary and build upon the structures they acquired previously. By the end of the year, not only will they be able to talk about themselves and the familiar topics covered during the previous year with greater confidence and in greater complexity, they will also begin to develop narrative competency in multiple time frames as they talk about what they did in the past and what they will do in the future.
This course serves as an introduction to the Spanish language through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By the end of the year, learners will be able to talk about very familiar topics: themselves; the weather; their likes, dislikes, and preferences; their families and homes; and their favorite pastimes and hobbies. Learners will also discover the many places in the world where Spanish is spoken through music, video, artifacts, and projects.
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.
Foundations in Language is a 6th grade course designed to give students a strong understanding of the mechanics of language, with an eye towards the foreign language study that will follow. Students will understand how language works through an exploration of words and their origins, grammar, sounds, and writing systems. Students will investigate the development of writing and different writing systems. Students will discover the etymologies of English words and learn how other languages, including French, Latin, and Spanish influenced the development of English. Students will undertake a survey of English grammar: exploring parts of speech, clauses, and sentences. Finally, students will be able to contrast human language with computational language systems.
This course takes as its basic question, “What does it mean to be American?” Students explore the foundation of American democracy, examining the ways in which the American government functions, and how citizens engage in that process. Students dig deeper into the experiences of three groups who have been influential in the development of this country: indigenous peoples, Black Americans, and the Latinx community. Students also have the opportunity to explore groups that resonate with their own American experience. Students use a variety of sources ranging from primary documents to academic articles to help them improve their ability to think like historians.
The theme for sixth grade is “Laying Foundations,” and there is no better way for students to grapple with this theme than by learning about the foundations of humankind. Sixth grade humanities is an investigation into ancient civilizations through the lenses of history, geography, literature, the arts, belief systems, technology, architecture, and customs and traditions. Cultural sensitivity and ethical exploration are core principles of this hands-on, project-based class. Among other activities, students participate in an archaeological dig; create a mini-museum; design a 21st-century version of Babylon’s legendary hanging gardens; and prepare a Greek feast fit for the gods of Mount Olympus. Field trips to local historical societies and museums, coupled with outdoor excursions for native materials for projects, bring the research aspect of this class to life. Reading global mythologies and identifying the stories around which they have shaped their own lives helps students to connect with children of long ago and with those who live throughout the world today–including their own classmates.
Have you ever wondered how and why the planets move, how energy is transferred in ocean waves, or where all the different species in Connecticut have come from? We will explore questions like these in STEAM 8. 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 8 will use real-world phenomena such as car collisions, tidal waves, fossils and dinosaurs, and space exploration to focus on the topics of forces and energy, energy in waves, mechanisms of diversity, and the changing Earth. This course builds upon the problem-solving mindset developed in STEAM 7 to build skills in extending quantitative analysis to investigations, distinguishing between causation and correlation, and using basic statistical analysis to construct explanations and design solutions supported by multiple sources of evidence.
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.
In English at the 8th grade level, independent thinking and writing play major roles, as every student is encouraged to further develop their creative and critical skills in response to literature and in preparation for secondary school. Through discussion and writing, which include analytical and personal essays designed to promote mastery of essay writing, each student is supported as they learn to express herself clearly, accurately, and fluently. In this way, student voice is at the heart of English 8. We read short fiction, novels, narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama. Texts may include Macbeth, The Poet X, The House on Mango Street, and One Last Word, among others.
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!
