Middle School Electives
St. Catherine School offers an array of electives for our sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. Courses include:
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7th and 8th Grade Leadership
Designed for 7th and 8th grade students. Focus is on providing experiences to help build character and leadership skills by working collaboratively to plan and organize various activities. Students are responsible for planning numerous assemblies and school-wide events throughout each trimester. This is a fast paced and fun opportunity to learn and apply speaking and presentation skills, as well as script writing. This class meets twice a week.
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“Adulting” 101
"Adulting" 101 - students will learn and practice life skills such as laundry, basic sewing/mending, budgeting, basic cooking/food prep, and more! This class will meet once a week.
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Academic Resource Class
Provides additional time and instructional support for students to maximize their academic success in any content area. Class size is limited to ensure individualized student support is available as needed. This course may be recommended by teachers, or self-selected by students or parents. This class can be taken more than once and may be offered several times a week depending on student interest.
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Band
Students will learn how to play an instrument both individually and in a group setting. Instruments offered include the flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and percussion. It is highly recommended that students have prior band experience, but it is not required. Please note that instruments are not provided, but can be easily rented through Metropolitan Music or Ted Brown Music. This class will meet once a week.
*Please note that this is a year-long elective commitment.
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Board and Card Games
Students will be exposed to a variety of board and card games designed to promote verbal or spatial intelligence. Students will rotate through games to become familiar with them and play with different partners and groups. This class will meet once a week.
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Space Travel and Rocketry​
Explore the history of space travel, from early rockets to Mars exploration, as well as key milestones, technological advancements, and influential missions in space history. Plan a mock mission to Mars, tackling engineering challenges such as spacecraft design and Martian life support systems while blending historical insights with practical problem-solving in space engineering
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Drama
An introduction to theater arts. This class will include theater games as well as individual and ensemble performances that focus on character creation. The goal for this elective is to build confidence as well as acting skills, theater vocabulary, stage presence, and vocal projection and articulation. This class will meet once a week.
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Math Support
Provides additional support for students in their current mathematics course. Provides extra time for assignments and assessments to be completed and individual attention to help students build a stronger foundation for success in their current mathematics courses. This course may be recommended by teachers, or self-selected by students or parents. This class meets once a week.
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Outdoor Sports & Games
Provides opportunities to enjoy a variety of sports and activities. Focus is on building interpersonal communication skills and cooperation among team members. Popular options are kickball, wiffle ball, basketball, and four square.
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Myths & Heros
Students will read and discuss ancient myths and hero stories from around the world. Activities will include reading and watching mythological stories, tracing hero journey stories in favorite modern characters, and writing original natural disaster and hero myths.
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Yearbook
Join the 2024/25 yearbook team! Students will learn the principles and techniques required to create the St. Catherine yearbook—including photography, layout, design, and shooting photos to be used in the book. This class meets once a week.
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Walk! Jog! Run!
Emphasis on walking, jogging, and/or running as a means to improve one's overall health and happiness. This class will meet outdoors. Students must be prepared to be outside even during a typical day in Seattle, i.e. it might be raining and cold! This class can be taken more than once and may be offered several times a week depending on student interest.
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Tiger Media
This elective will offer students the opportunity to use a variety of media to create and publish products. The goal is to create media that celebrates, highlights, and informs about events happening in the St. Catherine community. Each trimester, there will be opportunities to take photographs, research and record podcasts, plan, film, and edit videos, research, write, and design a newspaper, and so much more.
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Yoga
​Aims to promote a lifelong love of exercise and mindfulness. Students will learn poses and postures to develop flexibility, strength, balance, and body awareness.
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