St. Mark’s Junior High: 7th-8th Grade

St. Mark’s Lutheran Junior High serves students in the 7th through 8th grades. The average class size is 25 students with one full-time teacher in each classroom. There are always three classes of each Junior High grade level.

Junior High At A Glance

  • The St. Mark’s 7th and 8th grade students are on an eight-period daily class rotation. Continuing from Middle School, this schedule and curriculum encourage the development of personal responsibility, social intelligence, time management, and leadership skills.
  • Core Subjects: Algebra, Geometry, Life Science, Physical Science, World History, American History, English (writing, grammar, spelling, and vocabulary), and Literature (reading and writing).
  • To equip students with a well-rounded education, specialized instruction is provided for the 7th and 8th grade students in these areas: Art, Computer, Foreign Language – Spanish, Music, Physical Education/Health, and Religion.
  • Junior High students participate in a weekly non-graded Activity Period where they can explore new skills and hobbies in areas such as: Badminton, Card Making, Chess, Graphic Design, Journalism, Origami, Papier-mâché, Photography, Ultimate Frisbee, and more.
  • Each of the Junior High classes participate in exploratory experiences such as Leadership classes with Principal Gerardo, Community Service hours for 8th graders, and off-campus field trips such as the Museum of Tolerance.
  • St. Mark’s offers numerous extracurricular programs for its Junior High students: Band, Basketball, Cross Country, Cyber Patriots, Drama Club, Flag Football, Handbell Choir, L.E.A.D., Praise Band, SML Broadcast Podcast, Student Council, Track and Field, Volleyball, and Yearbook.
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Curriculum Overview

St. Mark's strong, standards-based Junior High curriculum provides students with an extensive breadth of knowledge to ensure success in higher education. As a community of life-long learners, we hold high expectations for all our 7th and 8th grade students. The rigorous curriculum encourages students to develop critical thinking skills and depth of knowledge and character.

The curriculum and activities at St. Mark's span a wide variety of subjects for students to experience. St. Mark's Lutheran School's philosophy incorporates the belief that each person is a unique individual with God-given interests and abilities. By exposing students to a multitude of experiences, students can develop their talents, find areas in which to be successful, and develop new interests. We truly believe that EVERY child has the potential for greatness!

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Innovative Science Program – Amplify Science!

This schoolwide Science curriculum will continue to foster our mission of developing St. Mark's students to be lifelong learners, complex thinkers, and effective communicators. Amplify Science is a collaboration between the curriculum experts at the University of California Berkley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the instructional technology experts at Amplify. Amplify Science was built to address 100% of the Next Generation Science Standards.

In each Amplify Science unit, from Kindergarten to 8th grade, students are asked to inhabit the role of a scientist or engineer in order to investigate a real-world problem. These problems provide relevant, 21st century contexts through which students will investigate different scientific phenomena. Once the problem context is clear, students collect evidence from multiple sources and through a variety of modalities. They move back and forth from first-hand investigation to second-hand analysis and synthesis, formulating an increasingly complex explanatory capacity for the problem at hand.

7th Grade Five-Day Catalina Trip

The 7th graders travel to Howlands Landing, located on Catalina Island, for a five-day, four-night outdoor education adventure. They participate in activities such as kayaking, snorkeling (both day and night), hiking, team building, and gardening and composting. These activities promote leadership skills, environmental education, and sustainability, combined with learning about marine biology and the history of Catalina Island.

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8th Grade Ten-Day East Coast Trip

The culminating field trip for St. Mark’s 8th graders is a ten-day, nine-night trip to the East Coast. Traveling by plane, the students arrive in Virginia where they explore Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and tour Jefferson’s home Monticello. From there, the 8th graders travel by bus to the nation’s capital where they have exclusive access to the Smithsonian Museums, Arlington Cemetery, Washington Cathedral, all the monuments, and the Capitol building itself. After D.C., the students arrive in Pennsylvania to visit Gettysburg, Amish Country, and the Hershey’s store. The final leg of the trip is in New York, as the students see the Freedom Tower, 9-11 Memorial, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, United Nations, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and end the adventure with a Broadway show.