About the Homeroom Teacher
As seventh grade homeroom teacher, I find new ways each day to be inspired and amazed by my middle school students. I am a Seattle native who attended Christ the King and then later graduated from Holy Names Academy. Both my undergraduate and post-graduate work were completed at the University of Washington. This is my 20th year of teaching, both in Washington and California, with the majority of those years being in the middle school grades. I believe firmly in Catholic education and have two grown children who flourished in their Catholic education. I have been teaching at CKS since 2021 and feel blessed to be part of this special community.
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is grounded in the knowledge that middle school is a period of rapid intellectual, emotional, and social growth that requires a balance of structure and independence. Because students at this age thrive on relevance and connection, I am deeply committed to continuously improving and evolving my curriculum to ensure it remains engaging, and dynamic. By pairing adaptive instruction and diverse activities with a supportive classroom environment, I aim to empower students to take ownership of their education and navigate their changing worlds with confidence. I believe my role as a teacher is not just to deliver content, but to spark curiosity and cultivate the critical thinking skills necessary to transform middle schoolers into lifelong learners.
I aim to empower students to take ownership of their education and navigate their changing worlds with confidence.
Wendy Bevilacqua
Curriculum Overview
ELA
Seventh grade ELA is novel based and focuses on critical thinking and literary analysis. In addition, students have many opportunities to develop, practice, and elevate their public speaking skills. There is also a strong advancement of narrative, informational, and argumentative writing techniques.
History
Students continue World History in seventh grade with a study of Medieval China, Japan, and Europe as well as a look at the early Americas. They then round out the year with a comprehensive unit on Washington State history. Students experience these units through engaging projects and simulations.
Science
At CKS science is hands-on. Students read and research, but also design and perform experiments. There is a strong emphasis on analyzing research and experimental data, drawing conclusions from that information, and defending your reasoning.
Students study two subjects each year. In seventh grade, students study physics and cell biology. In physics, they learn about how forces and energy interact with objects to make them move and make them stop. In cell biology, we’ll study how cells are the smallest units of all living things, and how larger organisms are made up of layers of increasing complexity.
Students also embark on a three day ecology camp at YMCA Camp Seymour on the Olympic Peninsula to explore animals and habitats up close and engage in bonding and team-building.
Religion
Seventh grade religion walks students through a path of missionary discipleship. It provides a framework for students to encounter God in the lives of their neighbors on the margins, gain awareness of injustices, and then reflect and carry out a response that is rooted in God’s mission.
Math
Pre-Algebra: Students are introduced to and study concepts involving Pre-algebra. This course explores expressions, solving equations and inequalities, and linear functions with a little more depth.
Algebra: Students that worked through Pre-Algebra as a 6th grader will take Algebra 1 as a 7th grader. They expand their knowledge on many of the concepts from Pre-Algebra such as solving equations and working with linear equations. In addition to this, students gain more depth in graphing and working with polynomials and quadratic functions.
Highlights
- Camp Seymour. Seventh graders look forward to attending Camp Seymour, an overnight outdoor environmental education camp located in Gig Harbor, where students learn about ecology and develop team building skills.
- Washington State History Museum. As part of the history curriculum students take a field trip to experience the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma and deepen their understanding of our state’s past and present.
- Service Immersion Experiences. Students grow in their awareness of how we are called to respond to those on the margins and have profound and moving opportunities to interact with and help serve those in need.
