7th Grade

updated 06/15/2026

7th Grade GATE – Spring 2026 Highlights

Our 7th Grade GATE students had a spring filled with leadership, creativity, collaboration, and design thinking!

Peer Leadership in Study Skills
To close out the third marking period, students stepped into leadership roles during Study Skills by working alongside our 6th Grade students to facilitate creative thinking activities. Seventh graders led rebus puzzles and "Stories with Holes," encouraging the 6th grade students to think critically, ask thoughtful questions, and look at problems from different perspectives. Students enjoyed working together during these challenges while strengthening their logic, reasoning, and problem-solving skills along the way. 

Game Design and Innovation
Our final unit of the spring focused on Game Design and Innovation. Students explored what makes games fun and  engaging. . Students worked to create their own original games, considering elements such as game objectives, rules and procedures, strategy, player interaction, and challenges and rewards.

After designing their games, students had the opportunity to test them out with our 2nd and 3rd Grade GATE students. This gave our 7th graders a chance to see their games in action, receive feedback from younger students, and think about ways they could improve their designs.

Student-created games included:  

Memory Challenge Game that added a creative twist with special action cards and surprises to keep players engaged.

An Imposter Strategy Game inspired by deduction-style games. Players used clues, communication, and clues to determine the mystery role and figure out who the imposter was.

Monopoly-inspired Adventure Game that combined elements of classic board games with their own creative ideas. The game included player lives, a shop system, strategy cards, and opportunities for players to make choices that impacted the outcome of the game.

Our younger students loved having the chance to test the games, and our 7th graders learned that designing a successful game takes creativity, problem-solving, flexibility, and feedback from others.

Annual Sleep Out
Our 7th Grade GATE students also continued their leadership efforts by helping with our Annual Sleep Out, learning about human impact, advocacy, and the importance of understanding challenges faced by others while using teamwork and leadership skills to support an event focused on awareness and making a difference.  This year we raised almost $16,000 for Covenant House! 

The First Annual Gifty Awards
We ended the spring with our First Annual Gifty Awards, created by Mrs. Ganley to celebrate each student's unique gifts, strengths, and talents. Every student received a personalized award recognizing what makes them special as a learner and member of the GATE community.

Thank you for a year of leadership, creativity, and problem-solving. I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing our students continue to grow as leaders and innovators next year!