7th Grade

updated 11/20/2025

7th Grade GATE – Fall Highlights

Our 7th grade GATE students began the fall by participating in several team building and STEAM challenges designed to strengthen collaboration, problem solving and communication. These activities helped students reconnect with the engineering design process, practice flexible thinking and build a strong classroom community ready for more complex projects.

Fall STEAM and Team Building Challenges

Students engaged in hands on challenges that required them to work collaboratively, communicate clearly and plan strategically. These tasks encouraged students to test ideas, revise their thinking, listen to one another and develop shared approaches to solving problems. This early work set the tone for a year filled with creativity, exploration and higher level thinking.

NJAGC State Competitions

Many 7th graders chose to participate in this year’s New Jersey Association for Gifted Children statewide competitions, centered around the theme:

The Science and Art of Gifted Education: Where Creativity Meets Curiosity

Students competing in NJAGC are exploring this theme through writing, visual art, research and creative project design. Their work reflects a blend of analytical thinking and artistic expression, highlighting the unique ways gifted learners combine curiosity, creativity and insight. Students are currently planning, drafting and refining their submissions for the spring deadline.

NJCGTP STEAM Machines Rube Goldberg Challenge

Another group of students is working on the NJCGTP STEAM Machines Challenge, modeled after Rube Goldberg inventions. The theme for this year’s challenge is: Design a Machine That Waters a Plant  Students must design a multi step chain reaction machine that completes the simple task of watering a plant in an intentionally complicated and creative way. They are sketching detailed blueprints, experimenting with materials and practicing cause and effect thinking as they test their early ideas. This challenge encourages patience, iterative design, teamwork and imaginative problem solving.

Both groups are deeply engaged in meaningful work that reflects their interests and strengths, and it has been exciting to watch their ideas grow more sophisticated throughout the fall.