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Seventh Grade

McKenna Purdy

McKenna Purdy

5-8 Grade Science Seventh Grade Homeroom

McKenna Purdy

McKenna Purdy

5-8 Grade Science Seventh Grade Homeroom

McKenna Purdy is St. James School’s Fifth-Eighth Grade Science teacher and the Seventh Grade Homeroom teacher. She graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science.

Prior to joining St. James School, she was an educational summer camp instructor and a Marine Science educator at Mission Bay in San Diego for two years.

Miss Purdy chose education because of her love of working with young people. As the daughter of a Catholic high school educator, Miss Purdy witnessed her dad’s love of working in a Catholic environment. She especially loves our tight knit and supportive community.

Paul Agnew

Paul Agnew

Sixth Grade and Junior High Religion

Paul Agnew

Paul Agnew

Sixth Grade and Junior High Religion

Mr. Agnew holds a California Clear Credential in K-12 Math and received his Masters in Educational Administration from Santa Clara University in 1997. He has been an educator for 39 years with 37 of those years in Catholic schools and two as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone.

Mr. Agnew’s two children attended St. James School. He was drawn to Catholic education for his love of teaching and the joy of seeing someone understand a new concept for the first time.

Mr. Agnew is our Junior High Religion teacher.

Janet Whitmore

Janet Whitmore

Eighth Grade and Junior High English-Language Arts

Janet Whitmore

Janet Whitmore

Eighth Grade and Junior High English-Language Arts

Janet Whitmore received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from UC Santa Barbara in 1984. She has been in education for 27 years as an instructional aide, substitute teacher, and teacher. She currently teaches Junior High English Language Arts and is the Eighth Grade Homeroom teacher. Mrs. Whitmore chose Catholic education because she wanted to help others. Her two boys went to St. James School and, in her words, she “never left”.

Jack Dapkewicz

Jack Dapkewicz

Junior High Math and Eighth Grade U.S. History

Jack Dapkewicz

Jack Dapkewicz

Junior High Math and Eighth Grade U.S. History

Jack Dapkewicz received his Associates Degree from Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, his Bachelor of Science degree from UC Riverside, and his Administrative Credential from Sacramento State University.

Mr. Dapkewicz, also known as “Mr. Dap”, has 20 plus years in education as a teacher, math specialist, and vice principal. He is St. James School’s Junior High Math teacher. Mr. Dap has three children and enjoys swimming, running, and biking. Teaching is a second career for him. He started out of college as an investment banker, but was drawn to teaching. Interestingly, Mr. Dap says he was “a poor math student who had to work harder than most.” This experience gives him insight into and compassion for those learners who also struggle. Catholic education is his third career and he loves it!

Shelly Dirksen

Shelly Dirksen

Educational Academic Specialist

Shelly Dirksen

Shelly Dirksen

Educational Academic Specialist

Shelly Dirksen received her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a Minor in Reading Instruction from Dordt University, Sioux Center, Iowa in 2001. She has been in education for 23 years serving as a Special Education paraeducator, teacher, reading and writing tutor, substitute teacher, and Children’s Ministry Director grades TK-12 for Christ Church in Davis. Mrs. Dirksen is our Education Achievement Specialist (EAS), a position she has held for 3 and a half years. She is currently working toward her California Clear Teaching Credential.

Mrs. Dirksen has always known her skill set was geared toward teaching and working with children. She loves to help students reach their goals and realize how capable they truly are. She feels it is a true privilege to participate in the moment a child learns something new.

St. James is Mrs. Dirksen’s first experience teaching at a Catholic school. She loves Catholic education and finds it a joy to combine her two loves: faith and teaching.

Kari Fisher

Kari Fisher

School Counselor

Kari Fisher

Kari Fisher

School Counselor

Kari Fisher received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology from UC Davis in 1995 and her Masters in Counseling from UC Davis in 2002. She has over 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist working in private practice, community, and school settings. She has additional training in emotionally focused therapy, trauma therapy, and therapies with children and families.

Mrs. Fisher is in her first year as our School Counselor. She chose Catholic education because her son attended St. James and she fell in love with the community as a parent. She has always loved working with children as a psychotherapist and feels blessed to be able to combine her work with a community she holds great fondness for.

Our curriculum is driven by the Diocesan Standards which align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

Religion

The curriculum focuses on a brief introduction to the New Testament’s content and context as well as the study of Church History from Pentecost to the Reformation. This is the Year One curriculum for Saint James Parish’s Confirmation Preparation program.

In addition, the curriculum strives to develop each student’s spiritual growth and understanding of his/her Catholic Faith through the practice of Church traditions such as our Annual Saint Francis Mass in October. We also practice our discipleship through acts of social justice and compassion toward others. We work to enlarge each student’s awareness of his/her national and global communities by having discussions of current events, participating in social justice projects, and writing daily reflections in our gratitude journals.

In following the teaching of Jesus Christ, Seventh Grade students are asked to share their gifts and talents by performing at least seven community service hours per trimester.

English - Language Arts

The spelling class is focused on finding and using common Latin and Greek Roots to understand the meaning and origin of familiar English words.

In Literature class, students use their anthologies, books, and articles to study various genres of literature including: the novel, the epic story, drama, and non-fiction. Class novels include: The Outsiders, I am Malala, The Odyssey (Chapters 9-12).

Seventh grade’s writing and grammar curriculum builds upon the writing and grammar foundations introduced in Sixth Grade. Students continue to practice and develop various writing styles such as persuasive argument, expository essays and summaries, personal and story narratives, poetry forms, and research reports with citations and formal bibliographies. The Step Up to Writing program is used with an emphasis on development and extension of skills. Conventions of language, MLA formatting, and language mechanics continue to be practiced and perfected.

While still covering the Parts of Speech, grammar instruction becomes more in depth and complex.

Mathematics

St. James math programs teach the California Common Core Math Standards (CCCSS). The CCCSS for Math for these 5-8 grades focuses on five main areas with continued progress in complexity and depth since research shows mastery is best developed over time. Through this three-year process, which spirals material from concrete to abstract concepts, students gain greater in-depth knowledge and are better able to apply Mathematical understanding to real-world situations. Specifically, for Grade 7 Math,the five main areas are:

Ratios and Proportional Relationships

  • Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems

The Number System

  • Apply and extend previous understandings of operations with fractions to add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational numbers.

Expressions and Equations 

  • Use properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions
  • Solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations.

Geometry

  • Draw, construct and describe geometrical figures and describe the relationship between them.
  • Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area and volume.

Statistics and Probability

  • Use random sampling to draw inferences about a population.
  • Draw informal comparative inferences about two populations.
  • Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models.

In addition, St. James School follows the California Common Core Math Practices:

  1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
  2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
  3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
  4. Model with mathematics.
  5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
  6. Attend to precision.
  7. Look for and make use of structure.
  8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

History

Curriculum covers Ancient Civilizations (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Chinese, African, and others). The emphasis is on comparing and contrasting the civilizations, as well as developing critical thinking skills regarding what made civilization prosper.

Science

St. James School educates the whole child. Therefore, Seventh Graders also attend classes in Music, PE, Art, and Library.