Program overview
The Middle School has identified curriculum goals considered essential to the learning process and development of 10- to 14-year-olds. These goals are the source from which specific subject-based skills flow.
In their middle school courses, students in Grades 5-8 engage in the process of meeting the essential curricular goals. Middle school students strive to be independent learners and acquire a range of thinking skills, comprehension, interpretation, extrapolation and synthesis. They learn to read for comprehension and appreciate a variety of reading materials. They begin to understand their place in history. Middle school students apply mathematical skills and concepts to relevant academic and real-life situations and apply scientific principles, skills and attitudes to problem-solving. They acquire and use reading, writing and speaking skills in another language. Middle School students are encouraged to recognize the need for a healthy body and mind, and to express their creative potential through the arts.
The Middle School believes it is essential for students to make connections and see relationships among various subject areas as well as in the outside world. They are encouraged to use appropriate study skills to organize projects and themselves. They learn to locate and research information using a variety of means and to use technology as a tool to enhance the acquisition, analysis, communication and presentation of information.
Middle School students aim to communicate confidently and effectively verbally, in writing and through creative media. In addition, they are prompted to be effective listeners.
The Middle School fosters adaptability and responsible functioning within a community. Students are guided in the appropriate use of cooperative and competitive behaviors. They are taught to value diversity and are guided in making responsible and informed decisions. Finally, Middle School students are encouraged to acknowledge other points of view and respond in an open-minded way.
Field studies
The Middle School offers field study experiences appropriate to the School's curriculum and to the students' developmental needs. These trips make the best use of the School's unique location and provide outstanding learning experiences that are an integral part of the School's curriculum.
As the trips are part of the regular school curriculum, participation is expected and parents are asked to make every effort to schedule family holidays on dates that will not conflict.
Conferences and grade reports
The Middle School operates on a semester basis, providing formal grade reports at each half-year point (January and June). The fall and spring parent conferences are a time for check-ins, with a focus on development and growth. Students in Grade 8 will participate in student-led parent conferences as a culmination of their middle school experience and with a focus on transition into high school.
The yearly academic reporting cycle in the Middle School:
- October/November: Fall parent conferences
- January: First semester report card
- February: Spring parent conferences
- June: Grade 8 student-led parent conferences
- June: End-of-year report card