Grades 5 through 8 (Units C & D) comprise our middle school and junior high.
Focus in these grades is on competency and creative thinking. Building on the foundation of grades K-4, teachers help students in grades 5-8 transition to more advanced, content-rich materials. Expanding minds, applying knowledge, and challenging students to look at contemporary issues with regard to morals and values are hallmarks of our middle school and junior high program.
Students write across science labs, stories, poetry and research projects; writers are articulate, confident and able to express themselves in a variety of genres, developing arguments and supporting their own “voice”. Math curriculum provides further differentiation, and our young scientists continue to study physical sciences through experimentation, lab work and text.
A student in middle school or junior high may be…
- creating a roller coaster model to understand physics;
- debating U.S. government through current events and politics;
- finding creative solutions for local problems (i.e. clean water);
- designing a mask to understand African and Egyptian culture;
- writing a script to perform with classmates at the end of eighth grade.
Students hone executive functioning skills: time management and self-study. Having younger “buddies”, small teacher-student ratios and our Unit System build lasting, positive relationships. As this is also a time of enhanced social consciousness, we address personal health, bullying and cyber awareness. Teachers, resource specialists and parents continue collaboration on the greater academic challenges that come with transition to high school.
Learn more about Unit C at St. A's here >
Learn more about Unit D at St. A's here >