Middle School
To guide your daughters through their classes, the faculty have designed engaging and dynamic courses that are experiential, integrated, and offer community-based learning opportunities. Girls will conduct inquiry-based experiments, solve mathematical problems, read literature, write stories, read primary sources, and construct their understanding of the concepts being taught. They will work collaboratively in teams to prepare for the adult world where problem-solving is rarely a solitary experience. They will explore new ways of learning through tinkering stations that encourage risk taking to Intersession cross-graded classes that they choose in order to discover the joys of learning without the weight of evaluations. They will spend weeks at the Butler Campus during Tinkering Week and the Archaeological Dig discovering experiential, integrated learning at its best. In addition, they will expand their repertoire of skills through Study Skills in Fifth Grade and the systematic development of reading, writing, public speaking, and analytical thinking skills through all of their classes. In the arts, they will learn new expressive languages to share their interpretation of their experiences. In Physical Education and Health, they will learn to care for and strengthen their bodies to be able to sustain and enjoy the complex lives that they lead.
In addition to the rich, full curriculum in classes, the girls will experience other opportunities for growth through advisory, a critical aspect of our program. In small groups, with the guidance of a teacher, girls learn to grapple with issues that are typical during these years of tremendous growth, how to be a good friend, how to resolve conflicts, what to do to organize and enjoy activities in a limited amount of time, how to be a more efficient and effective student, and finally how to be a productive citizen who contributes to the community. Assembly programming and community-based learning experiences offer opportunities for the girls to broaden their thinking and discover ways to contribute to the school, local, or global community. Our girls leave us eager to use their energy and ideas to make a positive impact on the world.
