Overview of the Middle School Curriculum

St. Michael’s offers children in grades 6-8 a dynamic academic climate safe from many of the temptations and dangers that adolescents frequently face. Our students progress confidently to high school with a firm foundation of knowledge, self-discipline, and personal integrity.

The Middle School curriculum includes daily classes in English, math, social studies, and science, as well as daily Latin instruction beginning in seventh grade and Spanish instruction two to three times a week. The curriculum also includes enrichment classes in art, music, religion, physical education, and computers (sixth grade only). Children typically rotate to different classrooms and teachers for each subject. Students, however, are grouped into three heterogeneous cohorts with whom they travel to each class, with the exception of math, which is grouped according to ability.

Each day begins and ends in a student’s homeroom, where his or her faculty advisor reviews assignments and upcoming events, and provides general guidance. Advisors help students negotiate the academic, social, and emotional hurdles of middle school life. During weekly Advisor time, students examine study skills, including textbook use, test preparation, time management, and organization, as well as peer interaction and bullying. Advisor time also allows an opportunity for homeroom bonding—and just plain fun.

Our students love the perks of middle-school life, including:

• Student Council for grades 6-8

• Middle School dances four times a year

• weekly elective courses, from Survival Cooking to African Drumming to Power Walking

• after-school team sports

• lockers!

• trips to the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Colorado in sixth grade, 
  Catalina Island in seventh grade, and Washington, D.C., in eighth grade

Link to:  English / Language Arts • Math • Social Studies • Science • Foreign Languages • Enrichment