Middle School

The Middle School years are a time of rapid change as students enter adolescence. Making meaning of relationships with peers and adults and looking for more challenges in academic pursuits are only some of the developmental changes that become increasingly important for our students. The Middle School program supports their desire for autonomy with opportunities for independent work across the curriculum. The social needs of young adolescents are responded to with flexible groupings that include both grade-level and mixed-grade meeting opportunities. With a low student-teacher ratio and the assignment of a teacher-advisor to each student, the Middle School provides personal attention and supportive relationships with caring adults.

Essential to our work with middle school students is the school’s mission to teach children to be active stewards of the urban and natural environments and to embed in that work attention to skills our children need to meet the challenges of 21st-Century learning. Students need to be flexible learners who are skilled in working collaboratively and cooperatively, who are facile in finding and vetting information, and using and creating information ethically and responsibly.

The thematic curriculum in the Middle School focuses on the complexities of citizenship in a global community by looking at intercultural awareness through a study of Africa in sixth grade, the interdependence of communities through a study of Europe and the Americas in seventh grade, and the challenges and responsibilities of American citizenship in a global context in eighth grade (beginning in the 2010-2011 academic year). There are many opportunities for extended project time, integrating science, theme, language arts, and mathematics in more depth.The integration of media literacy skills is an integral part of the curriculum. Extended morning meeting times and dialogue circles promote our affective curricular goals.

For a period of three and a half weeks in late winter, Middle School students choose from a variety of mini-course offerings that reflect their interests, such as anthropology, current events, dissection, environmental action, and origami. Students also work on a project intensively, such as performing a Shakespeare play or producing a poetry anthology. Some mini-courses are required, such as "Decisions," in which students learn about nutrition, body image, puberty, sex, and relationships. All students also participate in a book group of their choosing. Classes are led by Middle School teachers, as well as other staff members, parents, alumni, and students. This is often a time when we can collaborate with a city institution, as we did with the National Constitution Center and Rosenbach Museum and Library to produce an online Benjamin Franklin exhibit.

The Middle School at The Philadelphia School is divided into two sections: Middle School B (sixth grade) and Middle School A (seventh and eighth grades).

Middle School B
Sixth grade marks an important transition in a student’s academic and social growth. Students are now increasingly able to work with abstractions and to appreciate differing perspectives. Socially, this is a time when students reevaluate friendships and challenge assumptions about the world around them. Middle School B offers a safe place to explore the fundamental questions “Who am I?” and “What Makes Me Who I Am?” The sixth grade program puts strong emphasis on developing important 21st-Century skills, including problem solving, critical thinking, life and career skills, innovation, and creativity. Advisors work closely with students as facilitators of their learning.

Middle School A
The seventh and eighth grades constitute Middle School A, the oldest group at The Philadelphia School. Middle School A students provide leadership in a many areas, including serving as Student Council, planning activities for our spring Earth Day celebration, and leading our Family Groups and Family Group Circles. In addition, eighth graders organize and implement weekly hot dog sales to raise funds for the yearbook, which they design and produce each year. Advisory groupings in Middle School A combine seventh and eighth graders with two advisors, a seventh-grade teacher and an eighth-grade teacher, ensuring that each student is well known by trusted adults over this two-year period.

     
   
   
   
   

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