Middle School Activities

All middle school students participate in a competitive Wednesday afternoon Intramural Program. Each week, red and blue teams play each other in various sports, games, and fun events to earn points for their team. A field day in the spring is the culmination of the year's intramural events, and the winning team, red or blue, will be announced at the end-of-year Celebration Ceremony.

EXPLORATORY ACTIVITIES

Built into the middle school schedule is an exploratory period which meets twice a week--on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have designed the exploratory program to give students the opportunity to pursue other areas of interest beyond the regular curriculum. The program provides the opportunity for students to meet with and relate to other students and teachers with similar interests.

These boys enjoy warming up before their "running" exploratory.

In most cases, an exploratory involves little to no outside work for students. All exploratory options are designed to be creative, stimulating, and enriching opportunities. In a few cases, exploratories do require extra work beyond the school day, and are intended for students who need or desire an even greater challenge. These options may have a competitive component with local, regional, state, or even national contests.

Students learn about the exploratory options at the beginning of the school year and get to list their preferences. Every effort is made to place students in an exploratory of their choice, and students participate in that exploratory for the entire year. In recent years our options have included: biking, film as literature, Odyssey of the Mind, Battle of the Books, photography, yarn craft, strategy games, yoga, sports history and management, and drama.

Sixth graders performing at the School's Opening Convocation.

Sixth graders prepare meals and serve the homeless at Women's and Children's Shelter.

Seventh-grade students actively participate in monthly visits to the Givens Estates Retirement Community where they form warm relationships with the elderly. Prior to their visits, students design and create seasonal activities that involve the Givens residents. These service projects seek to help seventh graders gain a better understanding of what it means to be aged and to provide youthful support to a retired community in the area.

Eighth grade service projects vary from year to year. They participate in a fall service project during the middle school overnight. Examples of past projects include building trails, restoring a revolutionary/Civil War cemetery, and raking leaves for the elderly. They also assist with campus recycling and the Special Olympics program in the spring.