Tuesday, March 31, 2015

GETTING READY FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL

If you missed the Getting Ready for Middle School program last week, check out all the information HERE.

The event was for incoming 6th graders and their parents.

See the curriculum below:




MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM





Students in grades six through eight take classes in mathematics, social studies, language arts, science, physical education, visual arts, music, library skills, technology and health. In addition, most students study Spanish in grades six, seven and eight. 



The comprehensive instructional program seeks to meet students’ academic, social and emotional needs. The curriculum is richly diverse, multifaceted and challenging with a wide range of courses aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and the Common Core State Standards. 



Our language arts program is a literature-based model that involves teaching the traditional disciplines of writing, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and reading through the creative use of faculty-recommended literature. Reading and writing are integrated across the curriculum as a cornerstone of all learning.  Students completing Grade 7 Language Arts demonstrating a high degree of proficiency are eligible to accelerate to a Grade 9 English during their 8th grade year.



The instructional approach to mathematics has students acquiring math skills by using them to solve every day, real-world problems that involve numbers. Students are encouraged to use their creativity to explore math problems and develop solutions by asking questions. Pre-algebra, algebra, and geometry are some of the high school level math courses that are introduced during the middle school math program. Students are required to do a great deal of reading and analysis in our math classes. Exceptionally talented math students enter an accelerated program, which gives them the opportunity to take geometry at Columbia High School in their eighth-grade year. 



Science and Social Studies curricula are aligned with the NJCCCS, and provide students with the bridge between elementary school exposure and the challenges of the high school curriculum.  Science is taught using inquiry-based methods, allowing students to expand their understanding of the world around them.  Students are introduced to the use of Data-Based Questions (DbQs) in Social Studies and begin to deepen their understanding of history from a global perspective.



World language, technology, health, music, and visual arts instruction follow a hands-on approach, where students continually build, create, and analyze as they pursue higher levels of knowledge.  Students gain a greater understanding of what they have learned through collaborative educational experiences with other students in group settings.



Students will take Art 2D, Art 3D, Health and Technology during the course of the three years of middle school. In addition, students elect areas of specialization in their related arts program, selecting from semester long electives ranging from world drumming, to Robotics, to Creative Computing and Design.  Band, Orchestra and Chorus are available to all students all three years of middle school. 



Core subject teachers are assigned to teams in each grade and work together to maximize learning and achievement through interdisciplinary planning, led by an experienced team leader teacher, and working closely with the school's administration.  

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