8th Grade Curriculm

The Middle School band puts on two major concerts per year and stages other smaller performances for the student body. A variety of styles, including jazz, classical, popular, and Broadway, are showcased. Students learn how to read music, assemble and produce a characteristic tone on their instrument, and develop finger technique, ensemble balance and dynamics. Band develops lifelong skills that increase brainpower and build discipline, and the course offers a team atmosphere in which students make beautiful music with their friends.

A yearlong course for students who seek to develop their vocal and musical skills. Students learn various types of literature, including but not limited to classical, pop, jazz and Broadway. The primary focus of each class is to learn to read music and then develop those skills in a more refined way. Students also learn to match pitch, develop healthy breathing techniques and improve tone quality. There are numerous opportunities for solos within the choral group, and students perform at concerts, assemblies and various school events throughout the year.

The strings course in grades six, seven, and eight encourages and develops lifelong skills such as discipline, teamwork and accountability in a fun environment. The Middle School strings ensemble performs on campus throughout the school year and travels in the spring.

This yearlong elective selection is composed of a semester of design exploration and a quarter each of robotics and programming. In design exploration, the class approaches design as both a process—a mindset plus skills and techniques—and as a product—the production of things and ideas. Students engage in several design projects, moving from idea conception through iteration to user engagement. In robotics, students learn programming and design using LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robots. Computer programming teaches students the basics of programming skills, helping them further develop their problem-solving and collaboration abilities.

Seventh and eighth graders who want to pursue visual art in more depth may take a yearlong study of art. The focus in both courses is on the 2D and 3D studio experience, but art history and field trips to local exhibits are other important components of the curriculum. Studio Art 8 refines students' understanding of creating a composition by developing works that are realistic, symbolic or totally abstract. There is a focus on both observational and imaginative projects, and students explore the more global focus in art and how one’s personal experiences and traditions are expressed visually throughout the world. Students use a variety of techniques for creating sculptural volumes and the illusion of the third dimension on a flat surface. (Studio Art 7 is not a prerequisite for Studio Art 8.)

Every 8^th grade student will have visual art classes. The multi-media approach, which
will include drawing, painting, and sculpture, will also coordinate with the academic
curriculum whenever possible. The program will be process-based, encouraging students
to take creative risks with ideas and materials. Besides making art, students will discuss
concepts through verbal critiques; they will write evaluations of their work and they will
explore the history of what has come before in the world of art. At all levels we will
strive to clarify what art is.

"If to teach is to learn, then to learn is to question.” The topics covered in Holocaust and Civil Rights Studies allow students to learn, to question and to discuss. The lessons from the past, both from the Holocaust and from the Civil Rights Movement, help us frame our questions as we engage in learning from history. 

The opportunity to further develop time-management and independent study skills following the study strategies courses taught in the sixth and seventh grades.