Extracurriculars
In the Middle School, we offer a multitude of after-school activities that encourage students to try new things and push beyond their comfort zones.
Athletics
With over 15 different sports offerings at the Middle School level, our Middle School athletics program is an opportunity for sixth through eighth graders to refine their sports skills, compete at a high level, develop passions, and try new things, all while having a whole lot of fun! Experienced coaches, in most cases Middle School classroom teachers, lead our teams.
We want to encourage widespread involvement and foster a spirit of fun, so all of our sixth-grade sports teams are no-cut and participation is very high. Over 95% of Middle School students participate in at least one sport at Pace, and over 58% participate in two or more sports.
. By the time students reach the seventh and eighth grades, about half of our athletic teams do have cuts, while the others remain open to all interested student athletes.
Practices and games are typically held from 3 to 5 p.m., with occasional weekend games. We offer round-trip transportation to practices and games, whether they take place at our satellite sports complex or at an area school. A comprehensive list of sports offered is available on our Athletics page. Rounding out our athletic offerings are club teams, including mountain biking and water polo.
Community Engagement
The Middle School Community Engagement Parents Board meets as needed with leaders in the Middle School and the Isdell Center for Global Leadership to help organize service-learning opportunities for students and families.
Its goals are to provide a broad range of service opportunities that allow students to practice good environmental stewardship and understand the dignity and worth of all people. While Pace Middle Schoolers are called to fulfill five hours of service each year, we hope to instill a lifelong love for serving others that follows them to the Upper School and beyond.
Late Knight
Every afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m., students on campus but not participating in organized after-school activities report to the Middle School, where they have time to complete homework and read or play games with fellow Middle Schoolers in a supervised environment.
Mathcounts
Middle School students have the opportunity to work with parents and other Middle School students to prepare for the annual Mathcounts competition held in February. Organized by Middle School parents and other interested faculty, the Mathcounts group meets on a weekly basis.
MidKnight Times
The staff of the Middle School newspaper, the MidKnight Times, meets weekly with their faculty sponsors to write stories, design page layouts, take photos and learn about the exciting world of producing a news publication.
Model UN
Our growing Middle School Model United Nations (MUN) program welcomes seventh and eighth graders to participate in workshops, MUN events at area universities, and research and discussion groups. Along with faculty sponsors, Upper School MUN student leaders act as mentors to Middle School students and assist them in learning about global topics, investigating countries around the world, practicing public speaking, writing position papers and proposing action items to form the basis of a UN resolution—the skills student diplomats use during a United Nations simulation. MUN stresses collaboration, negotiation skills, diplomacy and research.
Robotics Team
The Middle School robotics team, the RoboKnights, is open to interested sixth, seventh and eighth graders and meets during the second-quarter Discovery period for seventh and eighth graders or after school for sixth graders.
Theatre
The Middle School drama department stages two mainstage productions annually. Rehearsals take place after school with performances in the evenings. Students appear on stage, run lights and sound equipment, serve on the backstage crew, try their hands as makeup artists, and discover the joys and challenges of live performance. Students participating in theatre are usually also able to participate in athletics.