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St. Maria Goretti
Middle School Curriculum

During the middle school years, individuals undergo the most rapid and profound moral, physical, social, and personal changes in the human life cycle. Just as they are coping with and adjusting to an erratically growing body, they must also form new social relationships with peers and adults. They face new academic demands that quite often do not coincide with their intellectual development . . . The middle school is the major stage during which young people, while learning the content of the curriculum, also try out new, more adult-like roles and learn to adjust to diverse peers, the opposite sex, and adults in different roles as well as becoming increasingly responsible for their own behavior. Young adolescents are in the process of firming up attitudes and values that will, in the long run, determine their success in high school and beyond, a reality that cannot and should not be ignored.

- adapted from the National Middle School Association

"Every child wants to believe in himself or herself as a successful person; every youngster wants to be liked and respected; every youngster wants physical exercises and freedom to move; and youngsters want life to be just"

-C. Stevenson. Teaching ten to fourteen year olds. White Plains, NY, Longman, 1992. quoted by NMSA

Our Middle School faculty believes that faith formation is entering a very important stage for young adolescents. Therefore, it is with great intention that we model our spiritual beliefs, good decision-making, and the tenets of the Catholic faith.

Furthermore, we seek and support the research that validates our unique approach to Middle School education. As an example, we find that our Middle School program is consistent with the National Middle School Association beliefs that developmentally responsive middle level schools like ours are characterized by:

• a shared vision
• educators committed to young adolescents
• a positive school climate
• an adult advocate for every student
• family and community partnerships
• high expectations for all

Therefore, they provide:

• a curriculum that is challenging, integrative, and exploratory
• varied teaching/learning approaches
• assessment and evaluation that promote learning
• flexible organizational structures
• programs and policies that foster health, safety, and wellness
• comprehensive guidance and support services

(http://www.nmsa.org/services/ressum4.htm)

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Middle School Communication Arts students:

• develop a more sophisticated understanding of the English language through a course combining literature, composition, speaking, and language skills
• delve into a Research project each year
• improve their understanding of the complexities of English grammar and spelling
• explore a variety of classical and contemporary literature
• expand their knowledge of writing forms (essay, poems, short stories)
• read outside of class for pleasure

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Middle School Social Studies students:

• discover connections between people, their cultures, and the events that affect the societies they build
• conduct research and write reports
• work cooperatively in small groups
• explore Ancient Civilizations, the Eastern Hemisphere, the Western Hemisphere, and American History and Government

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Middle School Spanish students:

• will learn the equivalent of first year high school Spanish over 6th, 7th, & 8th grades
• develop an understanding of and appreciation for Spanish language and culture
• acquire and use Spanish vocabulary
• write, speak, and listen to Spanish

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Middle School Religion students:

• plan worship and prayer services
• participate in retreats
• live their faith through service to others

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Middle School Math students cover, in depth, the following pre-high school curricula:

• decimals, percentage & fractions
• ratio & proportion
• equation-solving
• graphing
• topics in geometry
• probability & statistics
• applications of each area of curricula

Please note: Those middle school students (usually 8th Graders) who are academically prepared, as evidenced by outstanding performance in math, are provided an opportunity to study Algebra.

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Middle School Science students: Are engaged in a newly adopted & newly published science curriculum, SciencePlus. It has received a #1 rating by the National Middle School Curriculum Association for Exemplary Curricula. It is a complete, "hands-on," lab-oriented program in which students construct their own understanding of science concepts through a wide variety of explorations & experiments. Content is taught in the context of process, allowing much-improved understanding and retention. Students DO first, and then read and understand. The basic science skills of observation, inference, prediction, measurement, classification, and communication, as well as the advanced skills of model-building, hypothesis formation, and experimentation are used by all students as the noisily and cheerfully practice being scientists! [We get "rave reviews" about this new curriculum resource from our middle school science students!]

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Additional Unique opportunities for SMG Middle School students include:

• Student Government
• Fine Arts electives
• Homework Club
• Reading Buddies with younger students
• Sustained Silent Reading
• Elective Course options include: Advanced Computer Science, Drama, Library Research Methods ("LitBits"), Swing Choir, as well as additional options developed by semester.