The New School of Lancaster

Middle School

Age Range: Ages 12 to 14 years (Grades 7 & 8)
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Class Days: Monday – Friday

Our middle school program empowers students to become active, self-motivated participants in their classrooms, families, and communities. Students follow a challenging academic program… respect others… learn to be problem-solvers… utilize effective research strategies… cultivate a positive self-image… determine their own community involvement… keep commitments… become critical thinkers… prepare for the transition to high school.

Middle School Curriculum

Our classrooms are collaborative communities that foster order, respect, and a child’s innate desire to learn. Multi-age classrooms allow students to work together and learn from each other while our teaching method respects individual differences and learning styles.  Specially designed materials lead from concrete experience to abstract knowledge and our integrated approach to learning encourages universal thinking.

The sections below explain more about our middle school program.  Learn more about what’s going on by visiting the class website.

Practical Life Language Mathematics Cultural Studies Science The Arts Physical Education Homework
In addition to daily time for individual classroom jobs and responsibilities, the class schedule includes a unique weekly Community Lab. Students take on service learning projects in our local community, go on local field trips, cook and enjoy meals together, work on special projects, and sometimes just play. Each year the students work closely with the teachers to plan the end-of-the-year overnight trip.

The middle school program also includes an advisory time during which we discuss, learn, and reflect upon ideas, issues and techniques that will help us develop as better learners and people. For example, personal organization and time management become valuable practical life skills at this age; teachers help students find the styles and practices that work best for each person.
The Language Arts curriculum is designed to help students develop as thoughtful, organized writers. Clarity of writing and speaking are strengthened though work in all subject areas and through the completion of a variety of projects and assignments. Additionally, we encourage students to be critical thinkers and analytical readers.

Students read a wide variety of books as part of their Literature Studies. Weekly journal entries encourage students to analyze and present their ideas about the world around them. Vocabulary lessons continue. Every student participates in the writing of the school newspaper, through which style, grammar and composition lessons are reinforced. Our Voices time allows students to practice public speaking in a variety of formats, from expository presentations to sharing memorized poems.

Foreign language is an important part of our overall language program. Middle School students participate in four hours of Spanish instruction each week. Our students take delight in singing, speaking, listening, reciting, conversing, and learning about Spanish cultures worldwide. Both speaking and writing in Spanish are an integral part of the students' learning. As in English, students learn to write for many purposes: to answer questions, to tell stories, to write letters and to translate from one language to the other.
By the middle school level, most students are studying at the Algebra I level. However, the program is flexible and adaptable to meet individual students’ needs. Students participate in small group lessons and then work independently to complete their weekly contracts.
At the middle school level, students follow a two year course of study in history of humans, world history, US history, geography, and cultures.
At the middle school level, students follow a two year course of study in the sciences. One year includes primarily Earth and life sciences while the second year focus is on physical science and chemistry. Students do science in a variety of ways, participating in lessons, hands-on activities and labs. Students scrutinize demonstrations, read from texts and other sources, develop hypotheses, conduct experiments, respond critically to questions, solve problems, build models, analyze data, and discuss concepts and ideas.
Creative work is woven into the life of all the classes. The emphasis is not on "self-expression" but on "self-realization.” We enrich the classroom environments with fine painting, good music, visiting artists and special programs so that creative energy may be taken from the air. We also assume that to create is essentially to realize, from what is known and understood, a new idea or a new form: that is, an outward expression of interior development. The child's own creative energy is used everywhere in the program as he discovers and teaches himself. Painting, studying music, composing, writing stories all begin in the primary class. In an environment that is ordered, beautiful, and rich in possibilities, the child acquires something to paint about, dance about, and compose about.

Middle school students undertake larger projects as part of their Fine Arts curriculum. This includes working with our Art Teacher, sophisticated exposure to art history, and a variety of mediums (paint, clay, paper, textiles and color).

Students also participate in weekly lessons with a Music Teacher. The Music Teacher who works with these older children also meets once a week with children in our primary afternoon program. Children move from learning about rhythm and melody in the early years to reading and composing music as well as singing and basic instrumental performance. In the elementary and middle school years students have many opportunities to perform for their classmates as well as the larger community.
Physical Education activities for middle school students include outdoor and indoor physical education games, teamwork and individual skill development. As the children grow older, we integrate their need for physical education with our practical life goal of community integration.
By middle school, students will be doing homework on a nightly basis. Homework is a continuation of the work and projects done at school.