Students in English 6 will delve into classic works of literature, beginning with Greek myths that lead into abridged versions of Homer's epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey. In addition, the students will engage with literature in a variety of ways, through poetry, plays, short stories, and novels. Homer, Shakespeare, Twain, Dickinson, Wordsworth, and Hughes are the chief authors and poets of the works these students will encounter in sixth grade. Sixth graders are encouraged to identify general themes in each piece of literature. These identifiable themes will then allow students to see how classic works wrestle with enduring, humane questions that have lasted throughout the ages (Is war moral? What is our duty, if any, to each other?). Daily grammar practices with an introduction to sen, writing essays, engaging in civil group discussions, and annotating are all components of the sixth grade skills that students will develop.

In English 7 students will be encountering the works of poets and authors such as Jack London, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edmond Rostand. Students will think and create expressions of their ideas in reaction and in conversation with the novels, short stories, plays, and poems. They will relate these works to our shared human experience. This will be completed through the creative expression of their ideas in paragraphs, essays, and oral arguments. An emphasis on vocabulary and daily grammar with further development of sentence diagramming skills will help build a foundation from which students will be able to share their ideas.

English 8 serves as the capstone of the Middle School English curriculum and is the launching point for our students to engage in their classical high school English class. In this course we tackle difficult texts from Russian authors like Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy. Students will discover the meaning behind the modern allegory Animal Farm by George Orwell. Students will read the Gothic novel Frankenstein and wrestle with questions of our humanity. In studying Romeo and Juliet students will tackle the metaphoric language of Shakespeare and engage with themes of honor, independence, and love. In the spring students read To Kill a Mockingbird which coincides well with their civil rights unit in History 8. Throughout the year students are refining their skills with daily grammar practice, vocabulary, paragraph writing, and literary analysis essays.

In this course we explore the most crucial inheritances of Western Civilization, focusing especially on the Greeks and the Romans. After studying the history and development of these societies, we will examine the impact that they had on the modern world through the Enlightenment and foundation of the United States of America. Students develop and use the same skills and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change.

This course focuses on the period of early exploration of North America prior to 1492 up through the period of Reconstruction following the American Civil War, with particular emphasis placed on the foundations and principles of the Constitution. Students develop and use the same skills and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change.

Eighth grade history is anchored in the examination of freedom, which has defined the American experiment. From the Declaration of Independence to the Middle East and oil politics, students will study primary sources to understand the major events which have shaped American liberty. Students develop and use the same skills and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change.

This course is the foundation for middle school mathematics. Students will use order of operations with real numbers, graph points on a coordinate plane, find percentages, rates, and proportions, and solve one step equations including substitution. Students will become effective problem solvers, discuss mathematical ideas and strategies, analyze errors, and be reflective of their own learning.

This course is the foundation for the algebraic standards which form the basis of more complex mathematical study. Students will use the four operations with real numbers, simplify algebraic expressions, solve multi-step equations, and apply proportional relationships to algebra, geometry, and statistics. This class prepares students to problem solve using a variety of methods and logic to approach and communicate their mathematical thinking.

This course is the foundation for high school mathematics. Students will work with simplifying algebraic expressions using exponent laws and polynomial operations, representing and solving functions using equations, tables, and graphs, and solving systems of equations. This course focuses on the basics of linear, quadratic, and absolute value equations and inequalities. Students will learn different ways of mathematical representation, solve problems using a variety of methods, and use logic to approach and communicate their mathematical thinking.

This course is designed to introduce students to the world of science in secondary education. Students will become familiar with the basic concepts and practices of science such as the scientific method, writing, and data interpretation in addition to learning about the geologic history of earth, earth's surface, rock and mineral identification, atmosphere and weather systems, and astronomy.

This course will continue the work of familiarizing students to the scientific method, applications of measurement, and scientific writing using claim, evidence and reasoning by focusing on Chemistry during the first semester and Biology during the second semester. Topics of study and inquiry include (but are not limited to) Foundations of Chemistry, Atomic Structure, Chemical Bonds and Reactions, Cell Structures and Processes, Cell Division and Genetics, Chemistry of Food and Respiration, and History of Earth and Life Forms.

This eighth grade level course focuses on Physics which includes (but is not limited to) Scientific inquiry, Graphs & Models, Math as a Science Tool, Physics of Motion, Forces and Newton's Laws, Buoyancy, Work, Energy and Power, Types of Energy (energy as everything), Electricity and Magnetism, Sound and Light, Chemistry of Food and Respiration.