St. Paul's Episcopal Day School

Curriculum: Middle School Division

(Grades 6-8)

Adolescence can be one of the most challenging times in a young person's life.  During these critical years, we provide a safe and supportive atmosphere in which young teens can blossom.  Caring, knowledgeable teachers provide excellent instruction and sensitive guidance to meet the unique needs of everyone in the middle school community.

Opportunities to participate in a variety of ways outside the classroom - sports, drama, science, math, art, speech, music - provide these "students in transition" valuable outlets for growth and success.  Leadership opportunities begin in the 6th grade and continue on throughout the middle school years.

In an atmosphere of warmth and mutual respect, St. Paul's students and teachers are actively engaged in a rich and challenging program of study.  Course offerings and extra-curricular activities are varied and allow students to make choices that will best prepare them for high school and beyond.        

• Students are able to participate in extra-curricular speech, Science Olympiad, math, news bowl and writing contests.
• The middle school curriculum comes alive as students take part in numerous cross-curricular units.
  • Lords and Ladies gather in the Grand Hall for a Medieval feast in a culmination of a unit of study on the Middle Ages.
  • Students portray Revolutionary figures in the American Revolution Wax Museum.
  • Stanley and Livingstone and other dramatists lead visitors on a 4000 year journey through The Dark Continent.
  • Eighth graders create interactive multi-media presentations and a multi-cultural feast for parents and guests.
• An expanded electives program allows seventh and eighth graders to explore classes such as German, Latin, Italian, mythology, digital photography and guitar, along with many others.
• Our graduates are accepted by their first choice for high school.
• Accelerated math courses are offered in sixth-eighth grades.  Spanish and French are the middle school foreign language options.
• SAT tests are given to sixth and seventh graders in the spring with eighth graders taking part in standardized high school entrance examinations.
• Seventh and sixth graders take part in an outdoor challenge course at the Tucker Leadership Lab.
• Eighth graders spend a week at the YMCA Camp of the Ozarks establishing individual and team goals.
• The eighth grade chapel leadership team is instrumental in planning weekly chapel services.
• Sixth graders assume responsibility for early morning carpool duty

Middle school students are encouraged to recognize the value of service to others.  These students assume leadership roles in supporting the church pantry and in raising scholarship monies for children at our sister school in Haiti.  Our student council, consisting of elected officers, is instrumental in raising money for local, national and global purposes.

High School Preparation

The primary focus of everything we do in middle school is on high school preparation.  From academics, to policy and procedure, our students are able to make choices and set goals with guidance from faculty members, that put them on a path to have success in the finest high schools in our city.  In our September High School Fair, representatives from the area schools visit with our students and parents to help guide them in making the right choice.  We take pride that our students are accepted to their first choice of high school and are cited for their academic acheivement.

The end product of the middle school years are students founded in academic preparedness and character development.  Many of our graduates are tapped to be leaders in their high schools.  Our students leave St. Paul's ready for the challenges of high school where they distinguish themselves as students and individuals of moral character.