All-Girls Middle School

During their time in the Middle School English program, our students find their voices. Building on the skills they learn in Lower School, they become increasingly comfortable sharing their ideas in class and crafting increasingly complex and well-organized analytical, creative, and personal essays. They read a diverse set of authors in a variety of genres, from memoir to poetry to plays to fiction, celebrating the different ways people express and share themselves with others. Our students further develop their love for reading and writing and learn the skills and habits necessary for the challenges of Upper School. More importantly, they leave us confident they have the tools they need to be successful readers and writers for life.

Group V:

• The Westing Game Reader’s Theater Mystery
• Fantasy Fiction creative writing
• Essay writing boot camp
• Realistic fiction book clubs

Group VI:

• Focus on developing annotating skills.
• Encouraging choice in reading selection through our Drop Everything and Read program

Group VII:

• Suspense stories
• Mockingbird Monologues in conjunction with To Kill a Mockingbird
• Utopia Project in conjunction with The Giver

Group VIII:

• Romeo and Juliet diorama project in conjunction with our Engineering & Design Lab
• Culminating project is a collection of personal vignettes.
• Public speaking presentation

Extracurricular:

• Our highly popular book clubs
• We participate in the Connecticut Nutmeg Award reading challenge every year.
• Our students win awards for writing from the University of Connecticut, Scholastic, Greenwich Reads, and Bluefire.

It is the goal of the math department to provide Middle School students with a program that challenges them and enables them to build a solid foundation in math. The program is designed to encourage students to think deeply about mathematics and begin the process of independent learning. The curriculum in the Middle School has been developed to help students gain an understanding and appreciation of math, and to feel secure and confident in their abilities.

• In Group V the Singapore Math approach is used to cover all operations with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. In addition, ratio, percent, measurement conversion, and geometry are explored. There is an emphasis on mental math and problem-solving skills.
• Group VI students develop and strengthen the basic arithmetic operations through problem solving. Students analyze and solve multistep problems, and become comfortable taking risks as they gain confidence in their mathematical ability.
• In Group VII the girls are introduced to algebra and geometry. There is an emphasis on honing their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Real world applications become an integral part of the curriculum.
• All Group VIII students take Algebra I. The focus is on gaining a solid mastery of the basic algebraic concepts, while developing a more independent approach to learning in preparation for the transition to the Upper School.

The History and Social Sciences Department seeks to engender a love of learning and an understanding of the richness of cultural, religious, ethnic, and racial diversity. The Middle School curriculum is intentionally developed to help our girls make connections between names, places, and events, and to help them recognize themselves in the history of others.

A curricular highlight for our students is a current events class taken each year, which provides students the opportunity to apply and make relevant their growing understanding of the world and its people. Primary to the content is the sequence of skills that builds progressively from Group V through Group VIII. Teachers guide students on the journey to acquire and develop basic study/note-taking skills, close reading of secondary and primary documents, as well as structured and analytical writing. Independent learning and computer and library literacy also augment the traditional skill development.

• Group V history explores the basic concepts of geography and the development of civilization in the ancient world, particularly the cultures of Egypt, China, and Greece.The girls learn how to define civilization and examine the role geography plays in the evolution and flourishing of culture.
• Group VI history explores the universality of human culture through the examination of the five major world religions via a comparative lens of geography, belief, culture, history, and current events. 
• Group VII history explores the ‘Atlantic World’ with a particular emphasis on indigenous populations pre-contact as well as the beginnings of the African diaspora and American slavery.The course finishes with North American colonial settlement, independence, and the formation of a national government.
• Group VIII American History focuses on the 20th century with an emphasis on the political, economic, and social events that have shaped modern American life.Class trips to Harlem and Washington D.C provide students with an experiential component to their learning.

The Middle School science curriculum imparts to its students not only a strong foundation in scientific knowledge, but also skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, oral presentation, and writing. The curriculum is designed to foster excellence and exceptional achievement in science through challenging course material taught in a variety of methods designed to reach students of all skill levels and learning styles. The curriculum is inquiry-based, rigorous, and age-appropriate. The students have the opportunity to engage in devising projects using GA’s state-of-the-art Engineering & Design Lab. The program promotes independence, resilience, and integrity in a setting in which it is safe to conjecture, to experiment, to err, and to persevere.

• In Group V science, natural sciences and environmental systems are explored. The course focuses on living things and their adaptations to their current natural settings. Units of study include ecosystems, cell biology, and inventions.
• In Group VI, students explore the major systems of the human body, basic astronomy, and engineering concepts, and conclude with an in-depth look at Earth’s resources and the protection of our oceans, atmosphere, and land.
• Group VII students learn about various forms of energy and their role in electricity, forces, motion, and geology using lab experiments, virtual explorations, and engineering activities.
• Group VIII science introduces the concepts, principles, and laboratory techniques used in the study of chemistry. The course is focused on laboratory skills, scientific writing, and inquiry-based learning.
• An extracurricular highlight for many Middle School girls is GA’s robotics program. Students work together to creatively solve problems while using a variety of design and engineering skills. In the process, they learn the necessary programming and building techniques to create a unique and multi-functioning LEGO MINDSTORMS robot.

As students continue their language studies in Middle School, the World Languages Department centers its curriculum and classroom on diverse societies and global awareness. Our teachers encourage the exploration of the many people and places where the chosen language of study is spoken while developing essential skills for communication. The World Languages Department seeks to enhance listening and speaking skills and to build reading and writing skills, all with an emphasis on promoting communicative proficiency. Our signature Latin program focuses on the culture and history of the Roman empire, the acquisition of vocabulary, grammatical understanding, and reading proficiency, all of which provide students with meaningful insights into modern English.

• Modern languages offered in the Middle School include French, Mandarin, and Spanish. These options give our students the opportunity to study the language of their choice.
• In addition to their chosen modern language, students are required to study classical Latin in Group VI. At the end of Group VI, each student chooses to continue studying their modern language or Latin in Groups VII and VIII.
• Students engage in activities that foster the development of skills for communication and cultural awareness.
• Teachers frequently and widely use age-appropriate digital media and authentic primary materials such as songs, games, and audio-visual materials to enhance learning.

We believe teamwork and competition are crucial learning experiences. In Groups V and VI, girls focus on sports and technique, refining skills and improving strategies to prepare them for team play. In Groups VII and VIII, students train and represent their school in the four sports offered each season. (Group VIII students may also pick dance for a winter and spring sport.) Except for game days and Wednesdays, teams practice for the last two periods of school. Our Middle School Gators lay the foundation of our Upper School athletic program.

Our guiding principle is the belief that good health results from the integration of physical, psychological, social, and emotional well-being. The program promotes self-respect and respect for others, and aims to provide the girls with the information and skills necessary to support healthy decision-making, relationships, and living. Through discussion and interactive class activities, the curriculum is carefully planned, and includes developmentally appropriate materials covering health, wellness, and life skills including:

• Group V: body systems and puberty, nutrition, personal hygiene, healthy habits, and communication skills
• Group VI: puberty, interpersonal relationships and communication, and stress management
• Group VII: human sexuality and reproduction
• Group VIII: substance use, sexuality, body image, the influence of the media and culture on health, and interpersonal relationships

Guest speakers, advisory activities, and supplemental programs are offered throughout the year to further assist the girls in developing the skills and resiliency to become self-advocates, form healthy habits and relationships, and make good decisions.