AN IB WORLD SCHOOL
The Saint George’s Middle School Difference
The middle school program at Saint George’s is designed to give your 6th, 7th, and 8th grade child the encouragement and support to develop themselves as scholars, athletes, and artists.
Our major goals are to build a foundation of skills, knowledge, and principles that foster success in the Upper School and beyond. Our program is a natural progression from the “Habits of Success” cultivated in the SGS Lower School.
While our accelerated math curriculum, developed in-house and unique to SGS, may be the most widely recognized, it is but one facet of a multi-layered program focusing on inquiry, problem solving, reflection, and integration. In short, we aspire for your child to be able to think and communicate ethically and effectively.
The structure of each grade level is designed to provide a natural and developmentally appropriate transition from the Lower School to the Middle School, and from the Middle School to the Upper School.
At the center of our program, our teachers and advisors guide, support, and encourage your child through each step. In 6th grade, your child will find a team of teachers working with them to master the novelties of their own lockers and switching classes each period. Continuing through the 7th and 8th grades, advisors introduce and reinforce organizational and study strategies to develop executive functioning skills for your child to hone throughout their lives.
Middle school is the right time for students to test out their own ideas and learn that challenges and set backs are part of the process of doing great things. Learning to re-evaluate, make a plan, and keep trying is the real goal.
Building healthy relationships with peers and adults is an important part of the journey of middle school. Our experienced teachers help students traverse the often rocky terrain of pre-adolescence. Our school counselor is another resource available to help students navigate this journey.
The middle school's challenging academic program lays a foundation for success in our International Baccalaureate program in 11th and 12th grades. The SGS middle school help students experience the excitement of discovery and the joy of service and leadership.
All of this is grounded in our Core Values of honesty, respect, generosity of spirit, and best efforts.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with you and your child at Saint George's Middle School.
Joelle Neiwert
Head of Middle School
Joelle's Latest Letter to Middle School Parents (PS Learning)
Middle School parents are invited to an Information Night on the Upper School Experience and the International Baccalaureate Program on Tuesday, Nov. 30 in Founders Theater. (This is especially helpful for parents of 8th graders, who will be starting their journey through the Upper School next year.) Learn what makes the SGS Upper School unique and what students can expect in grades 9-12. Here's the schedule:
6:00-6:40pm
Introduction to the Upper School experience; Academics with Dr. Francesca; Clubs, music & arts, mentors, & events with Coach Rickard; Sports with Coach Peplinski.
6:40-7:00pm
BREAK with coffee and treats. Upper School students will share their perspectives on the US experience and CAS projects.
7:00-7:30pm
What’s the International Baccalaureate (IB)?; What’s the advantage of IB versus AP?; How does the IB support the college admissions process?; followed by a Q&A time.
Feel free to attend the first part, the second part, or both presentations. Please RSVP to Paige Halliburton (paige.halliburton@sgs.org) if you plan to attend.
Teams of 8th graders competed in the annual Adventure Race on campus on Oct. 5. They ran across campus to find a lanyard, then passed it along to teammates who ran a cross country course, navigated an obstacle course, shot arrows on the archery course, and paddled a canoe down the Little Spokane River before jumping out and running to the finish. Congrats to the Minions who finished first. See a Photo Gallery of the competition and the teams in their outfits.
All of the 6th graders gathered on Sept. 21 to learn about the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. They used Playdoh to make the character for "moon" and then stamped it into a mini-Moon Cake. They also watched a short video and cut out one of the characters using blue paper. See a Photo Gallery of all the activity that day.
Helping students to develop a growth mindset is woven throughout the MS program. YOU will achieve your goals when you continually put forth your best effort towards them.
JOELLE NEIWERT,
HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL