Middle School

Grades 7 to 8

The Middle School Experience

Life inside the middle school is intended to simulate the richness and diversity of life outside its walls, providing students with academic, practical, life, and social opportunities that encourage the development of the whole person.

Students begin each school year with a three-day team-building camp to strengthen and build relationships within their middle school community. The benefits of this program extend beyond the camp. The students return to VMS and continue with the tradition of establishing their community norms, guidelines, and programs for the school year ahead. Students and teachers discuss goals, expectations, and proposals such as ideas for the middle school-run business and other committee ideas that create opportunities for leadership, collaboration, meaningful work, and social activities. A key part of the middle school program is for the students to claim ownership of their program with this as their goal: to make it uniquely their own.

Whether the current school year goal is to improve community service, host sporting events, plan more school dances, design a better yearbook, or produce a podcast, the students, working with teachers/advisors, create a richness to their education that could not be created by adults only. In student-led meetings, students reflect on the successes and challenges of committee work where each student has the opportunity to discover new interests and individual talents and skills. This type of atmosphere is an essential component of the VMS Middle School experience.

Our Curriculum

Our Middle School is based on a rigorous core academic program that supports success for all students. The faculty specializes in a variety of necessary subject matter including, Science and Math, Humanities, and Spanish with cross-curricular themes for each of the five cycles in a school year.

For a detailed Middle School curriculum breakdown, click the link below.

Science and Math

The Science curriculum consists of Life Science and Physical Science. Discussion, experimentation, lab work, and field trips enrich the classroom experience. Science is all around us and we use its principles every day. Science is most importantly a process and is a natural extension of a child’s innate curiosity rather than a body of knowledge. It includes the development of broadly applicable skills including creativity, critical thinking and communication helping prepare students to work, live and thrive in a highly connected world.

Math classes are small and specifically designed to meet the needs of each child—whether it be Middle School Math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra or Geometry.

Humanities: Language Arts, Spanish & History

Through the study of history, Spanish, literature, poetry, and current events, students discover the power of language and the importance of history in understanding the world around us. They develop the language and the historical context to confidently engage in meaningful discussions about a range of topics.

In Language Arts, students form a community of readers and writers. Through the formation of book clubs and formal novel studies, students explore connections between literature and history, their own lives, and the world around them. As writers, they focus on the power of language conventions, poetic voice, formal writing, and the writing process.

In Spanish, the focus in each Spanish class is on the following elements: Spanish grammar rules, pronunciation, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and cultural studies. Each day the students will be building their skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish.

The History curriculum allows for each child to explore the “story” of the world including Modern World and American History, building upon the Montessori “Great Lessons.” Middle School students actively participate in individual presentations, field trips, research, and discussion to find the interconnectedness of all humans.

Middle School Enrichment &
Personal World

Adolescence is a time of great discovery of the self: “Who am I? Who am I in this world?” The middle school program offers students time for personal reflection and discovery through our Personal World curriculum and Enrichment Classes.

The Personal World curriculum provides students with activities, reflection prompts, and discussions about a range of topics from personal values, goals, habits, and other social issues. Throughout the two years, students better understand themselves as they learn about the teenage brain, meditation techniques, and other reflective activities.

Middle School students take part in Art, Music, Physical Education, and Technology classes. Additionally, the Middle School offers a wide variety of enrichment courses. Enrichment classes vary by semester. The skills developed by participating in each of these committees, events, and classes can be used in all areas of the students’ lives. While preparation for high school is of great importance, preparation for life is the ultimate goal.
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Learn More About Our Middle School Curriculum

After-School Programs

After-School Classes are available for VMS students in Primary through Middle School to participate in age-appropriate activities of their choice such as sports, technology, art, and music. Schedules are published the month before each session. There are three sessions each year:

Session One: October – December
Session Two: January – Mid-March
Session Three: Mid-March – May

All of our after-school providers agree to comply with the VMS Admissions Anti-discrimination Policy and the VMS Guiding Principles.

Learn More About After-School Enrichment