Academics & Arts
Middle School (Grades 7&8)
Jumpstart your child’s transition to high school at Gilmour Academy Middle School, where students are inspired to discover their true calling and serve a purpose greater than themselves.
At Gilmour’s Middle School, our seventh and eighth graders are afforded every opportunity to explore new passions and develop their talents in a highly individualized learning environment structured to ease the transition to a more independent high school experience.
Gilmour Middle School students enter ninth grade an average of two academic grade levels ahead of their peers.
MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING SKILLS IN:
List of 7 items.
-
Academic support and transitioning
- 80-minute block scheduling, experienced and sophisticated faculty and small class sizes (approximately 15) reflect Upper School format and allow for complex analysis and mastery of content.
- Students are assigned to advisory groups of 8 to 10 students, fostering dynamic faculty-student relationships that endure throughout high school and beyond.
-
Agility and adaptability
- Integrated classroom technology keeps students at the forefront of 21st-century learning.
- Yearly self-assessment presentations require students to earnestly examine goals, achievements, strengths and weaknesses for continuous growth.
-
Collaboration and leadership
- Hands-on projects like Boat Float physics challenge engage the mind and foster a sense of group cooperation and achievement.
- Student-led morning Convocation brings grades 7 and 8 together with Upper School students and faculty daily, instilling confidence and trust.
-
Critical thinking and problem-solving
- Academic course progression is flexible, allowing motivated students to pursue the subjects that interest them most.
- Students are encouraged to challenge assumptions and consider ambiguity, leading adolescents from self-centered to self-aware, from the concrete to the abstract.
-
Effective oral and written communication skills
- Self-directed summer reading program and optional Write Back prompts aid reading and writing comprehension in a fun, exploratory format.
-
Initiative
- Early admission to Upper School math, language and science challenges motivated learners and jumpstarts the self-selection process.
- Studies and projects reward innovative thinking and offer a safe testing ground for real ideas.
-
Spiritual awakening and moral decision-making
- Study of religious texts and daily opportunity for reflection directs students of all faiths to seek connections and find purpose.
- Students meet and work with area nonprofits and faith-based agencies through class service projects, providing opportunities to respond to a calling and affect real change.
Middle School Highlights
-
BYOD laptop program
-
Annual class trip to Washington, D.C. or Boston
-
Boat Float challenge
-
National History Day
-
LEGO Robotics engineering curriculum
- Convocation with Upper School peers
- Middle School band or choir
-
Workshop learning model—students hone their craft by reading and writing more frequently, on topics that are most important to them
-
Self-assessments, which provide the opportunity to reflect upon personal goals and habits, academic successes and challenges, and spiritual development
-
Programs such as Student Council, Digital Media Club and Power of the Pen
COURSES
Loghan, 8th grade
“Gilmour is an awesome school because every day I spend here I learn more about myself. Thank you, Gilmour, for helping me become the person I am today.”
