As emerging adolescents, middle school students experience significant physical, intellectual, and social-emotional growth. The collaborative partnership among students, parents, and faculty is essential during these years of crucial development. Through academics, extra-curricular opportunities, and the advisory system, the Middle School program is designed to meet students developing collective and individual needs.

Students participate in a challenging program providing them with the content knowledge and skills to prepare them to face our changing world. The academic program includes daily class meetings for literature and writing, history and world cultures, lab science, mathematics, and world languages (including Spanish, French, and Latin). Additionally, students have minor courses in visual art, vocal music, orchestra, performing arts, computer, health, and physical education. Students move throughout campus during the day, going to different rooms for their classes with teachers specializing in each area.

The Advisor Program

Each student is placed in an advisory group with a faculty advisor. The advisor serves as an advocate, monitoring the academic progress and social-emotional well being of each student advisee. The advisory group (usually 8 - 12 students) meets briefly each morning to touch base and for an extended period once a week to address issues pertinent to academics, character development, and life skills. Foundations for the advisory program are established before the academic year begins. For two days before school starts, sixth and seventh grade students, their advisors, and upper school peer leaders go on an overnight retreat designed to build community. The eighth graders and their advisors spend a day on campus building a foundation for leadership skills that they will apply throughout the year.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Opportunities beyond the classroom complement the academic program, helping students to thrive. During the last period of each day, students are offered a variety of opportunities to further explore new or existing interests. Offerings include study skills, fine and performing arts, student government, publications, athletic clubs, and community service. If they choose to, middle school students may also participate in interscholastic sports after school. There are middle school teams for soccer, basketball, softball, baseball, and tennis. Students and faculty are involved in all of these activities, allowing them to benefit from seeing each other in different capacities.

The middle school years are celebrated at SRDS. From their first overnight trip before sixth grade to their three day excursion at the end of eighth grade, students and faculty seek to grow individually as well as together. Students emerge with deepened and broadened understandings of themselves, their teachers and classmates, and the world around them.