Middle School

At Saddle River Day, we are responsive to the needs and learning styles of all of our students.  We believe that disciplines and departments are porous.  We encourage students to learn, access, and use skills that will benefit them across the curriculum.  The content of the curriculum is the vehicle through which we communicate these skills, but at the heart of the Middle School education at SRDS is the belief that we aid in the child’s journey from student to scholar, and from adolescent to adult.

To aid in their multifaceted development, every middle school student is part of an Advisory group which meets regularly and discusses academic as well as social and emotional topics. Advisory provides students with a time to fit in, to recognize that they do not travel this journey through adolescence on their own, to connect with the adults in the building on a different level, and an opportunity to interact with students not only in their own division, but also across the lower and upper schools. The goal of Advisory is to provide young teens with many opportunities to interact with peers and adults as they adjust to becoming young adults.
 
Learning Across Disciplines:
Students identify and explore connections among disciplines.  Skills in the Humanities readily complement one another. Similarly, Math and Science courses in the Middle School adopt a student-centered, inquiry based approach to learning that integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. Skills and content developed in these courses build students’ capacity for real-world scientific exploration and design.

Middle School classes in the traditional core areas and world language are required each year. In addition to academic classes, students participate in physical education and the arts – with electives of graphic art, studio art, music, and band. In 8th grade, students take a semester of creative writing and are also offered electives in Business and Entrepreneurship and Computer Science. Students have nightly homework in most subjects and are expected to do their best on each assignment. Extra help and support is available and advisors help to steer students toward that support when it is needed.

There is much more specific information about the middle school curriculum in the links below. We encourage you to read through this information and more importantly to come and visit our school. You will see for yourself how each of our students is challenged and supported to reach his or her goals and become innovators, thinkers and leaders.

Middle School Course Offerings