Middle School

We focus on the mind and heart of all students. Essential to what we do is ensuring communication between all partners—students, faculty and parents—is strong, and that students are being engaged whether they are introverts or extroverts or a combination of the two.

We focus on understanding who our students are as learners and as adolescents. We focus on their strengths as well as their stretches, their needs as well as their wants, and what they believe and what confuses them. We think about what grit means for each student, what mindset each one holds, and what the ever-changing landscape of relationships and friendships looks like at any given moment.

With time, practice, patience and a lot of energy, we develop some wonderfully powerful young adults who can show compassion, collaborate well with others, create in isolation or with a team, and be the change that makes the world a better place.

Paging

I appreciate everything NSCD has to offer. From their curriculum, small classroom sizes, their use of technology, beautiful campus, community feel and more.

Divinity JohnsonMiddle School Parent

There is expectation to do the work, inclusion is in practice, and the teachers communicate concerns immediately. Philip PrestonMiddle School Parent

NSCD is a community as much as it is a school. Community at NSCD is intentional and serves to focus teachers and parents alike on what's best for our children. NSCD challenges all Raiders to live, serve and be their very best in the community and the world.BJ FordMiddle School Parent

When a new idea or project is proposed, the teachers set up teams and research the best way to expedite an idea. The thought and planning that goes into the teaching experience is very well planned and expedited. The attention to how they are going to present a concept to our children is a well cultivated experience. Susan BarMiddle School Parent

Distinctively Middle School

Program Overview

Health

The health curriculum is a trimester program for sixth, seventh and eighth graders designed to engage students in learning all facets of health, wellness and practical life skills. Classes are designed to encourage discussion around a wide variety of topics and place an emphasis on current issues in health. The content is explored through project-based learning, group discussion and individual reflection. Students take two trimesters of health per year.

Humanities

Humanities is the study of social studies and English in a way that combines ideas, concepts and skills from a variety of disciplines. Students are encouraged to make cross-curricular connections as well as connections to their own lives throughout the course of study. Students become better readers, writers, speakers and critical world thinkers as they explore a variety of literary, geographical and historical themes.

Mathematics

Middle school math challenges students to hone the math tools they previously developed in elementary math to more complex projects. Our classrooms are like workshops: students are challenged in ways where they might—and should—make mistakes, pushing them to think, reflect and try again. This iterative process refines both their mastery of the tools and their judgments about when to use them.

We see math knowledge as a verb and not just a noun. Our teaching balances direct application of skills with the synthesis of those skills. In each course, students practice communicating ideas orally and in writing. As a 1:1 iPad school, students use technology to share information and ideas with each other, deepen their understanding through visualization, and support computation for problem solving. All students engage in project-based learning to connect their abstract knowledge to imaginative applications. In addition to the courses we offer, students have the opportunities to join the Math Team and participate in inquiry-based Math Circles.

Performing Arts

Science

The science department strives to nurture a spirit of inquiry—asking questions, designing solutions, communicating ideas—as we guide students in the study of the natural and physical sciences. All courses are laboratory-based, emphasizing the process of science in addition to core content knowledge of the disciplines. Students participate in cooperative learning and problem-based thinking and are encouraged to question, take risks and develop their curiosity.

The history of science and scientific literature capture the implications of science in society, and science courses thus draw from authentic accounts of scientists’ practice. Engineering and design thinking allow students to apply science and mathematics content, and are core to the middle school science curriculum. Enrichment opportunities, such as Science Olympiad, allow students further opportunities to engage with the scientific process.

Visual Arts

The visual arts program is designed to balance exploration and skill development. Over the course of their middle school career, students will engage in complex, multi-step projects that develop foundational artistic techniques while building organizational and time-management skills. Inspired by artists from around the globe, students will gain a better understanding of art’s function within society while gaining experience using a variety of media. With a strong focus on drawing, painting and design, students will leave the middle school with a skill set that prepares them for the options that lie ahead in the upper school curriculum.

World Languages

Students entering middle school are offered French, Mandarin and Spanish. The language program is designed to develop listening, speaking, and writing and reading-comprehension skills.

Oral expression, aural and reading comprehension are emphasized using authentic material, flash cards and TPR (Total Physical Response) in-classroom activities. The basic text and workbooks are supplemented with video clips, audio documents and websites featuring native speakers. French, Mandarin and Spanish culture and language are presented through activities such as skits, original dialogues, stories, songs, games, student projects, reading, films, etc. Computers and iPads allow students to interact with the world beyond the classroom through software, web lessons, apps, email and pen pals.

French and Mandarin students who successfully complete the middle school program are eligible to take the Level 2 course in upper school. Spanish students, because of the language study in both lower and middle schools, enter upper school with a more extensive background and are placed in Spanish 3.