Upper School (4-8)
The essence of the program in grades 4 through 8 is to develop critical and creative thinkers in the core academic subjects who can also make links and connections across the four broad literacies woven throughout the curriculum: global education, media and information education, social-emotional and ethical education, and ecological literacy.
Upper School is divided into Middle Division (grades 4-6) and Upper Division (7-8). Middle Division students remain with their homeroom teachers, two per grade, for core subjects, visiting specialists for Spanish or Mandarin four days a week and art and music once a week. Social-emotional learning is integrated into the curriculum by the teachers.
In the 7th and 8th grade, students transition to a departmentalized program, attending classes in a block schedule that accommodates core subjects, electives, and cross-cultural program. Highlights of the Upper Division include daily world language classes, an engaging selection of arts electives, and literacies block in which students take classes relating to our four cross-disciplinary literacies.
