The Middle School follows a required schedule of courses in humanities, science, mathematics, and foreign languages. Fifth and sixth graders are required to take Exploring Asia and Spanish, while seventh and eighth graders are given a choice of Chinese, Latin, or Spanish to study. All students take a computer applications course.
The choices in Middle School are in fine arts and, in seventh and eighth grade, physical education and foreign language. The School recommends that each boy take at least one course in each area of the arts (music, drama, art, industrial arts) at some time in the Middle School. Middle schoolers choose the following:
Grades 5 & 6
• The equivalent of one- and two-thirds years of fine arts courses from the full-year and trimester courses offered.
Grades 7 & 8
• One full-year fine arts course or three trimester courses.
• A sport or physical education for each of the Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons.
• The recommended mathematics course (by the mathematics department).
• A foreign language.
A new seventh or eighth grader with no foreign language experience should sign up for one of the following courses: Latin IA, Mandarin Chinese IA, MS Introductory Spanish (seventh and eighth grade), or US Introduction to Spanish (eighth grade only with Department Chair permission).
NOTE: Though an attempt is made to honor all fine arts selections, it is sometimes necessary to assign a student to a different trimester course than he requests. Likewise, several sports have limited enrollment, and a student may not always receive his first choice. A typical course meets 45 minutes a day for either four or five days a week. Fifth and sixth graders will typically have at least three periods of scheduled study hall time per week. Students are urged to make their selections carefully. Once schedules are finalized, requests for changes to full-year classes should be made within the first two weeks of school. For one-trimester classes, requests for changes should be made within the first week of the start of the trimester.