Middle School: Grades 5-8

Read about our middle school's approach to teaching tolerance and acceptance, using the Holocaust as a historical backdrop - as reported in Independent School magazine's Spring 2010 issue.

And check out our newly-expanded Middle School Scholarship program for Fall 2010, for students entering 5th-8th grades.

Welcome to Swain's Middle School!

	Our middle school at Swain is organized around the developmental needs of young people between the ages of 10 and 14 (5th - 8th grades).
We know that this period of development can be complex and confusing for middle level learners, but it can also be an exciting time of academic, emotional, and social discovery.

Our goal is to meet the needs of this unique age group through a rich curriculum, engaged teachers, and by providing a safe, nurturing environment. We strive to inspire creativity and imagination, and our whole child approach fosters a sense of leadership and responsibility.

We offer a strong, traditional academic program,grounded in the fundamental skills of reading, writing, speaking, observing, and studying. As students move through the middle school, they are asked to stretch from the concrete to the abstract. Students mature both mentally and physically in different stages, and our challenge is to meet students where they are and empower them to progress to the next stage of their journey.

Extending beyond the traditional disciplines, our curriculum also includes exploratory courses at each grade level such as Web Design, Stream Biology, and Public Speaking. These rotating courses provide students with unique experiences and are designed to expose students to the world beyond the traditional scope and sequence. Every middle schooler is also involved in a Club period at some point during the year, during which time they utilize Swain’s information and technology centers.

Our middle school program also provides students with leadership opportunities through Student Senate, athletics, and community outreach. Our community service program—which is embedded in our curriculum—is designed around the concept that our students need to think about what it means to be a citizen of the world. At least twice a year, every middle schooler travels off campus to serve our surrounding community in some capacity, whether it is serving lunch at a local shelter, cleaning up a playground, or visiting an assisted living facility.

Unique to the eighth grade is an eight-hour Independent Community Service Project. All eighth graders spend eight hours volunteering in the community at an organization of their choice, and then they share their experiences with the middle school community through a reflective multi-media presentation.

I hope this overview gives you a taste of the vibrant community which exists at Swain. We are proud of our middle school, and we are always exploring ways to improve our program. All schools play a vital role in developing our future leaders, and we embrace the opportunity to help our students become healthy, morally grounded decision makers.

We welcome you to virtually visit our classrooms, but the best way to get a sense of our community is to make a visit to our campus. Please do not hesitate to make an appointment — we would love to introduce you to our middle school.

Sincerely,

Kyle J. Armstrong

Associate Head of School for Academics

610-433-4542, ext. 152