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Fifth Grade:
The core of the language arts curriculum is a set of novels that are integrated with the study of science and social studies. Reading comprehension, literary interpretation, the writing process, vocabulary, grammar and spelling are included in the study and discussion of a book. Both written and oral reports incorporate study skills and research skills. Students explore the resources of the library both individually and in small and large groups.
The study of mathematics stresses geometry, logical thinking, probability, measurement, numeration, and communication. Students explore and experience larger numbers in their daily lives using problem-solving and estimation skills. They test and evaluate properties of mathematical operations. Students formulate their own conclusions about how and why numbers create certain patterns. The teacher expands the concept of place value. Students work with computation and estimation of products and quotients. They verify findings with calculators and explore relationships of fractions, ratios and decimals with hands-on materials. Measurement is often integrated into science activities, and increasingly math and science form an interdisciplinary component.
Students in grade five are required to pass basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division tests that consist of one hundred problems each. Students are expected to achieve at least 70 percent accuracy in two minutes for each test.
Math and science are integrated at this grade level. The units of study in science include weather, endangered species, plants, micro-world, our changing earth, space, the solar system and the galaxies. Activities and experiments provide opportunities to gather and compare data. The science program presents students with an in-depth study of the structure and dynamics of our planet as it has developed from its origins. The evolving landforms, their physical compositions, and the role of weather in shaping the surface of the earth are considered. Students are required to participate in the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools Science Fair in the spring, developing a long-term project in which they work through the entire scientific process. During the year, students are encouraged to apply their scientific knowledge and to discover new understandings via observation, controlled experimentation, generalization, and evaluation.
American history is the theme for fifth grade social studies. An appreciation for history and the sources of history are developed. History becomes a study of issues with causes and effects instead of just names, places, and dates. Students make personal reflections on material presented through writing and discussion. An important objective in the social studies curriculum is the understanding of attitudes and values of the Costa Rican culture as reflected in daily practices in public and private life. This strengthens and makes our exchange program more meaningful to the students.
Spanish is considered a core subject and is taught through experiential activities and interactive conversations. Since a familiarity with Spanish-speaking countries enhances the motivation for learning the language and provides a global perspective, Holy Spirit has carefully developed a sister-school relationship with St. Michael's School in San Jose, Costa Rica. Our students have contact with the Costa Rican children through the exchange of class projects, pen-pal letters, and the student exchange program in middle school.
The Holy Spirit Middle School health and fitness program provides an opportunity for students to acquire lifetime skills, knowledge, and positive attitudes toward their health and physical well-being. Individual physical conditioning, coordination and fitness, team sports, and health education are integral parts of our fitness program. Health themes, which include personal health and hygiene, nutrition, first aid, knowledge and prevention of diseases, and the proper usage of drugs are conducted throughout the year.
At the fifth grade level, Christian education and art are each taught weekly for one forty-five minute period. The music class meets for forty-five minutes twice a week for both semesters. Technology is integrated throughout the entire fifth grade program.
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Sixth Grade:
The language arts program develops students' ability to read perceptively, think critically, and write in a logical, grammatically precise, and personally unique style. Students are exposed to various short stories, poetry, drama, and novels. Class discussions focus on plot analysis, character motivation, and literary technique, which enhances the student's ability to distinguish factual and inferential information. The literature selections exposes students to a variety of reading materials. Most novels focus on a current unit of study in history or science.
The grammar sequence of the language arts course seeks to provide a solid background in English grammar. Writing assignments enable students to apply grammatical rules to their written work. Writing activities focus on the writing process based on the New Jersey Writing Project. Activities include basic skill work, sentence diagramming, journal writing, peer editing, and exploring the many different forms of writing. The intended result of the course is students who are confident and secure in their mastery of overall communication skills and who can satisfactorily master more complex learning experiences awaiting them in their remaining middle and high school years.
Holy Spirit's speech program consists of introductions, parliamentary procedure, informational speech, and the selection, analysis, and interpretation of several literary selections, such as poetry and short stories. This class meets for 45 minutes daily for one quarter and rotates with Christian education, art, and music. Computer technology is integrated throughout the disciplines.
The math program presents mathematics as a useful, exciting, and creative area of study that can be appreciated by everyone. The program helps all students develop their abilities to solve problems and reason logically. The curriculum expands students' knowledge of numbers, computation, estimation, measurement, geometry, statistics, patterns, and functions of the fundamental concepts of pre-algebra. Instruction is grounded in the use of manipulatives and includes projects as well as group and individual assignments. In an activity-based program students are involved both intellectually and physically. They are active learners who are challenged to apply their prior knowledge and experience in new and increasingly difficult situations. The students are empowered to make the transition from arithmetic to algebra and from the visual world to geometry through hands-on activities.
Sixth grade science challenges students to discover the biosphere, the living world and to seek answers to the basic questions of biology. The course includes the study of microbiology, ecosystems, invertebrates and vertebrates. The organizing structures for the year's studies are the manner in which organisms carry out the basic functions of life in relationship to themselves, other organisms, and the nonliving world.
In social studies, students study the history of the world, emphasizing the geographic, political, economic, religious, social, intellectual, and artistic factors of each culture. Students are encouraged to develop a historical imagination as well as the skills needed for comprehensive critical thinking.
Spanish is considered a core subject and is taught through experiential activities and interactive conversations. Since a familiarity with Spanish-speaking countries enhances the motivation for learning the language and provides a global perspective, Holy Spirit has carefully developed a sister-school relationship with St. Michael's School in San Jose, Costa Rica. Our students have contact with the Costa Rican children through the exchange of class projects and pen-pal letters in grade six.
Holy Spirit Middle School health and fitness program provides an opportunity for students to acquire lifetime skills, knowledge, and positive attitudes toward their health and physical well-being. Individual physical conditioning, coordination and fitness, team sports, and health education are integral parts of our fitness program. Health themes, which include personal health and hygiene, nutrition, first aid, and knowledge and prevention of diseases, are taught throughout the year.
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Seventh Grade:
Seventh grade continues to build on the students' acquired knowledge of English. The main areas of study include literature, vocabulary, grammar, and writing. Exposure to a variety of literature, informational articles, poetry, and a collection of short stories is the basis of instruction in the language arts program. Students will concentrate on reading inferences, developing comprehension skills, and writing in a grammatically correct and personally unique style. Class discussions focus on plot analysis, character motivation, and literary technique, which enhances the students' ability to distinguish factual, inferential, and experiential information. Our language arts program encourages extensive and intensive reading in order to foster interaction and collaboration.
The seventh grade math text, Windows to Algebra and Geometry, provides a broad yet solid foundation in both algebra and geometry while building a bridge from the concrete to the abstract. The class covers equations, inequities, number theory, ratios, and an introduction to algebraic equation transformations. The program integrates the major themes of math: relevancy, communication, reasoning, connections, problem solving and the use of technology. To help students see the larger picture of mathematics, the program connects important concepts in algebra and geometry and incorporates continual review. Computer and calculator applications are integrated throughout the program to expand the students' problem-solving proficiency and understand the role math plays in the real world.
The study of geography at the seventh grade level includes South America, Pacific Rim and China, Europe, Middle East, and Australia. Students explore how physical features and humans are distributed across the Earth, identifying and analyzing patterns. Relationships among people, place, and environment are discovered. In addition, multiple geographic skills are developed through hands-on activities.
Seventh grade science emphasizes the study of the earth, both historical and environmental. The students will learn about paleontology, geology, meteorology, oceanography and astronomy. The experimental methods of hypothesizing, observing, measuring, graphing, predicting outcomes, and forming conclusions are practiced at this level.
Our seventh grade Spanish curriculum continues the sequential course to move students forward in the continuum of Spanish proficiency. The goal is to see the eighth grade students graduate with a degree of oral fluency which enables them to communicate with native speakers. Therefore, the Spanish program is a core course meeting four days a week. Holy Spirit meets the development needs of adolescents with many interactive activities and concrete experiences.
French A is offered in the seventh grade as an elective and for students without prior experience entering Holy Spirit at the seventh grade level. The objectives are to help the students establish communication in the French language and learn about French culture. This class meets five days a week. French B is offered for the students in their 8th grade year.
Holy Spirit Middle School health and fitness program provides an opportunity for students to acquire lifetime skills, knowledge, and positive attitudes toward their health and physical well-being. Individual physical conditioning, coordination and fitness, team sports, and health education are integral parts of our fitness program. Health themes, which include personal health and hygiene, nutrition, first aid, and knowledge and prevention of diseases are taught during each quarter.
At the seventh grade level, Christian education, study skills, art and music are taught on a rotating basis each quarter. The classes meet for 45 minutes daily for a nine-week period. Computer technology is integrated throughout each field of study.
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Eighth Grade:
Students in eighth grade language arts explore American authors and their works, as well as related music and art, through projects, research, and reading of specified novels. Three-quarters of the year focuses on the 1700-1900 time period, while the last quarter focuses heavily on the reading and writing of poetry. Students expand their vocabulary through the Vocabulary from the Classics program. In addition, students refine their application of grammar and communication techniques through writing projects.
Mathematics in the eighth grade includes concepts from geometry, statistics, probability, and algebra. Students have opportunities to recognize and understand algebraic principles and their relevance to real-life situations. Computer and calculator applications are integrated throughout the program to expand student problem-solving proficiency. The math curriculum includes refinement and extension of methods of mathematical problem-solving so that all students use problem-solving approaches with increasing confidence to investigate and understand mathematical content. The program offers numerous opportunities for hands-on investigation, cooperative learning, communication, and development of ideas for research and writing using technology as a tool for learning.
Eighth grade American history focuses on the people and geography of the United States, emphasizing American economic and political institutions. Students study in detail the achievement of independence and the development of the United States as a nation, including the far-reaching effects of industrialism, expansion, and the Civil War. Through this course students come to understand the changes produced by new technology and urban growth as well as the ramifications of the emergence of the United States as a world power.
Physical science at the eighth grade level is an integrated chemistry and physics course. Students spend a semester studying an introduction to each science discipline. Chemistry topics include the study of matter, its properties and identity, as well as how matter interacts. Physics topics include the study of electricity, magnetism, energy forms, simple machines, motion and forces.
Our eighth grade Spanish course completes the program's curriculum, continuing to advance students along the Spanish-speaking fluency continuum. Students should graduate with a degree of oral fluency that will enable them to communicate with native speakers. As a result, the Spanish program is a core course meeting four days a week. Interactive activities and concrete experiences meet the developmental needs of adolescents.
Holy Spirit Middle School health and fitness program provides an opportunity for students to acquire lifetime skills, knowledge, and positive attitudes toward their health and physical well-being. Individual physical conditioning, coordination and fitness, team sports, and health education are integral parts of our fitness program. Health themes, which include personal health and hygiene, nutrition, first aid, and knowledge and prevention of diseases are taught during each quarter.
Rotation classes consist of art, Christian education, music, and theater arts. The eighth grade program is balanced through daily health/fitness and athletics.
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Homework:
Homework in the middle school is a way to review and reinforce the lessons taught in school. It is also a method to teach work and study habits that will be beneficial throughout the years spent in school. Homework is assigned daily except for some weekends and over long holidays.
The environment in which homework is completed affects its accuracy and benefits to the student. Therefore, Holy Spirit recommends setting up a work space that is quiet and removed from distractions, such as television, telephones, and music. Set aside a regular time each afternoon or evening to study. Students should spend time with free reading, study for future tests and quizzes, or working on projects if homework is finished. Assignment books should be kept up-to-date with daily assignments, tests, quizzes, and future projects.
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Athletics:
Holy Spirit believes that athletics are an important part of the student's physical, mental, and spiritual education. Even though striving to be the best we can be and winning are desirable parts of any athletic program, the development of the athletes' skills, sportsmanship, and leadership qualities are the major objectives. We strive for our athletes to enjoy the athletic experience with the hope that the continued involvement in athletics and fitness will be a life-long pursuit for each of them.
Holy Spirit Episcopal School offers competition in boys soccer and girls volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter, and boys baseball, girls softball, and track in the spring. Each sport has a varsity team made up of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students and a junior varsity team consisting of fifth grade students.
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Cheerleading:
Holy Spirit's cheerleading squad is the school's spirit club. The squad is chosen from middle school candidates from grades seven and eight who have registered for the next school year and who uphold the academic and behavioral standards set forth in the athletic handbook.
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