Middle Years Program

Three boys standing outdoors, one in front wearing a navy hoodie with a house logo and text 'Sound View School', and two behind him smiling, one in a black cap and the other in a red hooded sweatshirt, with colorful playground equipment in the background.

Grades 6-8

The Middle Years program is designed to meet the unique developmental needs of students during a transformative period of their lives. Recognizing that middle school students experience growth second only to the first two years of life, this program provides a supportive, engaging, and flexible environment that aligns with their cognitive, social, and emotional needs. Middle school students are naturally curious and eager to learn when topics resonate with their interests and the world around them. Inquiry-based learning and real-world connections ensure that content is both meaningful and engaging. Students need plenty of opportunities to build and nurture strong relationships with teachers and peers. Teachers act as mentors, offering guidance while honoring students’ growing independence. Advisory programs and small-group discussions further ensure students feel seen, heard, and supported. Soundview middle school students are prepared to navigate adolescence and high school with confidence, curiosity, and a sense of purpose.

Middle Years students will:

  • Ask questions and design solutions to a variety of problems

  • Get dirty

  • Get mad at a friend and hug a friend (in a 10 minute timespan)

  • Spend four nights away from home at outdoor school each year

  • Try new things that will make them feel a little uncomfortable

  • Create their own service learning project and share it with the community

Class projects and assessments are designed to be interdisciplinary (interweaving two or more disciplines). Each unit of study is designed to develop subject-specific skills and concepts, in addition to exploring the essential and debatable questions of each discipline. The work of the subject areas becomes applicable and relevant through overarching global contexts which include identities and relationships, orientation in time and space, personal and cultural expression, scientific and technical innovation, globalization and sustainability, as well as fairness and development. Read more in this excerpt from the Family Handbook.