Middle School

During the middle school years, the habits and skills your child has acquired during previous grades come to fruition. It is during these crucial years the values and habits that form the foundation of your child’s adult character begin to take shape. In the right environment, students forge relationships and lasting bonds that will serve them for a lifetime.  It is at this important stage of their educational and spiritual journey that an ICS education is nothing short of invaluable. 

ICS nurtures and develops the skills needed for high school in an atmosphere that supports, teaches and demands individual responsibility, critical thinking and self-discipline. The combination of a balanced and academically challenging curriculum, taught in a caring Christian environment, helps prepare students for a demanding college-prep high school program.

The ICS Middle School produces graduates who are thoroughly prepared for the rigors of area private and public high schools. Our typical eighth grader is accepted to multiple high schools, and most often to their first-choice school. Many of our students are offered scholarships or accepted into honors programs, but we feel most proud that our students leave ICS as confident learners armed with an array of study skills and background knowledge that can propel them to achieve their maximum potential at the next level of their education.

At ICS, we are extremely proud of our high school acceptance record. As many have said, ICS students are abundantly prepared for what lies ahead.

Logistically, our middle school operates very differently than our elementary school, while providing continuity of curriculum for our advancing elementary students. We operate on a five-letter-day system, with middle school students receiving daily instruction in language art, mathematics, science and social studies. Three times within the rotation the students attend religion and Spanish classes and meet once within each cycle with specials area teachers for instruction in music, art, technology and physical education. Our STREAM teaching philosophy is evident throughout – our middle schoolers are accustomed to inquiry and collaboration and direct lecture teaching is the exception, not the rule.

We maintain three homerooms per grade, capped at twenty-four students per homeroom. For math and language arts classes, students are segmented into four class sections, so instructional groups become even smaller. They also meet for extended class periods, offering a thorough immersion in these core subject areas. Advanced classes are offered in both ELA and math.

The English/Language Arts curriculum encompasses reading, grammar, oral language, writing, vocabulary, spelling and penmanship. Students access a great variety of texts including fiction, nonfiction and poetry and study multiple novels each school year. Our vocabulary program is based on Greek and Latin roots, and teachers in other content areas strive to reinforce those vocabulary principles within their classes as they arise. A visit to our ELA classrooms would feature seating arrangements that encourage class discussions, peer review, and sharing of ideas. Students can expect daily ELA homework or assigned reading, and proper writing conventions are expected to be utilized by our students in all of their classes.

Our math program continues with the Saxon curriculum. In the sixth grade, there are two math levels, grade-level and advanced. The advanced class uses a seventh grade Saxon text. Students complete nightly homework assignments which are cumulative and draw on course material from any prior lesson in the year, while emphasizing more recent content. This ensures that students continue to practice previously learned skills so that they are prepared to keep applying those skills at higher and higher levels and is a hallmark of the Saxon curriculum. Tests are administered after every block of five lessons, and those tests are also cumulative. Calculator use is extremely limited until the algebra level so that students fully internalize computational algorithms needed for middle school math competency. In the seventh grade, we offer three levels of study, grade-level, advanced (using an eighth grade text) and algebra for highly advanced and self-motivated math students. In the eighth grade, we again offer a grade-level course, as well as algebra and geometry.  Our math program is rigorous and highly successful as evidenced by our standardized testing scores. We are also proud to boast winning teams and winning individual students at an annual math competition for AoB middle schools.

Our science classes meet in one of two state-of-the-art spacious science labs in which students have access to a great variety of lab equipment and opportunities for detailed study. Our iPad program enables the use of digital microscopes. Our partnership with NorthBay Adventures culminates in the sixth grade with a week-long trip to the NorthBay property where classes are taught by NorthBay educators and a true immersion experience in environmental education is offered to our students. Students in all grades study the range of science disciplines including life science, physical science, earth science and foundations of chemistry, and our eighth graders engage in the SeaPerch underwater robotics program.

Social Studies classes focus on world history in the sixth grade, United States and world geography in the seventh grade, and United States History in the eighth grade. Classes meet daily and engage in robust discussions and illustrative activities that bring alive the course content. Reading and writing skills are reinforced throughout our Social Studies program. Seventh and eighth grade students participate in the National History Day competition each year, in which we have had students progress to the state and national levels! Within this program students choose a historical event, movement, or person through which they would like to explore a given annual theme (the 2020 theme was Breaking Barriers). They may choose to work individually or in a small group and may choose to present their topic in a variety of formats, including a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance or website. Projects are judged on the criteria of historical quality, relation to theme, and clarity of presentation.

Religion classes meet three times within each five-day cycle of classes and blends the study of Scripture and theology with faith-sharing and discussion of ethical issues and perspectives. Though the majority of our students are Catholic, respect for other faith traditions is paramount and sharing of a variety of religious views is always encouraged. This course of study is enhanced with observations of Catholic liturgical seasons and holy days and highlighting of Catholic Social Teaching principles through service initiatives.

Instruction in Spanish occurs three times per class cycle for all middle grade levels. Over the three years of middle school, the goal is that students master the body of introductory Spanish and are thus prepared for more advanced Spanish study when entering high school. Alternatively, we believe that they are empowered with the basics of foreign language study that will serve them well if they choose to study a different language moving forward. Essential vocabulary and grammar are emphasized, along with reading and of course speaking and pronunciation.