Middle School
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Limited openings are available for the 2011-2012 school year. Please contact the Admissions Office at (678) 387-9385 for specific information.

Middle School

Instructional Vision

Our Middle School program is designed to build upon the foundation that students have acquired in Elementary School and prepare them to take advantage of educational opportunities in the future.  The curriculum addresses intellectual, social/emotional, aesthetic/creative, physical and ethical development.  We focus upon the development of the student and the whole child.  Our teachers combine their knowledge with students' special interests to promote an academically stimulating environment.  Opportunities are available for individual and collaborative experiences.

The Middle School provides an atmosphere of reassurance and stability for students in a period of growth and change.  We are committed to teaching the value of respect and caring for others within and outside the school family.  The faculty guides students through these transitional years with the goal of fulfilling each student's potential.

Language Arts
Critical thinking, imagination, and guided exploration of literary works and genres will comprise the foundation for learning in Notre Dame Academy’s Middle School Language Arts. Students will demonstrate a precise understanding of writing as a process involving conception, reflection, support, and revision. Through vocabulary and writing instruction, students will refine and expand their use of language. Students will develop an enjoyment of reading and its role as a universal and expansive experience. Students are encouraged to discern, define and explore ideas in various pieces of short fiction and classroom novels. Language Arts is designed to help students become better communicators and critical thinkers by reading a variety of literature and engaging in class discussions as a means of individual expression through which they will raise and critically examine issues pertinent to their intellectual, spiritual, and psychological development.

Research: Students learn to use parenthetical and primary text citation. They develop skills in locating, evaluating, taking notes, and presenting information from multiple sources on a variety of topics apropos to the literature and authors studied.  

Mathematics
6th Grade – Mathematics Course 1 is taught on grade level and accelerated. Topics will include but are not limited to: multi-step problem-solving strategies, introduction to algebraic equations, apply basic operations with fractions, decimals and percents, explore geometry, probability and data analysis, measurement, ratios, proportion, graphing and integers.

7th Grade – Pre-Algebra is taught at two levels, regular and advanced. Topics include operations with integers, fractions and decimals; solving equations and inequalities with integers, fractions and decimals; algebraic expressions and exponents; rations, proportions and percents, linear functions and their graphs; area and volume; data analysis.

8th Grade – Algebra 1 is also taught at two levels, regular and advanced. Topics include operations and properties of real numbers, solving equations, inequalities and systems of equations and inequalities; functions, their properties and graphs; polynomials, factoring; quadratic equations and their graphs; radical and rational expressions.

Science
Science is a process whereby learners try to understand the universe around them, and, based on what is observed, make predictions about how the universe operates. Science is based on curiosity, observations, predictions, testing, analysis, and communication. Students will explore science through classroom and laboratory activities, learn to experiment, handle laboratory equipment, analyze data, and communicate their findings. Students will follow safety lab procedures, develop science process skills, establish working vocabulary of science terms, and explore science concepts using reference and technological resources.

Middle School science courses are designed to give students the foundation of knowledge and skills required to make a smooth transition into high school science courses.

6th Grade – Earth Science 
Earth Science focuses on the study of the Earth and its position in the universe, the composition and structure of the earth, the earth’s forces and energy sources, meteorology, oceanography, and the impact of humans on the earth.

7th Grade – Life Science
Life Science focuses on the study of living things, the function and structure of cells, their chemical make-up and relationship to the environment. In addition to the cell and cell theory, students will be introduced to genetics and heredity, the six kingdom system and the biodiversity among each kingdom, and the study of ecology and man’s place in the ecosystem.

8th Grade – Physical Science
Physical Science consists of one semester each of the foundations in chemistry and physics. The course focuses on the concepts of the composition of matter, elements and the periodic table, chemical reactions and bonding, and the physical laws related to the behavior of matter which includes conceptual laws of motion, forces and energy transformations.

Social Studies

The Middle School social studies program at Notre Dame Academy places great value and emphasis on critical thinking, analysis, reason, and examination of primary documents. Students are encouraged to approach the subject matter and its resources critically. 

6th Grade - Geography
Geography is the study of the earth- people, places and locations and how they relate to each other.  The sixth grade course is designed to introduce students to the themes of geography- including location, place, human/environment interaction, movement, and region and to approach each of these themes critically.  Students are encouraged to look at geography within a historical framework as well as placing great importance on how geography has impacted today’s world.  Great importance will be placed on using geography to look at current events and changes.  

7th Grade - American History
Students will begin their study of U.S. with the Age of Exploration and European colonization.  Students will discover the colonists’ growing independence and the causes of the Revolutionary War, the creation of the U.S. Constitution, and the beginnings of the new nation. Students will also learn about the growing sectional divide within the U.S. during the first half of the Nineteenth century that leads to the Civil War.  The end of the year will conclude with Reconstruction and the Industrial Age in the U.S.  Students will continue developing their historical thinking and analysis skills in social studies by taking a critical approach to the subject matter. 

8th Grade- American & World History
The first half of eighth grade is dedicated to continuing their study of American History by examining the Twentieth Century.  In the second semester, students will turn their focus to the study of America in a global context.  In this process, students will examine topics such as the World Wars and U.S. foreign policy post World War II.  Students will also study other world hot spots that are a part of daily news.  Great emphasis will be placed on analyzing primary documents and continuing to grow in area of critical thinking.

Religious Education

Spanish
The program goals are to:

  • Develop the basic skills to produce and receive messages in Spanish.
  • Enhance verbal and listening skills with videos and dictation on the computer.
  • Practice the grammatical construction of the language through writing activities and reading comprehension.
  • Study English and Spanish cultural and linguistic similarities and differences in both languages.
  • Prepare students for the successful study of Spanish in high school.

Spanish as a second language will give the students the opportunity to expand their thinking, to acquire global awareness, to extend their understanding of their native language, and to develop writing, reading, vocabulary, grammar and communicative skills.

Catholic prayers in Spanish and Hispanic traditions are included during the school year.

Fit for Life
It is estimated that 75 percent of our youth participate in insufficient physical activity. To combat this problem, Notre Dame Academy has developed a physical education program for students that promotes fitness for life.

The daily personal fitness program at Notre Dame Academy:

  • Emphasizes enjoyable participation in physical activity
  • Improves the athletic ability of all age groups, genders and athletic skills
  • Encourages the adoption of a physically active lifestyle
  • Promotes sports participation
  • Builds confidence, health, character and teamwork that lead to life success

As part of every school day, students participate in at least 30 minutes of physical education. The focus of the physical education program is to develop a lifetime of fitness. The program follows the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. The SPARK (Sports, Play and Recreation for Kids) curriculum and the Velocity Sport Performance program are utilized in class instruction.

Music
The mission of music education at Notre Dame Academy is:

  • to learn music as an applied curriculum
  • to integrate music, art, and academics
  • to celebrate and preserve our cultural and religious heritages musically, and to learn about and appreciate other cultures
  • to stimulate the student intellectually and emotionally
  • to let the music experience be individually and collectively therapeutic, evocative, emotive, and communicative.

The music program, ultimately, will give the students self-discipline, self-esteem, dignity, respect, goal direction/completion, along with personal satisfaction and gratification.

Art
Our Middle School curriculum strives to enhance the student’s core knowledge by approaching art history, critique, and technique according to themes. Big ideas like identity, spirituality, stories, or time are explored across a variety of art movements and time periods. Students utilize a visual journal to question, reflect, and expand their own ideas about these themes. All grade levels are exposed to a variety of visual media including drawing and painting, photography, ceramics, and sculpture.

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