ADVISORY GROUPS
One of the main roles a Middle School teacher plays is as Advisor to approximately ten Middle School students. The Advisor provides academic and social support, and is the point person and liaison between student, home and school. Advisory groups meet in their homeroom daily to help provide the academic and social support that is necessary for each child to feel connected at school. Additionally, each grade’s Advisors meet weekly with the Grade Dean to communicate common issues within the grade.
SEMINAR PROGRAM
Students in each grade take a seminar each year that meets once a week to work on skills and issues that is relevant to their grade. Each seminar is divided into three parts with a different topic covered during a third of the year. Because sixth grade students are introduced to laptops, technology is their first unit. Students are taught rudimentary elements of using their laptops as well as proper etiquette for technology usage. The sixth grade students then have a unit on study skills taught by our Learning Specialist. This course coordinates the skills covered during both their advisory periods as well as their core academic classes. The last unit for the sixth graders is a health class. Seventh graders also have health and technology units but they also have a unit that introduces them to research skills. Lastly, the eighth graders have health and research units as well as a public speaking unit that prepares them for their Capstone presentations as well as their required speech to the Middle School during the course of the year.
HEALTH
As part of the seminar program, students in each grade meet once a week for a third of the year for health class. Topics covered differ from grade to grade but they range from nutrition, gender issues, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexuality, and good decision-making. The various topics are covered appropriately for each grade. Additionally, outside speakers are brought in to class meetings
of each grade top discuss issues that are relevant to that grade.
INDEPENDENT READING
The sixth and seventh graders enjoy one period per week with GFA librarians to read a book of their
own choosing. Librarians introduce the students to a wide variety of authors in an effort to expand the students’ reading horizons, as well as to stimulate and encourage reading as a life-long passion.
ELECTIVES
Studio Art, Band, Chorus, Orchestra, and Theater. Each of these electives meets at least twice a week. Each sixth grader is enrolled in Studio Art and is required to select one additional elective. Seventh and eighth graders are required to select one of the electives, although they may select more if the schedule permits.