The Middle School Experience

A New Experience In Middle School

Middle School is a time of intense growth and intellectual development.Middle schoolers learn best through interactive approaches in which they can engage, discuss and take action around real life problems.Students are also ready and eager to work towards making positive contributions to their communities.This understanding informs how we teach and engage middle school students at EBI.

Our middle school floor is a welcoming and warm space in which students learn to self-manage their own transitions from period to period.They also take on greater responsibility for handling their own homework, using a student planner, and other independent study skills.EBI middle schoolers develop these student skills through our advisory program and through academic support.We also offer optional academic labs after school where students can get help and also receive extension assignments if they want extra challenges.

One of the largest shifts for EBI middle-schoolers is having 10 different teachers for 11different subjects, in comparison to the self-contained classrooms of elementary school.Although middle school classes all take place in different periods, the teachers work in conjunction with each other to plan inter-disciplinary units that knit together concepts from several disciplines.

The Community Project

The Community Project is a major activity for students in the final year of the MYPprogram at EBI. The Community Project focuses on community and service,encouraging students to implement service as action in the community.This learning process gives students an opportunity to develop awareness of needs in various communities and address those needs through service learning.As a consolidation of learning,the community project engages in a sustained, in-depth inquiry leading to service as action in the community.

Electives And Extracurriculars

From electives and sports to middle school dances,middle-schoolers at EBI have access to a range of opportunities that help them expand their social network and focus on individual interests.Middle school students at EBI have access to extracurricular activities including: Science Olympiad Math Counts Book Club Creative Writing Chronicles of EBI Chamber Orchestra Visual Arts Personal Finance & Stock Market Debate Youth Entrepreneurs Traditional games Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) Basketball Volleyball Ultimate Frisbee Soccer Cross Country Track and Field

Middle School Travel

Included in the tuition, all middle school students have the opportunity to participate in an outdoor education travel experience.Students make curricular connections before, during,and after the trip. Middle School trips have included the Marin Headlands,Pinnacle National Forest, Astro Camp, Catalina Islands,Yucatán,México and San José,Costa Rica.The trips are led in conjunction with professional educational tour leaders.