Middle School Highlights

MIDDLE SCHOOL

HIGHLIGHTS

MIDDLE SCHOOL VISION

At St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju, in the Middle School, we aspire toward student ownership of learning, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and being a community that is culturally and academically inclusive.

PERSONALIZED LEARNING

Learning Support

All students and young people who need support with their learning should get help. This year, we have implemented a new way to deliver learning support. The Learning Support Delivery Model strengthens how learning support is provided so that all students can get the right support, in the right place, at the right time.

It organizes learning support based on what best meets the needs of students. Learning support offers a continuum of support based on the learning needs of the individual student. The creation of the Student Success Team (SST) will allow for a team effort in providing a supportive environment for students. Support is more flexible and joined-up, and tailored around the needs of all learners.

CAPSTONE

Grade 8 Capstone is a collaborative learning experience that reflects a positive community celebration. Students work in preselected groups, where they explore their chosen issue related to the 17 UN sustainability goals. As to develop ways to have a positive impact on the issue. During the Capstone project, students have the opportunity to grow their 21st-century skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking.

This year, the learning experience was guided by the principles of Project-Based Learning. It allowed students to explore their topics. This allows for a more authentic project in which students should encounter difficulties and experimentation or exploration during the process. This is essential to the learning experience within the CAPSTONE model.

EAL

EAL support at SJA Jeju recognizes the contribution of our EAL learners to the education of all learners. We welcome linguistic diversity and promote the development of English academic proficiency alongside the development of the home language.

WIDA stands for World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment. The WIDA Consortium is a group of states dedicated to the design and implementation of high standards and equitable educational opportunities for English learners. Educators used MODEL test scores to monitor students’ progress, exit students from EAL programs, and make decisions about language supports, placement into classes, and instruction for EALs.

In Middle School, our language specialists and classroom teachers work together as a team to ensure the best academic outcome possible within a happy, social framework that enables students to benefit from all our school has to offer. Regardless of the level of proficiency, the goal of our EAL team is the same – to work in partnership with teachers, students, and parents to support multilingual learners, enable them to take advantage of the many opportunities our school has to offer, and ultimately fulfill their potential. Teaching teams that master the integration of the four domains—responding to student needs, integrating curriculum and skills, sharing successful teaching and learning strategies, and maximizing available time creatively—are key to achieving the ultimate vision of the middle school concept. Common planning time is a critical component of interdisciplinary teaming, which is defined as a group of teachers from different subject areas who plan and work together and who share the same students for a significant portion of the school day. Interdisciplinary teaming is intended to create a context that enables students and teachers to know one another better and allows teachers to better support and understand the educational needs of students. Teams generally focus on creating coordinated lesson plans, share and discuss student progress, problems and issues, and integrate subjects around a central theme or issue.

GRADE LEVEL TEAMING

CONNECT

Advisory

The SJA Jeju Middle School Advisory Program is an integral part of the foundation of Middle School. Middle school students are in a period of significant developmental changes. They are seeking new connections and learning to navigate new school experiences, and they have increased autonomy. The primary purpose of Advisory in the Middle School is to build student-to-student affiliation and help students to calibrate in addressing certain critical issues. Middle School Advisory is a key time for discussing important issues and helping students become invested in doing their part to create a strong, vibrant, healthy school community where students can flourish.

National Junior Honor Society

This year the Middle School is proud to announce the establishment of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS). The NJHS is one of the nation's premier organizations established to recognize outstanding middle-level students. The NJHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, character, and citizenship. The NJHS Induction Ceremony for the 2021-2022 school year was held on November 29, 2021, in which 25 students were inducted. Congratulations to the new members for maintaining high standards for the school year 2021-2022.

COMMUNITY

STUCO Events

Student Council’s 2021/22 was an amazing year in which they designed to teach students how to become strong leaders and productive citizens in the community and world. The Student Council's sole purpose is to promote citizenship, leadership, human relations, and cultural values. SJA Jeju Middle school gives students an opportunity to develop these skills by organizing and carrying out school activities and service projects. This year we had the Halloween Celebration, STUCO Assemblies, cultural awareness, and learning about our community groups. Students were able to participate in a variety of activities.

From the various fundraisers, we organize the day-to-day interactions. This year we saw a more active and dedicated student council, and thus we also saw more successful activities planned.

THE ARTS

The Arts program in the Middle School allows students, through the study of art, music, and drama, to plan and craft artistic products or performances that reflect their individuality. We integrate our progressive visual arts curriculum into each student's education with academic electives and after-school activities throughout the middle school experience.

Teaching the creative process is at the heart of all of our arts courses. Choice and exploration –between and within different artistic disciplines – are at the heart of the Middle School arts program.

This year the Visual Art program focussed on the beautification of the Middle School building by highlighting student artwork. The Drama this year was a collaboration with the High School that culminated in the Middle School Play, West Side Story. Middle School music ensembles are accessible and engaging for both beginners and seasoned performers, as we have seen in our yearly performances.

FUTURE STEPS

Growth of the Program

The 2022-2023 school year will see the addition of several programs and roles. Academic Foundations is a course that will be offered to all incoming grade 6 students that will help students build capacity in areas that will help them be successful in middle school and beyond, including: Study Skills, Executive Functioning Skills, Self-Advocacy Skills, Academic Skills, SEL (Social Emotional Learning) Skills, and other relevant skills. Spanish will also be added as a world language option. The addition of a College, Lifeskills, and Career Readiness Advisor will also help students develop skills and prepare to be lifelong learners who are prepared to matriculate on to the next steps in their lives. Finally, Capstone will be added as a class in the 20222023 school year–helping to ensure that students get the time they need to develop their passion projects.

The 2022-2023 will also see the addition of a House System in the middle school. The implementation of a house system will put a structure in place to positively reinforce the good choices that students make and to better provide pastoral care within the middle school. In addition, the House System will foster a greater sense of community as the students will form Houses with students across all three grade levels at the middle school.