Encouraging Middle School Growth with Signature Programs

The Middle School experience at Sanford is marked by grade-level traditions that create formative memories that students carry with them for the rest of their lives. With new faculty entering the Middle School and the disruption in traditional programming caused by the pandemic, teachers were spurred to “create events shaped by their unique passions, talents, and professional experiences as educators,” Head of Middle School Emily Amendum shared.

She noted that such grade-wide events “develop risktaking, creativity, critical thinking, and problemsolving abilities that enable students to apply knowledge and abstract thinking skills to real-world situations.” Additionally, they provide students to work collaboratively among each other and emerge as leaders.

She noted that each event is a “touch point for a student’s time in the Middle School” that spans all grade levels and “where each student’s growth is truly visible for all community members who are lucky enough to attend.”

Fifth-Grade Film Festival and Author’s Tea

In the fifth grade, the newly-introduced Film Festival and Author’s Tea celebrated students’ creativity in filmmaking and writing. Students wrote mystery story series in groups of three, “publishing” them using Book Creator, an online tool that allows students to create and share digital books. They then created movie trailers to entice audiences to read their stories which were presented in the Geipel Center for Performing Arts, where an award ceremony was held. Parents attending the presentation were then invited to collect autographs from students and ask them about their stories.

Middle School instructor Beth Whipple, one of the organizers of the event, said that engaging in the writing process and developing tech skills were central to the project’s learning outcomes.

“From brainstorming to writing drafts to peer editing, the project was very student-centered,” she said. “Students developed collaborative skills when connecting their story series and filming their trailers. They developed their tech skills while using iMovie on iPads.”

Parents, she added, were an integral part of the festival, acting as the audience during the awards ceremony and prompting conversation on the stories created by students.

Lena Mucchetti, parent of Matteo Muchetti ’31, said her family “loved the opportunity to see students dressed in their finest, walking the ‘red carpet,’ and each getting their moment in the spotlight. Gathering after the films to collect author autographs and enjoy community was a lovely way to cap off the project.”

Sixth-Grade Poetry Coffeehouse

In a cherished tradition, sixth graders chose and performed selected poems in the quad. The event follows a trend, woven throughout Middle School programming, of “incrementally growing students’ speaking and presentation in developmentally attainable ways,” said Amendum.

Families were invited to participate by listening and engaging with the students about their work, fostering a supportive community atmosphere in which students feel encouraged to share their work.

Laura Jezyk, parent of Ronan Jezyk ’30, said the Poetry Coffeehouse was “a beautiful event that helps the students gain self-confidence through poem selection, analysis, memorization, and the courage to speak in front of a crowd of peers and parents.”

“My child was so proud of the work he did and I am amazed at how much effort and interest he poured into the project,” she said.

Seventh-Grade GEMS Project

A new interdisciplinary unit introduced in seventh grade, the GEMS Project (combining global studies, English, math and science), enabled students to research and propose solutions to global issues outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which address global inequality, climate change, and threats to peace.

Students analyzed and discussed global problems in each of their core classes. The project then culminated with student presentations on their proposed solutions, acknowledging the global, local and individual impacts they can have as agents of change.

After the project’s first edition, seventh grade instructor Anthony Bushek, an organizer of the initiative, described the project as “a great success.” Students “met and even exceeded our expectations,” he said. “We raised the bar high for them because we knew that they were able to achieve our lofty aspirations.”

Bushek explained the interdisciplinary approach to the project, detailing how research on issues began in students’ global studies class. Gathered data was then analyzed in Math classes and used to create graphs in Science classes. Finally, students wrote speeches for their presentations in their English classes, creating TED Talk-style presentations for parents.

The GEMS project will become “a badge of honor for our middle schoolers to have accomplished,” Bushek said, noting his excitement to see “how our students who have already completed the GEMS project will continue to advocate and strive for the changes that they presented in their projects.”

“I have no doubt that our first batch of students, and the many more to come, will affect positive change at Sanford School and beyond,” he said.

Eighth-Grade Science Fair & Quiz Bowl

Eighth graders cap off their time in the Middle School with two memorable events: the Science Fair and a new initiative that draws parents into playful competition with their children through a quiz bowl-style event, titled, “Are You Smarter Than Your Eighth Grader?”

For the science fair, students worked for four months researching, designing and performing their own scientific experiments. Professional scientists and engineers from the area served as the judging panel

Each event is a “touch point for a student’s time in the Middle School” that spans all grade levels and “where each student’s growth is truly visible for all community members who are lucky enough to attend.” and were “blown away by the level of science our students were able to achieve,” said eighth-grade science instructor Jillian Wharton.

Wharton said that a main goal of the fair is “to have students understand that the purpose of a scientific experiment is to learn from mistakes” and to develop “a strong appreciation for what it takes to run a welldesigned experiment.”

She noted the incredible creativity of students expressed through the selection of their experiments. One project studied the effect of different phrases and tones of voice on the growth of mold. The winning project, created by Nico Muchetti ’28, focused on rocket projectiles.

Are You Smarter Than Your Eighth Grader?

After showing off their skills before science professionals, eighth-graders prove their knowledge to their parents at the “Are You Smarter Than Your Eighth Grader” event.

The one-night event required parents to sign up, form a team and compete in a trivia challenge consisting mainly of topics covered during the school year.

Wharton said the faculty “wanted to have something special and specific to our eighth-graders that would involve their families in a low-stakes, lots-of-fun kind of way.”

In its first edition, almost every student team beat out every parent team, she noted, but not without some friendly competition.

Wendy Ottenbacher, parent of Ryan Gipe ’28, said the kids “attempted to fool us by saying a wrong answer loudly,” though “it only worked part of the time,” adding that the event was a “fun night for all ages.”

Michelle Berkley-Ayres, parent of Alyss Ayres ’28, said while her team did not beat all the other parent teams, “our kids beat everybody!”

“It was rigged from the beginning!” she claimed.