PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The middle school physical education program promotes the importance of lifetime fitness and physical activity. Core movements and exercises, such as body weight push-ups and squats, are intertwined throughout the program. Students are encouraged to understand the importance of regular physical activity as an essential component of overall physical and mental health. The program is designed for every student to find a love of physical activity by introducing students to a variety of activities and sports that focus on movement and fitness. Students will learn how to work with a team, practice good sportsmanship, and demonstrate respect for one’s self and others while participating in games and sports.

5th and 6th Grade

In 5th and 6th grade, students will focus on gross motor skills and core fitness movements with an emphasis on teamwork and sportsmanship. These are explored through a variety of activities and sports. Units include striking, dribbling, throwing and catching, and kicking. These units are explored through playing games and sports such as volleyball, Omnikin, kickball, and soccer.

7th and 8th Grade

In 7th and 8th grade, students focus on lifetime sports and fitness. Students learn more about individual fitness, emphasizing proper technique while performing core fitness movements. Students will have the opportunity to practice these movements and techniques during the weight room orientation unit and fitness days throughout the year. Students will also learn how to play lifetime sports such as golf, tennis, pickleball, badminton, spike ball, and ultimate frisbee while emphasizing strategy and leadership skills.

Wellness Model

Life Balance

Middle school is an ideal time to learn healthy ways to balance one’s life. Our emphasis on leadership development and its role in helping girls learn to make meaningful choices is woven throughout the Life Balance curriculum. Various formats are used as springboards to discuss the following developmentally appropriate principles of our wellness model: leadership, healthy relationships, emotional life, mind-body connection, meaningful life purpose, movement, and nutrition.

Topics include:

5th Grade Theme:

Learning to Lead Myself

Transition to Harpeth Hall, team-building, emotional intelligence, resilience, conflict resolution, relational aggression, internet safety, equity and inclusion, and becoming an independent learner

6th Grade Theme:

Learning to Lead within a Community

Friendships, family relationships, media and females, diversity, puberty, optimistic learner, values clarification, and digital citizenship

7th Grade Theme:

Learning to Lead as a Team

Team building, communication skills, relational aggression, diversity, drugs and alcohol education, and stress management

8th Grade Theme:

Learning to Lead a Community

Self-assessment, stress management, eating disorders and body image, healthy partnerships, diversity, values clarification, leadership style, transition to the upper school, and coping skills

Library And Technology

When students graduate from Harpeth Hall, they have the skills to perform sophisticated research and feel comfortable using many common applications. Information literacy skills, including library and technology skills along with digital citizenship, are taught at all grade levels and across all disciplines. These skills are taught within the context of the curriculum. Professional librarians work with students at all levels to develop a love of reading. Librarians also present book talks and create reading lists to assist students in finding just the right books to read.

In addition, students learn the entire research process, from accessing and evaluating materials to presenting research and properly citing sources. Research skills are introduced in the middle school and are reinforced throughout the upper school. Students are taught to use the library catalog to locate print and online sources, organize and incorporate information from a variety of sources into a single presentation, prepare a list of works cited, and understand how to avoid plagiarism.

Technology specialists work with students to teach them the technical skills necessary to enhance classroom learning. They also guide students in ways to be responsible digital citizens. These skills are taught collaboratively with the classroom teacher to enhance specific projects and assignments.

Premier Programs

Enrichment Classes

Students have additional opportunities to grow their talents during enrichment class electives that meet during the school day. Enrichment classes include Forensics Club, Lego League Robotics, Model United Nations, Number Crunchers, Library Leaders, and the Middle School Literary Magazine.

Leadership Program

Harpeth Hall’s leadership development program sees every girl as a leader. Grounded in respect, integrity, individuality, goodness, and trust, girls hone their leadership skills through a variety of experiences, including public speaking, classroom presentations, on the athletic field, on stage, and in interactions with the greater community through service learning and internships.

Scholars Engaged in Extending Knowledge (SEEK)

Harpeth Hall established the SEEK program to provide 7th and 8th grade students a means to pursue independent study in an area of their choice. The initiative encourages a student to expand her learning beyond the standard curriculum by extending the work she has done for a specific class, studying an area untapped by the middle school curriculum, or pursuing a new skill or creative endeavor. Students apply for a SEEK scholarship in September and, if accepted, receive the guidance and financial support necessary to delve more deeply into the study of their choice in history, literature, film, science, technology, engineering, politics, world cultures, or mathematics. A SEEK scholar may also wish to develop her talents in creative writing, art, music, photography, drama, or dance. Each scholar works with a faculty mentor or an expert in the field who helps her formulate questions and guide her research. All scholars complete a final product such as a research paper, a publication, a performance, or an original composition that they present to the SEEK faculty committee and the middle school student body. Harpeth Hall recognizes each scholar at an all-school assembly in the spring.

Lego League Robotics

Lego League Robotics focuses on applying coding, engineering, and teamwork to accomplish missions using Lego Mindstorm robots. Teams also identify and solve a problem connected to the Lego League theme for the year. Previous themes include how to be an animal ally, solving the world’s trash problems, and human exploration of space. Harpeth Hall’s well-established middle school robotics program has earned awards on the state and regional levels demonstrating the power of girls in coding and engineering design. Past awards include a first-place state recognition of “core values,” reflecting the students’ enthusiausm, strong teamwork, and outstanding research projects. Harpeth Hall has also won the Music City Qualifiers overall Champion’s Award, and a first place state recognition in a category that noted the team’s outstanding programming.