Evaluation of Student Work

Marin Waldorf School reserves the right to adjust middle school policies on an ongoing basis. Updates, adjustments, and addendums to the 2022-2023 Middle School Handbook will be communicated to the students as necessary.

Introduction

At Marin Waldorf School we are dedicated to providing an education that acknowledges and encourages the development of the child as a whole human being, body, soul and spirit, while maintaining high academic standards and lifetime skills. We offer a curriculum that fosters enthusiasm for learning as well as strengthening capacities and competence of skills. The middle school curriculum builds upon the foundation of well-formed imagination and the enthusiasm engendered by the curriculum of the earlier grades. Each subject is studied in a manner that inspires the intellect, stirs the emotions, and physically challenges the capacities of adolescents. Beginning in the sixth grade, students are considered capable of a degree of independence and understanding that enables them to take full responsibility in their commitment to the school and its workings. As in many adult communities, the members are asked to consciously endorse the rules that underlie a harmonious life together and to agree to a way of remediation should these rules be broken. Most of the guidelines in this Student Handbook have been common practice for students since they first attended Marin Waldorf School. In earlier years, teachers and parents took responsibility to help students learn and follow the rules. Now students are asked to share this responsibility in full as a sign of their own desire and commitment to be a fruitful member of this school community.

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Middle School Programs

Technology

Throughout the 7th grade school year students have various assignments that may require typing. Along with developing keyboarding skills, teachers assign limited computer research for class projects in the 7th and 8th grades. The class teacher leads discussions around how to access and use Internet information in a reliable way. Students are guided in understanding how to incorporate outside sources accurately and avoid plagiarism.

Cyber Civics

Cyber Civics is introduced in the 5th Grade and continues into 7th and 8th Grades. Lessons and discussions with students center around topics such as digital citizenship, healthy media practices at home and school, online safety and privacy protection. The course is designed to be free of any media or device use in the classroom. Parents will be incorporated in discussions around media use throug h lessons and take-away materials.

Community Service

6th graders participate in on-campus service projects throughout the year, including, but not limited to, recycling and campus care. In the 7th and 8th grades, students choose individual community service projects and participate in them for a minimum of 30 hours of service over the course of two school years. The project is rooted in improving the life or environment of others. Community service opportunities are available at school, and community service hours will be recorded by students and submitted to the teacher. (This program has been paused due to Covid.)

Outdoor Education

Grades 6, 7 and 8 meet regularly, as individual classes and occasionally as larger groups, to hike and explore nature studies, both on and off campus.

Environmental Education: Gardening and Ecology

The school strives to raise the awareness of our entire community by emphasizing the interconnectedness and care for our environment. An active school recycling system run by the upper grades ensures that consciousness about the environment is brought to the school. Activities may include: improving school landscape, building compost piles, studying man-made systems in our environment, garden to table cooking, and working with plants.

After-School Sports

The After-School Sports Program is available to students in grades six, seven, and eight. Typically we offer basketball, soccer, volleyball and mountain biking. We emphasize skill building and good sportsmanship. All students are welcome and included on teams regardless of experience or skill level.