MIDDLE SCHOOL

Grades 6-8

You only need a moment in the North Wing of our Lyman Campus building to sense the bustling energy of scientists, artists, engineers, writers and thinkers diving deep into their learning. The Middle School experience at Laurel is based on the work of our Center for Research on Girls on how girls learn best. Experiential learning balances time-honored traditions, and strategies are tailored to each girl as she finds and develops her voice. Girls work on leadership skills as they collaborate with teachers and classmates to take ownership of their learning.

They create and conduct experiments in science, they build and draw models to visualize concepts in math, they memorize and act out scenes from Shakespearean plays, and they investigate and debate constitutional issues. Middle School girls at Laurel learn by doing, love choice, and rise to creative challenges.

MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

I-PROJECT

The Independent Project (I-Project) is a research-based passion project in which Eighth Graders probe areas of interest and refine their research realms by interviewing an expert in a field of interest, defining a question to answer, and outlining a plan of action. In choosing how their research and efforts will help to change the world, students become experts in a new area of competence. Students keep a record of their learning through assigned journal prompts but otherwise develop individualized milestones for this half-year project. As the project culminates, students write about and present to classmates about what they have accomplished!

IMMERSION WEEKS

Immersion Weeks are entirely experiential, interdisciplinary and community-based and allow girls to put the skills they learn in each of their classes to the test. The Greek Olympics culminates the Sixth Graders’ learning about the Classics and Classical Studies and during Space Week, they experiment with engineering their own rockets. During Tinkering Week, Seventh Graders redesign animatronics, tinker with language to change meaning and even experiment with ingredients to create new recipes. During Nation Creation, Eighth Graders explore the challenges faced by settlers in North America. Girls design a government, write a Bill of Rights, create an economy, and later in the year, operate as nation groups in a simulated United Nations.

ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS

Seventh and Eighth Graders may train to compete in district, regional and state Power of the Pen competitions. The Middle School Power of the Pen team is consistently awarded top honors at the State level. Students enrolled in the Robotics or Speech and Debate electives compete in local, regional and state competitions. The Robotics team has competed at the State competition almost every year since its inception. Middle School mathematicians have the opportunity to participate in several math competitions each year including the Ohio Math League competition and the Greater Cleveland Council of Teachers of Mathematics competition.

PROGRAMMING & ROBOTICS

Laurel’s enthusiasm for programming and robotics is woven throughout a girl’s Middle School experience. Sixth Graders use remotely operated robots in Battlebots competitions, some choosing to compete locally in a Battlebot Throwdown. The Computer Science course in Seventh and Eighth Grades teaches students coding, problem-solving and computational thinking.

ELECTIVE PROGRAM

Electives for Sixth-Eighth Graders introduce girls to new academic experiences. Electives span a wide array of choices and have included options such as First LEGO League Robotics, Middle School Newspaper, American Sign Language, Yoga, Money Matters, Junior Model UN, and Speech and Debate.

INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

Service opportunities begin on campus and extend into greater Cleveland. An annual Middle School Clothing Swap, for instance, with proceeds benefiting local women’s support organizations, is an opportunity for girls to design, promote, and see through a project that allows them to use their abilities and understanding, as tweens and teens, to positively impact others.

Grades 6-8

at Laurel’s Butler Campus

Leadership Partnerships Initiative

LEADERSHIP

Elected and organic leadership opportunities abound for Laurel Middle Schoolers. The Middle School Student Government runs Assembly each month, infusing the community-building time with student-led games and speakers girls are inspired to invite to campus. Student leaders enlist the support of classmates for service projects designed to build community, on campus and around Cleveland. Green and White spirit team captains help to plan and run competitions throughout the school year, culminating in Green and White Day in June. Representatives from Seventh and Eighth Grade represent Laurel in a yearlong Cleveland Council of Independent School (CCIS) Leadership program.