Choir

All students willing to commit to being a part of the Middle School choir are encouraged to participate. The Eagle Singers meet once a week for approximately 20 minutes at the end of the school day (during car pool time). Students are exposed to a variety of music forms from classic to contemporary and pop. Learning to follow two-part harmony and blend with others are skills that participants develop. Eagle Singers perform at a fall flag ceremony (November), the Holiday program, Fine Arts Festival and a Spring Concert.

Drama

In a graduated educational theater curriculum that meets the National Standards for Theater Education, middle school students develop a broad range of skills during four years of nine-week-long exploratories in drama.

Through a wide variety of creative dramatics exercises, special group performance and solo performance opportunities, periodic written class work, quizzes and projects, the students gain a strong overview of the basic skills necessary to acting, playmaking, stagecraft and directing. Additionally, the students strengthen skills in self reflection and observation, cooperation and collaboration, creative and critical thinking, coordination, overcoming inhibitions, and public speaking.

Middle school students are also encouraged to participate in all aspects of the fall and spring middle school musicals such as “Annie, Jr.”, “101 Dalmatians, Kids” and “Fiddler on the Roof, Jr.” Opportunities are also made available to attend Regional Theater Festivals.

Through Drama I: An Introduction to Creative Dramatics; fifth grade students receive a general introduction to the skills and abilities used in creative dramatics and performance as well foundational information about the theater and the process of playmaking. The nine weeks are divided into units which include: pantomime, characterization, voice for the stage, stagecraft and improvisation.

Sixth grade students continue to build upon their skills in Drama II: Shakespeare - Let’s Throw A Wedding for Romeo and Juliet. The nine weeks are divided into units which include: Review of Drama I concepts and skills, Introduction to Shakespeare, Reading and Discussion of a grade-level version of Romeo and Juliet and viewing of film version, Language and Performance of Shakespeare, Characterization, and a final multi-group project/web-quest/performance of Let’s Throw A Wedding for Romeo and Juliet.

Seventh grade students explore the elements of stagecraft for the educational theatre in Drama III: Elements of Stagecraft. Over the course of the nine-weeks exploratory, students will be introduced to and gain hands on experience in the art of stagecraft. The nine weeks are divided into units which include: a review of Drama I-II concepts, an Introduction to the Elements of Stagecraft, Costume Design, Set Design and Construction, Make-Up for the Theatre, Hand and Set Props, Sound and Lighting, Stage Management and Theatre Appreciation.

Eighth grade students learn advanced acting and characterization skills with an additional emphasis on improvisation and an introduction to the basis elements of directing and theatre history during Drama IV.

The nine-week course will review Drama I-II-III concepts and focus upon themes and units which include: Characterization and Character Analysis, Improvisation, Voice for the Stage, Physical Expression, Introduction to Directing, Theatre history and potentially a final Directing and Performance project.

Music

The music curriculum for fifth grade encompasses every aspect of early childhood music education: music history, theory, ear training, Orff and Kodaly techniques, composition, instrumental training, movement and dance. Each student is challenged through the curriculum to develop skills on her own level.

Each year a specific music appreciation unit is taught in each grade level. Students are exposed to the classical music of famous composers like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms as well as compositions by some of the great American composers like Foster, Copland and Gershwin. Students learn to identify the instrument families in the orchestra and to describe how tempo, dynamics, and timbre affect the mood of a piece by listening and contrasting the differing styles between pieces of music.

Fifth grade students build upon the basic elements of music learned in lower school through a more challenging music curriculum. Development of the singing voice and movement continue to be important components of music with children in this developmental range. Songs appropriate for the age of the child, pitch matching and proper use of the voice are the main objective when singing.

Development of motor skills becomes more complex with the introduction of alternating patterns and bilateral movements with the beat of music. Students learn to perform creative movement while exploring space, level, and direction through the development of folk dance skills. Students also enhance their performance skills by exploring the techniques of creative drama which is used to enhance children’s literature by adding instruments and songs. Middle school students act out stories, songs, folk tales, etc. and add simple props or instruments and learn to pantomime or creatively move with music to portray a story. Students share their skills with their friends and family at monthly Flag Ceremonies, annual holiday programs, the Fine Arts Festival and by participating in dramatic musical class productions, in which every student has a role.

Visual Arts

Fifth and sixth grade students continue with visual vocabulary, texture, line, shape, value, color, and three-dimensional form. Drawing skills are reintroduced yearly. Line, contour line, movement, blind contour, perspective, and value are stressed. Emphasis is placed on figurative subject matter in development of self and visual awareness. During this time, group and individual projects are explored. Projects are introduced individually to provide opportunities in problem-solving and critical thinking. Books, slides and historical references are used to provide background information in the development of projects. Contemporary examples of work are often used to provide a basis for understanding artists and their work. Contemporary work often is used as motivational material to provide choices in problem solving. Group projects are initiated to involve students in participation and critical discussions of technique and material usage.

Students in the seventh and eighth grades continue their development of art vocabulary and reinforcement of the elements of design on this level. Drawing materials are explored. In developing awareness of line quality, value and perspective, various pencils are used to enhance and sharpen technique and sensitivity. Examples of contemporary art and historical references are used in projects to encourage students to overcome preconceptions, to extend the space beyond the classroom and to approach problem solving from objective and subjective points of view. Project themes are selected from the classroom curriculum and/or children's literature. Activities are sequential in thought process but diverse in media. Within class time, additional materials are provided for individual, spontaneous needs. Other projects are designed to encourage creative thinking with no limitations placed on choice of media.