Welcome to a safe and exciting learning environment that is part fun, part serious, and always active!
In all disciplines, middle school courses focus on skill acquisition. Coursework progresses from the concrete to the abstract as a student moves from sixth through eighth grade. Dedicated Derryfield teachers make themselves fully present in their students’ classes and their lives to challenge, nurture, and support them as they navigate the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual challenges of early adolescence.
Portrait of A Derryfield Graduate
From the moment 6th graders sit down in their first Middle School Skills class to that far-off day when seniors ring the Lockwood Bell signaling their graduation from Derryfield, each experience at Derryfield is designed to cultivate this Portrait of a Derryfield Graduate. Along the way, students consistently engage with real-world learning in a project-based curriculum that emphasizes not just the acquisition of knowledge and skills, but their application in authentic experiences.
Students and faculty embrace the Core Value of Aiming High as they pursue the Portrait of a Derryfield Graduate as partners in learning, but the Derryfield values of Balance and Individuality are just as important in the Academic Program. The School encourages students to seek a balance of challenge and support in their Academic pursuits and to discover and nurture their passions. Student voice and choice from choosing from a wide range of course offerings to exploring individual passions in a project-based curriculum help transform the Portrait of a Derryfield Graduate into the Portrait of this Derryfield Graduate.
Belonging
I take action to help both
myself and others to belong
in any community.
Civil Discourse
I engage in respectful
discussion and appreciate
diverse perspectives with a
desire to learn.
Collaboration
I work with others:
listening, compromising, and
contributing toward
shared goals.
Communication
I use the most effective
tools to share my ideas
with clear purpose.
Creativity
I use a number of different
strategies to generate
new, original ideas.
Critical Thinking
I interpret, evaluate, and synthesize information in order
to challenge my own and
others’ assumptions before
drawing conclusions.
Cultural Awareness
I appreciate my unique
identity and perspective,
as well as, those of others
in my local and
global communities.
Problem Solving
I know how to break down
complex, real-world problems
and design creative,
compassionate solutions.
Research
I ask meaningful questions
and form conclusions using
credible resources.
Self-Advocacy
I know what helps me learn,
when to ask for help, and
how to find support
and resources.
Because Derryfield believes that engagement with the latest technology and facility with design thinking are essential to life in the 21st-Century, a required strand of Computer Science and Design Thinking moves through the Middle School beginning with an introduction to Design Thinking and Coding in 6th grade. Each year, these courses introduce Middle Schoolers to the languages of design and coding and set the foundation for STEAM X education in the Upper School and beyond.
Grade 6: Coder X I
In this course, students learn about computer technology and the fundamentals of computer programming. Students also learn the fundamentals of programming using MIT’s Scratch programming language. Students create animated movies, build arcade-style video games, and develop challenging brain games while learning how to write event-driven programs using Scratch.
Grade 7: Coder X II
Students are introduced to programming using two applications: the Swift Playground App and the micro:bit App. Along with developing programming skills, students will engage in project-based coding using the micro:bit App.
Grade 8: Finance Literacy and Entrepreneurship
This course allows students to apply math practically, building their financial literacy. Through engaging resources and activities, students will practice the skills to get started on the right track to effectively manage their personal finances
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Nuts & Bolts
Leadership, Ethics, and Development
The LEAD program is designed to foster each student’s social, emotional, physical, and ethical growth. Through intentional and age appropriate curricula, students develop skills to confidently navigate adolescence and prepare them to be purposeful citizens in any community.
Derryfield’s block schedule makes time for what we value: relationships, community, exploration, and excellent teaching and learning. The eight-day schedule offers predictability and consistency: a student will have the same courses and experience each Even or Odd Day. This schedule creates longer classes of 75 minutes, time for student centered learning, applying knowledge as you learn, innovative problem solving, and time to develop new strategies and experiences in collaboration, communication, media literacy, creativity and critical thinking.
Faculty have embedded coordinated skills instruction through the middle school curriculum. The Academic Support team maintains close communication with classroom teachers and advisors to identify students needing academic support. Additional resources include skills development in sixth grade LEAD class, extra help with a teacher, academic power class, and tutoring.
Because Derryfield believes that engagement with the latest technology and facility with design thinking are essential to life in the 21st-Century, a required strand of Computer Science and Design Thinking moves through the Middle School beginning with an introduction to Design Thinking and Coding in 6th grade. Each year, these courses introduce Middle Schoolers to the languages of design and coding and set the foundation for STEAM education in the Upper School and beyond.
Explorations
Explorations are designed to immerse students and faculty in experiences and pursuits that inspire new interests, broaden skills, and sharpen awareness of the community outside of the classroom. Rooted in academic and real-world skills, they are designed on a pass/fail basis to encourage students and faculty to take risks, to be playful, and to venture into new territory.
Crime Scene Investigation
Students explore different methods used to solve real life crimes.
Robotics
Students are introduced to the world of robotics.
Chorus
Open to any student with an interest in singing.
Model UN
Students role play international negotiations and learn about current world issues.
Explorations are designed to immerse students and faculty in experiences and pursuits that inspire new interests, broaden skills, and sharpen awareness of the community outside of the classroom. Rooted in academic and real-world skills, they are designed on a pass/fail basis to encourage students and faculty to take risks, to be playful, and to venture into new territory.
