Middle School
The Power of Discovery
Middle School, Grades 6-8, is a time of significant change cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically for adolescents. At King, we create opportunities for our students to develop a genuine understanding of who they are and how they fit into the world around them.
Communication, intellectual and creative processing, character development, and personal growth are key competency areas designed to encourage academic achievement, personal fulfillment, and social responsibility.
King encourages self-discovery and builds their confidence to explore their passions. We create a student-centered environment where children thrive because they can become “both/and”: a rower and a robot-maker, a designer and a goalie, a chemist and a choreographer.
Looking for Grade 5?
King has an intentionally designed program that prepares students for Middle School.
Throughout the Middle School, inquiry-based learning highlights student voice and choice.
Students formulate their own essential questions and use them to guide their exploration and learning. From their opening experiences in Middle School University in Grade 6 to their independent Grade 8 READY project, where they explore an area of passion or interest, students investigate questions ranging from Who am I? to What does my community need from me?
Middle School faculty look for and are trained to seek opportunities in and out of the classroom where students can engage in learning through the process of questioning, information gathering and evaluation, application, and revision. Moments like this include but are not limited to outdoor education experiences at a local environmental preserve, simulations designed to solve current global issues, and interdisciplinary studies of various topics.
Everything in the inquiry-based approach to learning in the King Middle School cultivates curiosity and fosters self-discovery.
King guides every student in the discovery of who they are and how they learn. Students explore a wide variety of fields and topics deeply and intentionally. They seek to understand the ways that strong communities are built upon differences both in experience and perspective. Only then can students begin to see learning as a way to understand their community, their place in the world, and the possibilities they possess to drive positive change.Dr. Josh Deitch, Head of Middle School
Learn More
Middle School in Action
Math classrooms in the Lower School and Middle School were buzzing with excitement – not just the students, but the teachers too! That's what happened at King School recently when Susan Resnick, the mastermind behind the popular "Math in Focus: Singapore Math" curriculum, came to visit.
King’s middle school choir brought harmony to Providence! Thirteen talented students journeyed to Providence, Rhode Island, for the ACDA Eastern Regional Honor Choir. Selected from over 1,800 auditions, they showcased their a cappella skills, made new friends, and wowed the audience. Thanks to Ms. Bach's guidance, our students hit all the right notes. It was a celebration of dedication, friendship, and the power of music!
Since 2021, King students have gathered for Give Back Tuesdays to work with community partners on various King Cares Projects. The students select an area of interest and volunteer to help the King community with its philanthropic endeavors. This week was particularly special as students gathered to work with a company formed by four King siblings to package cookies for The Villa at Stamford, a rehabilitation center and King partner organization.
Continuing an annual tradition, Grade 8 students welcomed peers from The Greenwich Japanese School on Wednesday, January 10, as part of their Cultural Exchange Program. The meeting marked a decade of exchanges and provided a valuable opportunity for students to examine the similarities and differences between the two communities.
Upper and middle school students explored the art of cyanotype printing from Monday, December 4, to Friday, December 8, with visiting artist Leah Caroline, culminating in a large-scale installation in the Performing Arts Center. Cyanotype is a nineteenth-century photographic printing technique originally used for recording natural elements. In this process, plant materials, found objects or film negatives are placed on chemically treated paper or fabric, exposed to sunlight, and then developed in water. This development process transforms the paper from a bright yellow-green to a brilliant Prussian blue, leaving the unexposed areas white.
From the impact of genetics and ethnicity on breast cancer and the environmental effects of candles to American football's history and the ball's aerodynamic design, Grade 8 students showcased a diverse range of interests through their semester-long R.E.A.D.Y. projects. Friends and family of the young researchers buzzed around the middle school atrium on Friday, December 8, listening to the students’ R.E.A.D.Y. presentations, an acronym that stands for Research, Experience, Action, Designed by You.
Students in science teacher Katie O’Connor’s Grade 8 Concepts in Physical Science class used ClassVR, a technology that introduces virtual and augmented reality in classrooms, to see things invisible to the naked eye through augmented reality. More specifically, they had the chance to see models of elements and compounds that are ubiquitous in their world.
Middle school students debuted the first theatrical performance of the 2023-24 school year with two magical performances of “A Wrinkle In Time” on Friday, November 10. The iconic science fantasy piece tells the story of three adolescents who embark on a journey through space and time looking for a lost family member. Themes of family, good against evil, personal maturity, and forgiveness resonated with many students.
The middle school community enjoyed an engaging presentation from Rodney Eric Lopez, a motivational speaker and educator who teaches about community, growth mindset, and generosity through dance. Lopez spoke with students and faculty in the middle school atrium on Thursday, November 9, where he shared how dancing and departing from comfort zones can bring a community together.