Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Sixth Grade: Wilderness Experience

The Wilderness Experience is a theme that focuses on personal growth, teamwork, outdoor skills, and stewardship. Through weekly day trips, such as rock-climbing and canoeing, sixth graders experience challenges that help them develop a wide range of skills, which are tested during a culminating five-day backpacking expedition to Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. Throughout the theme, students learn to reflect upon and take responsibility for their learning. They discover more about their personal and collective strengths, ultimately learning that they can do more than they first thought they could. In the end, students learn many lessons, such as perseverance, trust, and cooperation, which they can then apply to many situations throughout their school and personal lives. Academic integrations include connected literature study, problem-solving skills, reflective writing, and research projects.

Sixth Grade: Know Your Civil Rights

During the third trimester, the Sixth Grade students explore the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, examining key events, leaders, and legislation that shaped the fight for equality in an attempt to answer the following question: What is a government’s role in protecting the civil liberties of its people? Through engaging activities, primary source analysis, and discussions, students learn about pivotal moments such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This theme emphasizes the importance of justice, empathy, and active citizenship, encouraging students to connect historical struggles with ongoing efforts for civil rights today. The trimester endscwith a culminating project and a trip to the National Civil Rights Museum located in Memphis, TN.

Seventh Grade: Environmental Cycles

In Environmental Cycles, students look at a variety of environmental topics, including global access to resources and solutions of various types for uses of energy and pollution. Students engage in a variety of readings, in-class activities, documentaries, and field experiences as they learn about and discuss the issues that impact our world. Students also work on debate and presentation skills as they research and present issues of environmental concern that are of particular interest to them. Finally, throughout the trimester, students explore cycling as an alternative form of transportation. Students learn, among other things, how to perform trail bike maintenance, operate, follow, and create safety routines, and ride safely in a group on bike paths.

Seventh Grade: Urban and Social Justice Experience

As seventh graders explore the urban landscape, they wonder together about the many different aspects of community. Students learn to use public transportation, explore neighborhoods, and interact with residents and business owners to produce a final project concentrating on a relevant social issue and a reasonable solution or improvement related to that issue. In small groups, students travel to various St. Louis neighborhoods to conduct interviews, do research, and absorb the atmosphere that makes up a city. This theme also travels to Chicago for a five-day investigation of the city’s unique urban qualities, where students engage in shared experiences through cultural immersion, respectful debates, and written reflections.

Eighth Grade: Field Ecology

In Eighth Grade, students at The College School step into the role of field ecologists—scientists who study the living and non-living systems that make up our natural world. Throughout the trimester, students work together as a research team, learning the responsibilities, skills, and mindset of professional ecologists. Close to home, they embark on day trips around the St. Louis region, where they collect data from a variety of ecosystems. These experiences build a strong foundation in science while also strengthening critical skills in collaboration, problem-solving, and observation. The theme culminates in a nine-day expedition conducting site studies at various locations such as the Smoky Mountains, Black Balsam Knob, and the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Immersed in diverse landscapes—from mountain summits to rushing rivers—students deepen their studies, gather field data, and experience the adventure of living and working outdoors as a scientific team. Back at school, students analyze the data they’ve collected both collaboratively and individually. Each student then develops a unique research question and uses their findings to craft an evidence-based conclusion, just as scientists do.

Eighth Grade: “Now What?”

The “Now What?” Theme combines service learning with adventure education and reflection. Eighth graders engage in challenging experiences that require them to build and strengthen individual and group capacities. Through a variety of local service opportunities (e.g. work in the wilderness, in urban communities, and so on), students use the skills they have developed during their careers at The College School to give back to the community. Students interact with a variety of service-based organizations and professionals to learn about their fields. The course culminates in an adventurous six-day trip to New Orleans that provides the class with an extended service opportunity. Throughout the process, students work to identify deeper lessons from their College School careers to craft their graduation speeches.