We are thrilled to announce that The Abelard School will launch a middle school program for students in Grades 7 & 8 in the 2018-19 academic year.
Why Grade 7/8?
A growing number of parents have been enquiring about a middle school programme at Abelard. We are responding to this interest because we believe we are uniquely positioned to offer an enriched, exciting, and challenging curriculum and school experience for students in grades 7 and 8. First, the Grade 7 and 8 curriculum as set out by the Ministry of education contains much repetition: this leaves us space and time to accelerate required content and offer enrichment that goes beyond what you would usually expect in a middle school programme. Additionally, we have found over the years that many students applying to Abelard from Grade 8 don’t yet have the requisite knowledge and skills to make a smooth transition into an academically advanced high school curriculum. By welcoming middle school students at Abelard, we can tailor their education to ensure their ongoing success.
Elevating Students
In our middle school program, we cultivate a passion for learning. At Abelard, this means that we tackle big ideas and big problems in an age-appropriate manner so that students learn to approach the world around them with an open mind. In addition to the knowledge and skills developed by our enriched curriculum, we teach students to be reflective thinkers, caring and principled global citizens, and bold communicators. We elevate our students.
Our Curriculum
We’ve been preparing students to be successful in university for twenty years, now we wish to prepare them for success in high school!
At the high school level, we’ve developed a unique integrated curriculum which stresses the interconnection of academic disciplines. Our exciting middle school programme is designed to introduce young scholars to the symbiotic way that ideas overlap in the real world, preparing middle schoolers with the cultural and historical background necessary to flourish in high school.
Further, we’ve learned over the years that students learn best when they can contextualize the concepts they are being taught. All students, but particularly middle school students, benefit from some hands-on, activity-based learning to augment classroom instruction. Our middle school programme is augmented by interdisciplinary workshops led by our teachers or visiting specialists.
Our regular curriculum is anchored by three foundational components:
- The historical context of knowledge. We undertake a study of the sciences, mathematics, literature, history, philosophy, and political ideologies in the context of each of the following periods: the Ancient World, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, and the Age of Reason.
- The integrated core curriculum. A rigorous core curriculum challenges students in English, Math, Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), Social Sciences, French, Arts, Healthy and Active Living, and Technology.
- The practical application of academics to contemporary world. We apply the knowledge and skills gained through regular student to explore culture, technology, politics, and sociology.
Be in Touch!
We are very excited about this new programme, and invite you to be in touch with us to learn more about the specific ways in which an Abelard education will set up middle school students to flourish. Please call us at 416-944-0661, or write to us at info@abelardschool.org, in order to set up a meeting.
The Abelard School 